The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. - Chapter 240

Chapter 240: Shadows of betrayal…
Ramsey

There was a long pause before I recovered and chuckled.

“C’mon, I know Nathan can be anything, but association with the Dark One or being the Dark One is pretty steep.”

“Well,” Caius shrugged. “I’ve looked into a lot of things aside from just the video evidence. Blue Ridge pack is the only Werewolf pack that was not directly hit by the ferals. The one time they had an incident was during the burial ceremony of Alpha Loga,n and it’s safe to assume that it was because of the Moonsinger.”

Now that Caius had mentioned it, Blue Ridge has never really been hit by the Ferals. “I don’t know how to react to this. I agree that his video does look strange,ge but we cannot just conclude. Accusing someone of being the dark one is a strong allegation.”

“I’ll try to bring more evidence, Alpha. Besides,” he lowered his voice, ice, “Something is troubling me about Nathan’s time in our dungeon.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, instantly alert.

“Four years is a long time… long enough to forge an alliance among our people, plant seeds of doubt and do whatever he wants to do.” Caius’s eyes had darted around as if to ensure no one was eavesdropping. “I remembered my father mentioning to me casually that Nathan was having it too easy. He had almost no restriction except he was confined.”

“Your point?” I asked.

“For him to have coordinated Alpha Logan’s death from inside the dungeons… it suggests a network, planning and resources. Who knows what else he might have orchestrated and what he’s capable of doing? There is no single record of ammunition or strange faces coming in or leaving the pack…”

“Are you saying he has allies amongst our people?”

“Or he might have planned all of these things ahead of time and used the Harvest Moon to finalize them. My gut instincts tell me so,” Caius said.

Gammas, unlike other creatures, were built specifically for warfare, so 90% of the time, they’re always sure of things like these. But the suggestion that Nathan had been in the dungeon planning to lay siege sent ice through my veins.

“You think there are more plots we don’t know about?”

“With your permission, I’d like to investigate the guards who served at the dungeon during Nathan’s imprisonment. There might be connections we’ve missed.”

“Go ahead,” I agreed and was about to leave when Caius placed a hand on my arm, making me pause and turn to him.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It would be best if Lenny isn’t informed of this conversation I just had with you right now.”

I was taken aback. “Lenny? My Beta? Why the hell not?”

Caius looked pained, as if he’d rather say something else than what he was saying at that moment. “It’s not that I don’t trust him. But… he’s also among my suspects.”

“Your suspects? Does Lenny look like someone who will be controlled by someone like Nathan? It seems you do not know him.”

“But he had direct access to him and visited him at least thrice a week,k, and aside from that, he went there on days not designated and asked the guards not to put it on record. Thankfully, my father always has someone planted in things like that who takes a different reco, rd, and he said Lenny visited Nathan several times and asked all the guards to leave the cell.”

That was news to me. My heart shook with fear for a mom, ent but I tried not to let it show.

“The point here is, until I gather evidence first, I would not make any accusations. I’m sure there might be reasons why he did that, and I wouldn’t want to wrongfully implicate your Beta.”

I was reluctant to have him do that to Lenny, but finally, I agreed. As we stood there in silence, a nurse approached me. Her eyes were wide with relief, and I allowed myself to hope.

“Alpha,” she greeted when she came closer. “Your Luna is awake and is asking for you.”

I followed the nurse immediately, reminding Caius I needed an hourly update. As I approached her room, I pushed aside all the troubling thoughts. I needed to focus on my mate first. Everything else could wait.

When I walked in, Lyla lay propped against white pillows, looking fragile but alive – wonderfully, miraculously alive. At least the colour was returning to her pale cheeks. When she saw me, her face lit up, and she stretched a trembling hand toward me.

“Ramsey,” she whispered. My name on her lips broke something inside me.

In three strides, I was at her bedside, taking her hand in mine and pressing tiny kisses to her knuckle, breathing in her scent beneath the antiseptic and blood before carefully gathering her into my arms.

“You scared me,” I murmured against her hair. “I thought I’d lost you.”

She leaned into my embrace, even though her body was still far too cold for my liking. “Are you okay?” she asked she asked with a weary tone.

A broken laugh escaped my lips. “You’re asking me that? I’m not the only one who nearly…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. I couldn’t bring myself to describe how she’d looked so close to death.

“I’m fine,” she assured me, her fingers trailing over a bruise on my jaw. “My wolf… she helped me heal. She’s strong, ng, and just before the building came down, she took her form. So all of that building falling and brui,ses, etc. mostly happened to her. I can feel her pain, but I cannot experience it,t but she says she’ll be fine. She’s resting now.”

“I’m so grateful to her,” I whispered, pulling her close.

The nurse returned to check her vitals and adjust her IV. Without a word, I shifted onto the hospital bed, positioning myself behind Lyla so she could rest against my chest. She sighed contently as my arms encircled her waist, her head tucked beneath my chin.

The nurse raised an eyebrow but wisely said nothing about my disregard for hospital protocol. The nurse soon finished checking her vitals and changed the IV shot before finally leaving the room.

Finally, we were alone. Lyla turned slightly in my arms, wincing as the movement pulled at her wounds.

“Ramsey… I need to go back to Blue Ridge.”

My entire body tensed, and my arms tightened around her reflexively. “What? That’s not happening, Lyla. Not now, not ever. That is not even an option.”

She exhaled shakily, lowering her gaze. “But Nathan…”

“Will not dictate our actions,” I cut in, jaw clenched. “We don’t bend to terrorists, Lyla.”

“You don’t understand…” she tried again.

“I understand perfectly,” I growled, struggling to keep my temper in check. “Nathan just tried to kill you. Do you know how many places in the pack are in ruins? He killed our people, Lyla, and he did that purposely. And you want to walk right back into his claws?”

She pulled away long enough to look me in the eyes. “It’s my fault. I heard there have been more explosions. More people were injured – some too weak for their Lycans to heal. You heard what he said earlier; he said the explosions were just the beginning. He says he’ll burn everything you love to the ground unless I return.”

“Stop,” I commanded, gently turning her face to mine. “None of this is your fault. Nathan’s actions are his alone.”

“But they’ll hate me,” she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. “All those injured people, plus the ones who have lost a loved one….”

I turned to face her, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. “Let them hate you now and learn the truth later,” I said softly but firmly. “Because one day, they’ll know that you had no choice. I’d rather that than lose you to Nathan’s machinations.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but I didn’t allow her to spiral into guilt. “That’s enough,” I murmured, resting my chin atop her head. “We’re already on top of the matter.”

The finality in my tone left no room for argument. She fell silent, though the worry didn’t leave her eyes.

Later that evening, she was discharged. Despite my protest, Lyla insisted on accompanying me to visit the wounded even though she was still weak.

“I am their Luna,” she said simply. “I need to be there for them.”

As we moved from room to room, I watched in amazement as all the injured pack members gravitated toward Lyla. They reached for her hands, touching her as if she was from another world. Each of them whispered about how beautiful she was, how grateful they were for her presence.

Even those too weak to sit up smiled as she approached.

I observed them as a quiet realization hit me that they adored her.

Back at the pack house, as we prepared for bed, I kept teasing Lyla about it.

“I think they prefer you to me now. A few more visits like that, and you’ll be running this place.”

She laughed. “They’d miss your scowls too much.”

When we finally lay together in our bed, we made love to each other, desperate to reaffirm our connection after nearly losing each other.

Afterwards, as Lyla drifted into sleep beside me, I found myself watching her, memorizing every line of her face, the rhythm of her breathing.

I still couldn’t shake Gamma Caius’ suspicions about Lenny. My Beta had been with me through everything, loyal to a fault. The idea that I might be compromised … was almost unthinkable.

Finally surrendering to exhaustion, I fell into a fitful sleep, only to be jerked awake by chaos—shouting, running footsteps, and then loud, urgent knocking at my door.