The Alpha's Fated Outcast Rise Of The Moonsinger novel Chapter 422

Ramsey

"Let me at least inspect the house," Kyren said quietly. "It'll only take a few minutes."

I nodded and watched as he moved through the destroyed rooms, pausing occasionally to set an item right or pause to look at a marking. I tried to control the urge to charge out into the night for Lyla, but I forced myself to remain calm while I let Kyren work.

The leader of the Hollow Kin knelt beside the largest blood stain in the kitchen, squinting his eyes in concentration as he drew in deep breaths through his nose.

His fingers hovered just above the dark spots without touching them, and I could see the way his shoulders bunched in tension as he squinted closer to the markings.

Miriam had stopped crying but remained on her knees, staring at the destruction around us with hollow eyes. She looked like she had aged in the past few minutes.

After what felt like an eternity, Kyren opened his eyes and stood slowly. "This isn't Lyla's blood."

I nearly hugged Kyren out of the instant joy and relief that flooded through me. There was still hope.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." He nodded. "This isn't her scent, nor is it her blood. This blood belongs to someone else entirely – someone who was injured here, but not Lyla."

"Then whose—"

"Shapeshifters," Kyren interrupted, his voice carrying a note of disgust. "At least three of them, possibly more. Gosh, I hate those."

"I'm not surprised, and I'm sure they all pretended they were us. I wonder how long it took, Lyla, before she realised what they are."

"Whoever brought in those shapeshifters must have had access to us first because for you to be able to access the house, you need to move past the protective wards and spells Circe put around the house," Kyren said.

"And I know it's not Delia," I added. "Our eyes on her have been giving us detailed and live updates of her movement. There must be someone else."

"Maybe one of Xander's children?" Miriam added quietly, "And now that I think of it, the person who joined us recently was Circe. Ramsey, didn't I mention to you that Circe was acting a little strange?"

"Yes!" I nodded, remembering Miriam casually mentioning that something was off with Circe a few days back."

"So, the person disguised themselves as Circe," I nodded. "That explains a lot, while none of our plans ever worked with Delia, and while it seems that we've not been able to get anything from her since we started looking."

"But there's good news," Kyren continued, moving toward the back door. "Lyla left traces. I think she left these markers deliberately, knowing that we would come for her, and also confident in my abilities, because only someone like me can detect it."

"What kind of traces?" Miriam asked, struggling to her feet.

"Her pheromones," Kyren explained. "You know how strong they are; that is exactly what she did. The trail would have lasted for seven days at least."

"Thank goodness," I sighed. "How fresh are the trails?"

"It's recent. No more than a few hours old." Kyren headed for the door. "We need to move now. I'm sure they couldn't have gone far.

We piled into the Van again, with me behind the wheel and Kyren in the passenger seat, directing our route based on traces only he could detect. Miriam sat in the back, clutching what looked like a protective charm and murmuring prayers under her breath.

As I started the engine, Kyren was already on his phone coordinating with his team. I could hear fragments of his conversation – deployment coordinates, backup protocols, extraction procedures. The Hollow Kin were mobilising their full resources to find Lyla, and knowing that gave me some comfort.

But I had my own calls to make.

I pulled out my phone to call Lenny, then remembered that my original device had been taken when we were captured. "I need to make a quick stop," I told Kyren.

"We don't have time—"

"Two minutes," I said firmly. "I need a secure phone to contact White Moon Pack."

Kyren nodded reluctantly, and I pulled into the parking lot of a 24-hour electronics store. The automated systems allowed me to purchase a basic smartphone with cash, and I had it activated within minutes.

Back in the Van, I dialled Lenny's direct line while following Kyren's directions toward the outskirts of town.

"Lenny Stone, who is this?" Lenny's voice came through immediately.

"It's me. We're out, but Lyla's still missing. I need you to coordinate with Kyren's teams and establish a perimeter around grid coordinates..." I looked to Kyren, who rattled off a series of numbers. "Can you get aerial surveillance in the area?"

"Already in motion," Lenny replied. "Clarissa is here at White Moon, by the way. She's the one who figured out something was wrong and called for help."

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