The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. - Chapter 416

Chapter 416: Something’s wrong

Clarissa

When the call ended, I stared at my phone like I was seeing it for the first time. The screen had gone dark, reflecting at my own confused expression. Something felt… off.

“Alpha?”

I looked up to see Beta Jeremy standing in the doorway of my office, his weathered face creased with concern.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I set my phone down on the desk and rubbed my temples, trying to process what had just happened. “I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I just got off the phone with Lycan Leader Ramsey, and something about the conversation felt… strange.”

Jeremy moved closer, “Strange how?”

I leaned back in my chair, trying to organise my thoughts. “I called Lyla because I needed help with the Alpha situation. You know how badly the meetings with the Southern Alphas went yesterday, and we’ve agreed that I needed to pay each of the Alphas a visit in their pack, and I was worried that they would turn me back, and so you suggested that I call the Lycan Leader for help.”

Jeremy nodded. “Yeah, I did. I personally reached out to each of the Alphas again to talk sense into them, but those bastards still don’t want to show you respect. Your father would have torn them apart for treating you like that.”

“Well, I thought maybe Ramsey could help. His reputation alone might be enough to make the other Alphas take me seriously.” I picked up my phone again, turning it over in my hands. “But when I talked to him… Jeremy, it didn’t sound like him at all.”

“What do you mean?”

I stood up and began pacing behind my desk, my wolf’s agitation making it impossible to sit still. “First of all, I think it’s still the early hours of the morning in the human world because when Lyla took the call, she sounded drowsy, but Ramsey sounded completely alert. Not groggy or confused like someone who’d just been woken up. He sounded like he’d been awake for hours.”

“Maybe he’s a morning person?” Jeremy suggested, though his tone indicated he was playing devil’s advocate. “And isn’t your sister pregnant? A pregnant woman is always tired and sleepy.”

“Maybe,” I conceded. “But that wasn’t the strangest part. When Lyla handed him the phone, he didn’t ask for any context. I’d been explaining the whole situation to Lyla for ten minutes – the failed meeting, the disrespectful Alphas, everything. But when Ramsey got on the line, he didn’t ask a single question about what had happened.”

Jeremy’s frown deepened. “That does seem odd. Usually, when someone hands you a phone mid-conversation, you need some background.”

“Exactly.” I stopped pacing and faced him. “It was like he already knew everything I’d told Lyla. But more than that, his responses sounded rehearsed.”

“What did he say exactly?”

I closed my eyes, trying to recall the conversation word for word. “I started to explain about needing backup for the Alpha’s visits, and he cut me off. Said something like ‘I understand the situation completely. The southern Alphas need to be reminded of hierarchy and respect.”

“That doesn’t sound too strange,” Jeremy said carefully.

“But it was the way he said it,” I insisted, opening my eyes. “Like he was reading from a script. And when I mentioned that I was worried the Alphas would reject me outright, he said, ‘Don’t worry about rejection. Sometimes force is the only language weak leaders understand.'”

Jeremy’s eyebrows shot up. “Force? That doesn’t sound like the Lycan Leader at all. From what I’ve seen him do and situations he has managed, he’s more diplomatic than that.”

“That’s what I thought too.” I resumed pacing, my unease growing with each step. “And then, when I thanked him and said I knew this wasn’t his fight, he said something that really bothered me.”

“What?”

“He said, ‘Blood calls to blood, and family debts must be paid.’ Jeremy, what does that even mean? It sounded like something out of an old ritual text, not like normal conversation.”

Jeremy was quiet for a long moment, his expression troubled. “Clarissa, that does sound strange. The Lycan Leader’s reputation is built on being straightforward and practical. Cryptic riddles aren’t his style.”

“And the whole conversation lasted maybe three minutes,” I continued. “He didn’t ask about my children, didn’t ask about Mother, didn’t even ask for specific details about which Alphas I needed to visit. It was like he was in a hurry to get off the phone.”

“Did Lyla say anything after he handed the phone back?”

I shook my head. “He didn’t hand it back. He just said, ‘We’ll be in touch within forty-eight hours,’ and hung up. No goodbye from Lyla, no ‘take care’ or ‘love you’ like she usually says. The line just went dead.”

Jeremy ran a hand through his greying hair, his expression growing more concerned by the minute. “Clarissa, I’ve been around long enough to trust my instincts, and my instincts are telling me something’s not right about this.”

“You think they’re in danger?” I asked, voicing the fear that had been growing in my chest since the call ended.

“I think something’s not adding up,” he replied carefully. “Why don’t you try calling Lyla back? Talk to her directly, see if you can get a better sense of what’s going on.”

I immediately picked up my phone and dialled Lyla’s number. It rang once, then went straight to voicemail.

“That’s weird,” I muttered, ending the call and trying again—same result.

“Her phone might be dead,” Jeremy suggested, but his tone lacked conviction.

“Lyla’s phone is never dead,” I replied, with anxiety in my voice. “She’s obsessive about keeping it charged, especially now with the pregnancy. She says it’s in case of emergencies.”

I tried a third time, then a fourth. Each call went straight to the same voicemail: no ring, no connection, nothing.

“Jeremy,” I whispered. “Something’s wrong. Really wrong.”