Lachlan POVI watched Lira’s face change from anger to worry. I caught on to Meldec and Cedric a few days ago. I recognized the look that would pass over Mel’s face whenever Cedric was nearby. His eyes would be trained on the siren man, his emotions clear on his features. If Cedric was laughing or seemed happy, Mel would be smiling at him too. When Cedric was being too affectionate with Lira, like just now, my Gamma would start going off in angry tirades that resulted in the men under him doing some form of physical exertion they would hate. Yesterday, when we walked in the great hall and Cedric was feeding Lira pieces of an apple that he was cutting up with a pearl-handled dagger, Mel lost his shit and had our warriors combing the training yard to find some imaginary pen he said he dropped when we went back to training. I didn't like it either, but I was just happy that someone was getting my wife to eat. She's getting to a healthier weight now, and Cedric's non-chalant way of feed
Elelira POVVal is sighing contently in my head. Lachlan is gripping my hand in his large, warm one, the sparks shooting up my arm and making my bond buzz and tingle with rejuvenation. It's like this every time our skin makes contact. No matter how apprehensive I want to remain, the bond reacting to him won’t let me when we are together. Not when he is treating me like this; like I am cherished. When he is kind and gentle with me, I can't react with hostility or coldness like I tried to before.I half expected him to get mad at me for swimming in the ocean with Cedric. I expected him to get angry and yell at Percy. My expectations from the past had me thinking the worst of him without realizing it, but he proved all those preconceived notions to be wrong. He was the same doting husband he had been all week. Now, he is even about to take me to a garden special to his mother. I never even knew of this garden before. If it's in the warrior's area and by the training grounds, that would
Lachlan POVMy nerves are getting the best of me as I lead Lira through the castle and out to the warrior’s part of the castle. I can sense something is bothering her, her face lost in thought as she stares vacantly down at the ground. Val is flashing in her eyes a lot too. “My mate likes me. Don’t worry too much,” Killian tries to tell me. “You’re mate may like you, but mine still wants to go back to the sea,” I reminded him. “She could be talking about leaving me right now.”Killian huffs, “Don’t be an ass and she won’t.”“I’ve been on my best behavior,” I growled at him. I didn’t even snap when the naked merman was swimming with her and she was all over him. I could tell they were just playing, but it didn’t stop the jealousy from raging inside of me. I kept it in, not wanting to anger my wife. I’m glad I did too. She seemed mad enough with Meldec. “You’re right,” Killian sighs, “But it hasn’t been that long. A week isn’t enough time to recover from the past. She has to learn t
Elelira POV “You love me?” I whispered hoarsely, not believing what I was hearing. “How? You barely know me, Alpha.” He presses his lips together, his face stressed and anxious. “I wish you would call me by name,” he softly says, his thumb still tracing my cheek, making sparks dance on my face. I huff, not dramatically, but just a soft expulsion of air at his hypocritical request. I have asked him not to call me Lira plenty of times and he never listened. Surprisingly, the nickname doesn’t bother me as much as it did before. It actually makes my heart race a little when I hear him say it, especially when I don’t realize he is near. Before, the nickname brought me dread. Now, it makes tingles erupt inside me. Funny how much can change in such a short time when you leave the bond open. It chases away the resentment and dread completely, overriding everything with longing for him. My mate. He knows. He knows we are mates. He said he didn’t feel it, but Val was right. Killian can f
Eventually, we did make it to the garden we originally set out for. Lachlan had this expression like he had just won the greatest prize, all from one kiss. I can’t say that I felt much different. It was a great moment for me as well. I finally felt free from the ghost of Lachlan from my past. It was a small act, but felt enormous to me. Now, I do not flinch or hesitate when Lachlan grasps my hand, kisses the back of it, or when he places his arm on my shoulder, hugging me to his side. This feels….right. Like this was how we were meant to be.The garden that used to belong to Lachlan’s mother was beautiful. It was a maze of foliage, blooming roses, and flower-covered vines over wooden archways. The center of the maze had an elaborate fountain with, of all things, a mermaid at its center. She was gorgeously intricate with her carved scales and the delicate way her tail and fins folded to the sides, like water currents were pressing down on them. Water was spewing from her uplifted hand
“Oh,” Cherum mutters. “Um, found you.” Cherum is shifting awkwardly on his feet, knowing ghee interrupted a moment between his Alpha and Luna. He doesn't leave, though. He is probably putting my well-being and the need to eat dinner above making his Alpha happy. Lachlan growls, resting his forehead on mine. “I’m going to kill him,” he huffs angrily. I laughed softly at his expression. "No you won't," I teased him, “And I won.” His eyebrows pulled together, and he looked searchingly in my eyes for a few seconds before his eyes dropped down to stare at my lips. That longing expression returns to his face, and he sighs deeply. “Not yet, you don’t,” he rumbles, surprising me as he quickly stands, lifting me over his shoulder and runs in the opposite direction Cherum came from. “Hey!” I yelled out, “That’s cheating! He has already found us,” I stammered, lifting my head to see Cherum watching us with a confused look. Right before we reached the first hedge, Cherum started to take off
Leona POVMy stomach churns as I step off the ship, my feet finally hitting dry land. For some reason, the Gamma sent warriors and scouts on this ship too. I was already on board when they boarded at the last minute before the ship cast off. I’ve had to stay hidden away like a rat in the bottom quarters of the ship ever since. I wouldn’t have even known the men were scouts if two of them hadn’t been frequent customers at the brothel. They sought the mousier women, not able to handle what I had to offer, though I offered frequently. Being Lycan, not human or werewolf like the other girls, I guess I was too intimidating to the weaker customers. The alpha was the only customer that I actually felt any joy from being with anyway. Who wouldn’t, with his dominant, aggressive bedroom manners? He didn’t get as rough with the other girls as he did with me. That’s how I know I meant something to him. He treated me special, being wild and rough with my body on the nights we shared. Yes, he ma
*trigger warning*3rd POV The young boy wailed loudly, his cries not just for himself, his tears burning as they ran down his stinging, dirty cheek, still throbbing with the pain of the woman's slap. He's crying for more than just that. He is remembering the day his mother was taken, forcefully pulled away from her family. She wasn’t alone. He and his father were walking back home with her after making a rare visit to the beach to collect shells. His father thought it would be safe since we were together as a family, the path cutting 15 minutes off their walk home. That shortcut cost more than 15 minutes of their lives. It cost his parents everything.The guards took her, ripping her clothes from her body as they dragged her into one of the buildings to take down to the cellar. They had hurt his daddy when he tried to save her, breaking both of his legs and leaving him outside the building with his own measly knife he tried to fight them off with, forcing him to listen as they brutal