Fated to My Forbidden Alpha – Episode 12
Silence settled heavily over the ballroom after Jackson’s glass shattered. To an ordinary guest, the moment might have looked like an Alpha losing his temper over an awkward encounter. Every leader present understood the truth: Alexander’s touch and Jackson’s reaction were the first movements of a conflict that could pull entire packs into war.
Jackson slowly unclenched his bleeding fist. Tiny shards fell among drops of blood on the marble floor. Luke stepped close enough to block curious eyes. “Alpha, let me call the healer.” Jackson did not look at him. “I’m fine.”
He was anything but fine. His wolf raged at the sight of Alexander standing near Selene, demanding that Jackson separate them and claim what he had spent years denying. Mine echoed through his thoughts with every beat of his heart. The cuts in his palm began healing almost at once, but the humiliation of losing control before rival Alphas would not disappear so easily.
Jackson hated the hypocrisy of his own instincts. He had convinced himself Selene meant nothing and planned to sever their bond before the night ended. One touch from another Alpha had stripped those lies bare before the entire pack.
Alexander accepted a fresh glass of wine from a passing servant, outwardly composed. Only Drake recognized the tension along his shoulders and the careful control behind every breath. “You felt it,” the Beta said quietly.
“Yes.” Alexander watched Selene move toward the edge of the room. The contact had confirmed their connection, yet the bond did not feel settled. It opened toward her with absolute recognition and then caught against something already tied to Jackson.
“There is a bond,” Alexander said, “but it’s incomplete—or obstructed.” Drake frowned. Two fated claims violated everything they understood about the Moon Goddess’s laws. Even second-chance mates did not appear while an original bond remained intact. Alexander had no explanation, only the conviction that someone had concealed part of Selene’s truth or interfered with magic older than pack law.
Near the servants’ passage, Selene tried to steady her breathing. Lyla had become unusually quiet. When Selene asked what troubled her, the wolf admitted she had never heard of one soul reacting to two different Alphas.
“Is something wrong with me?” The question emerged from fifteen years of being called defective. Lyla answered at once. No. There is something wrong with the truth, not with us. The certainty steadied Selene, though it did not solve the mystery.
Tiffany appeared before she could ask more. A warm smile stretched across her face, false enough to sharpen Selene’s instincts. “There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere.” Her perfume could not hide the sour edge of anger now detectable to Selene’s awakened senses. She brushed imaginary dust from Selene’s shoulder, and Lyla recoiled from the touch.
“I was working,” Selene said. Tiffany’s fingers lingered near the crescent mark before withdrawing. “Jackson wants to see you in his private study. Immediately.” Her smile widened. “You wouldn’t want to keep your Alpha waiting.”
Jackson stood at the study window when Selene entered. The music below had resumed, muted by thick walls, but the celebration’s strain followed them inside without mercy. Blood from his hastily cleaned hand marked the white cloth wrapped around his palm. For several moments he did not turn, making Selene wait as another demonstration of authority.
“You embarrassed me,” he said. Selene stared at his rigid back. “I dropped a tray because someone walked into me.” Jackson faced her sharply. “You let Alexander touch you.”
The accusation stunned her into silence. “I was falling.” Jackson ignored the obvious answer. “You didn’t pull away.” Selene’s disbelief slowly burned into anger. “So that is why you brought me here? You’re jealous after telling me you plan to reject me?” The contradiction was so blatant that even Jackson’s expression tightened, but pride would not let him acknowledge it.
His expression darkened. “You belong to Blood Moon.” The words carried ownership rather than loyalty. Selene felt Lyla rise inside her and answered before fear could intervene. “No. I belong to myself.”
Jackson froze. No servant had ever contradicted him so plainly, and the woman before him no longer resembled the silent girl he had controlled through rank and isolation. Her wolf had awakened, bringing courage Jackson could neither command nor dismiss.
He stepped closer, filling the study with Alpha pressure. “You forget your place.” Selene’s knees trembled, but she kept her eyes level. “I finally remember it. My place is not beneath you, Jackson.”
The use of his name struck like a challenge. For the first time, Jackson understood that he was losing control—not over Blood Moon, but over the mate he had assumed would remain available until he chose what to do with her.
Outside the study, Tiffany stood against the wall and listened. Every accusation confirmed what the silver pulse had already exposed. Jackson was not merely annoyed that Alexander had interfered; he was jealous, possessive, and terrified of losing Selene.
Tiffany’s imagined future fractured. She had shaped herself into Blood Moon’s Luna, cultivated allies, and tolerated Jackson’s moods because the engagement promised power. Her family had invested wealth and influence in the match, and guests downstairs were already measuring the scandal’s political cost. One servant girl could now take everything without even wanting it.
