The moment my magic is upon me, I feel as if my entire body is engulfed in light, my hair lifting and twirling with the rush that comes from my inner mana breaking open inside me. It’s flowing through my limbs, to the tips of my bare toes, my fingers, even seeping into every lock of my hair. I am fae, and with my magic unlocked, I know he can feel it. He can feel the bond, but it’s too late. I won’t have him.His eyes went wide, his mouth went to the ground as he sank to his knees. As I get my bearings once again, I quickly scan the room, and see others in a pose much similar to Lachlan’s, scared of the light and the magical aura that emanated from me. Even Nilo leaned against the wall in surprise, shock evident on his face. “You, Elelira, you...you are….” Lachlan stumbled over his words, coming to terms with what had just occurred. I can see the understanding and recognition in his eyes. He feels it, the mate bond, but it’s too late. “I was your mate, the mate you claimed to be

I don’t know how, and I don’t know why, but I’m back in time. I traveled back to right before the wedding to Lachlan. I don’t know what I did wrong. I thought I was ending it all. I thought I was finally going to find freedom and peace in death. I guess even that is too much to ask for. Here I am, back at the beginning of my hellish marriage. “You look so beautiful, Elelira, dear,” Mimi coos as the omega doing my hair finishes pinning the last tendril in place. “Ela. You can call me Ela,” I told her with a warm smile as I stared back at her reflection in the mirror. Her soft, wrinkled cheeks glow a soft pink as she smiles back, an all too familiar motherly smile. I loved Niomi, my Mimi, because she always smiled at me this way, filling that motherly void. When I needed support through the first year of my marriage, before I had completely closed myself off to my husband for good, she was there, holding the pieces of me together, then showing me that motherly smile, telling me how

Elelira POVAs Mimi and my escort walk me to the room where my uncle waits for me, I retreat into my shell of numbness, going on autopilot until this whole ordeal is over. I suspect numbness will be a constant for me again, since the pains of my husband’s betrayal will begin tonight. Val whimpers at the memory. She was locked inside my mind, enduring it with me, her heart shattering over and over along with mine. It was his human side having the affair. His lycan had no part, which was the hardest for Val. She could never extinguish that hope for her mate because she could never know if Lachlan’s lycan was in agreement with that action. This marriage right now was entirely to his human side, so she was trying her best to retreat into the darkest corner of my mind and wait in sorrow until it was over. When we entered the room, and my eyes landed on my uncle and his men, I tried to maintain my numbness and not outwardly show my disgust and discomfort. Some of the very men that tort

Elelira POVThe reception went much the same as the first time. Many of the pack members came to congratulate us as we sat at the head table, but we didn’t speak to each other again. I was polite, even pasting on a smile at times, but inside I felt numb. I knew what tonight would hold for me, and I thought I was ready, but then he went and kissed me. What was that? That didn’t happen the first time. It stirred up Val, and it took me so long to get control of her again. She felt it. Fully. The bond, the sparks. It was….exhilarating. It made me feel alive for a few moments….then reality hit me. As I was walking down the aisle hand-in-hand with Lachlan, the reality of what was to come if I succumbed to my bond felt like it was choking me. Momentary elation would mean nothing by tonight. Out of anger for my Lycan, fearing what the ugly strands of hope he just fed her would do to her tonight, I slapped him. I slapped Lachlan, and spewed my venomous words all over him, not fearing at al

He nods, pointing towards the door that takes you to the back passage to the docks. I sprinted out of the hall to find her, praying she wasn’t trying to escape to the sea again. That image has haunted me for so long. I can’t lose her already. Not like before. I ran towards the docks, frantically, then saw in the distance the silhouette of a mermaid utterly still in the sea, just staring at something at my personal dock. I gasp, realizing who it is, and what he must be staring at. He must have heard my gasp, because he quickly looked my way before smirking and diving under the water’s surface. His hearing is as excellent as always, I see. I ran the distance from the castle walls to the dock, maneuvering around the stone trail so I didn’t fall off the cliff in my haste. It still takes me far longer than I would like, and I’m in full panic mode by the time I get near the dock. “LIRA!” I yelled as loud as I could, my throat and lungs burning with the force. “LIRA!” I screamed again,