Page 1 of Forever My Siren Luna (The Hidden Cove #2)

Lachlan

It’s been months. Months , since Lira left.

Cedric searched for days, as well as most of her father’s guard, and there was still no trace of her.

Cedric brought the necklace back to me and I had my men stay on the island for weeks in hopes of her coming back for the necklace, the pendant from her father, but she never returned.

Now, my men and I, as well as King Brennus and his top knights are sitting in the deckhouse of my ship, trying to figure out what more we can do.

Her necklace that used to be her beacon for help, her hope for someone to save her, is now resting around my own neck.

I reached up and touched its intricate design, remembering all the times she touched it in a similar way.

I’m not letting her go. I’m not going to rest until I bring her home. I’m not giving up, and I know none of my men will either.

We just don’t know what more we can do.

“Alpha, did your scouts return from her uncle’s pack?” Lillian, one of King Brennus’s top knights asked. King Brennus had his head resting in his hand, looking as exhausted as the rest of us felt. He blamed himself for this.

I did too.

It was his fault I couldn't tell her the truth sooner.

Kent, one of the Luna guards who went on the first mission to Alpha Wayne’s pack, has been going back every month since she left to investigate more into her life there and the state of the pack, as well as organizing rescue missions for the orphans and widows who have fallen victim to the cruelties of the pack.

The day after Lira left, Commander Claus and Kent came to report about what they had discovered in Alpha Wayne’s pack.

It was worse than I could have ever imagined.

Women and everyone not related to a warrior or official were treated horribly.

If women and children didn't have a mate or father to protect them, they would live lives worse than anything I had ever heard of before.

I understand a bit more why Lira was always so quick to defend people like Yasmin in my pack and she reacted so sensitively to violence and anger.

She grew up in that environment. I traumatized her more in her first life here.

And now she knows I still hold those memories. My heart clenches knowing that if she never forgives me, it's entirely my fault.

Kent has a new little friend, Riley, who tagged along to the meeting.

Seeing him brought a fresh wave of grief over me.

He reminded me of Westley, the little boy Lira would love and play with at the orphanage.

She would have loved Riley too. Riley gave us more of an idea of what life was like in that disgusting pack.

I'm glad Kent is using his resources to not just get me information on Wayne's dealings, but he is working to save more children like Riley and victims like Riley's late mother.

The commander and Kent had revealed how corrupt the pack was, and how demented Alpha Wayne really was.

He never openly abused his niece, but he did hurt Lira’s mother.

He treated his own sister as a packhouse whore, pushing her as a night time gift to visiting officials and then passing her around to his warriors as a reward.

Even King Brennus wasn’t aware things were that bad for Lira’s mother.

He guessed she was treated poorly, but when he heard of the crimes committed against her, he wanted to take his knights to war against the pack right then.

The only thing that stopped him from doing so was Lira’s disappearance.

If we started war, then if Wayne found Lira before we did, my pack and his kingdom would be doomed.

She is our weakness.

We needed to find her to keep her safe. I needed to find her to explain everything that happened. I need her. I need her like I need air to breathe. She is vital to my existence.

“My warrior said there was still no sign of her.” Kent also reported that the Alpha was overwhelmed with attacks on his ships at sea.

His navy has lost most of its fleet to bands of pirates, and all his supplies and resources are being intercepted lately.

He has been so overwhelmed with defending his pack against attacks from the sea that he hasn’t bothered my pack at all.

After we killed the warriors he sent to check in on Lira, I expected to hear from him within a few weeks, but it’s been months now. He must have bigger worries, or he might have suspected that the men were lost at sea to the pirates plaguing his pack.

The pirates weakening Alpha Wayne’s defenses is something new that didn’t happen in our first life.

I don’t know how much good this alliance with his pack will do mine anymore, since his defenses are now worse than my own.

I’m thankful the pirates are keeping him distracted and not focused on me, especially with my mate missing, but I’m worried about what to do when the Northern clans start attacking mine in the near future.

“What else can we do?” Cherum asked, staring vacantly at the ground. “How do we find her now?”

His connection to her as Lira’s Delta kept him in a constant state of panic for days after she left, but then the connection and her need for him just stopped.

Whatever emotions she had that were causing him to panic just suddenly stopped, and he hasn’t felt her at all since.

He can only feel her in her time of need, so we took it as a good sign at first, but he misses her almost as much as I do.

I pray that she comes back, if not for my sake, then for Cherum’s and everyone else here that she knows and loves. She may not believe that I love her after all the shit I put her through, but I hope she never questions their feelings for her.

Her father, on the other hand, I hope she blames him as much as she blames me, if not more. If not for that damned contract, all of this could have been avoided. He wanted to protect her, but look where that led. She’s out there again, alone in the world. No one is with her to keep her safe.

This time, I don’t have the mate bond to let me know that she’s alright. To let me know that she is still alive. She could be….she could be dead, and I would have no way of knowing.

“ She is not dead,” Killian snarls at me.

I know she’s not. I can instinctively feel that she is not, even though the distance and time apart is dwindling Killian’s bond with her too.

We need to find her. I just pray, wherever she is, that she is safe and not suffering. She is so fragile. I don't know how she can survive on her own.

~

Elelira

“Captain! We’re taking fire to the bow!” Beretta, yells.

The adrenaline coursing through me makes Val push to the surface, ready for a fight. Jack is not going to be happy if I destroy one of his ships the first time he lets me captain a ship without him hovering over my shoulder.

I started yelling out commands, focusing our fire to the front of us.

The navy ship was no longer retreating and was now standing its ground, preparing to fight.

The last two ships were easy pickings, so intent on escape that they didn’t put up much of a defense.

This ship must have realized that escape is not an option.

Jack’s ships can’t be outrun.

The navy ship circles back, coming alongside us, the canons setting off at a steady pace. We may be the fastest ships on the sea, but we aren’t the most heavily armed. This may be a close fight.

Unless….

Young Joe swings from the rope from the crows' nest, descending to the deck to join the fight. When his feet touched the ground, I took the rope from his hands with a firm jerk, swinging my body across the deck, launching myself towards the ship that was set on ruining my first mission as captain.

Not a chance i’m going to roll over and admit defeat. Not now. I worked so hard to get here.

When I was just barely above their deck, I dropped down with a heavy thud, surprising the sailor standing at the port railing with a loaded gun aimed at one of my men.

Val takes over, ripping my clothes and causing the shift before I tell her to, tearing into the man, putting more red stripes down his uniform as his blood flows from the open wound her razor-like teeth left in his throat.

She quickly disposes of 3 more men, only one of them thinking to shift to try and fight back.

Despite their efforts, I am an alpha by blood, and I now know I have the blood of the most powerful siren of the sea in my veins as well. They were no match for someone like me, even if I am a woman.

Jack taught me that. He showed me how powerful I can truly be.

I’m not going to let him down now.

Val works her way to the captain who is driving the ship, wrapping her claws around his neck and tearing out his throat before he can even sprout fur on his arms. With him dealt with, she headed to the deck below to deal with the threat to my ship there.

It took her 5 minutes tops to incapacitate every warrior and sailor on board, most too overwhelmed with the situation to know I wasn’t one of them until it was too late.

I am still technically a member of their pack, and it doesn’t register that my scent isn’t entirely like theirs until their blood is coated on Val’s claws or flowing from her jaw.

Back on deck, she gave me back control, shifting back into my human form.

“Damn, Captain. I worried for nothing,” Beretta whistled, seeing the carnage around the navy ship's deck.

More of our men come over, putting boards between the ships to cross. They will raid and take anything of value before we sink the ship to the bottom of the sea.

Joe, the young man, maybe 14, brought me a tunic and pants as he came over.

“You might want to dress, Captain,” his face is tinged with a pink hue as he tries to look everywhere but at me.

“Why?” I laughed, taking the offered clothing, “Does my nudity offend you?”

Nudity is a common occurrence now, Val taking over often when things get too exciting for her. She liked fighting. It’s how she has learned to cope with all her pent-up anger and anxiety.