The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. Chapter 294 294: Hunting the traitor

Nathan

I threw open Luna Vanessa's door with enough force to rattle the hinges. The sound echoed through the room like a gunshot, but she didn't even flinch. That irritated more than if she'd scread.

She sat in her rocking chair by the window, cradling her bastard. The sunlight streaming in cast her in an almost angelic glow, but I knew better. Vanessa was no angel—she was a conniving, manipulative bitch who'd been avoiding for days.

"You could have walked in on naked, Alpha Nathan," she said calmly, not bothering to look up from her child. "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" I scoffed, stalking further into the room. "I've asked to see you a million tis, but it's the sa excuse every ti. May I know why?"

The baby gurgled, and Vanessa adjusted the blanket around his tiny form. Her movents were unhurried and deliberate—another subtle act of defiance.

"My child was sick," she replied. "You don't expect to co running to you like an Oga, do you? Have you forgotten who I am?"

I paced the room; my boots echoed against the hardwood floor. The walls seed to close in, stifling with their floral wallpaper and feminine touches. This room had once been Alpha Logan's. At least I know that much. He'd invite here several tis to tutor endlessly about taking care of the pack. Most tis, he would ask to co find an item that didn't exist so he'd sneak out with Miriam.

"I threw my father in the dungeon an hour ago for shirking my orders," I said, stopping directly in front of her. "I don't care who you are, Vanessa. Why didn't you co see ?"

Finally, she looked up, her dark eyes eting mine without fear. "Is that supposed to frighten ? You've beco predictable, Nathan. Anyone who disagrees with you ends up in a cell. Or worse."

Sothing hot and vicious clawed inside my chest. The voice in my head was becoming so influential, always pushing for violence, for blood. I breathed deeply, forcing it back down. I needed information from Vanessa, not her corpse.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Who?" Vanessa's expression remained neutral, but I caught the slight acceleration of her pulse at the base of her throat.

"Don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you." I leaned closer. "Lyla. Your stepdaughter and Clarissa, your daughter. Isn't it strange that Clarissa has been missing for days and you're relaxed? First, it was the excuses that she was sick, but it's been two weeks now. I want my mate."

She stared at blankly.

"Did you help them escape?" I asked again, not waiting for her to answer my previous question.

Her eyebrows rose slightly. "Is that what you think happened? That I helped them escape?"

"I know it happened." My voice dropped dangerously low. "My father confessed before I had him thrown in the dungeon. He told everything—how he drove them to the border, how he gave them his truck. The only thing he wouldn't tell was where they went."

A small, satisfied smile curved Vanessa's lips. "Jeremy always was a better man than people gave him credit for."

"He's a traitor," I snapped. "Just like you."

"Loyalty to a tyrant is no virtue, Nathan." She continued rocking, the chair's soft creak punctuating her words. "Look at what you've beco. Killing the Southern Alphas. Attacking neutral territories. Using Ferals as weapons."

"I'm unifying the packs under one rule—mine." I walked to the window, staring out at the training grounds below, where my soldiers drilled in perfect unison. "The old ways are inefficient. Divided, we're vulnerable."

"Unified under a madman, we're dood."

I whirled to face her. "You think I'm mad?"

"I think you're not Nathan anymore," she replied simply. "Not entirely. This is not the sweet little boy that would always co to the pack house every night and complain to that he's hugry or he didn't understand the contraption his father made."

"Where you expecting to remain a little boy all my life?" I retorted with a sneer.

"Well, maybe. But you hated Clarissa. Why do you suddenly need her? Don't tell it's Lyla you're worried about, but of course, you're a coward, and you'd rather let people think it's Clarissa you want when it's clear that it's Lyla."

The accuracy of her statent sent a chill through . For a mont, my vision blurred, and I felt the voice stirring within , eager to take control, to silence her permanently.

Let kill her, it voice whispered in my mind. Her and the child both. She's an obstacle to our plans.

"No," I muttered, pressing my fingers to my temples.

Vanessa watched curiously. "You're fighting it," she observed. "Whatever has possessed you—you're still in there, aren't you, Nathan?"

I dropped my hands, forcing my features into a mask of indifference. "I need to know where Lyla is."

"Why? So you can kill her too?" Vanessa's hold on her child tightened protectively. "She's just a girl."

"She's a Moonsinger," I corrected. "The last of her kind. Potentially the most powerful person alive in this world."

"Wow! More powerful than the thing eating inside you?"

"You hate her, Vanessa. Just tell where they went to."

She paused staring at , for a mont, I hoped she would tell but she smiled and looked away."She frightens you?"

"Nothing frightens ." The lie tasted bitter on my tongue. In truth, Lyla terrified —or rather, she terrified the voice in my head. The more its influence grew within , the more obsessed we beca with finding her, eliminating her before she could fulfill whatever destiny awaited her.

"The prophecy," Vanessa murmured. "That's what this is about, isn't it? You're afraid of what she might beco."

I approached her again, resting my hands on the arms of her rocking chair, trapping her in place. "Tell where she is, Vanessa. I won't ask again."

She t my gaze unflinchingly. "I don't know where she is. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

Kill her, the voice urged. Tear out her throat. Make an example of her.

My fingers tightened on the chair, the wood creaking in protest. "You're an Elder of this pack. Your duty is to , your Alpha."

"My duty is to protect the innocent." Her eyes flicked to her son, then back to . "Sothing the real Nathan would understand."

For a mont, I saw myself through her eyes—a monster wearing familiar skin, a predator in the guise of family. The realization sickened , giving a brief mont of clarity and control.

But the funniest thing they didn't know was that I was still Nathan. Maybe a few of my specifications had changed, but this was everything I'd dread of for the longest ti. This wasn't the Dark One's doing.

"She's gone to White Mountain, hasn't she?" I said, straightening. "To Ramsey."

A flicker of surprise crossed Vanessa's features before she could mask it. "I told you, I don't know where she is."

I had thought of that at first, but none of my spies reported that Ramsey had returned to the White Mountains. The last I heard, he suddenly disappeared, leaving behind his Beta.

"Thank you, Vanessa," I said with a cold smile. "You've been most helpful."

I wanted to see if I could manipulate her into confessing the truth.

Confusion replaced her stoic expression. "What are you talking about?"

"You just confird my suspicions." I turned toward the door. "Lyla has sought sanctuary with Ramsey. They're probably plotting against as we speak."

Vanessa rose from her chair, clutching her baby to her chest. "Nathan, wait. Whatever you're planning—"

"I'm planning to win this war," I cut her off. "By any ans necessary."

Yes, the voice hissed in my mind. We must move quickly. Gather the armies. The White Mountain will fall, and the Moonsinger with it.

"What about us?" Vanessa asked, an edge of fear finally entering her voice. " and the baby?"

I paused at the doorway, considering. Part of —the part that was still the Nathan Tanner she knew—wanted to reassure her, to promise her safety. But that part grew weaker every day.

"Stay in your rooms," I instructed. "Don't try to leave the territory. Don't try to contact anyone outside the pack."

Relief flooded her features. "So we're prisoners, but alive."

"For now," I replied. "Though I suggest you pray I don't discover you've been lying to ."

I left without waiting for her response, striding purposefully down the corridor. Guards snapped to attention as I passed, their eyes carefully averted. They feared now—all of them did.

Good, the voice purred. Fear breeds obedience.

In the privacy of my office, I summoned my new generals—warriors who had proven their loyalty through bloodshed, n and won willing to follow orders without question and commit to my na.

"Prepare the troops," I commanded when they arrived. "We march on White Mountain in three days."

"The full moon," General Carter observed. "A powerful on, Alpha."

I nodded. "And gather the special forces. I want the Ferals at the front lines."

"The Ferals have been... unpredictable since the incident at Golden Gates," another general ventured cautiously. "The Moonsinger's influence seems to have affected them."

"Then find creatures even she can't control," I snapped. "The panthers. The foxes. Whatever it takes."