The Alpha's Fated Outcast Rise Of The Moonsinger novel Chapter 227

Nathan

"It would be whatever I say it is, Miriam. That shouldn't bother you."

"And if I refuse?" she stared at me defiantly.

"Maybe I might pardon you and let you go if you take back what you said the other day. You might not be sent back to the dungeon."

She paused, smirking as though she recalled something deliciously wicked.

"Oh, you mean when I said you're nothing but a power-hungry mongrel who'd sell his own mother for a taste of power? That being an Alpha heir wasn't enough for your greedy soul, so you had to manipulate and scheme your way to the top by killing the father of my child, deserting my daughter on the wedding altar and trying to play god?"

She paused, taking in a deep breath. "Is it this one?"

"And oh... don't pretend like you didn't know that would happen. You've always known everything about Nathan, you knew something like that would eventually happen. Lyla will know eventually."

I stared at her for a few minutes and shook my head, straightening. I would get rid of Miriam but not now. I still needed her. She was vital for my coronation since Lyla wasn't here.

"Enjoy your meal. Get cleaned up and rest. We'll talk more later," I said as I was turning away.

As soon as I reached my office, I was greeted by an explosion of colour and sound. The room was filled with decorations. Streamers hung from the ceiling and a massive banner across the wall read:

"Happy Birthday Alpha Nathan!"

My staff stood in the centre, smiling from ear to ear while my father stood beside them, holding a large cake with glowing candles.

I froze.

For a split second, my heart melted and I wished Lyla was here. She never forgot my birthdays. While I had been away from the pack, she never did and was always the first person to wish me a happy birthday.

I had forgotten today was my birthday and that my father – of all people – had remembered. Every year, he always forgot. Most times, he would think it's a day before or a day after or won't remember at all.

For a moment, nostalgia hit me but I shook my head, smiling at them.

"Blow the candles, Alpha!" someone cheered.

I exhaled slowly, then stepped forward. I stared at the flames for a brief moment before blowing them out in one breath. The room erupted into applause and cheers. My father clapped me on my shoulder.

"Happy birthday, son."

I nodded, offering an almost reluctant smile. I accepted the gifts from the staff before going into my office. I had barely put the gifts away when my father followed me inside, closing the door behind him.

"Thank you," he said.

I frowned, looking up. "For what?"

I nodded. "Let them keep their land. Their autonomy. But under my direct rule. That way, they won't feel like they're been taken over. It's a merger, not a conquest."

My father smiled nodding in approval. "That… might actually work. It would certainly make the transition easier for them." He studied my face carefully. "You've thought this through?"

"Every angle," I assured him, refusing to tell him the idea had just come to me a while ago. "It's better to have them willingly aligned with us than forced into submission. We need – I need that pack. They have all the resources I want. This way, they keep their territory, and their dignity and we gain their loyalty."

The future was taking shape – a unified werewolf nation, with Blue Ridge at its heart and me at its helm. It wasn't exactly what I had hoped for because I was aiming for the White Moon Throne but this would do.

As my father left, I stood at my window, watching the activity of the warriors training in the courtyard below. Somewhere, down there, Miriam was probably still seething, plotting ways to undermine the ceremony. But I had plans of my own and her cooperation, willing or not, was just one more piece falling into place.

I touched the window glass, it was cool against my fingertips. Two days until the ceremony. Two days until everything changed. The birthday decorations behind me seemed to mock the gravity of the moment – a reminder of the boy I had been, set against the leader I was becoming.

I smiled.

Let Miriam think me a power-hungry Beta. Am I really that?

I've worked so damn hard all these years to let anyone undermine the extent of my knowledge. I may not be able to manifest it, but I knew all the buttons to press. Once I am able to get Lyla back to Blue Ridge, then I wouldn't need to bother about anything else.

Soon enough, she and everyone else would understand exactly why I had been chosen to lead them all.

Soon!