The Alpha's Fated Outcast Rise Of The Moonsinger novel Chapter 286

Clarissa

The bed where I'd left her was empty, the blankets thrown aside. Signs of a hasty departure were everywhere. "Damn it, Lyla," I muttered. Why couldn't she have listened to me just this once?

A noise outside made me freeze. Voices, growing closer. Flashlights were cutting through the trees.

"—check the old groundskeeper's place."

"Alpha says she might be hiding nearby."

They'd found us. I needed to get out and find Lyla before they did. But where would she have gone in her condition?

I slipped out the back window just as the search party reached the front door. Crouching in the bushes, I watched as they broke in, their flashlights sweeping the insides of the shelter.

"It's empty," one of them called. "But the bed's been slept in. She was here."

"Spread out," ordered Nathan's assistant's voice. "She can't have gotten far in her condition."

Condition? It means Nathan had purposely left Lyla in my Father's private study to make use of her later on. I'm sure his assistant must have seen how battered she looked.

I remained absolutely still as they spread out, beginning their search of the surrounding area. Once they moved far enough away, I crept from my hiding place, heading deeper into the forest. If I were Lyla, injured and alone, where would I go?

The answer came to me suddenly—the old willow by the stream. It had been a childhood hiding spot, one of the few places Lyla and I had shared before our relationship soured. If she remembered it, if she could make it that far...

I changed direction, moving parallel to the search party but staying well out of sight. The forest grew denser, the underbrush scratching at my legs as I pushed through.

When I finally reached the willow, my heart sank. There was no sign of Lyla. I'd gambled and lost.

"Looking for someone?" a voice said behind me.

I whirled around, knife in hand, ready to defend myself. But the figure that stepped from the shadows wasn't one of Nathan's men. Though his face was still concealed, he didn't look harmful.

"Who are you?" I whispered, lowering my knife slightly, squinting in the darkness. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as you, I imagine," they replied. "Trying to save Lyla before Nathan finds her."

"Where is she?" I demanded. "Did you find her?"

The figure nodded. "She's safe. For now."

Relief flooded through me, followed quickly by suspicion. "Why would you help her? Who are you?" I asked again, peering into the darkness. It was the shape of a man for sure, and he was tall, but I couldn't make out his face. However, his voice sounded familiar.

I could feel the sincerity in his voice, but years of being around my father and learning the ropes of pack politics had taught me to be wary. "Where did you put Lyla?" I asked.

"Hidden, about half a mile from here. She's in bad shape." He glanced over his shoulder at the flashlights and the sound of the search party growing closer again. "We need to move now, Clarissa. Fine, don't trust me, but make up your mind quickly."

I didn't have the luxury of indecision.

"Lead the way," I said, slipping my knife back into my pocket but keeping my hand close to it.

Beta Jeremy moved through the forest with the confidence of someone who'd spent a lifetime navigating these woods. I followed closely, my senses on high alert for any signs of either Nathan's men or any sudden move from Beta Jeremy.

I was an Alpha's daughter with an Alpha wolf, trained for combat. I know I might not be able to defeat him, but I would give him an injury and buy enough time to escape.

As we moved deeper into the forest, away from the shelter and the search party, I couldn't shake the feeling that everything was about to change. The baby inside me, Lyla's revelation about Nathan, this unlikely alliance—all of it signaled the end of the world as I'd known it.

And in its place, something new and uncertain was being born. Something dangerous, yes, but also something filled with possibility.

For the first time in my life, I was choosing my own path—not following my father's expectations or Nathan's commands. I was making a stand for what I believed was right.

Whether we would survive to see the dawn was another question entirely.