The Alpha’s Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger

Chapter 319: Tears and peace...

Lyla

Ramsey stared at me for a few seconds. The news of Lenny finally waking up was certainly the last thing he was expecting to hear.

"A-Are you sure?" he asked with a whisper. "The healer said he wasn't responding to any treatment and we should prepare for the worst."

"Well," I shrugged, "Good thing you have me. I know how much Lenny means to you – sometimes I wonder if you love him more than me. Bottom line, I was able to heal him – it was a nasty poison, but I took care of it. He's fine and resting now."

He stared at me again as if his brain was still processing my words. "Lenny is… healed?"

"Yes," I confirmed again, still a tad surprised at what I'd done. "The poison is gone. He's resting now, but he'll make a full recovery."

For a moment, Ramsey didn't move or speak, and then he scoffed, lowering his head until it was almost touching my lap.

"I thought—" His voice broke. He ran a hand over his face, trying to hide the sudden wave of emotion that passed through him. "I thought I was going to lose him. The healers said there was nothing more they could do."

I reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. "He's going to be okay, Ramsey."

"You don't understand," he said, rising to his feet. "These past few days have been…"

He turned away, giving me his back. I could see his shoulders were tight with tension. I waited patiently, giving him the space to collect himself.

"I almost lost you both on the same day," he finally said, still facing away from me. "The two people I care about most in this world, and I couldn't protect either of you."

When he turned back, the controlled, powerful Lycan Leader was gone. In his place stood just Ramsey—vulnerable, exhausted, and fighting tears.

"I've been sitting beside his bed every night, when the healers go to rest, and after I leave your room too," he confessed. "I watched him getting weaker, Lyla, knowing it was my fault. That knife was meant for me. He took it; he was protecting me. I'm not such a great friend to him. We don't agree on so many things yet, but he willingly put himself in harm's way to save me."

and he made no

whisper. "When I saw Cassidy's knife in your chest... I've never felt so helpless.

he didn't try to hide them. I'd never seen Ramsey cry this way—not when he was wounded in battle, not when we lost warriors, not even

had died—if either of you had died—I wouldn't have forgiven myself." His words came out with a painful sound. "I'm supposed to protect the people I love, and I failed. Completely. Everyone was

Ramsey," I tried to

humorlessly. "I'm 28 years old, Lyla. I spent the better part of my life making the wrong decisions, fighting battles I simply could have avoided if I didn't let my damn

father was a better Lycan Leader. He kept our world at peace and made all the werewolves submissive under the rule of the White Moon Throne. No one dared cross him; his only flaw was his weird interests," he scoffed. "He preferred men. Constantly clashed with my grandfather, who

"I don't blame you for anything, Lyla.

stood and walked to him, wrapping my arms around him. For a moment, he remained stiff, still fighting for control. Then he broke, pulling me against him and burying his face in my hair as his body shook with

are not a failure, Ramsey. You didn't fail," I whispered. "We're both still here.

me. "When they told me about the poison, that there was no cure... I've never felt so powerless. I've been making war plans, giving orders, and pretending I knew what to do, but inside, I was falling apart. I couldn't save him. I couldn't save you. What kind of Lycan

enough to look up at him, to place my hand on his tear-streaked face. "The kind who feels. The kind who cares so deeply it

touch. "I was so afraid," he admitted in a whisper. "I'm still afraid. There's so much

emotion on his face—this was a side of Ramsey few ever saw. The weight of leadership, the constant pressure to be strong for others, had built walls around his heart that only collapsed in

promised. "We're stronger together, remember?

can't win? The war council suggested I storm into White Lake and capture Elder Thorne and his family. That would force their warriors to fight alongside ours. But I don't want that. We don't need more

a deep breath, trying to centre myself in the

I clasped his hands like

we can get. We haven't even fought with Xander yet… this is just a piece of what's to come. You must do everything necessary to achieve what you want. That is the only way to

"I hate this… I hate

you're better than me when it comes to decision making, and you must agree we're misfits… the Moon Goddess must have been

drew laughter from

a deep, shuddering breath, then pressed his forehead against mine. "Thank you," he whispered. "For saving Lenny. For saving yourself. For giving me hope when I thought it

holding each other while his tears gradually subsided. I felt something change between us – a deepening of trust, an

being truthful. Not completely. The truth is

The same one who would reject me