The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. Chapter 54 54: The ceremonial preparation

Lyla.

When I woke again, I was still at Xander's house and had lost track of ti.

My eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the dim lighting of the room, my body was too weak to move, too weak to fight anymore. Although Xander was not in the room with , I could feel his presence. I noticed the soft towel resting on the chair beside my bed.

"How long have I been out?" I murmured to myself trying to sit up.

What was I supposed to do now?

My mind replayed the events of the last few hours, trying to make sense of everything. Xander's confession about being the Dark One, his insistence that he didn't want my powers but wanted – how could any of this be real? And yet, deep down, so part of felt there was an elent of truth in it all.

I closed my eyes, willing myself to stay calm. There had to be a way out of this. There had to be so way I could escape and return to the life I had once known, even if it ant running forever.

But just as the thought crossed my mind, the door creaked open and Xander stepped inside, his face unreadable. He had on sothing that looked like Ceremonial attire. The rich fabric was embroidered with intricate red patterns that seed to shimr and move in the dim light.

"You won't leave, Lyla," he said quietly as if reading my thoughts. "Not until you understand who you really are… and why we were always ant to be together."

He approached my bed, carrying sothing in his arms that he set on the space beside on the bed. "If you had drank the Chamomile tea, you would have felt better than you are now. What do you take for, Lyla?" he scoffed, shaking his head.

How did he know that I didn't drink the tea?

"You think I'm so weak, magical being with a little power here and there. I've told you severally, if I wanted to force you to do whatever I want, it's the easiest thing to do but I don't force anyone and certainly not the woman I love."

"But here I am being held in your house!" I fired back weakly, "So love, Xander!"

"Because you left with no other choice and I'm tired of explaining myself over and over again to you. All these months, I've been nothing but a solid ground for you and this is how you choose to repay ?"

"I guess we're not ant to be even in this life too!" I snickered. "You cannot force to accept your nature. I liked you as Xander – I might have even loved you but this!" I shook my head "I didn't sign up for any of it. I'd rather die than get embroiled in anything that had to do with people of my kind. I already left that life far behind."

"You're not doing it for them," Xander sighed. "Once you choose , you don't have to bother about them. This is about revenge, right? Do you want to get them back for all the things they did to you? I can help you."

I gave him a weird look. "No!" I said firmly. "Why would I want to do that, Xander? Revenge is ssy, do I look like I have the emotional capacity to pursue sothing like that? I barely can manage my life. I'm not interested in any of your sches and all this talk of a new world shenanigan, okay?"

He didn't say anything, he just gave a contemplative glance and pointed to the clothes on the bed. "I need you to put that on."

I glanced at the clothes. They had the sa strange designs on Xander's outfit. Panic fluttered in my chest, but I kept my expression as neutral as possible. I picked up the garnts, feeling the soft material between her fingers.

"What is this?" I asked.

A smile played at the corners of Xander's mouth, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Tonight is the full moon," he said quietly. "We need to take advantage of it. We won't have another opportunity like this for a long ti."

My heart skipped a beat, fear creeping into my voice. "What are you talking about?"

His smile widened, but it didn't put at ease. "We need to be joined tonight, Lyla. We'll take the blood oath that will bind us together for life. Once we do that, it'll be easier for you to access the Ethereal realm. With my help, you'll be able to unlock all of your potential and then use it to create a new world."

My chest tightened as his words sank in. Blood oath? Binding for life? Ethereal realm? It sounded like sothing out of a twisted fairytale and the thought of it happening to felt unreal. I let out a shaky laugh, hoping to mask the terror growing inside .

"I'm not interested," I said coldly. "Whatever you're offering, Xander, get over yourself. I'm not doing it."

He sighed heavily, reaching for my hand. I tensed but didn't pull away as he pressed tiny, reverent kisses to my knuckles. Before looking up at , his eyes boring into mine, filled with longing.

"I love you," he murmured against my skin. "More than you could ever imagine. If you'd just let … I'd show you how much I do."

I felt a lump rise in my throat. He wasn't lying… I could see it was the truth with the way he held , in everything he did. He laid his head on my lap, his hair spilling over my legs. When he looked up, I saw sadness in his eyes.

"I'm not after the fact that you're a Moonsinger," he murmured. "That's not why I've sought you out. I'm just… I'm just happy that we can finally be together and I don't know but soon you may get your mories back and you'll see why I want to do this."

"It doesn't matter, Xander!" I sighed. "Fine, we can still date… I still love you but I don't want any of the other things. I just want to be a normal girl. I'll be in senior year soon and graduate, get a job and maybe find soone who will love enough to get married to and I'm not having children. I can't have my child go through this scare. But that is pretty much my dream. Not saving anyone."

"Lyla!" he chuckled softly, running a hand on the soft mound of my breasts, peaking from the blouse I had on. "Waiting all those months, acting like I didn't want you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But I've been waiting for centuries, I figured, I could wait a little more and I did. We made a promise and it's my duty to ensure it's fulfilled."

My heart tightened, not with affection, but with a strange mix of pity and fear. I took a deep breath and mustered the courage to ask the one question that had troubled since he revealed his identity.

"But… you're supposed to be dead. The last Moonsinger killed you. Isn't that true?"

He shook his head slowly, an amused smile creeping up his eyes. "I told you, I'm invincible and all the Moonsingers, except Neriah – none of them were strong enough to kill . Neriah was the only one who tapped into so parts of her abilities and took away so parts of but still – couldn't kill . But…"

He sat up.

"They weakened . The last Moonsinger was a man. He weakened and locked away before he died. But over the years, my followers – you see, they're scattered across the world. And slowly, they began to regroup and to prepare waiting for my return," his gaze darkened slightly. "Your birth Lyla, released from my prison."

I stiffened a cold chill running down my spine. "My brith?" I whispered. "How is that even possible?"

"That's how it's ant to be. As far as I am stll alive, the birth of a Moonsinger weakens the bonds used by the previous one in trapping . If you kill …" he paused, chuckling "Which I know you won't – the birth of another one of your kind would awaken . I waited for you for 10,000 years, now I know why – the universe was preparing the woman I loved."

My mind raced. Could everything he was saying be true? Could I really be tied to sothing this ancient, this powerful? I didn't want to believe it, but his words stirred sothing deep inside .

No! I had to stay focused. Whatever Xander was and claid to be, I had to survive this. If I can leave this house, it'll be esaiser for to attract help. So, I'll just play along.

"Alright!" I said softly, hating the way, his face lit up with hope. "I'll put on the outfit."