The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. Chapter 35 35: Shadows and whispers

Lyla

At that mont… I would have gladly chosen the shifters but they seed to shrink back at the sight of Mr Dupree, their cocky expressions fading into apprehension.

The alley fell into an eerie silence as Mr Dupree's imposing figure lood at the entrance. My eyes darted between him and the shifters, my body growing tense with surprise and wariness.

First of all, what was he doing here? Second, why were the shifters looking scared? He was a human, if anything he should be the one backing away from them. Why did it seem they were shrinking under his gaze, looking at him sheepishly?

"Why is no one answering my question?" Mr Dupree chuckled – even that sounded sinister. "Is there a problem here?"

The leader of the shifters, the one that had tried to flirt with in the café shook his head. "None, we were just leaving," he muttered.

I watched as they turned and hurried away. As they disappeared from my line of vision, I found myself alone with Mr D. The relief I felt at the shifter's departure was quickly overshadowed by a new kind of unease. I forced a nonchalant smile as I stepped back, trying to suppress the urge to run.

Swallowing hard, I murmured turning to Mr Dupree whose gaze was on now. "They're just lowlifes, I could have handled them."

His lips curled into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "It didn't look that way to , Miss Lyla. Are you alright though? Did they try to attack you?" he asked, as his gaze flickered all over my body.

I felt exposed.

"No!" I shook my head eager to change the subject, I blurted out. "What are you doing here?" I winced internally at how accusatory it sounded.

If he was offended by my question he didn't show it, instead, his expression softened, though it did little to ease my nerves. "I live in the neighbourhood," he replied casually. "Xander and I were just taking an evening stroll. We were in the coffee shop a while ago when I overheard those n talking about teaching soone a lesson." His eyes bore into mine. "When I saw you heading towards the back door and those n leaving shortly after, I put two and two together."

I shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze. There was sothing about the way he looked at as if he could see right through . "I didn't realize I was followed. Thank you for helping ," I said awkwardly, my fingers twitching as I resisted the urge to light another cigarette.

"You shouldn't be in dark alleys at this hour," he continued, his eyes straying to the cigarette pack peeking out of my pocket. "And smoking? You're a woman. You should know better."

My cheeks burned at the condescending remark. I opened my mouth to retort but I thought better of it. Instead, I managed another tense, uncomfortable smile. "Yeah… I should probably head back inside," I said taking a step towards the café's back door. "Thank you for…intervening and saving ."

As I moved to go, his voice stopped . "Those n are panther shifters," he said his tone as cold as ever. "They might co back; cats can be quite vengeful. So, I'd advise you not to wander around alone again."

I froze my hand on the door handle. How did he know about shifters? And why did it sound like he knew more than he was letting on? My brow furrowed slightly as I processed what he was saying. Panther shifters? Panthers are ssengers.

In the mythical world, they're always used to track stray were-creatures and since they could mask their scent naturally and take up any form just like Werefoxes, they had access to almost any realm. What were they doing here?

Mr Dupree's voice cut into my thoughts. "Is it common to see shifters in this part of town?"

I turned back to face him, shaking my head, my unease growing. "No," I said slowly. "This is my first ti running into any."

He nodded as if I had confird sothing for him. "Well, be careful, Miss Lyla. The world can be a dangerous place for a young woman… especially one with your unique qualities."

Before I could ask him what he ant by that, he turned and walked away, disappearing around the corner of the building. I stood there for a mont, watching him go, my skin prickling in a way it hadn't done in a long ti.

I rubbed my arms, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling. My instincts were screaming that sothing wasn't right, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Taking a deep breath, I turned and went back inside the café.

Inside, the familiar warmth of the place did little to soothe my frayed nerves. My eyes scanned the room, and they imdiately landed on Xander. He was sitting at one of the tables, casually scrolling through his phone while sipping coffee and nibbling on a slice of plain cake. He looked completely at ease as if he hadn't a care in the world. They must have co in when I was having those mysterious calls.

My eyes lingered on Xander for a mont. Sothing about him and his father felt… off. Earlier, Mr Dupree had talked about those shifters as if he knew I would understand what he ant. He didn't treat like I was human. Was he a werewolf or any other were-creature?

I watched as he entered the café and made his way to Xander's table. He leaned down, whispering sothing in Xander's ears before taking the seat opposite him. A casual observer might have seen nothing wrong in the interaction but to , it felt strange.

Despite Mr Dupree's imposing presence and a strange aura that commanded the respect he seed to carry, the way he bowed his head as he spoke to Xander struck as odd. It was almost as if, despite appearance, Mr Dupree was the servant and Xander the master.

As this thought crossed my mind, Xander suddenly lifted his eyes and our gaze t. A smile spread across his face and he raised his hand waving at in a friendly manner. The mont our eyes locked, that prickle of apprehension returned in full force, sending a shiver down my spine.

My breath caught in my throat as I managed a weak smile, feeling my heart beat a little too fast as I awkwardly waved back. Quickly, I looked away, hoping to avoid further interaction. I needed to focus, get back to work and ignore the growing sense of dread curling in my stomach. But before I could fully retreat, the front door of the café swung open again.

Three newcors entered – two won and a man. Their scents hit … they were werewolves.

They moved imdiately to Xander and Mr Dupree's table that was when everything dawned on . They were all werewolves. There was no way they could associate with those two and not be wolves. My mood soured instantly and my mind whirled with questions.

Were they from my pack? Were they here to find ?

Then I rembered that my parents had been glad to let go and it couldn't possibly be my ex-mate. Nathan! My mind wandered to my friend as I slipped out my phone to check if there were any ssages.

There was none.

"Do you mind attending to the newcors?" I asked Sarah who didn't seem busy.

"Sure!" she flashed a smile and took the nus to their table.

Another realization struck . I hadn't picked up any werewolf scent from Xander or his dad…, now that I thought about it, I couldn't detect any scent from them at all. My mind raced as I glanced at them again. Sarah was done taking their orders and the newcors seed to be whispering sothing to Xander who continued drinking his coffee and nibbling on his cake.

Who or what – were Xander and his father? They clearly knew about the mythic al world but they weren't werewolves or shifters. And why were they associating with these werewolves?

"Everything okay?" Nanny's voice startled out of my thoughts.

I nearly jumped but caught myself at the dying minute as I turned to her with a forced smile.

"I'm fine!" I said "Just that, a group of werewolves entered a while ago and I'm pissing myself with worry that my dad might have sent them but that's impossible right? He doesn't like that way?"

Nanny's eyes imdiately narrowed – not with fear, she was never afraid of anything, just caution.

"The ones sitting at two tables near the window facing the streets?" she asked , arranging stuffs on the counter.

"Exactly," I nodded. "Although the handso kid with amber eyes is my classmate. A transfer student and that's his father, the one sitting opposite him."

"Are they werewolves too?" Nanny asked, cleaning the counter now, giving them another casual glance.

"I can't tell!" I responded. "I didn't pick up any scent and earlier, I…" I trailed off.

I was going to tell Nanny about the Panthers but, I would have to tell her why I had gone to the back of the shop, she'd be hurt if she knew I had gone to smoke.

Before I could decide on what to tell her, Sarah returned to the counter with a weird smile on her face.

"Lyla, they're asking for you?"

"A-Asking for ?" I jabbed my index finger at my chest, knowing what she was talking about even before she said it. "Who?"

"The people on that table," she pointed at Xander's table "Not just you, but also Mrs Grayson."