Page 22 of Forever My Siren Luna (The Hidden Cove #2)

A child’s life will always hold more value than their parents, and you, my dear daughter, are more precious to me than you will ever know.

~

Elelira POV

The three of us wandered down to the beach, since it seemed like the natural place to speak together.

Everyone else stayed with Nilo to start discussing the upcoming attack from the North, and the new threat that my uncle now posed to the pack now that everyone knew of his involvement.

Jack had information going back years on my uncle’s dealings, and how he would take over other packs.

I felt guilty for taking Lachlan away from a meeting with new vital information, but he insisted that he wanted to be with me.

I tried not to let it show how much I really wanted him here with me and my father. I tried not to let it show how much it meant to me that he chose to support me and left the meeting to Nilo. That is something he never would have done before.

Is it knowing that I am his mate that is causing him to act this way, or does he genuinely love me, even without the bond?

That is my biggest hang up. That is what is causing me to not be able to move past this.

I understand that he was restricted in telling me the truth, and that even the Leona incident was not his fault, but is he acting this way out of obligation to the bond that forces him to love me?

Is it because his pack needs its true luna to be at its strongest?

Or…. Does he really just love me? Is he sorry, not because he lost his fated mate, but because he lost me?

That isn’t what I need to be dwelling on right now. That isn’t what my focus should be.

King Brennus wants to tell me the full story, and I intend to listen. The mention of my mother compels me to. I loved my mom. Dearly. She sacrificed so much for me to keep me safe. I may not owe it to this man to hear him out, but I owe it to her.

We came upon the driftwood Yasmin and I once had our deep conversation on, making me smile at the memory of the time I made my first friend.

“What are you smiling about?” Lachlan asked, his voice light, as if the fact that I was smiling brought him great joy.

I gave him a side-eye, deciding if I wanted to keep pretending I wasn’t thankful he was here, but my honesty won out.

“This is where Yasmin and I came to talk after what my uncle’s men did to her. It was a difficult conversation, but I made my first real friend that day.”

This poor piece of driftwood seemed doomed to a life of overhearing heavy and difficult things, bearing the weight of the people in discussion as well.

Lachlan grins softly. “I remember. I was nagging Cherum the entire time to make sure you were alright.”

“I was far from alright,” I grumbled, then answered a bit more honestly, “at first. I think that day did end on a happy note, though, so I can’t complain.”

His expression is mixed with kindness and a tinge of guilt. When he reached out for my hand, I let him take it, welcoming the comfort the sparks bring.

“It is nice to see you accepting your mate, Elelira,” my father said, breaking me from the trance I didn’t realize I was in with Lachlan. I pulled away from him, feeling embarrassed.

“Who said I was accepting him?” I grumbled.

Lachlan sighed, but didn't argue. I felt a wave of guilt, Val whimpering softly in my head. I end up reaching my hand back to take his, grateful both he and my father choose not to say anything about it.

“You said you were going to tell us the full story,” I lifted my chin, staring up at the man beside me. “This necklace? How was it my mother's?”

He stared down at my throat, a soft smile forcing onto his lips, making his thick beard lift at the corners of his mouth. Even his beard is the same color as my hair. Up close, I can see so many similarities in our features that it is almost shocking.

“I gave it to her. In our very, very first lives, I had given it to Lorelei after she refused to leave her brother’s pack to come with me to the sea.

She rejected me, but I still had hope that she might one day change her mind.

That necklace had power in it that connected me to her.

If she simply put it on, I would have felt her and any pain she was going through.

She never put it on, though. I never once felt her in my magic.

The only time I ever felt anything from the necklace was the moment of your death.

It may not have even been the necklace. The magic that was in your body originated from me, so I felt the sharp sting of death and the flickering of something that was inherently mine in flesh leaving this world. ”

I nodded. “I used the last of my magic to take my own life.”

King Brennus closed his eyes, unmistakable pain tensing at their corners.

“That never should have happened, Elelira. You never should have gone through what you did.”

“No, I shouldn’t have. That can’t change now.”

“I know. Believe me, I tried to change it. I did not know the nature of your death, but I knew you were too young to die of anything without pain and agony. I thought maybe there was an accident or you were murdered at sea. I have tried to find the reason for your death for so long. I never figured it out. Cedric was the one that suggested it was something more sinister. When he saw you react to seeing your uncle’s men, he connected the dots and came to ask me to allow him to tell you the truth in hopes you would reveal what those men had done to you. "

Guilt at my treatment of Cedric came upon me. I was warring over the weight of his betrayal in not telling me the truth from the start. I was being unfair. He was looking out for me from the start.

“I had thought that if your death was something of that nature, you would have told Cedric, or even your mate. I searched for your uncle’s pack and your mate brought me his dead body.

He never confessed to having any part in your death.

If I had known…,” he closed his eyes, but not before I saw his anger flashing in the emerald green glow, “he would be dead ten times over now. He will be dead soon.”