Page 67 of Forever My Siren Luna (The Hidden Cove #2)

My face contorted with confusion. Was he going back on his word? “Are you not setting my Beta free after all?”

“The Beta is not who I speak of,” he sneered. “If I hold you at my mercy, it isn’t just his Luna,” he paused so a deviant smile could spread on his face, “but his heir as well.”

His heir?

I was about to ask what he meant, but then thunderous screams could be heard erupting from outside. Lord Tenebris tilted his head, gauging the sound. His onyx eyes began to glow, and then the sinister smile was gone. Instead, pure rage replaced it.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” he snarled, reaching out to grab me by the throat.

Val quickly pressed forward and I leaped back out of his reach. “What are you talking about?”

“WHAT DID YOU DO?” he yelled again. “WHO? WHO DID YOU-”

Suddenly, flames licked down from the giant hole and ceiling, an oppressive heat barrelling down, sucking the air out of the vast space. I fell to the ground against the wall, shielding my head with my hands.

When the flames stopped, the screams from outside were worse than anything I had ever heard before. I looked up to find Lord Tenebris staring up in disbelief.

“No,” he whispered hoarsely. “Not her.”

I had no idea what had just happened, but with him distracted, I knew it was my time to act.

Val took over, shifting into her form, and then she leaped to where he was crouched on the floor.

At the last second, he saw me coming, turning to dodge my advance.

He snarled and hissed, facing off with Val, but she was focused.

One touch. That was all we needed. Just one touch and we could end this.

She lunged again. This time he lunged too.

We collided together, rolling on the floor, the dark fairy growling and trying to pin Val’s claws above her head.

She was just as strong, and when he saw he couldn’t overpower her through strength, we felt his magic come over us, trying to repress her with it instead.

His eyes went wide when Val channeled the last of my magic to combat his. The shock made his hands falter and Val’s free claw extended out towards his chest. Her nails sunk into his skin, shooting the last of our magic to encase his heart.

We were almost done, ready to tighten our magic’s grip and kill him with one strike, but then he sent us flying back with a powerful burst of power and took off in the air.

The magic in me was gone, and the power he shot me with made my head feel dizzy, and caused my stomach to roll. It was suddenly hard to breathe.

His black wings extending as he flew to the top of the ceiling was the last thing I saw before darkness took me. I faintly heard an angry woman shouting at me as I gave in to unconsciousness.

~

Jack

The sky was growing dark. Night was coming. The anticipation for the battle to come was now painful. It was festering. The anxiety it left in my chest was like an infection that I couldn’t cure. Even if I had a lick of alcohol, it wouldn’t help this feeling to go away.

That, coupled with the fact I still had no idea if Beretta was alive or dead, made this entirely unbearable.

I wanted to attack first. I wanted to draw first blood, and tear through any and everyone blocking my path to save that maddening woman.

I knew why I couldn't. I knew I would never make it through the demons alive.

All I would be doing is risking every life here.

It didn’t make it any easier to just sit around and wait.

“Gamma!” A group of freshly shifted men came running towards where the Gamma and I were sitting, staring at the growing dark army while discussing our plan of attack for our men when the time came. “Gamma!”

“Percy?” Gamma Meldec stood up, looking curiously at the men that were left behind in Hidden Cove to watch over the Luna. “What happened? Is everything okay back at home? What of the Luna?”

Percy huffed, looking a mix of assumed and exhausted. “She was kidnapped. Luna Ela was taken by her uncle and his men.”

My stomach dropped, and the Gamma looked horrified. How could Percy look amused knowing his Luna was taken.

“The Alpha?” Meldec asked.

“Chasing her down right now,” Percy choked out a laugh and shook his head.

“This is far from amusing,” I snapped.

“You’re right. It wouldn’t be if it was anyone else, but Ela, I mean, Luna….She saved herself.”

“What?” I gasped.

“She saved herself. She slaughtered all the men that took her and set off to save Beta Nilo and your pirate girlfriend herself. Alpha is pissed. He’s chasing her right now.”

“Shit,” Meldec mumbled. “Cedric?” He stared at Percy expectantly.

“Equally pissed. He muttered something about putting her over his knee if her own father and mate wouldn’t when he got his hands on her. Cherum and he were calling dibs on who was going first as we left. Cedric and King Brennus went with Cherum and Alpha to drag her home.”

If they were making such jokes, Ela must be okay, or at least as okay as she could be after being abducted by her uncle.

I've seen her attacking boat loads of men out at sea.

She can be ferocious. Her former pack probably was expecting someone sacred and gentle.

That's no longer Ela. She is tenacious when she's angered or on a mission.

“If she was going to save Beretta and your Beta, does that mean she knows where they are at?”

Percy shrugged at me. “I would assume so. She didn’t mention that in her gorey little messages.” I looked at him curiously, but he just muttered, “You don’t want to know.”

Percy and his men joined our ranks, preparing for battle.

Meldec, myself and Lillian, the highest ranking siren knight, stood around the table with the top commanders of Hidden Cove Pack, my first mate, and two of the siren knights flanking Lillian.

We were holding the maps we had of the north in the strategy tent, trying to figure out what direction the additional demons and dark fae that had been joining their ranks all day were coming from.

If we could figure out their headquarters, we could figure out where the base was for their planning and the most likely place they were keeping our people.

It would also be the most likely place Ela and Alpha Lachlan were heading to.

Loud murmurs started to come from outside the tent.

That soon turned into yelling and screams, and multiple people calling out with fearful voices, “GAMMA!”.

We hurried out of the tent. I expected to see the army from the north attacking, but they were all standing still, backs to us, staring in the same direction as all of our men.

Everyone was pointing at the same thing in the sky.

At first, I thought it was a large bird, but it got closer and closer, moving through the sky more like it was slithering in the air than soaring through it. When it turned to its side, I gasped in horror.

A dragon.

I had never seen one in person. They were so rare, I thought they were extinct.

Did the demons have control of a dragon?

Dragons were noble, untamable creatures.

They were too proud to bend to anyone else’s will.

They must have the spirit of pirates, because they also take what they want without mercy.

How did the demons manage to….

“HOLY RUM!” I belted, dropping to the ground with most others around me when the dragon blew fire over the demons.

The dragon had dropped low to the ground at the last second and flew over the line of the dark beings, lighting them up with its dragon’s breath. The dragon was shooting fire at our opposing forces.

Their screams brought back dark memories from my past. The raw pain and terror was too familiar.

We watched in horror as the dragon eliminated every single one of the demons.

An orc, burning alive, came barreling down towards us.

The dragon swooped around and came down on him, ripping his head clean off and tossing it to the side while the rest of his body burned.

The dragon seemed on a mission for revenge. None of the demons survived its wrath.

It was gruesome. No one could do anything but stare in shock.

“ What if this thing came from the place you were searching for,” Oisin pointed out . “What if Beretta is being kept where this thing just escaped from?”

I stared in the distance towards the direction where the dragon had come. If I focused hard enough, I could see more smoke, thick like clouds in the blackening sky, rising in the distance. That must be where it came from.

“ Beretta ,” Oisin pressed forward, wanting to go and save her.

Seeing the destruction of the demon army, I knew the risk of harming our men was gone. The dragon seemed satisfied with its work. It didn’t even spare our forces a glance before flying to the east, leaving us unharmed.

“ Let’s go,” I told my Lycan. Oisin pressed forward all the way, taking over. Lucky and the others yelled for me to stop, but now was my chance. I was going to get back my woman and never let her go anywhere without me again.

~

Beretta

“ELA!” I screamed, seeing her get thrown to the ground by that demonic bastard. I was too far from them. I couldn’t do anything but watch her head bounce against the stone ground as I raced towards her.

Lord Tenebris was clutching his chest, snarling venomously. His eyes were on Ela, confused but furious. I thought he was about to lunge for her, so I screamed, but then he lifted in the sky and flew through a large opening in the roof.

When I got to Ela, she was already unconscious. Her head was bleeding, the blood pooling under her head. Irrita. I need magic to heal her. Irrita could help.

I lifted her in my arms and ran outside, blood dripping down my arm from Ela’s head wound with every step. Her body felt cold, and her scent was changing. It was fading.

“Irrita!” I yelled, running from outside. “Irrita!”