The Alpha's Fated Outcast Rise Of The Moonsinger novel Chapter 287

Clarissa

Finally, when we were well away from the search party, we slowed down and continued at a normal pace.

"How did you find her?" I asked as we ducked under a low-hanging branch.

"I've been watching the pack house, keeping tabs on Nathan's movements," Jeremy replied in a low voice. "When I saw the search parties heading out, I followed at a distance. Found Lyla stumbling away from the shelter, barely able to stand."

We reached a dense thicket, and Jeremy pushed aside some branches to reveal a small natural hollow. There, curled on her side and covered with Jeremy's jacket, was Lyla. Her face was pale, her breathing shallow.

I rushed to her side, pressing my hand to her forehead. "She's burning up."

"The wounds are infected," Jeremy said grimly. "She needs medical attention, but we can't risk taking her to the pack healer."

Lyla's eyes fluttered open at my touch. "Clarissa?" she murmured, her voice barely audible.

"I'm here," I assured her. "We're going to get you somewhere safe."

"Nathan—"

"He doesn't know where you are," I promised. "We're leaving Blue Ridge tonight."

Jeremy knelt beside us. "My truck is parked about a quarter mile east, hidden off the old logging road. If we can get her there, we might have a chance."

"I can walk," Lyla insisted, attempting to sit up before collapsing back with a groan.

"No, you can't," I said firmly. "Beta Jeremy, can you carry her?"

He nodded, carefully gathering Lyla into his arms. She weighed almost nothing, and in Jeremy's big arms, she seemed like a child.

We moved as quickly and quietly as possible through the forest. Twice, we had to freeze and take cover as search parties passed nearby. Jeremy's knowledge of the terrain proved useful—he knew exactly where to hide and which paths to avoid.

The old truck was exactly where he'd said it would be, concealed beneath a canopy of branches. Jeremy carefully placed Lyla in the backseat while I climbed in beside her, cradling her head in my lap.

"There's a first aid kit under the seat," Jeremy said as he started the engine. "And water in the glove compartment. Try to get her to drink if she wakes."

The truck rumbled to life, mercifully quiet for its age. Jeremy navigated the old logging roads with practiced ease, avoiding the main routes where we might be spotted.

"Where are we going?" I asked, dabbing Lyla's forehead with a dampened cloth I'd found in the first aid kit.

"Away from Blue Ridge," Jeremy replied, his eyes fixed on the dark road ahead. "I can get you as far as the White Mountains border. After that, you're on your own."

"Why not come with us?" I asked. "Nathan will know you helped us escape."

Jeremy's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "My place is with the pack. Someone needs to stay behind, someone who knows what's really happening. I might be able to buy you some time, throw them off your trail."

The selflessness of his actions struck me. "You could be killed," I said quietly.

"I've lived a long life, Clarissa", he replied with a grim smile. "Do you know what your father asked me to do on his death bed? He could have asked for anything, but he said I should take care of his girls. No matter how chaotic things would become at some point since he didn't have an heir, I should take you, your mother, Lyla and Miriam away from Blue Ridge to any place. So, I am doing this for Logan, and I've failed my son. Maybe this is how I make amends."

After that, we drove in silence, the truck bumping along rarely used back roads. Lyla drifted in and out of consciousness, occasionally muttering names I didn't recognize. I kept the damp cloth on her forehead and tried to get her to sip water when she came to consciousness.

After what felt like hours, Jeremy pulled the truck to a stop. "This is as far as I go," he said. "We're at the border of Blue Ridge territory. White Mountains is about fifty miles that way." He pointed east.

"Thank you," I said, meaning it more than I'd ever meant those words before. "For everything."