The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. - Chapter 246

Chapter 246: The ultimate sacrifice…
Lyla

“Not without you, Nymeris. You literally just came into my life and you want to leave me like the others?”

There was a silence before she spoke again.

“Nothing is permanent, Lyla. You must understand this. As a Moonsinger, you’ll face a lot of situations where you’d have to make choices. You think, Xander is a joke? He is not and he would not come to you direct… he would use everyone… your loved ones, your mate…”

“Oh, please!” I shrieked interrupting her. “Must I always pay the price to get this power? What good will it do? Fine, I want the powers to be taken away from me and you stay. That’s how it works right? You can defeat the Ferals…”

“Of course, I can but how many would I be able to defeat at once when all you need to do to subdue an army of Ferals and Trinax is just a single note from the melody inside of you,” Nymeris said. “The fate of this world lies in your hand, Lyla… you must learn to make hard decisions…”

“And you’re being used as my lesson? The Moon Goddess must have a twisted sense of humor because what did I ever do to her? I am her least favorite…”

“And I am not meant to exist in this world. I am something that should never be. I do not have an identity, Lyla. Imagine I had to wait for you to name me before I came into full existence. Believe me, Lyla… if Xander should get a hold of me, everything will be messed up because I am made that way and he knows this… I don’t want to be your weakness.”

“You’re not my weakness,” I shouted. “You’re my strength, Nymeris. You’re my fucking strength. Since you came into my life you’ve given me an extra layer of confidence I never knew I’d possess.”

“Your Moonsinging abilities will give you more. Look on the brighter side, Lyla. You can heal and calm a Feral with your voice. You can bring to life something dead. This is your destiny and you must embrace it.”

I stood there frozen, my breath coming in uneven gasps as Nymeris’s words echoed in my mind. The devastating requirement that would unlock my Moonsinging abilities felt like a sacrifice of one of the things I loved the most.

“You’re lying,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t. This is a little price you have to pay for giving this world hope…”

“It’s all my fault. Maybe if I hadn’t met Xander, and the orb and the blood oath…”

“None of those things diminished your powers,” Nymeris said with exasperation. “I made sure of that. What Xander has is a shell – the chaff of what your real power as a Moonsinger is and he doesn’t know this. I’ve protected you all these years but I must let you fulfill your destiny and do what you’re created for. The portals are opening, every day, every minute, every single second, Xander grows stronger. You must level up to make sure you can meet him right where he comes for you. I will continue to be in the way.”

I shook my head and tried to turn away, to run from this impossible choice. But my legs wouldn’t move, as if unseen roots had grown from the ground and entwined around my ankles, making me unable to move. Panic clawed at my chest as I realized I was trapped.

“I won’t,” I cried out. “I won’t do it, Nymeris. If the Moon Goddess wants you gone, she should come do it herself.”

“She cannot. She’s not my creator. You are. You formed me, Lyla… you provided a perfect space for me and you were a good host.”

“No!”

“You must Lyla. There is no other way. You cannot leave the Northern Forest without completing these tasks,” Nymeris said, her mental voice carrying a note of finality that made my heart crack.

My vision blurred with hot tears. I felt my chest tighten and my heart pounding so violently it hurt. The weight it all made my knees buckle and I crumpled to the ground, as harsh sobs wracked through my body. Memories flooded through my mind – all the moments I had shared with Nymeris, even though we fought all the time. She had always been there and never stops pushing me to be stronger even when I felt like breaking.

“What if I try to reach out to Nanny. She would know. There has no be another way,” I choked. “We’ve been through so much together. How could I … how could I ever…”

Nymeris remained quiet.

“Remember when you first came to me in my dreams?” I choked out between sobs. “I was so scared, but you just sat there, patient and calm.”

“You were brave even then,” I replied softly.

“You didn’t mock me, Nymeris. You never treated me like the others. You always made me try again,” I swiped at my tears with shaking hands. “We’ve come so far since then.”

“We have,” Nymeris agreed warmly “But it’s time for me to go.”

I wept more. The goodbye was so painful that my chest began to hurt. I just sat there crying, while Nymeris remained silent. I don’t know how long I cried but when I looked up, dusk was setting in.

“I can’t,” I sobbed again. “I can’t do it.”

“You must do it, Lyla. The night is coming and you need to go. You cannot be here. Now that you don’t have me, you must remember that you cannot heal at the same pace as a werewolf. Everything for you would be twice slower but you will have your power.”

“Yeah!” I chuckled bitterly. “I will become human again. Just like I have all these years.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the reality of it. But the longer I stayed on the ground, the more the truth pressed into my soul. I had to do this. It felt right. It felt okay.

My hands trembled as I wiped my face. Drawing in a shuddering breath, I forced myself to my feet.

My legs felt like lead as I walked but I forced myself forward in the direction of the forest. I stopped at the edge again before taking tentative steps into it. As soon as I walked not more than twenty steps, Neriah’s sword materialized in my hands.

I stared at the blade, glimming in the dimming light of the forest. The power felt different from when I first held it. It was as if like me, it was mourning for a loss. This was the first time I’ve had to put myself through this sort of pain.

Usually, it was others who hurt me but now I was the one inflicting the pain.

“Are you ready? Nymeris asked.

I swallowed hard, my grip on the sword tightened. “Yes.”

The moment I spoke, my body convulsed, as a strange tingling sensation spread through my body, starting from my core and radiating outward as if my soul was being torn apart. My knees buckled and I gasped, as my breath left my lungs.

The sensation was both painful and oddly beautiful. The air around me began to shimmer with an ethereal light. A glowing mist emerged from my body, curling and shifting, pulling itself free.

After that, the pulling sensation, as if something was being gently extracted from deep within me. The feeling intensified until I gasped watching in wonder as Nymeris’s form began to materialize before me. it started as wisps of blue smoke that coalesced and took shape, like moonlight given physical form.

When the process was complete, I found myself face to face with Nymeris in the physical world for the first time. Nymeris was even more magnificent than she had appeared in the dream realm. She was taller than any wolf I had ever seen, her fur was the color of starlight that shimmered under the forest’s dying light.

Her eyes glowed with a quiet wisdom as she stared at me. We stood there for a minute just staring at each other before Nymeris pounded her forelegs against the ground, urging me on.

The gesture felt so familiar, so like Nymeris who was always impatient. It made my heart ache.

I let out a shaky breath. “That’s it? You’re not even going to say goodbye?”

She didn’t respond. She settled onto her hindquarters, fixing me a steady gaze.

My heart clench. Fighting back fresh tears, I knelt before her, gripping Neriah’s sword in both hands.

“I’m sorry…” my lips quivered. I raised the sword a little above my head. A brilliant blue light emanated from its tip, casting shadows through the trees. The tears were falling in torrent now, but this time, I didn’t try to stop them.

Something deep within me knew this was right, necessary, even though it felt like I was tearing out my heart.

Just before the sword plunged into her heart, Nymeris’s voice echoed through my mind one final time, clear and full of love:

“I love you, Lyla. And I will always be here, protecting you.”

I let out a broken sob as I plunged the sword into Nymeris’s chest.