The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. - Chapter 164

Chapter 164: Voice in my head…

Nathan

I stormed out of the living room towards the entrance of the Alpha building and I shoved the door open, barely restraining myself from slamming the door. Anger—pure rage coursed through my veins like molten, making my hands shake at my sides and my jaw tighten.

“The audacity,” I growled under my breath. Luna Vanessa’s presumptuous suggestion that I marry Clarissa still rang in my ears. Even though it was being reechoed in my mind, each word sounded like an insult.

“How dare she? How dare Luna Vanessa suggest I marry Clarissa? Reminding me of my status as a Beta Wolf like I’m some common Omega she can command at will!”

Ragnar rumbled in disagreement. “Luna Vanessa didn’t mean it that way. I’m sure she only wants you to marry Clarisis to strengthen your title and the pack. Having an Alpha wife has a lot of advantages and it would mean that your children…”

“Can you stop the nonsense you’re going on about? What about Lyla? She’s agreed to marry us, Ragnar. Did you forget? She’s also the daughter of the Alpha… what are worrying about now?”

“Is she really?” Ragnar sighed. “I just feel strange these days, Nathan. I feel that Lyla may not be the one for us, and maybe we’re forcing things. I wish you’d just sit back and think things through. That would do so much for us than blindly accepting everything, don’t you think? I know she confessed she wants to marry us, but… it feels like she’s doing it out of compulsion.”

“Shut up, Ragnar!” I bristled, feeling my anger heightening. “And no talks about that. I’ve given everything for this pack. My loyalty, my strength, my life—everything! And now, you all want to deny me of the one thing I want the most and barter me off like a prize?” I raked my hand through my hair, tugging at my strands. “Does anyone care to consider my feelings? I love Lyla… so fucking much, and I want to be with her.”

“No one is disputing that, Nathan,” Ragnar sighed. “A few years ago, I could see the passion, the intensity of the love you had for Lyla, but… maybe things have changed.”

A slight pause…

“What if you no longer love her like before and you’re doing this to teach Ramsey a lesson or maybe it’s something else… infatuation or a feeling of indebtedness because of how she helped you through your mother’s death? Maybe if you look closely enough, you’d discover that… you don’t really love Lyla like you think, and you’re doing this because you feel responsible for her.”

“Rubbish!” I thundered. “Shut up this moment, Ragnar! How dare you question my feelings?”

“I am your wolf. I am a part of you, Nathan… I can tell what you feel about someone. I really can.”

“You can’t!” I retorted, “Because if you did, you’d be able to know that I love Lyla dearly and not give me this nonsense excuse and you want me to choose Clarissa?”

There was a momentary pause on Ragnar’s end before he said, “Yes, nothing is wrong with her and she loves you dearly.”

“Clarissa?” my voice dripped with disdain. “Of all people. Just because she’s the Alpha’s daughter doesn’t mean I’ll fall in line. This is pure manipulation. Using my position against me. Reminding me that…”

“No one is manipulating you,” Ragnar interrupted. “There was no ill intention coming from Luna Vanessa. Stop interpreting it as that. Besides, the seven core Alphas have been able to preserve their power and true blood by marrying each other’s children all these years. None of them marry lower than their rank.”

“Lyla is not lower than my rank! She’s Alpha Logan’s daughter…” I screamed.

My feet had taken me to the edge of the forest now.

“She is his bastard. Maybe if she had been a man, she would have stood a better chance, but you know werewolves are intentional about things like this. No one would ever recognize Lyla as his legitimate child. Luna Vanessa was kind enough to…”

“ENOUGH!!!” I screamed… “I’m done listening to you. You’re making everything worse.”

“And you’re running away from the truth. You have been running away for the longest time. You want to make yourself a scapegoat and sacrifice everything you’ve been through. Look at Ramsey… he knows what his duties are, and he chooses his duties, knowing that the lives of thousands of people depend on his decision. He loves Lyla, but he’s not driven by it. He has remained logical and sane through it all…”

“Ragnar, don’t you think treating her like shit is illogical?” I fired back.

“He picked a side. He’s a great leader, Nathan. Putting your feelings first before your people…” Ragnar sighed. “It’s a bad call and a sign of weakness.”

“I am not weak!” I shot back, hating where this conversation was going.

“Staying in a dungeon for four years doesn’t mean you’re strong. It shows you’re indecisive and unsure about what you want out of life. A focused man would know that to love a woman, he shouldn’t make himself a scapegoat in easily avoidable situations.”

He continued…

“You strife to protect her and secure her, things which you could not do because you were in the dungeon.” Ragnar sighed. “I’ve allowed you to do what you want all these years because you’re my owner, but it’s time to open your eyes… it’s not too late to make amends.”

“So, you want me to leave Lyla for Ramsey? The same man that mistreated her?”

“The same man that knows if he makes her his mate now, she wouldn’t need to endure the tauntings she would have from years ago if he had caved in to his desires and declared her his mate. The people will come for his head and not just that… for Lyla’s, too. It’ll make her more depressed, kill her inside slowly… but he waited and you all think he did that because he was ashamed of her.”

I paused, considering Ragnar’s words.

“A true man protects what he wants dearly, even if it means keeping her like a secret. Even if it meant Lyla crying and feeling like he hated her. Come to think of it… who she is now is solely because of her and not because he influenced or aided her. If ever they get mated in the future, people would see her as the Moonsinger, the saviour of our world, and not some defect with uncontrollable pheromones.”

“I’d rather die alone than be shackled to someone I feel nothing for,” I vented.

“If you marry Lyla… you’d feel something—disgust.”

I let out a frustrated snarl and began stripping off my shirt. My muscles were taut with pent-up energy. It was no use talking to Ragnar.

“I need to run.”

“You need to listen to me,” Ragnar sighed. “Stop running away from the truth.”

Without responding, I shut him out and broke into a sprint, taking off into the woods, my legs pumping as I tore through the dense forest in my human form. The forest blurred around me as I ran faster and faster, my lungs were burning with each breath, the cool wind biting at my exposed skin.

I didn’t slow down. I wanted to outrun the anger, the frustration, the suffocating weight of expectations and, most of all, the Truth.

I didn’t stop until my muscles were screaming in protest, finally; I collapsed at the base of an oak tree. Sweat dripped down my face as I panted, trying to catch my breath. The bark was rough against my bare back, grounding me as I tilted my head back and closed my eyes.

For a while, there was only the sound of my breathing and the rustling of leaves in the wind. Then a faint crunch of twigs snapped me to attention. My head snapped up, my eyes narrowing as I whipped around, glaring at the figure approaching.

“Don’t you dare!” I growled, rising to my feet and brushing the dirt from my pants. “I’m not in the mood.”