The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. - Chapter 293

Chapter 293: Revelation on the road…

Lyla

I shifted in Ramsey’s lap, my lips never leaving his as his hands gripped my waist. The leather seats of the car creaked beneath us with each movement. After the events at Golden Gates—the healing, the ferals, the revelations—we’d fallen into this strange, intense connection that neither of us could resist.

“We should be there in about two hours,” Lenny called from the driver’s seat, his voice deliberately loud.

We ignored him. I tangled my fingers in Ramsey’s hair as he trailed kisses down my neck. The ring on my finger caught the sunlight streaming through the window, sending tiny rainbow prisms dancing across the car’s interior.

His hand grabbed my breast, smoothening my peeking nipples with his thumb. I moan and move against him, loving how his tent was pressing hotly underneath me. Our lips met again, tangling in desperation as we suckled on each other as if there was nectar.

From the front seat came another, low, irritated growl.

Ramsey and I reluctantly broke apart, both breathing heavily. I glanced toward the front, meeting Lenny’s annoyed gaze in the rearview mirror.

“What’s wrong?” Ramsey asked, his voice still husky.

Lenny’s eyes narrowed. “What both of you are doing is very gross. Can you not?” He gripped the steering wheel tighter. “At least with me in the car.”

Heat flushed my cheeks, and I shifted away from Ramsey, smoothing my rumpled blouse. “I’m so sorry, Lenny.”

Ramsey cleared his throat, adjusting his position to something more dignified befitting a Lycan Leader. “You’re just jealous.”

“I’m trying to drive without crashing,” Lenny muttered.

A slightly awkward silence fell over the car. Ramsey reached for my hand, interlacing our fingers, a compromise between the intimacy we craved and the modesty Lenny demanded.

“You were supposed to pick us up yesterday,” Ramsey said, changing the subject. “What held you up?”

Lenny sighed heavily, his broad shoulders tensing under his leather jacket. “The White Mountain Region has been getting an unusual number of visitors since yesterday. Since you weren’t around, I had to handle things.”

“Visitors?” Ramsey and I echoed simultaneously.

“Is it ferals?” Ramsey asked, instantly alert. “Did they attack again?”

I felt my body tense, remembering the ferals at the Temple. Though Templenaged to control them, the memory of their savagery before I’d intervened still haunted me. I left them at the Temple to protect the women; they are perfectly normal now.

Lenny shook his head, eyes fixed on the winding mountain road ahead. “It wasn’t ferals.”

“Which visitors do you mean then?” Ramsey’s voice had taken on the authoritative tone he used as a Lycan Leader.

Lenny’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white. “Yesterday, Nathan killed the Five Core Alphas of the South. Their deaths caused panic among their pack members, and a lot of them fled to White Mountain Region seeking refuge.”

“WHAT?” Ramsey and I exclaimed in unison.

I felt the blood drain from my face. “All five Alphas? Dead?”

“Murdered,” Lenny confirmed grimly. “They confronted Nathan about his alliance with the Dark One and refused to attack Golden Gates. Apparently, he transformed into something that was not entirely wolf or human and tore them apart. At least, that is what I heard.”

My stomach twisted. To imagine Nathan slaughtering five Alphas in cold blood… he couldn’t have devised all the thoughts himself. He must have had help.

“Xander,” I whispered. “It has to be.”

Ramsey squeezed my hand. “Tell us everything, Lenny. Don’t leave anything out.”

Lenny adjusted the rearview mirror, meeting my eyes briefly before focusing back on the road. “According to the survivors, the Alphas had confronted Nathan about his recent actions. They refused to participate in the attack on Golden Gates, saying it violated ancient codes. Nathan—or whatever is controlling him—flew into a rage and killed all five of them. Alpha Renwick’s son arrived with about thirty refugees yesterday morning, mostly women and children.”

“Alpha Renwick,” Ramsey murmured, his expression grim. “He was a good man. Honorable.”

“His son Damien said Renwick was the first to stand against Nathan,” Lenny continued. “His throat was torn out before he could even shift.”

I closed my eyes, fighting the wave of nausea that accompanied the mental image. “What about the other Southern Packs? The ones not under the five Core Alphas?”

“Most have pledged allegiance to Nathan out of fear,” Lenny replied. “Others are in hiding, trying to stay neutral.”

“There is no neutral anymore,” Ramsey said bitterly. “Nathan’s made sure of that.”

I stared out the window at the passing landscape, trying to process this new development. The forests of Golden Gates had given way to the rockier terrain of White Mountain, familiar peaks looming in the distance. It should have felt like returning to safety, but now nowhere seemed safe.

“What about Cassidy?” I asked suddenly, remembering Ramsey’s almost-engagement. “And the White Lake Pack?”

Lenny and Ramsey exchanged a glance in the mirror.

“They’ve gone silent,” Lenny admitted. “No communication for the past three days. We sent scouts, but they haven’t returned. It seems Elder Thorne is annoyed. The thing is, a lot of elders support the union, and that’s why he’s flexing disobedience. Plus, since you had them released from their confinement, those old elders are beginning to influence these new ones. I’m really worried.”

A cold dread settled in my chest. “Nathan mentioned wanting Ramsey to marry Cassidy to unlock some power of the White Moon. What if he’s gone after them directly?”

I wasn’t talking about Nathan – it was Xander, clearly. Who knows who he’s trying to possess.

“Why would he go after a Lycan Pack single-handedly?” Lenny looked at me with confusion.

“The White Lake has strong defenses,” Ramsey said, though uncertainty tinged his voice. “And Cassidy is no helpless princess. She’s been trained as a warrior since childhood.”

“So were the Five Core Alphas,” I pointed out grimly.

Silence fell over the car again, heavier this time with the weight of possibilities none of us wanted to voice.

“There’s more,” Lenny said after a moment, his voice lower. “Damien Renwick brought something with him. A message meant specifically for you, Lyla.”

My head snapped up. “For me? From whom?”

“Beta Jeremy of Blue Ridge.”

I gasped. “Nathan’s father? He’s alive?”

“Why won’t he be?” Ramsey asked, turning to face me.

“He helped Clarissa and me escape when Nathan sent his goons after us. I was worried he would know his father helped us.”

“He wouldn’t kill his own father,” Lenny chirped from the front seat.

“He would!” I murmured under my breath. “If he’s not Nathan, he will.”

Lenny scrunched his face in confusion again, but he continued speaking. “Anyways, according to Damien. He was severely injured helping the survivors escape. The message was verbal, memorized word for word.” He paused as if recalling the exact phrasing. “‘Tell Lyla that Xander’s true target is not Ramsey and Cassidy, but Lyla herself. He fears the Moonsinger above all else. The prophecy is incomplete—the part about twins was hidden. Find the full text before it’s too late.’ ”

“Twins?” I repeated, confusion washing over me. “What twins? The prophecy I saw in my father’s study didn’t mention twins.”

Ramsey turned to me, his expression intense. “What exactly did it say? The prophecy you saw?”

I closed my eyes, recalling the yellowed paper pinned to my father’s wall. “‘When the moon bleeds red and wolves bow to none, she will rise—the last of her kind, blood of Neriah, vessel of the goddess. Neither wolf nor human but something more, she will bring either salvation or destruction. The choice will be hers alone to make.’ ”

“That’s not the version I know,” Ramsey muttered. “But my version said nothing about twins.”

“Whatever the missing piece is, it must be important if Xander wants to keep it hidden,” Lenny observed.

I looked down at my hands, the red swirls of healing energy I’d produced to save Ramsey vivid in my memory. There was so much power I didn’t understand or know how to control entirely. And now the revelation that there was more to my destiny than I’d been told.

“We need to get back to White Mountain as soon as possible,” I said decisively. “I need to speak with Damien Renwick directly and learn everything he knows.”

“And we need to send scouts to White Lake immediately,” Ramsey added. “If Nathan—Xander—is planning something there, we need to know.”

Lenny nodded, pressing his foot harder on the accelerator. The car surged forward, eating up the miles of mountain road.

I leaned into Ramsey’s side, seeking comfort in his solid presence. Our playful mood from earlier had vanished completely, replaced by the grim reality of our situation. Five dead Alphas. Dozens of refugees. A mysterious incomplete prophecy. And Nathan—or the Dark One controlling him—is planning his next move somewhere out there.

“We’ll figure this out,” Ramsey murmured, kissing my Temple. “TogethTemple nodded, trying to believe him. But as the peaks of White Mountain loomed closer, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were racing toward something far darker and more dangerous than either of us was prepared to face.

The ring on my finger suddenly felt heavier, and the responsibility it represented more daunting. It was not just a symbol of love or alliance but a commitment to stand against the coming darkness, whatever the cost.

“Together,” I echoed softly, hoping it would be enough.