Page 45 of Forever My Siren Luna (The Hidden Cove #2)

Beretta

Damn pirate bastard. The fool didn’t even have the sense to follow after me.

Pathetic. All around pathetic.

I was going to return to the ship, but I'm not in the mood to see anyone familiar at the moment.

I feel anger and shame and I know in my current state that I would snap little Joe in half if he started following me around asking where the captain ran off to.

I'm not up for covering for Jack as he hides somewhere pickling his liver in his own bout of self-pity.

The man picked himself up by his bootstraps and built the greatest pirate fleet the seas have ever seen while recovering from his own grief.

Pity is something I can not feel for that man.

Yes, what his pack and mate went through was tragic and unbelievably horrid, but we all have stories such as his.

He wouldn't allow any of us to drown ourselves in pity.

I don't see why I should allow him to do it.

I'm not going to enable his behavior. Not at the moment.

The bastard told me I was crossing the damned line. Screw his line and his pathetic attempt to put me in my place. I've had enough of it.

Maybe little Joe discovering him at his worst will wake him up a bit.

I am walking towards the stables without much conscious effort.

Horses don’t frustrate me or make me want to pull my own hair out like a certain pirate captain does.

I also have very little chance of running into the pirate bastard in here too.

There is too much foot traffic and not enough liquor in the stables for that man.

No Ela to pine over at the moment either.

Why the hell can he not fucking get his damned act together?

Ela had never shown any sign of wanting him.

She never led him on in the slightest. She’s a little naive and clueless, but she doesn’t flirt or present herself in a way that would even be able to be misconstrued as being open to anything with him. She isn't open to anyone.

I’ve only ever seen her affected by one man, and that is her mate.

Her mate.

Her very strong, devoted, Alpha mate.

Jack might have stood a chance of getting between them if it was anyone but her mate, but he couldn’t battle affections and fate combined. His opponent was much too strong in this case.

He acts as though it was the end of the world. It's like he didn't have other options. I have made it abundantly clear where my feelings stand, and I thought he was starting to feel the same way.

He’s just a dreamy-eyed idiot, with more muscle than brain.

In the stables, I headed for a mare in the left stall that I had seen Ela riding on occasion.

The mare is a sweet girl, with an easy temperament, which is probably why the pack’s alpha assigned the mare to his wife.

He lets Ela think she is running things, but on matters that concern her safety, oftentimes I see him and that Delta whispering on the sidelines, secretly setting things in place for my naive friend to be as safe as can be.

Ela got a splinter once from grabbing a rough spot on the railing around the sparring field.

She simply pulled the splinter out and continued on with her training, but not before the Alpha saw what had happened.

The next morning, he was out hours earlier with a group of warriors sanding down every inch of the fence so it wouldn't happen again.

Ela is surrounded by so much affection from her pack and her mate.

Jack, that damned fool. Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic.

“What are you doing in here, lass?” The accented voice of the delta makes me just as he, the Beta and a few other warriors enter the stables.

“Jeez,” I held my hand over my chest to start my racing heart. “Warn a girl before you surprise the life out of her like that.”

Even the horse is jerking its head up and down, startled the same as me.

“That’s what I was trying to do,” he chuckled. “Are you going for a ride? Want me to saddle her up for you,” Delta Cherum nods towards the mare.

I pursued my lips, wishing I could. I don’t think it’s the right time to ask Ela if I can borrow her to fulfill my anxious curiosity about what it would be like to ride one.

“Better not. By the time I get your Luna’s permission to borrow the mare I probably will lose interest,” I shrugged my shoulders, trying to make it seem like I was already losing interest.

“Nonsense,” the Beta waved his hand dismissively at me. “Our Luna wouldn’t care nor tell anyone they needed to ask for her permission to ride a horse.”

“Ela and the Alpha are a bit preoccupied at the moment anyway,” Cherum snorted. “No one will be asking them anything for at least the rest of the day.”

“I bet we won’t see them for 3 days at least,” the Beta chuckled.

“A week,” another warrior suggested, then a few others pipe up, making bets on the matter.

Cherum must notice my confusion so he clarifies, “Ela told the Alpha she was ready to mate.” The redness in his cheeks suggests the big red-haired warrior was shy about his Luna’s possible sex-life.

Good for her. I’m happy at least one good thing came from pathetic Jack’s attempt to throttle their bond. Seems all he really did was push her further into her mate’s arms.

“I’m glad,” I smiled genuinely. The alpha loves Ela. Anyone could see that at first glance. His eyes are only for her. I’m confident that, despite their messed-up past, he can give her the future she deserves.

“We’re all glad,” the Beta huffs like he’s been waiting for this forever himself. “Our Alpha is insufferable without her.”

He and his men had begun the task of saddling up their mounts, which made me wonder what they were doing.

Breakfast at their packhouse has yet to even be served but they all look like they are preparing to ride off into battle.

Cherum is still dressed in his scant clothing from training, but the rest are in gear with weapons around their waists and supplies in their packs.

“Where are the rest of you heading off to?” I asked, brushing my hand down the mare’s silky hair.

“They’re heading to the border to look for any signs of a breach.

We do it often because of the constant wars of the past. Ela and the Alpha seem to believe that there will be a breach again soon, so before they get too preoccupied with one another because of Ela’s sudden confession, Nilo here decided to ease the Alpha’s burden a bit for a few days,” Cherum informs me. “I’m just seeing them off.”

“Want to come along?” The beta asked me.

It does sound tempting. Especially after what just happened with Jack. I’m mad now, but I’ll just be embarrassed later and then I will have to face him tonight. For once, I’m not looking forward to that.

“How long will you be gone?”

Beta Nilo shrugged. “A day or two usually. If we see tracks or anything that looks out of place, we could spend a few extra days out scouting any tracks or scents, but I’m not predicting anything like that happening.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I weighed my options. Stay here and face the man who repeatedly disappointed me over the past few weeks, or go out and have an adventure with the Beta of the pack and the other warriors, who are easy on the eyes and always good company around a campfire?

The decision is simple.

“Do you think you could let the crew know where I went off to?” I gripped broadly at the Delta, excitement replacing much of the indignation inside of me.

“Sure, but don’t you need to go pack some essentials?”

I giggled. “Like what? A toothbrush. I’ll just borrow his,” I throw my thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the Beta, who snorts out another laugh.

“What about a change of underwear?” Cherum challenged.

I smirked, tilting my head and lifting an eyebrow. “What underwear?”

Delta Cherum’s face turns the brightest red I had ever seen, matching his beard and his hair. Many of the warriors begin hooting and whistling, while the Beta just laughs harder than before.

“Consider my timbers shivered,” Beta Nilo choked between laughter. “You will fit right in. Let me get that horse ready to go for you.”

~

Elelira

I rushed through the courtyard on my way to the dwelling of Yasmin and Percy. I just saw Percy in the dining hall, but he said he left Yasmin to sleep in this morning with a smug smirk on his face. A very proud, smug look.

I even know what that means. That’s exactly why I need to speak with her now.

Once Lachlan left to plan whatever it is he is arranging for tonight, my nerves got the better of me. I have no idea what I’m doing or what to truly expect from a consensual night with a man.

My past life was nothing but traumatic experiences.

I have nothing to reference. Lachlan and I almost crossed that line before I ran away in this life, but that was ruined by the arrival of the men who tortured me until my death.

I don’t want those memories or experiences to get the better of me tonight.

Lachlan wants tonight to be perfect. I do too. I want this to completely override everything. I need Yasmin’s help or I will implode from anxiety.

I wish Lachlan had just rushed me back to our room the moment the words left my lips. I didn’t have much time to think of anything other than my longing to be claimed and to claim him.

After the self-doubt waned when he cleared the air with me and my misunderstood thoughts again, I was nervous, but was still ready.

Now I’ve had far too much time to think and I need to be talked down and prepared.

I need my friend.

Cherum informed everyone that Beretta left with the warriors this morning to try her hand at border patrol. I would have probably asked her, but I have been wanting to stop by and see Yasmin soon anyway.