The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger.
Chapter 355: The interpretation...

Chapter 355: The interpretation...

Ramsey

The journey back to the pack house passed in suffocating silence.

Our vehicles moved through the late evening like a funeral procession, as if it was carrying the corpses of victory and betrayal in equal measure.

Xander sat securely in the reinforced transport; he seemed a little willing to come with us. Just before he was loaded at the back of the truck, our gaze met and held – his had a hint of amusement.

The drive back to the pack house felt like the longest journey of my life. I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white, trying to process everything that had happened.

Xander’s words kept reechoing in my mind. You won’t tell him about the babies.

Everyone knew that Lyla was pregnant, even Lenny and Caius knew. It was just me. I was the stupid person.

Lyla sat beside me in the passenger seat, stealing glances when she thought I wasn’t looking. I could feel her anxiety rolling off her in waves, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak to her. What was I supposed to say? How long had she been planning to keep this from me?

When we finally reached the pack house, I parked and got out of the car without looking at her. I needed space. I needed time to think.

"Ramsey, we need to talk," she raced after me as I headed toward the back of the pack house.

I stopped in the foyer but couldn’t turn around. If I looked at her right now, I might say something I’d regret forever.

"I need to rest, Lyla. We’ll talk later."

"But—"

"Later."

The word came out harsher than I intended, but I couldn’t take it back. I walked away, leaving her standing alone.

I continued walking with no conscious direction in my mind. I found myself at the lake, close to the borders of the pack. I collapsed onto the wooden bench, staring out at the water.

The waning evening sun reflected on the surface of the lake, broken and incomplete. Just like everything else in my life right now.

She lied to me. Lyla looked at me every day and lied to me.

The thought circled through my mind over and over again. Not just about the pregnancy, though that cut deeper than any physical wound, but about everything. How many conversations had we shared where she actively chose to keep this secret?

How many times had she looked me in the eye and said nothing?

But the betrayal wasn’t even the worst part.

The prophecy was.

"When the twin moons rise, the Moonsinger’s sacrifice shall break the eternal chains. The Dark One returns."

I’d memorised the words since Killian handed me that incomplete parchment paper, hoping they meant something else, but now I knew it was a death sentence.

Lyla was the Moonsinger. The last of her bloodline, blessed with the power that flowed directly from Neriah herself. With everything that had happened now, I knew I was no Moon Priest, but one thing was clear: she would have to die to stop the Dark One permanently.

And now she was pregnant with our children.

I didn’t even know if I could get angry at this point. I was so miserable that it felt as if my heart would rip out of my chest.

Tell me what you’re thinking, Lax’s voice whispered in my mind.

"You know what I’m thinking."

The prophecy doesn’t have to mean what we think it means.

I laughed bitterly, the sound echoing across the water. "Doesn’t it? ’The Moonsinger’s sacrifice.’ How else are we supposed to interpret that?"

There might be another way.

"What other way?" I slammed my fist against the bench. "She’s pregnant, Lax. If the prophecy requires her death, it requires the death of the babies, too. Our babies."

Lax fell silent for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was heavy with sorrow. You’re going to try to stop her.

"Of course, I’m going to try to stop her. But you know Lyla. If she believes this is what needs to happen, she’ll find a way to do it whether I agree or not."

Then we make sure she never gets the chance.

"By doing what? Locking her up? Keeping her prisoner?" I shook my head. "That’s not love, Lax. That’s control. Besides, it’s not like she’s asking to do something out of place. This is what she was born for, Lax. This is her duty."

Sometimes love requires difficult choices.

"And sometimes love means accepting that the person you care about will make choices that destroy you."

We lapsed into silence.

I didn’t know how long I sat there, but long enough for the sun to set completely, replaced by the faint light of the half-moon coming out. Today, the twin moon will come, and Lyla will die.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching through the grass, but I didn’t turn around. I didn’t need to, as Circe’s scent wafted up my nose.

She settled beside me on the bench without speaking. Her presence was oddly comforting, like sitting next to someone who understood pain.

And this was how we were as teenagers. Whenever I was overwhelmed and went somewhere to be alone, Circe would always find me and sit with me until the pain in my heart eased.

We didn’t say anything, we just sat and watched the Moon grow slowly over the lake.

Finally, she broke the silence. "Would you allow me to make the pain easier?"

I couldn’t find the words to answer.

Circe seemed to understand. She guided my head down to rest in her lap with the gentle touch of someone who’d comforted countless broken hearts. Her fingers stroked my hair as she began to sing softly.

Gradually, the tension began to leave my body. The rhythmic motion was hypnotic, and despite everything on my mind, I felt myself starting to relax.

A little while later, I gave in to the exhaustion and fell asleep.

When I woke up, the sun was beginning to rise. There was no twin moon in the sky. I jerked awake, looking around me. Was everything over? Did Lyla survive? Did the reign of the Dark One end?

As I tried to gather my thoughts, voices reached me from a nearby tree.

I spotted Circe and Lenny leaning close to each other, speaking in urgent whispers.

"—absolutely not," Lenny was saying, his usually calm demeanour completely gone. "You can’t tell him that. There has to be another way."

"There is no other way," Circe replied firmly. "You know the old magics as well as I do. The balance must be maintained."

"The cost is too high—"

"The cost is what it is. And he has the right to know."

I rose to my feet slowly, letting the blanket slide off my shoulders. Both of them noticed immediately.

Circe ran to my side immediately. "How do you feel?"

"Like I’ve been hit by a freight train," I admitted, rubbing my neck. "But clearer, somehow. Did I spend the night here?"

She nodded. "I tried to wake you, but you won’t budge. Lenny spent a night with you, and the twin moon didn’t rise either, so everything is as it should be."

I nodded. "That’s a relief. Thank you. I’ll head back now. I need to see Lyla anyway, I can’t avoid her forever."

I started to turn when Circe reached out and touched my arm, making me stop.

"There is a way to avert Lyla’s death."

My heart slammed against my ribs. I turned to face her fully, afraid to hope. "What did you say?"

Circe nodded, her eyes were grave, almost painful, as if she didn’t want to tell me. "Lyla will be the last Moonsinger to finish off the Dark One. The Dark One knows this, and because of that, he’s afraid. But there is another path."

"Don’t tell him," Lenny said urgently, stepping forward. "Circe, we agreed we’d look for another way first—"

"What other way?" I demanded, moving closer to Circe. Lenny’s face was tight with anxiety; his hands were even shaking with fear. I’ve never seen him like that. "Tell me."

"It’s not necessary, Ramsey," Lenny came to stand between me and Circe. The Twin Moon will not rise again for maybe a few days or even a week. We all read it wrong. There’s still time to come up with another solution."

Circe met my eyes over Lenny’s head, then moved round him and leaned forward to whisper in my ear. Her words were so quiet that even Lenny couldn’t hear them.

As she spoke, my world shifted. Hope bloomed in my chest, followed immediately by understanding, then grim determination. When she finished, I leaned back and took a deep breath.

I nodded. "I’ll do it."

"No!" Lenny’s voice cracked with desperation. "No, no, no. Ramsey, you don’t understand what you’re agreeing to. The consequences—"

"I understand perfectly," I cut him off. My voice was steady, sure. "If this saves Lyla and our child, then I’ll do whatever it takes."

"But the cost to you—"

"Is mine to pay." I looked back toward the pack house, where Lyla was probably awake by now, probably worried about me. "Some prices are worth paying."

Lenny shook his head frantically. "There has to be another way. We just haven’t found it yet."

"We don’t have time to keep looking," Circe said gently. "The twin moons rise in three days. If we’re going to act, it has to be now."