The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. Chapter 266 266: The step-up

Lyla

I ran through the forest, my lungs burning from the lack of oxygen.

The earth beneath my feet blurred into streaks of green and brown. My breath was ragged, my body trembling and stumbling over exposed roots, my knees hitting the ground hard. But I scrambled up again, pushing forward, desperate to keep moving. I had to.

The revelation I'd just discovered about my past—about my life as Neriah—rang in my mind. Everything I knew—everything I had believed—had been part of the large truth. A spec of what was the truth.

Everything made sense for the first ti since discovering I was the Moonsinger. The visions, the strange familiarity with powers I'd never used, the pull I felt toward both Ramsey, Nathan and the mysterious Corvus or Xander or the Dark One. It wasn't a coincidence. I was the karmic reincarnation of Neriah.

I was Neriah reborn, I wasn't just so girl with pheromones, I was cursed – the pheromones, at least mine was a curse. A punishnt for Neriah's wrongdoings many lives ago and if I didn't stop the cycle from repeating itself, everyone would die.

Contrary to the legends that painted Neriah as a hero and Xander—or Corvus, or the Dark One as he was called in different tales—as a villain from the beginning, the truth was far more complex. Like everyone, Xander had been a victim of circumstance. The problem was, that he was now beyond redy.

Xander had been a pawn in the hands of fate, of power-hungry rulers, of the Moon Goddess herself. He had been driven to madness, to vengeance by the greed of my father – well, Neriah's father.

If only he had not taken laws into his hands, maybe made a report after discovering they were sacrificing won with pheromones to the White Moon Throne, he would have been given a fair judgnt.

He had acted out of anger and on his own accord and had incurred the wrath of the Moon Goddess on himself and she had given him to evil and cursed his mind and the only redy would be the Blood oath with the very people whom he had wronged.

For Xander to finally be restored to his original form and break the cycle he has to find an original Auréans and have them lift the curse by entering a Blood oath with him and they're the only ones that could really kill him.

That is why for centuries, no one – none of the Moonsingers before had been able to do that. They could only subdue him and then he awakens at the birth of a new Moonsinger.

The mories from my vision and Nanny's revelation washed over again as I ran: Neriah had been so immature, so headstrong and stubborn. Her stubbornness was the reason an entire race had been wiped out. Her father's greed to rge a race singled by the Moon Goddess for a different purpose, to turn them into what they were not ant to be.

Now I understood Xander. He wanted to break a curse. The Ferals were my people in a way—the ghosts of my people. If Xander could return them to their normal state, then maybe his curse would be lifted.

I pushed harder, running as fast as my legs could carry . Nanny had warned of a war that would shake our world and make thousands die—all because of . Tears stread down my cheeks, blurring my vision as I raced through the darkening forest.

Suddenly, a form appeared in my path, causing to slow down automatically. I skidded to a stop, my feet slipped against the dirt. A Trinax was blocking my path. I stared intently at it sucking in a breath when I realized it was Mr Dupree in his Trinax form.

I sighed heavily, my chest was rising and falling. "I don't have ti for this," I said, trying to step around him and continue on my way.

Without warning, a bolt of energy shot from Mr. Dupree's hand, hitting squarely in the chest. The impact sent flying backwards slamming against the trunk of a nearby tree. Pain exploded through my body as I crashed against the tree trunk and slid to the ground, groaning.

I could feel anger simring within , Then I rembered Nanny's warning:

"Don't allow yourself to be pushed to anger. Your power is in full cycle. The slightest wrong emotion could tip the balance causing you to discharge an amount of power that could be catastrophic."

Since there was no ti to start teaching proper control now, the only thing for to do was suppress my emotions.

I took a deep breath, forcing the anger down. "I'm not in the mood right now," I said evenly, pushing myself to my feet and trying to move past him again.

As he raised his hand to send another bolt of energy, I instinctively lifted both hands to shield myself, crossing my wrists in front of my face. Instantly, a blue shield materialized, covering completely. The energy bolt hit the shield and rebounded, throwing Mr Dupree backwards with such force that he crashed through several small trees.

I stared at my hands in shock.

I barely had ti to process it before the bushes rustled violently around . Low, guttural snarls filled the air. My heart sank. I turned imdiately to the direction of the sound and I saw seven Ferals erging from the bush, their red eyes glowing. Their jaws were snapping as they snarled – an indication they wanted to attack.

Fear gripped but I tried to remain calm and took several steps backward. The first Feral lunged, sailing through the air toward . I managed to dodge it, rolling to the side, but I wasn't fast enough to avoid the second attack. A Feral on my flank bit down hard on my shoulder as I fell to the ground.

I scread out in pain. Without thinking, I grabbed the Feral's head, trying to force its jaws open. The mont my palms touched its fur, blue energy pulsed from my hands into the creature. Almost imdiately, it released my shoulder and dropped to the ground at my feet, suddenly docile.

I didn't even get to recover when the others started rushing towards in a coordinated attack. I wanted to sing but the next thing I found myself doing was humming.

A deep lody rose from sowhere deep within . As the lody vibrated through the air, each Feral stopped in their tracks and their red eyes shifted completely changing to a normal black color, and they ca to rest at my feet.

I sucked in a breath, expecting another attack but they just gathered around , licking their paws. They looked completely obedient.

By this ti, Mr. Dupree had recovered and was staring at with undisguised shock. I knew what this ant—trouble. He would go straight to Xander and tell him I had regained my abilities.

Without thinking, I stretched forth my hand, intending to restrain him sohow. To my surprise, blue spirals of energy shot from my fingertips, wrapping around Mr. Dupree and binding him tightly. Amazed and stunned at what I'd just done, I started to move closer to inspect my handiwork.

"Lyla!" Nanny's voice rang out behind .

I turned to see her running out from the trees, her face grave. It was then I realized the blue energy binding Mr Dupree wasn't coming from at all—it was coming from her.

"There's no ti," she said urgently. "Go and stop Nathan from retaliating. Don't worry, I'll take care of him."

I nodded, ready to move, but as I turned to leave, the Ferals moved with . Surprised, I looked down at the seven creatures that had monts ago been intent on killing . They would be too much for to manage right now.

I squatted down, extending my hand. All seven Ferals approached, placing their paws on my outstretched palm one by one. Drawing on instincts I didn't know I possessed, I gave them instructions.

"You four," I said, pointing to the largest of the group, "stay back and look after Nanny. Make sure Mr. Dupree doesn't escape."

They seed to understand, moving to position themselves around Nanny and the bound Trinax.

I turned to the remaining three. "You co with ."

They obeyed imdiately, falling into step beside as I rose and began to run again. As we raced through the forest, the Ferals keeping perfect pace with , I felt a strange sense of clarity washing over .

For the first ti since this all began, I understood my purpose. I wasn't just Lyla anymore—I was the reincarnation of Neriah but with a chance to right the wrongs of the past. The Ferals weren't monsters; they were souls trapped between forms, waiting for release. And Xander wasn't simply a villain; he was a man cursed by the consequences of actions taken centuries ago.

Most importantly, I understood what I had to do. Nathan was preparing to retaliate against Ramsey. If they went to war, thousands would die and both of them would die too. The cycle would continue. I had to stop it.

I was the Moonsinger—the only one who could break the curse, free the Ferals, and prevent the war that would destroy everything.