The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. - Chapter 158

Chapter 158: She has a wolf.
High Priestess Liora

Heavy silence pressed in on me after Alpha Ramsey and Lyla left.

I settled into my chair with a sigh, my gaze drifting to the small hearth as the flames flickered and danced. My time was near, and I knew that much, but the world I would leave behind was so messy.

And all of it was my fault.

Maybe if I had been thorough and tough with Miriam, if I had put my feet down and not allowed myself to be blinded by my love for her, Lyla wouldn’t have happened if I had guided her right.

Was I grateful to the Moon Goddess for giving us a Moonsinger? Yes! But who knew that Miriam’s mistake would have this repercussion? I knew there would be a repercussion of some sort… she was, after all, supposed to be High Priestess after me and had the silver mark, but nothing had prepared me for this.

If Lyla had an ordinary wolf, it would have been different – I wouldn’t have worried, but the two-tailed wolf… I felt the hairs at the back of my neck rise in fear, and immediately, I muttered a prayer to calm my weak heart.

Lyla – that girl – there was so much more happening now than I could comprehend, and the visions were becoming frequent these days.

The soft creak of the door startled me when Miriam entered, holding a tray of food. I studied her for a moment. Her movements were mechanical, almost robotic, as she set the tray down on the table in my room.

Something was wrong with her.

“Ah, Miriam, just in time,” I chirped, trying to dispel the sad aura around her. “Could you set it down here,” I pointed to the small stool near my bed.

She complied without saying a word as she placed the tray on the small table beside my bed. Then, she poured me a cup of tea, opened the plates for me, and set out the cutlery. Though she was moving with deliberate care, I didn’t miss how her hands trembled.

She did not even attempt to chat with me like before. When she finished setting my table, she returned to the window and stared absently.

“Miriam,” I called out to her softly. “Is something wrong?’

She didn’t answer. Her shoulders were hunched slightly in defiance, and her fingers were curled into the fabric of her skirts – she used to do that a lot as a child. Whenever she was sad and wanted to cry so badly, she would try to hold back.

“Miriam,” I pressed again, trying to be firmer this time. “Is something wrong? Lyla looked fine when she came to see me a moment ago. I thought that would make you happy, given that you’ve barely left her side for nearly three days.”

Still, she remained mute.

“Is this about what I told you? You don’t have to give me a response now; there’s plenty of time, you know, and it shouldn’t worry you too much.”

Still, no response. Minutes passed, and the room continued to be filled with Miriam’s sadness. I waited patiently. I had learned long ago that the only way to get her to open up to you is to be silent. It works most times, though.

Finally, a sharp sniffle broke the silence. Miriam turned around slowly, tears streaming down her face. Her chin quivered as she looked at me, her eyes brimming with tears and despair.

The last time she had cried this much was after the birth of her daughter, and she had begged me to allow her to hold her for only five seconds. The other priestesses and the midwife who had helped us begged me not to, but I gave in. I couldn’t stand her crying even now…

Though she was older… her tears broke my heart and plunged me into a state of despair.

“Lyla…” she cried. “She has a wolf, Mother. Lyla … has a wolf.”

The room seemed to still. I closed my eyes briefly, exhaling deeply. “I feared as much.”

Miriam turned to me, shocked. “You knew?”

“I suspected,” I replied quietly, “And I told you from the beginning that there was more than one entity inside her. She fulfils the prophecy and the first Moonsinger in 10,000 years. She’s always been different.”

She crumbled to the ground, covering her face as she continued sobbing. “No…no, no. It can’t be. It’s not fair.”

I rose from my chair, groaning as my joints protested. I crossed the room to where Miriam was, kneeling beside her. “Listen to me, Miriam. Now is not the time to be weak. You knew, as did I that Lyla was special, and now that everything has played out, we have no choice but to face it headlong.”

Her sobs quieted as she sat back on her heels, looking up at me with red-rimmed eyes. “No…no, she can’t be. She can’t be that child.”

My gaze softened. “You’ve seen them yourself. Now, we must let her know the full extent of her powers and the dangers. I am also willing to bet she was the wolf that helped Alpha Ramsey and his warriors take down the Ferals today.”

“Today?” Miriam turned to me.

“Yes,” I nodded, sinking into the space beside her. “Ramsey came here a few minutes ago to ask me to look for the two-tailed wolf that had helped them.”

Miriam hesitated, her expression flickering with guilt. “I.. think so too. I’ve been watching her for days now.”

“What do you mean?’

“She keeps leaving the house in the middle of the night and wakes up in the forest. One time, I followed her wolf and stayed out of sight, of course, but I saw it – I saw her – fighting those Ferals. She’s gone out like that about three times, and today – I’m sure she went out again. I’m certain of that.”

“Did she tell you?” I asked.

“No,” she shook her head. “When I went to her room earlier to clean up and change the sheets, I saw she tried to hide her clothes under the bed. They were soiled and torn, and there was a feral bite on her ankle. She must have gotten it when her wolf was fighting earlier.”

“Then it’s true. She’s already manifested,” I nodded with a grim expression. “And she’s been fighting. Do you think she knows she has a wolf? Her powers as a Moonsinger would try to suppress her, so she might not know she’s been going out every night.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, we need to let her know, Miriam. She needs to understand what she has and who she is.”.

A two-tailed wolf was rare, powerful and unpredictable.