The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger.-Chapter 289: War and a second proposal...

"How are you doing now? How much do you remember before the blackout? Clarissa only told us how she rescued you from your father's study but doesn't know how and why you got all of these injuries. Who attacked you?" he asked.

"One question at a time, baby," I chuckled but stopped immediately when he didn't even crack a smile. He was serious. I cleared my throat and cocked my head to one side.

"Well, bits and pieces," I admitted. "I know Nathan has been possessed by the Dark One, or maybe not possession in his words. Nathan is his medium, but everything that he has done so far are purely Nathan's thoughts and doing."

Ramsey stared at me with confusion clouding his features. "I don't understand. You said he was possessed by Xander…"

"Yes," I nodded. But not the kind of possession where you need to reside in the person. Nathan is not hosting him; he's serving as Nathan's conscience and helping him make bad and detrimental decisions. But every other thing happening now is purely Nathan."

"Wow!" Ramsey exclaimed. "I wasn't wrong then. Nathan has an evil side to him."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Xander, in Nathan's body, of course, also told me that he is raising an army to attack the packs." I studied his bruised face. "Looks like he succeeded."

Ramsey nodded, a muscle in his jaw tightening. "It happened faster than anyone expected. I mean, we were on high alert because we had a Feral attack days before, but it still took us by surprise. Five days ago, Nathan led an attack onthe White Mountain Region."

"Five days ago? When I was still unconscious in that truck with Clarissa?"

"Yes. The timing was... perfect." Ramsey held my gaze. "Almost as if he waited until you were incapacitated before making his move."

A chill ran through me. Had Xander somehow known the exact moment I'd be at my weakest? Was that why he had picked the fight with me in my father's study? Was that also the reason he left me there without any medical aid?

"Tell me everything," I urged, sitting up straighter despite the protest of my aching body.

Ramsey ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "The first attack caught us completely off guard. What was most confusing was that most of the armies he led that day were Ferals—not just a few, but hundreds of them, and they were not with their Trinax."

"Ferals?" I echoed, shocked. "But they're impossible to control without their Trinax. They attack anything that moves."

"Not these. These moved with purpose, with strategy. They followed commands." His voice dropped. "Nathan's commands."

I felt a lump in my chest. Someone who could control Ferals at that scale possessed power beyond anything I'd encountered.

"We managed to repel them, hold them off until they retreated," Ramsey continued. "We thought it was over, that we'd survived the worst of it." A bitter smile crossed his face. "We were wrong."

"He came back?" I guessed.

"The third day. And this time, he wasn't alone. He'd formed alliances with other werewolf pack Alphas who'd turned against the Council. He had Ferals, Panthers, and even rumors of vampires among his armies."

I'd heard of the were-panthers from the southern territories, historically enemies of wolf-kind, but vampires? They kept to themselves, rarely interfering in werewolf-Lycan affairs. For them to join Nathan's cause meant something had shifted in the supernatural world's balance of power.

"The fight was fierce," Ramsey said. "They breached the first security wall of the White Mountain Region in less than an hour. The second and third gates fell just as quickly."

"How is that possible?" I whispered. The White Mountain defenses were legendary, built over generations to withstand any attack.

"They had magic on their side—dark magic. The kind that makes the earth split open and swallow entire squadrons of warriors." His hands clenched into fists. "Then they hit White Hill Pack on the outskirts. It was a massacre. That pack lies in ruins now, Lyla. Nothing left but ashes and bodies."

I shivered inwardly at the thought of an entire Lycan pack in ruins. What would be the fate of werewolves then? On the other hand, White Hill Lycan Pack was small but ancient, and it was known for its healers and scholars. They'd posed no threat to anyone, and they almost never participated in any meeting held by the White Mountain council. I know that personally.

"After that, the remaining Lycan Packs in the region realized we couldn't stand alone," Ramsey continued. "We joined resources, formed three factions under the major packs left: The White Cloud Faction, The White Lake Faction—Cassidy's pack—and the White Moon Faction, my own."

"United front," I murmured. "Smart."

"It was our only hope. We developed different strategies, coordinated our defenses." A hint of pride entered his voice. "We managed to repel the second attack. The losses weren't as devastating, but many of our warriors are exhausted, injured. We can't withstand another assault like that."

I absorbed the information, trying to reconcile the Nathan I knew with the monster Ramsey described. But it wasn't Nathan, I reminded myself. It was Xander, using Nathan's body, Nathan's knowledge of pack weaknesses.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked. "If White Mountain is under threat, why aren't you with your pack?"

Something flickered across Ramsey's face—hesitation, perhaps even shame.

"I had to leave," he admitted. "All the elders, literally everyone in the alliance, were pressuring me to marry Cassidy Thorne."

"Cassidy?" The name brought back flashes of Nathan's words during our fight: Ramsey is planning to marry Cassidy and unlock the power of the white moon, making my work even easier.

"There's a belief," Ramsey explained, "that a union between the Alpha of White Moon Pack and the Alpha daughter of White Lake Pack could unlock ancient powers that might turn the tide against Nathan's forces."

"And you don't believe it?"

"I've recently discovered that White Lake Pack has a long history with Moonsingers." His eyes met mine meaningfully. "Did you know they were called Aureans before?"

My breath caught. Of course, I knew that through the time I had that vision as Neriah. So I nodded.

"The elders claim an Aurean was once mated to a Lycan from White Lake Pack," Ramsey continued. "They believe that such a union again—between Cassidy and myself—would unlock the power of the white moon, giving us the strength to defeat Nathan's armies practically, the Dark One."

The pieces were starting to align. Xander wanted this union to happen, while Ramsey had fled rather than go through with it. Something wasn't adding up.

"If it could help defeat Nathan, why refuse?" I asked carefully.

Ramsey stood, moving to sit on the edge of my bed. His hand found mine, warm and unexpectedly gentle.

"Because it would be a lie," he said softly. "Because such power requires genuine bonds, not political arrangements." His thumb traced circles on the back of my hand, sending unexpected shivers up my arm. "And because my heart belongs to you, Lyla."

Though I've heard Ramsey's confession of love to me a thousand times, no matter how many times I've heard it, it always gave me butterflies. I lowered my gaze.

"I'm just going to wait until you're healed," he continued, "And then..."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring—white gold with a moonstone at its center, surrounded by tiny diamonds like stars. It was my engagement ring. Without hesitation, he slipped it onto my finger.

"Let's really get joined, forever," he said, his eyes never leaving mine.