Fated to My Forbidden Alpha – Chapter 12
The grand ballroom fell into an uneasy silence.
Alpha Ethel stood just inside the entrance, his weathered face unreadable as his sharp eyes swept across the crowd. Warriors bowed respectfully while servants hurried to clear a path.
Yet Ethel barely noticed them.
Something—someone—had caught his attention.
Near the center of the room stood a young servant girl in a simple gray dress. She kept her head lowered, trying to disappear among the guests.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, his heart skipped a beat.
“…Who is that?” he murmured.
His Beta followed his gaze.
“The maid?”
Ethel frowned.
“No.”
Not just a maid.
There was something painfully familiar about the girl.
The way she stood.
The way she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Even the color of her eyes…
For the briefest moment, memories of a little girl laughing through the forests of Bloodwind flashed across his mind.
Impossible.
His daughter had vanished fifteen years ago.
She couldn’t be standing here.
Could she?
Across the ballroom, Selene suddenly felt someone watching her.
She turned instinctively.
Their eyes met.
An older Alpha she’d never seen before was staring directly at her.
There was no hatred in his expression.
No pity.
Only confusion…
And sorrow.
A strange ache settled in Selene’s chest.
“Lyla…”
“Yes?”
“Who is he?”
Her wolf hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
But even Lyla sounded uncertain.
“He feels…”
“Familiar.”
Selene whispered the word before Lyla could.
Neither of them understood why.
Alexander noticed everything.
He noticed the way Ethel stared at Selene.
He noticed Selene’s confused reaction.
Most importantly—
He noticed Jackson watching all of it.
Jackson’s shoulders had become noticeably tense.
His wolf paced violently beneath his skin.
Something was wrong.
Alexander’s instincts told him this wasn’t coincidence.
He quietly leaned toward Beta Drake.
“Find out who that servant is.”
Drake blinked.
“You still don’t know her name?”
Alexander never took his eyes off Selene.
“I intend to.”
Meanwhile, Tiffany stood across the room gripping her wineglass so tightly it nearly cracked.
She followed every glance.
Jackson toward Selene.
Alexander toward Selene.
Now even Alpha Ethel.
“What is so special about her?”
Jealousy twisted inside her.
No.
Not jealousy anymore.
Fear.
For years Selene had been invisible.
Now suddenly every important Alpha couldn’t stop looking at her.
It wasn’t natural.
Something was happening.
Something Tiffany couldn’t control.
And she hated it.
The evening’s master of ceremonies finally stepped onto the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen!”
Conversations quieted.
“Please welcome Alpha Jackson Richford!”
Polite applause echoed through the ballroom.
Jackson forced a confident smile as he climbed the platform.
Beside him, Tiffany linked her arm through his.
She smiled for the guests.
But inside, panic continued to grow.
Jackson raised a crystal glass.
“Thank you all for attending tonight.”
His voice carried easily through the hall.
“Blood Moon has grown stronger with every passing year.”
Applause followed.
“We welcome both allies and honored guests.”
His eyes briefly met Alexander’s.
The two Alphas exchanged polite smiles.
Neither trusted the other.
Not even slightly.
Jackson continued.
“Tonight marks a new beginning.”
Another round of applause.
Selene quietly resumed serving drinks, hoping nobody would notice her.
She was wrong.
Every few minutes she felt Alexander’s eyes finding her again.
Then Ethel’s.
Then Jackson’s.
It was suffocating.
“Lyla…”
“I’m here.”
“Why won’t they stop staring?”
Her wolf remained silent.
Because Lyla already suspected the answer.
Destiny was pulling invisible threads together.
And none of them could stop it.
As the celebration continued, Selene approached a nearby table carrying a tray of champagne.
A guest accidentally stepped backward.
The tray tilted.
Several glasses slipped.
Selene stumbled.
Before she could hit the floor, a strong hand caught her wrist.
Warm.
Steady.
Safe.
Alexander.
For one suspended heartbeat, neither of them moved.
The instant their skin touched, a powerful surge shot through both of them.
Alexander inhaled sharply.
His wolf roared.
Mate.
Not a whisper.
Not a possibility.
A certainty.
At the same time, Lyla cried out inside Selene’s mind.
“There!”
Selene gasped.
The warmth she had felt for days exploded into something overwhelming.
She looked into Alexander’s eyes.
Golden.
Gentle.
Searching.
Unlike Jackson’s presence, which always carried pressure and command, Alexander’s touch felt strangely peaceful.
She pulled her hand back quickly, frightened by her own reaction.
“Thank… thank you.”
Alexander didn’t answer immediately.
He simply stared.
His heartbeat had accelerated.
Impossible.
Everything inside him insisted this woman belonged to him.
Yet Jackson had already claimed she was his mate.
Neither possibility made sense.
Unless…
Someone was hiding the truth.
Across the room, Jackson saw everything.
His wineglass shattered in his hand.
The sharp crack echoed through the ballroom.
Conversations stopped.
Every wolf turned toward the Blood Moon Alpha.
Jackson barely noticed the blood running down his fingers.
His wolf was no longer merely restless.
It was furious.
Mine.
The possessive growl thundered through his mind.
Mine.
Mine.
Jackson took one step toward Alexander.
Alexander calmly met his gaze.
No words were exchanged.
None were needed.
Every Alpha in the room understood what had just happened.
A challenge had begun.
Not for territory.
Not for power.
For the woman standing silently between them.
And watching from the shadows, Alpha Ethel noticed something else.
As Selene bent to pick up a fallen napkin, the sleeve of her dress slipped slightly.
On her shoulder…
He caught the briefest glimpse of a crescent-shaped birthmark.
His face turned deathly pale.
“No…”
His voice was barely audible.
“That can’t be…”
But deep inside, a father’s hope—buried for fifteen years—suddenly came back to life.
