The Alpha's Fated Outcast Rise Of The Moonsinger novel Chapter 293

Lyla

I shifted in Ramsey's lap, my lips never leaving his as his hands gripped my waist. The leather seats of the car creaked beneath us with each movement. After the events at Golden Gates—the healing, the ferals, the revelations—we'd fallen into this strange, intense connection that neither of us could resist.

"We should be there in about two hours," Lenny called from the driver's seat, his voice deliberately loud.

We ignored him. I tangled my fingers in Ramsey's hair as he trailed kisses down my neck. The ring on my finger caught the sunlight streaming through the window, sending tiny rainbow prisms dancing across the car's interior.

His hand grabbed my breast, smoothening my peeking nipples with his thumb. I moan and move against him, loving how his tent was pressing hotly underneath me. Our lips met again, tangling in desperation as we suckled on each other as if there was nectar.

From the front seat came another, low, irritated growl.

Ramsey and I reluctantly broke apart, both breathing heavily. I glanced toward the front, meeting Lenny's annoyed gaze in the rearview mirror.

"What's wrong?" Ramsey asked, his voice still husky.

Lenny's eyes narrowed. "What both of you are doing is very gross. Can you not?" He gripped the steering wheel tighter. "At least with me in the car."

Heat flushed my cheeks, and I shifted away from Ramsey, smoothing my rumpled blouse. "I'm so sorry, Lenny."

Ramsey cleared his throat, adjusting his position to something more dignified befitting a Lycan Leader. "You're just jealous."

"I'm trying to drive without crashing," Lenny muttered.

A slightly awkward silence fell over the car. Ramsey reached for my hand, interlacing our fingers, a compromise between the intimacy we craved and the modesty Lenny demanded.

"You were supposed to pick us up yesterday," Ramsey said, changing the subject. "What held you up?"

Lenny sighed heavily, his broad shoulders tensing under his leather jacket. "The White Mountain Region has been getting an unusual number of visitors since yesterday. Since you weren't around, I had to handle things."

"Visitors?" Ramsey and I echoed simultaneously.

"Is it ferals?" Ramsey asked, instantly alert. "Did they attack again?"

I felt my body tense, remembering the ferals at the Temple. Though Templenaged to control them, the memory of their savagery before I'd intervened still haunted me. I left them at the Temple to protect the women; they are perfectly normal now.

Lenny shook his head, eyes fixed on the winding mountain road ahead. "It wasn't ferals."

"Which visitors do you mean then?" Ramsey's voice had taken on the authoritative tone he used as a Lycan Leader.

Lenny's grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white. "Yesterday, Nathan killed the Five Core Alphas of the South. Their deaths caused panic among their pack members, and a lot of them fled to White Mountain Region seeking refuge."

"WHAT?" Ramsey and I exclaimed in unison.

I felt the blood drain from my face. "All five Alphas? Dead?"

"Murdered," Lenny confirmed grimly. "They confronted Nathan about his alliance with the Dark One and refused to attack Golden Gates. Apparently, he transformed into something that was not entirely wolf or human and tore them apart. At least, that is what I heard."

My stomach twisted. To imagine Nathan slaughtering five Alphas in cold blood... he couldn't have devised all the thoughts himself. He must have had help.

"Xander," I whispered. "It has to be."

Ramsey squeezed my hand. "Tell us everything, Lenny. Don't leave anything out."

Lenny adjusted the rearview mirror, meeting my eyes briefly before focusing back on the road. "According to the survivors, the Alphas had confronted Nathan about his recent actions. They refused to participate in the attack on Golden Gates, saying it violated ancient codes. Nathan—or whatever is controlling him—flew into a rage and killed all five of them. Alpha Renwick's son arrived with about thirty refugees yesterday morning, mostly women and children."

"Alpha Renwick," Ramsey murmured, his expression grim. "He was a good man. Honorable."

"His son Damien said Renwick was the first to stand against Nathan," Lenny continued. "His throat was torn out before he could even shift."

I closed my eyes, fighting the wave of nausea that accompanied the mental image. "What about the other Southern Packs? The ones not under the five Core Alphas?"

"Most have pledged allegiance to Nathan out of fear," Lenny replied. "Others are in hiding, trying to stay neutral."