Earlier….. Elelira POVMy heart is racing listening to Cedric. My father is the Siren King? My mind can’t keep up with everything he is telling me. Not only who my father is, but the fact that my father is the one who gave me this second life. He brought me back from the dead and sent me back in time, but....why? Why do all this for a daughter he never met? A daughter he still chooses not to meet?I thought this might be some alternate reality and, by some miracle, I was given a chance at happiness. I really, truly prayed it was. If this is the same life over again, then that means…..That means this is the same Lachlan as before. He is the same.No. He’s different. He can’t be the same husband I was married to in my first life. “This doesn’t make sense,” I whispered, resting my head in my hands. “It can’t be. If this is the same life done over again, then why is….why is Lachlan different? It can’t be the same life.”Cedric grew quiet, causing me to turn to look at his anxious expre
Lachlan POV I fell to my knees on the dock. My anguish is suffocating. It’s choking me. My lungs can’t get enough oxygen. My body is trembling. Killian’s howls of pain echo in my head. What should I do? This is like my rejection all over again, only this time….This time it really feels hopeless. I was trying. I was trying to fix everything, every wrong I ever committed against my mate. One misunderstanding, one thing that wasn’t even my fault ruined it all. She left me. Again. “Alpha,” Cherum falls to his knees beside me, staring out at the ocean just like me, only in shock. “She was….she’s….a siren.” I didn’t reply to him. He saw as well as I did. He doesn’t need me to confirm it. I don’t know if I can speak without choking up anyway. “That’s what that flounder meant,” Cherum mumbles. “What?” I choked, then looked at him from the corner of my eye, then quickly turned them back to the ocean, not ready to give up hope of my wife coming back yet. She should know it wasn’t
Lachlan POVIt’s been months. Months, since Lira left. Cedric searched for days, as well as most of her father’s guard, and there was still no trace of her. They tracked her magic, and the faint traces of the magic that her father infused into her necklace to a small island in the middle of nowhere, but she was no longer there. Just her necklace left on the bedside table in one of the abandoned cabins on shore.Cedric brought the necklace back to me and I had my men stay on the island for weeks in hopes of her coming back for the necklace, the pendant from her father, but she never returned. Now, my men and I, as well as King Brennus and his top knights are sitting in the deckhouse of my ship, trying to figure out what more we can do. Her necklace that used to be her beacon for help, her hope for someone to save her, is now resting around my own neck. I reached up and touched it's intricate design, remembering all the times she touched it in a similar way.I’m not letting her go.
A heavy breath of exasperation leaves me. I knew Jack just letting me captain one of his ships on my own was too good to be true. I should have known he would be keeping tabs, lingering close by to just show up when he thought I was about to be in trouble. He said he thought I was ready and he trusted me. “Trust me my ass,” Val snapped, irritated too.I cross my arms, tapping my foot impatiently while I wait for him to board. He’s taking his sweet time, making sure the board that is connecting the ships is just right, testing it with his foot before crossing over. He’s stalling. He can probably see the anger on my face. He rarely, if ever, uses a board to cross. I learned how to swing over with a rope by watching him.“Job well done, lass,” he sauntered over to me, a sly smirk on his face.“If it’s a job well done, why are you here?” I continued to glare. His expression turns apologetic. “To praise you.”“Yeah right. Who is it? Who's the snitch?” My eyes circled the deck, narrowin
Jack POV She looks stunning standing at the wheel, barking orders and commanding the ship just ahead of mine. I stand mesmerized by the beauty and power surrounding her. “Slow her down, Lucky,” I told my first mate, talking about this ship. I don’t want to trigger my fierce Ela by having her wear a damned corset. She would be too proud to not live up to the bet, but I know she won’t like it. If seeing me in the rib-crushing torture device the ladies fancy that makes their tits touch their chin makes her happy, I’ll gladly wear the blasted thing. I would rather look ridiculous than make her uncomfortable. “She ain’t goin’ be too happy findin’ out your let ‘er win, Cap’n.” Lucky shakes his head at me with a knowing smirk. “You’d best keep your mouth shut then,” I told him. I would have gladly left her in the dust if she hadn’t added that last bit to the challenge. I would never intentionally cause her distress by making her do such a thing, even if it was her idea. Remembering her
Elelira POVThe noise from the bar is drifting out the swinging doors, the piano coming alive now that old man Harry has had a few too many. I enjoy the nights with the crew and the easy banter from being around everyone in high spirits from a successful raid, but the more I drank, the more nostalgic the scene became for me. It reminded me of Yasmin, Lady Vera, the madam who runs the brothel in Hidden Cove, and so many of my friends who I miss dearly. When Captain Jack in his borrowed corset, which was practically ripping at the seams, offered me coffee laced with rum, it reminded me so much of Cherum that I had to fight to not show my inner emotions. Even Val started to miss our red-bearded protector.As Beretta started in about her ex-mate and the shit he put her through with his continual cheating, I had to escape for a bit. It hit home for me, and Val had to retreat in my mind to not let her sorrow overtake her.Now, she's curled in a ball, trying to rest after the day's events
I didn’t give Jack many details about Lachlan or my time in Hidden Cove, just that I ran away when my uncle’s men showed up. I know Jack doesn’t entirely buy my story, but I’m not about to explain having lived twice. I don’t even fully understand it. For the first time, though, I feel like I have a purpose for living twice. It’s not to be happy. That is a hope I will likely not have again. How can I hope for happiness for myself when it has failed me both times?No, I have a new desire and purpose in life. It is to stop my uncle and his men from destroying more than they have. I know the future, or at least enough of it to help me figure out the events my uncle will be conspiring in. I know what he is planning with the Northern Clans, now, and why Hidden Cove was attacked the way it was. I just need to figure out what it is he ultimately planning on doing. To find that out, I need to go back,It is almost time for the Northern Clans to try and attack Hidden Cove again. I wanted to di
Cedric POV The waves crashing against the rocky shore and their steady rhythm usually help to ease my anxieties. There is something about the constancy of waves and their never ending dependability that brings me comfort. Tonight, that sound and the salty sea air wafting around me do little to help rid me of the guilt I have taken as a constant companion the last several months. Looking out towards the sea and the setting sun, all I can think about is Ela, my soft-hearted princess, who last I had seen, was so lost and weak from the constant turmoil of her life. I should have stayed with her and fully explained what her father had done. Maybe if I had, she would not have run away thinking the worst of us all. Her father… King Brennus blames himself and not at all me, which makes this hurt even more, and it makes the guilt weigh even heavier on me. He was on his way that evening, after preparing the other knights for a potential war with Alpha Wayne if my suspicions were correct,