The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. - Chapter 250

Chapter 250: The beginning – Father’s request…
Neriah

He took a slow step forward, closing the distance between us. His scent filled the air…

“You’ve been thinking about me, haven’t you?” he asked, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

My breath caught in my throat. How did he know? How could he see through me so easily? What did he say about me being brave enough to listen?”

“I…”

“You don’t have to lie.” His voice was smooth, and low, like velvet dragging against my skin. “I could feel it.”

A shiver ran down my spine, but I couldn’t look away.

“What are you?” I heard myself asking again. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to ask him.

He tilted his head, his smile flickering – half amusement, half something darker.

“I’m… many things.” He took another step closer, and this time, my feet automatically backed away until my back hit the rough bark of another tree. His fingers brushed along the edge of my hair, feather-light. “But none of that matters right now.”

My heart was pounding so hard, I was afraid he could hear it. The air around us felt charged, humming with something dangerous… something forbidden.

“Corvus…” I whispered; his name rolled off my tongue like a secret.

The man leaned in slightly, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his body. “Neriah,” he whispered. “My honeybee…”

My lips parted. Something about this man, about his name, sent a strange ache through my chest – like I’d known it long before I ever heard it. There was this connection I felt…I couldn’t explain it. Couldn’t put it in words.

“I shouldn’t be here,” I whispered, more to myself than to him.

“No, you shouldn’t,” his eyes gleamed with wicked amusement. “But you came anyway and that’s because you feel it too.”

His voice was a lure, pulling me deeper into something I didn’t fully understand. I ignored the pull and tried to focus on him.

“What are you doing in these woods? What’s this history between you and my father? Why were my father’s elite warriors chasing you? He only uses them for severe situations – mostly life-threatening. Are you a dangerous man, Corvus?”

His smile faded, just a little.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Neriah. I wasn’t expecting hugs and kisses but you ask too many questions of answers that I cannot give you. Questions you may not want to know the answers to.”

I didn’t hear the rest of what he said. My mind picked only the first sentence.

“For what?”

He arched his brow.

“Why have you been waiting for me? For what?”

His gaze dropped to my lips before flicking back up to meet my eyes.

“For you.”

I sucked in a deep, shaky breath and for a heartbeat, the whole forest seemed to fall silent – as if the world itself was holding its breath.

Something was happening here. Something dangerous.

“I should go,” I whispered again. My heart was slamming against my ribs.

“Then go.”

But he didn’t move. He didn’t step back and neither did I.

My fingers clenched against the bark behind me, my fingers clutching at the bark. My spirit was restless, the familiar urge to sing suddenly seized me. I found myself making conscious efforts to clamp my mouth and to avoid singing.

What is this?

It was like he was made of something… wrong. Something broken. Yet every instinct in my body was pulling me closer.

“I don’t even know you,” I said breathlessly.

“Not yet.” His fingers brushed against my wrist, trailing slowly up the inside of my arm. His touch was feather-light, but it left burning sparks in its wake. “But you will.”

His eyes locked on mine – staring at me intensely and it felt like he was peeling back every layer I had.

“You’ll know me in ways no one else ever will, Neriah.”

My throat dried.

“I can’t. I have a mate…”

Why did I just say that? Why was I explaining myself to a total stranger that I had a mate when the question was just as harmless…

“You can…” he interrupted my thoughts.

His fingers ghosted along my jaw. I found myself leaning into his touch, closing my eyes and erupting pleasure sounds. My eyes flew open in shock and I found him staring at me. As I made to move away from him, he held my jaw firmly, tilting my face slightly toward him.

“I know what you’re feeling,” he whispered. “This pull… this hunger.”

My breathing became uneven as my lower abdomen clasped.

“You’re lying,” I managed, despite myself and how my voice wavered.

His smile sharpened.

“I’m not and you know that, Neriah.” His hand slid down to the collar of my neck, pausing for a second as it continued until my chest, rested on my peeking nipples. “Neriah…” he whispered my name. “Ever so sensitive. Does your mate make you feel this way?”

He leaned in just a little closer, his breath brushing against my lips. I just had to move my head a little and our lips would meet.

“You can feel it, can’t you? The bond? Do you feel like this with Thames?”

My heart nearly stopped. How did he know, Thames’s name? And, bond?

“No…” I whispered.

His smile turned soft, almost tender – but there was something darker glinting beneath it.

“You were always meant to find me, Neriah. Our destiny is written in the stars and has been for a long time. Now that we’ve found each other… we must not linger any longer. We should make haste and have it fulfilled.

My mind screamed at me to run – to turn and leave him in these woods where he belonged. But my feet wouldn’t move.

His fingers traced down the side of my neck, finding the place where my pulse fluttered wildly.

“You don’t belong here,” he murmured, his lips were dangerously close to my ear. With each breath, I felt warmth pool in between my legs. I clenched my fists, trying to rein in everything. “Now with them. Not with the Alphas, or the Lycans. Not with the Auréans. You’re too powerful to become a mere Moonsinger. You’re different.”

My knees buckled slightly, and I hated how easily my body responded to him.

“What are you doing to me?” I whispered, allowing him to press tiny kisses on my neck.

“I’m only waking you up,” he murmured.

His fingers slid beneath my chin, tilting my face back to meet his gaze.

“You’ve always been meant for more, Neriah. You just don’t know it yet.”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“I can’t…”

“You don’t have to choose… not yet.”

His thumb traced along my bottom lip, sending sparks along every nerve in my body.

“But you will. When the time is right too. No one would force you to. You’ll realize that it’s the right thing to do.”

Our faces were inches apart now, the world narrowing down to just him – just the heat of his breath and the golden glow of his eyes.

“You’ll choose me, Neriah,” he whispered. “You always will.”

My heart was in my throat.

“I should go,” I whispered again, but this time I didn’t sound so sure.

He smiled – slow, knowing.

“I’ll be waiting.”

With that, he finally stepped back, leaving me breathless and trembling against the tree.

My legs felt weak as I pushed off the bark and stumbled backwards. I turned without another word and ran – through the trees, through the dawn light – until I reached the edge of the forest.

I didn’t stop running until I was back inside the pack walls. My mind was spinning. My chest ached. What have I done?

But even as I slammed the door to my room and leaned against it, trying to catch my breath. His voice still whispered inside my head.

You’ll choose me, Neriah. You always will.

As I sat on my bed numb, and still thinking about my encounter, there was a rattle on my bedroom door. I didn’t bother to look up since it was only Thames who came into my room without knocking.

The door opened and I looked up, hoping he would not read through my fear but it was my father who walked in. I jumped to my feet, immediately, bowing enigmatically and stammering.

“G-Good morning, Father.”

He nodded. But I noticed he didn’t have a frown on his face like he always does. His face was uncharacteristically calm, almost serene, which unsettled me more than his usual stern expression. He stood at the door for a minute staring at me, his eyes searching my face for something I couldn’t identify.

“I came to your room before. You weren’t here. Where did you go to? His voice was even. He didn’t sound angry.

My heart hammered against my ribcage. I felt backed into a corner trapped by my father’s penetrating gaze. My mind raced for a plausible excuse.

“I… I went for my morning meditations, Father,” I murmured, averting my eyes, afraid he would see the truth in them. The memory of Corvus’s eyes was still fresh in my mind.

I expected my father to press further to question my obvious lie with his usual interrogation tactics. To my surprise, he simply nodded and stepped into the room. This unexpected reaction made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.