The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger by Ejiofor Dorcas

185 Wedding revelations...

Nathan

| stood before the full-length mirror in my room adjusting the embroidery on my ceremonial joining outfit.

The deep crimson and gold of the fabric - the pack colours shimmered under the soft light-1 couldn't believe |

was the groom and the soon-to-be mated Alpha, My hands trembled slightly as | adjusted the cuffs and worked

on the fastenings.

It still felt so surreal that | would be marrying Lyla today.

However, the excitement | had still warred with a speck of doubt. Everything was going way smoother than | had

anticipated. Luna Vanessa had approved using the best halls in the pack since she was in charge of Welfare.

Not just that, she had quickly and efficiently organized the hall, the decoration, the food... all in less than 48

hours. Her role had fastened the preparation and made everything easy for us. She had gone a step further to

send out invitations to various packs and told them that since we were all trying to recover from the Feral attack,

they should only send their gifts and blessings and not bother coming.

Despite this, my father has been silent since we returned from the Harvest Moon.

He was one of the few people who hadn't bothered to congratulateafter Lyla accepted to marry me. Instead,

the moment we'd arrived, he handed in his resignation as the pack’s acting Beta without any tangible reason.

Not only that, he had gone out of his way to avoid any interaction withdespite living under the sroof.

The rift between us was widening every day, so much that | didn’t know how to mend it.

Suddenly, the door to my room creaked open, startling me. | turned, expecting one of the Betas under probation

who was assistingfor the tbeing, but | froze when | saw my father.

“Dad?” | murmured under my breath.

He was dressed in a formal attire. His blue eyes which mirrored mine were hard and unreadable as he stepped

into the room, closing the door softly behind him. It had been so long since | had seen him in anything other than

casual clothes that it took a moment to process.

“Do you need any help? Are you ready?” He asked.

“Yes,” | replied, even though a dozen questions burned on the tip of my tongue. | voiced them in my heart

instead.

Why are you here? Are you going to support me, or is this another lecture? But before | could speak them out, he

spoke again.

“I'll be officiating the ceremony, that’s why I'm here; he said flatly.

| wanted to badly ask why because my father who had been conspicuously absent from every

185 Wedding revelations

preparation had suddenly decided to take the central role in the wedding. | opened my mouth, then closed it,

unsure of how to respond.

“I see.” | said finally, nodding stiffly.

We were quiet for a moment before he turned toward the door. “I'll ask them to bring the car to

the front of the house.

A moment later, we arrived at the wedding venue.

It was the largest hall in the pack and was located at a very easy location. The hall was only used for big

occasions like weddings between important pack members or annual inter-pack meetings.

Else that, it was rarely used but was maintained regularly. As | alighted from the car, | spotted a lot of pack

members dressed beautifully with smiles on their faces. When they saw me, they all bowed in my direction and |

acknowledged their greetings immediately.

Even though | wasn’t as amazing as Alpha Logan who had been one of the best Alphas the pack. has ever

produced, | was grateful that the people lovedand were beginning to get used to my leadership.

Immediately | went around, greeting the Core Alphas of the Southern Region. They were

gathered together as always talking and laughing amongst themselves. As | walked over to them, they clasped

my hands, accepting my greeting with smiles.

“Best wishes, Nathan, Alpha Calder said clasping my hand firmly.

“May your union bring strength to your pack,” Alpha Renwick added.

“Are you looking forward to your wedding night?” Alpha Grant teased, getting a red face from me. “Oh!” he

laughed heartily turning to the other Alphas. “It’s true then.”

“True?” | tried to fight the redness in my ears. “What is true?”

“Alpha Renwick speculated that you're still a virgin and we doubted it because all the women love you. But

you've confirmed it.”

“That's not true,” | narrowed my gaze at them. “I've been with many women,”

My statement drew another amusing snicker from the Alphas as Alpha Renwick snapped his hand at them. “You

all owea thousand each. Transfer only” he added.

| moved away from them going to greet sof the Elders of the pack. By the tit was tfor the ceremony

to begin, the knot of nervousness that had lodged in my chest since last night, loosened.

| gasped in shock when | entered the hall. The setting was breathtaking: rows of white chairs draped in soft silks

of red golden- the pack colours glowed under lit lanterns hanging

overhead each table.

The screen covering the roof allowed the mid-morning sun to filter into the hall, filling the hall with light. The

makeshift altar was decorated with cascading flowers. Everywhere was so

185 Wedding revelations

beautiful. | was glad.

Finally, | took my position at the altar, the Moon Priest who would be joining us officially stood to one side and

my father stood to the other side holding the microphone.

My father nodded to the band at one corner and they slowly started playing the marching in tune. Before my

father turned to the audience.

“Please rise, the bride is here.”

All eyes turned toward the entrance as everyone rose in unison. My breath caught in my throat as Lyla cinto

my line of view. She was dressed in the vintage wedding gown Luna Vanessa had used during her time.

It was a simple, gold colour gown yet elegant and it hugged her fras if it was made with her in mind. The

flowing fabric caught the light with every step she took. Her hair was styled to perfection with a faint glimmer of

gold added to it.

But nothing could compare to her expression. Lyla was so beautiful that tears pricked at the corner of my eyes

but that was what surprised me. She was on her mother’s arm - Luna

Vanessa's arms.

Despite the smiles both women had on their faces, they didn’t bother to hide their strained history - or rather,

Luna Vanessa didn’t bother to hide it.

My eyes scanned the crowd for signs of Nanny, hoping she would be there, but she was nowhere to be found. |

wondered what Lyla would do when she discovered she wasn’t here. Especially after promising she would come.

She was supposed to cearlier though but she had calleda yesterday to tellshe would ctoday.

| searched the room again, scanning each face...

Instead, | saw unexpected guests, Luna Vanessa's brothers - the Alpha of Shadow Moon Pack. An influential and

powerful Alpha from the West and The Alpha of the Western Hill Pack. The presence of such powerful figures set

alarm bells ringing in my mind but | pushed the thoughts aside, maybe | was overthinking.

| focused solely on Lyla who was at the altar now. | smiled at her and reached out to take her from her mother,

instead, of releasing her, Luna Vanessa tightened her grip and turned both of them to face the crowd.

1 didn’t miss the satisfied smile on her face.

*Honored guests, Alphas of the South and visitors from every part of the world. My nis Luna Vanessa Skye

Woodland, the widow of Alpha Logan Woodland and | regret but | cannot approve

this union!”

A stunned silence fell over the hall. My stomach dropped, | knew it. | had a feeling ssort of would

happen.

185 Wedding revelations.

initial shock to register, she continued.

“According to our laws, the firstborn daughter of an Alpha who has no male heir is to be married to an Alpha

Regent, ensuring the stability and strength of the lineage. This is our tradition, our

law.”

The silence grew heavier. My hands clenched at my sides, as my jaw tightened. | glanced at Lyla, who looked

stricken, her lips were parted as though she wanted to protest.

Then Luna Vanessa turned to Lyla, her lips were curled, into a faint, triumphant smile.

“Lyla is Alpha Logan's bastard. And unless we've decided to allow bastard children to ascend as Lunas, | cannot

and will not approve of this union. | call on the powers of the seven core Alphas of the South and the

representative of the West to bearwitness and not permit this marriage to proceed.”