Page 23 of Forever My Siren Luna (The Hidden Cove #2)

“Because I’m going to kill him,” I muttered venomously.

Even Lachlan squeezing my hand doesn’t rid me of the rage I feel whenever I think of what my Uncle has put so many people through.

I was not the only woman that suffered such a fate.

I will be the one to avenge all the others as I avenge myself.

I will be the one to instill the same fear in him that he drove endlessly into countless victims.

“ Death will not come quickly for him,” Val purred wickedly.

“ Slow and horrifying,” I agree. “ For him and for every last one of his men.”

We have imagined my uncle’s death countless times, and quickly could never describe one of those fantasies.

“Your story doesn’t explain how the necklace came to be mine and why I do not remember my mother having it,” I said, redirecting my thoughts before they got out of hand and Val got worked up.

He sighed. “This was not my second, but my third attempt to save you from death, Elelira. The first time, I used your mate’s sacrifice of your uncle to try and save both you and your mother.

I went back to the time you were conceived and didn’t give your mother a choice to reject me.

I successfully took her, since it was her I was saving that time, and not technically you.

She had all her memories and knew she was with child.

She didn’t tell me much, because I think she didn’t want me to suffer from her memories, but now I know that she knew what you both would face if you stayed in that pack.

“I successfully saved her, bringing her with me to the Siren Kingdom. What I didn’t know then was that the magic I used was an ancient magic, one that hadn’t been conjured up in centuries, and that only one life could be spared.

The magic was a life for a life, and even though I saved your mother, we both still lost you. ”

Lachlan gasped, gripping my hand tighter, so tight that it hurt.

I could feel his horror. I could sense his body tensing and Val could feel Killian's mortified fury.

His body moves closer to mine, and even though he can't yet feel the bond, I know that he is trying to calm himself by getting closer to me.

My reaction isn't quite so dramatic. I am familiar with death, and it doesn't scare me the way the concept of my death seems to terrify my mate. I let what my father said sink in for a moment, then asked, “I died?”

He nodded solemnly. “In the womb. Your mother had a miscarriage soon after we settled into the kingdom. What was worse than the miscarriage was that your mother still had all her memories. Every last one of them for a child she would never get to meet. It drove her mad, and though she tried, she couldn’t live in a world you did not exist in. ”

He grew silent for a long time, staring out into the crashing waves beating relentlessly on the rocks around the cliffs not too far off from where we sat.

I could see the ghost of the past, and the horrors he went through in his eyes.

It must have been terrifying, because he still looks aghast retelling everything he went through.

“We made a choice. Together. Your happiness and an abundant life was all your mother wanted for you. Nothing else mattered. Not even me, and I was okay with that, because hearing all her tales of the girl we had lost made me just as heartbroken as she was.

“So we both chose you. I chose to try the magic one last time, and thank the heavens and gods above, it worked.”

He slowly reached his hand out, taking the pendant in his hands and turning it slowly, his tear-filled eyes reflecting back the image of the jewels.

“When I brought you back, I knew I could not risk something happening to you. The pendant once meant for your mother, in this life, was never given to her. I saved it, letting her go through all the horrors I now know she faced without a way to reach me, because that was what she wanted. That was why she never told me the truth about what her life was like in her pack. In this life, I saved this to give to you, infusing it with my magic in a way that connected me to you, so I would always know when you might need help. I didn’t consider your Lycan’s anger to be powerful enough to harness the magic for herself temporarily to give you the ability to gain your fins in your time of need.

She must be exceptionally powerful to be able to do that. ”

“ Damn right, I am,” Val snorted proudly, even though she was as choked up with emotion as me.

My throat felt clogged, but I swallowed the lump and whispered. “Did mom know? Was she aware that by saving me she would be killing herself?”

“Yes, my daughter. We both knew. However, I didn’t know the extent of her death.

I took great pleasure in avenging her in this life when I found out the truth.

" His eyes hardened momentarily before they looked back at me, softening with affection.

"We were both fully aware of what bringing you back would do to us. When you are weighing your own death, and the death of your child, it was an easy decision. There was never a chance of us choosing differently.”

My mom knew. She had to have known what life would hold for her, but she still chose to suffer in place of losing me.

The last of the icy fortress I had barricaded around my heart melted away with the heat of the love I felt at that moment. My mother knew she was returning to a horrible life that led to her death, and my father knew he was sending her there, but they still chose me above all.

“You chose me?” I whispered brokenly.

His jewel-like eyes shined down on me. “I would always choose you. You’re my daughter. My love for you is everything.”

At that, the damn behind my eyes breaks and I fall into his arms, weeping enough for 3 lifetimes of sorrow from missing the one thing I had always wanted.

My father.

I was so wrong. I owed this man everything.

~

Lachlan

I’m staring at King Brennus as he hugs his daughter. My mind is racing as I tried to piece everything together.

One thing is getting to me, and I just can’t seem to figure it out.

Who did he use as the sacrifice? Why was he vague on that part?

The longer I stared at him and the expression he is making as he hugs Lira tight, I can see the grief mixed with his happiness and I think I know.

You need a sacrifice with the same blood as the one you are trying to save. That is what he told me when he had me kill Wayne. If he used Wayne to bring back his wife, was he somehow able to use Wayne again in the next attempt?

No. I don’t think he did.

King Brennus looked up at me, feeling my stare on him. Is he going to tell her? If he did what I think he did, would he ever let Lira know?

“ He didn’t want to hurt her. That’s why he was reluctant to meet her himself. She won’t miss a man she never knew.”

Killian’s words rang in my head.

I needed to talk to him about this. Not now, though. Not while Lira was crying her heart out in his arms, happy to finally have her father.

~

When Lira’s crying ceased, I waited on the log as she and her father took a walk on the beach alone.

She seems so much younger than just this morning as she stares up at him with a wondrous gaze.

She isn’t fighting anyone right now and there are no signs of her walls being raised.

She is just a young woman walking alongside her father on the beach.

“There you are,” Nilo went down from the castle trail, walking through the sand to sit beside me. “The meeting is over. I was wondering if you were ever coming back.”

I nodded towards Lira. “She needed a moment with her father.”

He stared off after them. “I see that the talk went well.”

“Yeah,” I watched as Lira smiled at something her dad said, making me smile in turn.

“Well, you could have come back to the meeting.”

“No,” I shook my head. “You had it covered.”

He chuckled under his breath. “You can’t take your eyes off her. Did your talk go well too?”

“Not exactly,” I remembered this morning. My talk with Lira ended with getting kicked out and Cherum trying to hit me, though I would define it more as a child’s punch.

“Then why do you look so happy?”

Staring at Lira’s smiling expression, I couldn’t help but feel happy. That’s all I want. Her happiness.

I don’t answer him as I continue to stare after her, watching the way she lifts her skirt and traces her toes in the sand, creating little patterns.

“You’ve got it bad, Alpha,” Nilo told me. “What are you going to do if she goes back to sea with her rum-smelling captain? He seemed sure she wouldn’t be staying here after her uncle was dealt with.”

Killian snarls in my head. I’m with him, but if that’s what she wants…..

“I guess I’ll be asking her if I can follow.”

“What?” Nilo snapped.

I turned my head to look at him. “She comes first. I already know I can’t live without her now that I’ve lost her twice. If she can’t stay, I won’t either.”

“You would choose your wife, who might still reject you, over your pack?”

I watched Lira as she and King Brennus began walking back. Our eyes met for the briefest of seconds, and she didn’t scowl or turn away in anger. Her cheeks were tinged with pink as she held my gaze, and I knew I would abandon anything for her.

“I have an outstanding Beta,” I told Nilo. “I think the pack would be in good hands.”

Nilo stared for a moment and then says, “The best thing for this pack is you and her.”

Sighing, I said, “Without her, I wouldn’t be good for anybody.”

~

Elelira

Getting everything out in the open with my father and learning everything he had done for me made something inside of me come undone. The knots and turmoil wrapping around my heart unraveled and the more we talked, the more I started to see that I wasn’t the only one hurt. Far from it.

My father went through so much pain to bring me back.

He isn’t the only one.

My father and I shared stories of my mother. I asked a lot about the siren kingdom. He revealed to me why I could never find it. I wasn’t given the sight so all my searching was in vain. Without his blessing, no one could find his kingdom. That is how he keeps his people safe.

We talked about so many things and I could feel his eagerness to know everything about me.

He even asked me about my life with Lachlan here, and besides that last day before I swam away, and that one awful breakfast, I really only had good memories with Lachlan here in my second life.

Never in my first, but Lachlan really was a different person this time around.

The more I talked about Lachlan, the more I missed those times I had with him. Val did too. She won’t say anything, but I can feel her pressing forward, and I can feel her desire to have her mate, even if she is trying to stay quiet about it.

I don’t know if we could ever go back to the way things were, but after talking to my father, I have this desire to clear the air with Lachlan too. Instead of getting defensive, I wanted to try actually listening for once.

Not everyone is against me. I do have people looking out for my best interests, even if I haven’t noticed it before. Maybe it’s time I gave Lachlan a real chance to explain his side of things to me, and I can finally explain mine. This time without yelling.

After talking on the beach with my father for over an hour, just me and him, my stomach started to rumble so he insisted on walking me back to the castle so I could attend lunch.

He must have seen my reluctance to leave him, so he even ate with me, which I was so grateful for. It was a bit awkward being back in the dining hall after running away from my husband, but having my father there took much of the attention off me.

“Are you going to stay here for a while?” I asked as we finished eating, wondering if he needed to get back to his kingdom.

“For the time being,” he grinned, “but I should get back to my people to hear the details of the meeting earlier. Would it….be alright to speak with you more at dinner, Elelira?”

My father making plans to see me later fills me with so much joy, my heart fluttering with excitement. “I would like that.”

He smiled warmly, staring at me for a moment before helping me up and pulling me into a warm hug. I relish his warmth, happy to know it after all this time. I finally know my father, and I know he wants me. It’s an amazing feeling.

“I will see you later, my daughter.”

After a subtle nod from me, since my throat was too clogged with emotion to respond verbally, I was left with this warm feeling and the reassurance that I always had both of my parents’ love. I just didn’t know that until today.

Now, there is just one last person I need to talk with.

I leave the dining hall to go in search of my husband.