The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: I am no longer your daughter…
Lyla

It was evening when finally, Nathan pulled into the driveway of the Blue Ridge pack house – my home.

Nathan must have noticed my hesitation and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Do you want me to come in with you?” he asked.

I nodded, grateful for his support. “Please,” I whispered.

Together we stepped out of the car and made our way to the front door. My hand trembled as I reached for the door handle. Nathan’s hands covered mine as he turned to me with a gentle smile.

“You ready?” he asked, though we both knew the answer.

I nodded, though my stomach churned with anxiety. “I guess.”

Nathan nodded and opened the front door, ushering me in first before he entered behind me.

My parents were in the living room, lounging comfortably on the couch with smiles on their faces. When they saw me, the smile left their eyes and their faces twisted in surprise. My father was the first to react. He shot to his feet, his eyes narrowing in disdain.

“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at the White Moon Pack?”

I flinched at his words, taking an involuntary step back. Nathan steadied me with a gentle hand on my back, giving me the courage to step forward.

“I…” I began, but my father cut me off.

“Did you run away?” he shouted. “Did you run away from the punishment of the Lycan Leader?”

I opened my mouth to respond but he waved a hand, silencing me before I could utter a single word. He let out a frustrated sigh, placing both hands on his waist, his face was filled with exasperation.

“This is unbelievable.” He muttered under his breath, shaking his head before turning to face me once more. “Do you even realize what you’ve done?”

“Wait, please,” Nathan interjected trying to explain. “You don’t understand what happened. I brought her back. She’s been through and lot and Lyla didn’t…”

But my father cut him off, his voice growing louder. “Through a lot? Is that supposed to excuse her running away from the Lycan Leader’s punishment and being a nuisance to the family? Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you’ve caused? Have you lost your mind?”

I lowered my gaze but said nothing. My mother joined in from where she had been hovering behind my dad.

“How can you be so selfish, Lyla? You can’t just walk away from your responsibilities and expect us to clean up after your mess? Do you ever think about anyone but yourself? The shame you’ve brought upon this family…”

Nathan tried to intervene again. “You don’t understand, Alpha Logan. If you would just listen…”

But they weren’t listening. They never listened.

“Hurry up and go back to White Moon Pack!” my mother pushed me; I staggered nearly falling to the ground “I’m sure there’ll be no dire consequences if you come back without being caught and don’t show your face here until you serve your entire punishment.”

“Enough!” Nathan growled balling his fists “Can you both listen to her for just a second? She’s not been home for nearly two weeks and you’re worried about her offending the Lycan Leader. She’s your child! Your daughter, your firstborn child, Alpha Logan. How can you stand there and act like you don’t see how sick and tired she looks?”

I placed my hand on him, surprised because I’d never seen Nathan angry.

His words hung in the air but my parents were unmoved. My father, clenched his jaw, his expression hardening as he shot Nathan a cold glance.

“You think I don’t know she’s, my daughter?” he retorted, stepping towards Nathan. “This isn’t about her being tired or looking unwell. Running away from the punishment of the Lycan Leader or the White Throne council isn’t something we can just overlook. She will put every member of our pack in danger. You may not understand the gravity of the situation, but I do.”

My mother glanced at me; her eyes filled with hatred. “You’ve always been headstrong, Lyla and how you’ve dragged Nathan into your mess too. Don’t act like a victim in this.”

“I didn’t run away,” I said softly “The Lycan Leader asked me to leave.”

“But… that’s not possible?” My father exploded; his eyes wide with disbelief. “The minimum amount of sentence you can get for not taking care of yourself during your heat is 6 months. You didn’t even spend a month there.”

I didn’t want to waste the whole day explaining that to them, so I ignored my dad’s concern and continued.

“I’ve made a decision,” looking from my father to my mother. “I’m leaving for good.”

They both fell silent, taken aback by my words.

“Father,” I continued trying not to feel as I met his gaze again. “I want you to take my name off the family register. I’m no longer your daughter. From now on, don’t bother worrying about me. I don’t belong here anymore. You can just say I died or I belonged to a relative but saying I died would be believable.”

My father’s face paled and my mother’s mouth hung open but no words came out from them. I didn’t give them time to recover. Without waiting for a response, I turned and made my way upstairs to my old bedroom.

Once inside, I shut the door and leaned against it, my eyes sweeping over the room I had grown up in. It was filled with memories of a time when my parent still cared about me, back when life was simpler and filled with love.

I remembered the nights when my father would read me stories and my mother would tuck me into bed with a kiss on my forehead. I walked to the window, gazing at the familiar backyard, more memories flooding my mind.

But those days were long gone and had been replaced by a deep, burning hatred for me – their firstborn.

I felt the burn of tears in my eyes but I swallowed them down, refusing to cry. Crying wouldn’t change anything. Instead, I turned to my closet and began packing. When I first left with my Nanny to the human world, I didn’t take all my things because I had hoped that I would shift eventually and come back home but now at 19 – it was too late for me.

I selected only the essentials that I needed. I left behind my favourite books, my cherished dolls – anything that might remind me of this place and the life I was leaving behind or the family that no longer wanted me.

Once my suitcase was packed, I walked over to my vanity and opened the small drawer, surprised that the vial I had gotten from a black-market seller at 16 was still there. That was when the torture from my family had started and I had contemplated ending my life.

Inside the vial was wolfsbane. The glass was cool against my palm as I lifted it out. Wolfsbane did not only kill werewolves but it also helped to mask mate bond and Pack mark – that was what the black-market seller had told me.

“But it would cause you immense pain” – he had said but what other pain could be more than the one in my heart? I mused to myself.

Taking a deep breath, I uncorked the vial with trembling hands, the acrid smell made my nose wrinkle but I gritted my teeth. Carefully, I dipped my finger into the liquid, collected enough liquid and applied it to the Ramsey’s mate mark on my neck. The pain was immediate. The moment it touched my skin, an agonizing burn shot through my body. Tears blurred my vision but I bit my lip hard, stifling a scream as the pain seared through me. It burned through the mark for a few minutes, before it sizzled down, leaving in its wake, a red, blistered spot.

Continuing, I dipped my hand the second time and touched the liquid to my Pack mark – a unique identity showing I belonged to Blue Ridge Pack, was a daughter of an Alpha and a werewolf. Also, it was the only way, my parents could trace me if they were ever in the human world.

Without it, no one would be able to tell my identity, except people who knew me before.

I collapsed onto the floor; every part of my body was on fire as the wolfsbane burned through the mark. Finally, it was over. The marks were gone.

I stood before my mirror; I was now human. I took a moment, composed myself, grabbed my suitcase and made my way downstairs. When I came down, I found my parents in the living room, their eyes glued to the TV as if nothing had happened. They didn’t even glance at me as I approached.

“I’m leaving now,” I said quietly waiting for a response but none came.

Fighting back tears, I approached them. “Mom, Dad,” I said softly. “I know things haven’t been good between us for a long time, but… can I at least have a goodbye hug?”

That was when they turned towards me. For a moment, hope fluttered in my chest. I walked over, my arms outstretched but as I reached out to my dad, he pushed me away, a sneer on the corner of his lips.

“You were never our child, to begin with, Lyla,” he said flatly. “So leave and never come back, even in your death.”

My chest tightened with pain, but I forced myself to smile.

“I see,” I whispered. “Thank you for taking care of me all these years. Give my love to Clarissa. Goodbye, then.”

Turning, on my heel, I called out to Nathan, who had been waiting patiently at the corner of the room.

“Let’s go.”