The Alpha's Fated Outcast Rise Of The Moonsinger novel Chapter 292

Nathan

I paced furiously around the war room, trying to suppress the rage building within me every second, threatening to blow at any moment. Five Alphas—the Core Alphas of the South—stood before me in a straight line. Each of them wore a mask of indifference, or should I say doubt.

I could smell their fear – and worse, their doubt.

I couldn't believe that the men I had sent after Lyla let her slip through their fingers, only to discover that, according to the spies, she was at the Moon Temple and had healed properly.

"Incompetence!" I slammed my fist on the large table in the room, scattering maps and markers. "I'm surrounded by absolute incompetence!"

Behind me, a guard knelt, trembling. He was pathetic. His fear-scent fouled the air, making my nostrils flare in disgust.

"I watched from afar," he stammered, eyes fixed on the floor. "She sang strangely, and the Ferals stopped attacking the women."

"Of course they would," I snapped, whirling to face him. "She's a Moonsinger. That's what she does best." Something inside me twisted painfully at the mention of Lyla. That voice was now my constant companion. It was urging more violence, more chaos. "I never wanted her to get healed, at least not until that fool Ramsey was pressured into marrying Cassidy. Now I'm back to square one because I have incompetent fools around me!"

I sighed. "Here, if I don't get things done myself, no one will. Where is Luna Vanessa?" I shouted, looking at the door. I'd been looking for her for over an hour, but she had yet to answer my call.

I need Clarissa.

I've been searching for her for a few days now, but each time I try to contact her, her maid and her mother tell me she's not well and is recovering quietly inside her room.

Clarissa was the only one who could meet me halfway and understand every bit of my intentions. If I didn't make a move within today and tomorrow, Ramsey would regroup and launch an attack on us.

I know this because he has yet to retaliate to any of the fights we've sent to him.

A guard ran into the room, bowing in reverence. "She'll be here soon. She's taking care of a lot of her baby's needs."

I flicked my hand to dismiss the guard and the one kneeling before turning my attention to the assembled Alphas.

"Didn't you get my order?" I hissed, pacing before them like a caged animal. "Didn't I ask you to attack Golden Gates Pack? Why does the pack still stand?"

The Alphas exchanged uneasy glances. Finally, Alpha Calder of Stone Hill Pack stepped forward. Amongst the Alphas, he was the wisest.

"Never in the history of our fathers, or their fathers before them, has a pack with a Moon temple been invaded," he said quietly but firmly. "It is unheard of, Alpha Nathan." His spine remained straight. "Perhaps it's time you go back to the drawing board and reevaluate your needs and your true purpose."

"When you asked us..." Calder continued..

"Forced us," Alpha Renwick of Black River Pack interjected with an angry tone. He was Logan's best friend.

A small part of me flinched at his words. Had I really forced them?

"You told us you simply wanted to take power back from White Mountain, to cut us off from Lycans," Calder continued. "Why then are you going after your own kind?"

"The Golden Gates Pack has always been neutral ground for all wars," Alpha Grant added, his massive frame shifting forward. "They do not participate in wars, neither do they form alliances. And so it has always been." His voice dropped, heavy with finality. "I'm sorry, but we cannot."

The pressure inside my skull increased. I crossed to the small kitchenette and poured myself whiskey, downing it in one burning swallow before refilling the glass. The alcohol did nothing to quiet the voice, to ease the headache that had become my constant companion.

They are betrayers. Do you remember how they all fought to prevent you from becoming an Alpha? The voice whispered. They have always resented your power and vision.

I circled them, studying each face. Had they always harbored this disloyalty? Or had I driven them to this with actions that, in my more lucid moments, I barely recognized as my own?

"So you all think I am mad?"

The Alphas remained silent, their positions making their answer clear.

"SOMEONE ANSWER ME!" I barked, "OR I'LL HAVE YOUR HEADS AND FEED THEM TO YOUR WIDOWS!"

Renwick faced me directly, unflinching. "Nathan, you do not scare us. The worst thing you can do to us is not death. We will speak our truth in the face of it." His voice softened slightly. "Call off the troops you're sending to Golden Gates, and we'll gladly join you and throw ourselves at the mercy of the White Moon Throne."

I laughed, the sound strange even to my own ears. It wasn't my laugh—it was high and hysterical and lacked mirth. "If I don't, what will you do?"

None of them responded. "I am listening, guys," I prompted again. "If if don't do what you tell me, what will you do? Who will you report to me? Instead of you all being grateful for the provisions, all I get is this constant judgment of what I know is right." _{freēwēbηovel.c૦m}

"And it is not our duty to sugarcoat the truth," Alpha Myra said quietly. "We tell yu the truth."

I shrugged. "Well, I must have Golden Gates for myself because Ramsey is there, and I cannot stand for it. So, I must attack."

"You're making a big mistake!" Grant murmured and then one by one, they removed their outer clothing in unison, revealing battle suits beneath. They had come prepared for this confrontation. They had anticipated violence.

"Then you'll have to kill us first, Nathan Tanner," Alpha Calder said.