The Alpha’s Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger

Chapter 344: Trials of echoes - past lives II

Lyla

The scene shifted. Aeron sat in a tent with three elders, with grave expressions.

"You’re a Moonsinger," the eldest said. "Born once in a generation. Your voice can command the beasts because you share their nature."

"I’m not a beast," Aeron protested. "I’m a warrior. I was born to fight; enough of all this talk about Moonsinging. Besides, didn’t the High Priestess already confirm that I lost my powers?"

"You did lose your powers, Aeron, but you’re fighting with Neriah’s sword. You should not forget that. You’re both," the female elder replied. "And now you must learn to control this gift before it controls you, since you have Neriah’s sword."

Aeron shook his head, sinking the sword in front of the Elders. "I was only forced to retrieve it because it seemed like the only thing that could kill Ferals, but it doesn’t work. I don’t want this. Find someone else."

"There is no one else," the third elder said firmly. "The Dark One has returned, and only a Moonsinger can face him."

"And I will with my sword and my wits not singing like a fucking bird. I won’t be doing that." Aeron gritted his teeth. He was clearly frustrated.

"The Moon Goddess chooses who she will," the female elder said simply. "It’s not for us to question. If you do not embrace your power, the Dark One will defeat us and rule our world."

Years seemed to pass in moments. I witnessed Aeron’s struggle to master his powers and his reluctant acceptance of his role. I felt his loneliness and his sacrifice of a normal life for duty.

Then came his confrontation with the Dark One—not Xander as I knew him, but a different vessel. This one had the body of an elderly man but moved with unnatural speed and grace.

Unlike me, Aeron faced the Dark One without an army.

"Your voice won’t save you, Moonsinger," the Dark One taunted. "I’ve grown stronger since the last time."

"So have I," Aeron replied, his confidence masking the fear I could feel churning inside him.

The battle was fierce. Aeron’s fought bravely against the Dark One’s corrupted followers, and Ferals while also using his voice. He’d mastered his power, turning it into a precise weapon rather than the wild force it had once been.

When the moment came to deliver the final blow, with the Dark One weakened and vulnerable, Aeron hesitated.

"Do it," one of his lieutenants urged. "End him now!"

But Aeron saw something in the Dark One’s eyes—a flash of the human still trapped inside. His mercy cost him everything. The Dark One was on his feet one second, and the next he was driving a blade through Aeron’s chest.

As he lay dying, his blood soaking into the earth, Aeron sang one final song—not to attack but to bind.

"I can’t destroy you," he gasped, "but I can cage you. For a time."

The Dark One screamed as spectral chains wrapped around him, pulling him into a void that opened beneath his feet.

"This isn’t over, Moonsinger," he raged as he was dragged down. "I will return. Again and again until the cycle is complete."

With his last breath, Aeron whispered, "Then someone stronger will be waiting."

The scene shifted, and I found myself in a dirty pen crowded with female werewolves. The smell of unwashed bodies, fear, and despair was overwhelming. Among the women was a small, fragile-looking girl with haunted eyes. Raina had the Omega mark on her left foot. She was an Omega Moonsinger.

None of the histories I read ever mentioned a woman. As I stared closely at her, I saw she was wearing something glittery around her neck. It was the same Moonstone that Nanny had.

"Get up, bitches," a guard snarled, banging his club against the bars. "Buyers coming through. Look pretty if you want to eat tonight."

The women shuffled into a line, their heads bowed—all except Raina, who stared defiantly at the approaching men.

"This one’s got spirit," one buyer commented, grabbing her face. "How much for the little Omega?"

"She’s worthless as a broodmare," the guard said. "Except you want her for pups. She’s useless and possessed. But she might amuse you for a night."

"I’ll take her," the man decided, tossing a small pouch to the guard. "She’ll learn submission soon enough."

The man grabbed the Moonstone around her neck. "Where did you get this?" he asked.

"From my mother and her mother before her," Raina answered, holding his gaze.

In one swift motion, the man nodded, yanked the Moonstone around her neck, and held it up to the light. "It looks like some precious stone. What is it?" noveldrama

"Give it back!" Raina said quietly.

"I am your owner now; whatever belongs to you belongs to me," the man scoffed, shovelling the rock into his pocket. As he turned to signal the guards standing behind him to take her, Raina jumped on him.

With the flick of her finger, she tore the man’s clothes, clawing his skin from the top to the bottom as blood flowed. The man screamed and started hitting Raina, who held onto him, clawing at his skin – his face, his neck... everywhere.

It took six men to pull her away from him finally, but by that time, the man’s body was filled with blood.

"Give it back," Raina said quietly, stretching her hand before him.

Trembling, he reached into his pocket and threw the Moonstone at Raina, who caught it mid-air and tied it around her neck before returning to her former position.

The buyer and his servants left after he collected his refund. One man with a veil over his face, who had been quiet throughout the entire incident, kept staring at her.

Later that night, the sellers sneaked into the room, in a bid to chain Raina, but something broke inside her. As they reached for her, she opened her mouth to scream, but it was a song that came out instead.

The melody was raw, but powerful. The men collapsed, clutching their heads as blood leaked from their ears. Guards rushed in but fell to their knees as her voice gained strength.

That man with a veil later came in and asked her to stop. Somehow, he was immune to her singing. He helped Raina escape that night and told her she should not forget this day. Sooner or later, he hopes she can pay him back.

Raina escaped that night, but freedom brought new challenges. I watched as she struggled to survive alone, an Omega outcast with a power she didn’t understand.

After days without food, she collapsed near a small cottage at the edge of a forest. An older woman found her there.

"What have we here?" the wise woman murmured, checking Raina’s pulse. "A Moonsinger? After all these years?"

She brought Raina inside and nursed her back to health. When Raina was strong enough to speak, she asked, "What did you call me?"

"Moonsinger," the wise woman replied. "One with the voice that can bend reality. It’s been thirty years since the last one fell."

"I don’t understand," Raina said, confused.

"You will," the woman assured her. "In time."

Years condensed to moments. I saw Raina grow into a woman, maybe my age or older. Seeing her now reminded me a lot of Nanny. I didn’t want to think so much of it, but she looked as if she would easily pass for her.

She was learning to control her voice, which was her weapon. The wise woman taught her the histories and responsibilities of a Moonsinger.

"Why me?" Raina asked one evening. "I’m nothing. An Omega nobody wanted."

"The Moon Goddess doesn’t choose by rank," the wise woman replied. "She chooses by heart and purpose. And yours, despite everything, remains pure."

Raina wasn’t ready when the Dark One found her, appearing as a handsome young man offering friendship. She’d mastered her voice but lacked a warrior’s instincts.

"You could join me," the Dark One offered, his tone reasonable and persuasive. Why fight for those who cast you aside? We could reshape the world, you and me."

"The world doesn’t need reshaping," Raina replied. "It needs healing."

She fought valiantly but was outmatched. In her final moments, she used her voice to send a message across time—a vision for the next Moonsinger.

"The Dark One fears balance," she whispered as life left her. "Not power, not strength, but the harmony of light and shadow..."