Elelira POV “Mmmh, this feels good,” Val purrs, enjoying the feel of the brush running through my hair. “I missed this.” “Me too,” I told her, being honest for once. I missed all of this. I missed my nightly routine with Killian and Lachlan. The past several nights have been the same familiar routine. Dinner with Lachlan in the garden, followed by our nightly hair brushing with our Lycans in control. So much has changed during these days. If I am not spending time with my father, getting to know him better, I am with the warriors and pirates, helping in the training so our forces can be more in sync and familiar with one another. Beretta has been helping a lot with that as well. Jack shows up to train a lot with his men too, but he has mainly taken to overseeing the navy and building our cooperation on the waters. I'm grateful. Ever since that awkward lunch I have become more wary of Jack. I try not to be alone with him or around him without Lachlan present. When Lachlan
Cedric POVThis is intolerable. Absolutely intolerable. Why? Why did I tell him yes? He has been trying to get me alone all day, and now I’m reduced to hiding in the servants' bathhouse, simmering in a hot pool of other peoples’ filth to prevent the man from tossing me over his shoulder and hauling me back to his room to complete what he has wanted for so long. To mark me. When we snuck off this morning together while Alpha Lachlan took over training the warriors in Meldec’s place, things got a bit heated between us while floating in the sea. We were swimming alone near a hidden beach on the other side of the cliffs, lost in one another as we teased and splashed in the shallow depts. Our fooling around and innocent touches turned into not so innocent touches. He would caress my fins in their most sensitive areas, especially my tail. I would move my tail into his bare pelvis, a thrill shooting through me seeing the impressive reaction he had to me.All it took was one look and I w
I narrowed my eyes on him. If he knew I was hiding here, he could have saved me from stewing in the soupy water during that time by just letting me know. “You’re an arse,” I muttered.“An arse?” He laughed. “For leaning against a wall?”“You know why,” I grunted, walking past him towards the docks so I could take a dive in the briny ocean to rid myself of other people’s filth. “I’m sorry. Did you want me to let you know you were swimming in your least favorite bath water to avoid me in vain?”“You dogs and your freaky noses. You could smell me, so I’m sure you could smell the sweat and muck I was bathing in as well,” I snapped.“Oh, I could. I imagined re-washing you the entire time I was waiting for you to call it quits.”“Like I said, you’re an arse,” I snapped.His deep chuckle flamed my irritation, at him and myself for reacting to it. My body begins to relax and tense up again in certain muscles, all reacting to his throaty laughter. “Ah, your scent suddenly got so much sweete
Elelira POV “Lira,” a deep, rough voice whispers into my ear, making the tiny hairs on my neck stick straight up as sparks move under my skin. “It’s time to get up.” I groan, rubbing my face against his chest, trying to cling to sleep. I have never slept better than I have in the past few weeks with Lachlan by my side. It’s become the norm for him to coax me awake like this every morning, because all I want to do is stay in bed and let the soothing comfort he brings me give my body the rest that it hadn’t had in so long. “You’re going to miss training,” Lachlan urges me, amusement thick in his voice. “So,” I mutter. I roll away from him with a groan when he laughs. “You pouted for the entire day the last time I didn’t get you up for training.” I felt his arm snake around my waist. I melt against him, the sparks soothing my disgruntled attitude. “I love seeing you pout. If you really want to sleep in, I’ll let you sleep.” I groaned, pushing the blanket down my body. “Fine.” D
My father has several of his knights with him, waiting in the water for me. A huge smile erupts on my face seeing his green eyes glimmering with affection as I draw near. “My daughter,” he calls, using his magic to raise himself in a pillar of water from the end of the dock so he can be level with me, even in siren form. “You look as lovely today as ever.”I giggle, knowing that isn’t true. Only he and Lachlan would think I looked lovely with dirt caked in my hair and crevices from sparring. “Many tell me I look just like you,” I reminded him, turning the praise around on him. “I think you would look far lovelier with a beard,” Cherum snorts.My father laughs, but I just roll my eyes. I waved at Cedric, who was also in the water, talking to a woman I have been introduced to several times now. Lillian, I believe her name is. She is one of the higher ranked knights. “We are on our way to the western shores to see if we can discover the happenings of Wayne’s pack, as of late, but I
Jack POV“I told you not to ask,” my beast hisses at me, worried about the fragile peace I already have between myself and this pack. He did tell me to drop it, but I had to get it out. I had to try one last time, or I would regret it.At least I thought I would. I feel a different kind of regret now, though I don't know how to interpret it. I don't think I'm ready to. What I'm ready for is a drink. I need to wet my lips desperately now.I reassured Ela that I was still more than willing to take on the task of going to defeat her uncle. I want him dead too much to let my wounded ego deter that. It’s personal for both Ela and myself, just like it is for most of my crew. All our lives would be different if not for that bastard Wayne. I would be every bit an alpha on land as I am at sea if it weren’t for him, with my mate by my side, not having to face the constant torture of guilt and shame, and the ache of loss. Wandering back towards the beach, alone, since Ela left me in that barra
Elelira POVMy heart froze for a moment, thinking that Lachlan may not be as ready for this as I was. The fear I had of him not being ready when I thought I was manifested fully, and I started to have doubts about myself again. His silent and stunned expression was hard to interpret, but then his animated excitement was all I needed to know I made the right choice in telling him. At least I hope I did. The fright I felt thinking he was about to reject my proposal triggered negative thoughts to start swirling in my head.“I love you, Lira. Goddess, I love you more than I could ever express to you. You just made me the happiest man there ever was.” Lachlan's face was evidence enough that his words were true. I know he loves me. I love him too.“GET A ROOM!” Nilo yells out jokingly, making me aware again that there were dozens of others watching our intimate exchange all around us. My face got so incredibly hot all of a sudden, and I wanted to bury it in his chest to hide my embarrassm
Beretta POVDamn 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. Scr
~~~~~~I had closed my eyes in hell, giving the rest of myself, all that I was over to the man I knew would fulfill the task that I had set out to do. Lachlan would bring my daughter happiness. He was giving her a family. He had already given her everything she had missed out on in her former life.As I closed my eyes, I felt peace, knowing they were going to be fine. I felt peace, knowing that my greatest accomplishment was finally seen through to the end. I felt peace….because I knew I could finally be with her. I could finally join my love. I had closed my eyes in hell, and I opened them again in the light. The light around me was brilliant, so brilliant I instantly knew where I was. There was no sun. No moon. No definition of time. There was just the light, and all the good the light had to offer. None of the pain and heartache of the mortal world could be felt in this place. My feet pressed into the soft, vibrant grass, like a pillowy carpet and without the harshness of weeds
7 months later on Elelira’s 20th Birthday….Elelira POVTonight was the night. It was finally the night I would turn twenty. Just a few more minutes, and the full extent of my power will be released inside me once again. “You look lovely,” Gemma gushed, standing beside me in front of the mirror. “She looks like she’s getting ready for something other than taking a swim,” Beretta muttered to Yasmin, who was feeding her and Percy's daughter. “Maybe a private swim in the hidden pools near the stream.”Yasmin snickered. “They do that plenty. Percy overheard the Alpha ordering the sharp stones be smoothed down so as not to hurt his Luna’s back.”“Will you both stop it,” I snapped, scowling at them in the reflection. “It’s just a robe.”“And what are you wearing underneath?” Beretta wiggled her brows.“You’re annoying. Don’t you have a pack to run?” I huffed. “Eh, it’s running itself right now.” She appointed one of the women who escaped the North with her, who was also originally fro
Lachlan POV“Where is she?!” I demanded, running through the castle after being called back from town. “Where’s Lira?”“Alpha,” Meldec was waiting for me, and was rushing to keep up as I stormed through the halls. “Ced and Cherum took her to the ocean.”“THE OCEAN?!” I roared. Killian was growling in my head, “This is not the fucking time to take a bloody swim.”“She kept demanding to be taken to the ocean, Alpha. She commanded it.”“Of course she did, that infuriating woman.” She goes into fucking labor the day she insists I pick Westley up to surprise Mel and Cedric. She was too excited about sending me away with their adoption papers they applied for last week. Because Westley had living relatives from another pack, we had to ensure they wanted no claim on the boy before we granted my gamma and Lira’s knight’s request. They didn’t want to take him in years ago, and they didn’t want the boy now. When we got the message back this morning, Lira insisted I handle it right away, but I
Elelira POVLife after the brief but impactful war was much different than our lives before. So much had changed. When the rest of our warriors saw that Lachlan had survived and I was also alive and well after running into literal hell, the celebration lasted weeks. Percy chewed me out, as did the rest of my guard, but they soon turned to rejoicing at our return from certain death. Our pack was celebrating, but our hearts were not in it.My father’s body was taken back to the sea by Cedric and Lillian after I was finally able to let him go. It took me days to accept that he was gone. I had been hoping that some magic was left in his body and could save him from death, and everyone allowed me to live in the fantasy until I came to terms with him truly being gone. He was to be laid to rest deep in the ocean, at the place where all the siren kings and queens were buried. I wasn’t aware, and neither was Lachlan, but when my father and Lillian had stormed into my uncle’s pack the day bef
Elelira POVMy soul was torn. My heart felt like it hadn't beat since the moment we felt the pain of his death. Val was howling and roaring furiously as we tore through the rugged terrain to get to the place we sensed he was. Something was pulling forward, whether it be desperation or insanity, or maybe some lingering trace of our dying bond, our body just knew where he was. He can’t be dead. There was no way he would die just like that after all we had been through. After everything we overcame to finally be together, I can’t accept that it was all ending just like this. I could sense others behind me, but Val wouldn’t slow down for anyone. She was maddened with her desperate need to see our mate. To see with our own eyes that this was truly the end. As we raced forward, I suddenly felt another tear in my heart that had Val roaring loudly with the pain. I’m choking with the dread of finding out what it was from. My world was collapsing, and we could do nothing but run towards th
King Brennus POVEverything happened so fast. I was already feeling weak because of draining as much of my magic into the necklace as I could. It was not just my daughter I needed to save anymore. It was all of them. My daughter, son-in-law….and their child. I wouldn’t let all the sacrifices her mother and I made be in vain. With the bond connecting them, I prayed that the magic would flow through that and keep her safe, while also protecting the one that will protect her and my grandchild in my coming absence. When my mate told me before we reset the fabrics of time once again that his happiness was hers, I didn't understand what she meant. I thought that just Elelira being alive and safe was all that mattered. Then, she ran away, joining the pirates, and though she was fierce and found her inner strength, I could see that it only made her bitter. Not happy.Her happiness didn't come until she finally forgave and accepted her mate. Now, he was dead, and everything was coming full
Jack POVThe 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 beh
Nilo POV“We have to stop her!” Beretta was hissing at me. “Do you know what he will do to her? Do you have any fucking idea what these monsters do to women?”I knew. I knew that too damn well. I wish I could do something, anything to stop her, but I feel helpless right now.Irrita used her magic to hide our voices, but the strain on her was growing. I could tell the energy was draining from her face. She may be free from the restraints, but there is no telling how long she and these other women were oppressed. They won't have the reserves of energy like a fit warrior would.The other women were holding Beretta back from revealing our location. When the Luna said she was here to trade her life for ours, I reacted the same way. The command Ela gave and my fear for my mate's safety were the only things keeping me from acting right now. When I saw Ela move to cut the throat of her own uncle, my blood ran cold. She is my Luna. I should be out there protecting her from the vile stares of
Elelira POV“Oh, really? Then what, pray tell, have you come here for?” The dark fairy was gazing down at me with sinister superiority. He did have the upper hand, but I had a plan. Val and I were discussing how to get Nilo and Beretta out of here, speaking about how we could use the magic still inside us to win this, even though the situation was not in our favor. We came up with one way, and it was something we never could have considered in the past. Something so grotesque and shameless that even suggesting it would have sent me into a panic before. I just need him to take the bait. If I can get him alone after I guarantee my loved ones’ safe passage to the south, I could finish this, and there will be no need for endless bloodshed. “I have come to trade myself for the prisoners you took from my pack,” I stated boldly. “I wish to give you my life for theirs, as long as you allow them to return home unharmed.”A vicious snarl ripped through a mind link that I recognized coming