The Alpha’s Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger

Lyla

"Nathan has been gathering allies from beyond and all the packs around us, too – forces willing to march under the Blue Ridge banner—Alphas who are desperate, who believe in whatever promises he made. Promises of power, of vengeance, not to mention all of them are bound to him through the blood oath, and those who disagree with him meet their death like my brother," she sobbed.

I stared at her, still trying to wrap my head around everything she said.

"It's a death wish, Lyla," she sobbed.

"You think I can just tell him to stop?" I scoffed. "You think he'll listen to me? He had me thrown into a pit, tortured me nonstop, and then forced me to take the blood oath. I am probably just like any of you now."

"But he trusts you," Luna Vanessa countered. Her gaze was still pleading. "You're the only one he allows access to whatever he's doing. All his meetings…"

"That's because I'm the Moonsinger and should know these things."

"Or because he still loves you. If you tell him to stop – if you tell him it's wrong – he might reconsider."

My frustration was mounting. Anger and confusion were slowly building up inside me. "Why are you telling me this? Why not speak to him yourself?"

Luna Vanessa's eyes softened. "Because I can't reach him, Lyla. Not the way you can. He's… slipping away. He asked Clarissa to come back to the house. He lives on his own, except his father, of course."

"Just because…"

"Lyla," she stopped me, reaching for my hands. "Stop trying to make excuses. We all know his feelings for you are genuine. And there's more – more that you need to know." She paused as if she wanted to gather strength. "I've been talking to other Alphas – mostly your father's closest friends, and we'd like to do your father's bidding."

I frowned. "You're saying a lot of things at once. Explain properly so I can understand."

She inhaled deeply, her gaze never leaving my face. "Your father left you a letter, and I know you've read the content but chose to remain silent all this while."

The words hit me like a punch—the letter – my father's so-called final words to me. I had never had the chance to read it because I didn't think it would contain anything, and I wasn't in the mood to read an entire blackmail of how he was sorry and should have been a better father.

Never in my wildest imagination did I think it would be something important. But she didn't know, and no one knew.

"And so?" I responded coldly.

"Your father noticed the irregularity of Nathan's behaviour – the things he did, even as a child," her voice dropped lower. "I'm not sure you know this, but even as a child, after the death of his mother, Nathan would do strange things. Things that frightened everyone. Your father wanted you to rule in his stead. He loved you, Lyla. Despite everything, he loved you. He wished he had been better to you."

My throat tightened as a familiar ache bloomed in my chest. My father – his absence, his coldness. The way he had treated me…why should I believe the words of a woman who hated me too? There was no correlation.

But I didn't say anything, I just stayed mute listening.

"There was a legal document," she continued. "the elders and even Nathan and his father couldn't have refuted. It was in the letter, too. He only said in words that Nathan should rule." Her voice caught, and tears gathered in her eyes. "He loved your mother, and despite all the threats, I knew he just had to play along to satisfy me. But until his death, he had wished you were home and that he was a better father to you. He'd used to go…"

"Stop," I interrupted her, raising my hand. "I don't understand what you're trying to do. Why are you saying all of this now?" I gestured angrily toward the sleeping baby. "Isn't your son going to be the Future Alpha someday, and Clarissa is already the Luna? Isn't that what you've always wanted."

"Yes," she nodded. "I want all of that, but at this rate, we won't remain alive to enjoy all of these things because Nathan will kill us all if he continues down this path. My daughter's title – my son's heritage – my ambitions – they don't matter if it means destroying everything we have."

My heart hammered in my chest. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing, Luna Vanessa."

"The war is just the beginning, Lyla," she whispered, glancing anxiously at the sleeping baby. "He's been meeting with dark forces, Lyla. He's been doing all these strange things with magic and forcing our warriors to do strange rituals. I've heard things … terrible things. He wants to create an army unlike anything our world has ever seen. He might even be working hand in hand with the dark one."

Nathan – a friend I had trusted—a boy whose pain had turned him into something twisted.

And my father – a man I had resented, whose love I had long given up on.

"I don't know what you want me to do…" I started with a sigh.

"You must do something, Lyla. Your capture, your torture… he needed you weakened but alive. Your power is essential to his plans; I'm sure of that."

"Why should I even believe you in the first place? I demanded though doubt had already begun to gnaw at me. "You've never cared about me before."

"I cared," she insisted. "In my way. But I was blinded by ambition and jealousy. Your father never stopped loving your mother. She was the third person in my marriage. He would always visit her whenever something happened with us and, by extension, you. The day you came here…"

A pained smile crossed her lips.

"He was beside himself with joy. He treated you with so much love, and when Clarissa came, I had to accept that he would never treat both of you the same way. You constantly reminded me of what I and my daughter could never bet to him." She looked toward the baby again. "But now I understand what truly matters and how important love is. I won't let my son grow up in a world ruled by a monster."

I closed my eyes briefly, memories flooding through me. Nathan's strange behaviour lately, the way he'd insisted I stay close to him after my rescue, the blood oath, the odd questions about my healing abilities.

"The letter, what was in it exactly?"

"I don't know all the contents but there's a warning about Nathan, instructions for claiming your rightful position I think but the letter alone isn't enough. There's more hidden in your father's private study. Nathan hasn't found it yet, but he's looking."

For the first time since entering the nursery, I sank into the chair Luna Vanessa had offered earlier.

"If what you're saying is true," I said slowly, "then we're all in grave danger. But I can't face Nathan now. I'm bound to him through the blood oath. Besides, I'm still recovering. I'm too weak."

"Your father had always suspected you were something much more than we could grasp when your pheromones started at age 14. He did a ton of research. I know that personally because we used to fight about it all the time. I'm sure instructions for finding his private study are in that letter too, and maybe you could ask Ramsey – the Lycan Leader. He and your dad got close before his death."

The baby stirred slightly in the cot, his tiny fists waving in the air. I stared at his innocent life—my stepbrother, practically. He was so innocent, so vulnerable, and unaware of the darkness threatening to engulf them all.noveldrama

"Tell me everything," I said finally rising to my feet. "The truth is, I never opened the letter because I didn't think it was important, but it appears there is more going on that I know, and I feel like you know that Nathan is responsible for Dad's death?"

"Yes!" she nodded. "It's to speed up everything."

"Good, tell me all you know about his plans, my father's letter. Don't leave anything out."

Her shoulders sagged with relief. 'Thank you, Lyla."

"Don't thank me yet," I warned. "If you're lying to me, there won't be a place in this world where you can hide."

But deep down, I knew she was telling the truth. The pieces fit too perfectly, explaining too many of the mysteries that had plagued me, both from the visions I had before and now. Nanny had explained some parts to me, and with Luna Vanessa's explanation, the truth seemed closer to me than I could grasp.

If war was coming, I should be ready at least… for I have two foes.

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