Filed to story: Fated to My Forbidden Alpha Novel Free Online >>
Alpha Wyatt took a slow deep breath. He gritted his teeth as his hand gripped tightly to the arm of his chair.
“Those are very strong words, Jackson,” Wyatt spoke carefully, taking a large portion of his self-control to maintain his calm.
“I know, my Alpha, and I don’t say them lightly,” Jackson replied.
“Then explain!” Wyatt shouted.
Jackson flinched at the strength of Wyatt’s tone. A deep resentment had been growing in him at how easily he reacted to the alpha’s power ever since Alexander had brought him to his knees.
He cleared his throat and steadied himself.
“At the Blood Moon Gathering, Selene met Alpha Alexander for the first time. From what she said, it was very uncomfortable.” Jackson began.
He wasn’t lying. Selene had told him that she felt very uncomfortable with Alexander. However, the reason for the discomfort didn’t need to be shared with Alpha Wyatt.
“He was insistent on spending time alone with her, so she made it clear she already had a mate. You might have heard about him and his wolves running wild through the trees that night? Apparently, it was to release some… frustration.” Jackson gave a slight growl as he finished his sentence.
It helped tell his story to Alpha Wyatt, but it was also genuine. He hated that Alexander expressed a desire for Selene. He hated that she felt anything at all for him in return.
Wyatt swallowed and let out a tense breath.
“Selene is a beautiful girl, and without being a part of Winter, it isn’t strange for someone to think she is still unmated. I may not like the idea of his attention on her, but I cannot fault the man for showing interest.”
“Yes, my Alpha,” Jackson agreed, “I don’t like any of it at all. But, if it ended there, well, there would be no reason to have this conversation.”
“There is more?” Wyatt asked.
Jackson nodded, and Wyatt signaled him to continue.
“As you know, Selene sent invitations for her birthday to all the alphas as a gesture. She did not expect that Alpha Alexander would come to her party, yet he did.” Jackson clenched his jaw at the memory.
“If I remember correctly,” Wyatt said, “Alpha Alexander came to her aid at the party.”
Jackson pushed down the desire to yell at his Alpha, to scream in his face, or even take a swing at him for suggesting that Alexander in any way was a good man towards his Selene.
“Yes, you are correct, my Alpha,” Jackson answered, “a wolf from Autumn was drunk and had been harassing Selene. Both Alpha Alexander and I put an end to it. Axel and I escorted the man out.”
Wyatt nodded to himself. Jackson could practically see the thoughts in his head. Words like ‘misunderstand’, ‘confused’, ‘good man’ were bouncing in Jackson’s mind like live grenades, setting off explosions of anger and frustration. He took a cleansing breath before continuing.
“But earlier in the day, I was on patrol, and I heard what sounded like an argument. So I approached just in time to see Selene falling into tears as Alpha Alexander shouted at her, with his alpha tone.”
Wyatt let out a low growl.
“For what reason?” he demanded.
“I don’t know,” Jackson answered, “I didn’t hear the words exchanged. All I know is that she had gone for a run, and she ran into Alexander.”
“For a run?” Wyatt asked. He looked down, squinting as though he were trying to focus on a blurry memory. Suddenly they widened, and he looked straight at Jackson. “Was she running in her wolf form?”
Jackson looked away, once more clenching his jaw, he looked angry, but he was pleased. He wanted Wyatt to assume that Alexander had seen Selene naked, that she was upset because of this.
“Selene always runs in wolf form,” Jackson replied with a low growl, just enough to show his anger at the ‘situation’.
“Did he see her!?!” Wyatt snarled loudly, standing from his chair and ripping the arm off as he did.
Jackson fell back, shocked by the sudden outburst. He landed hard against the floor, scrambling to pick himself up.
‘Get up!’ he thought to himself angrily. ‘You are not some pathetic pup! Get your ass up!’
After righting himself and pushing away from the resentment and shame, he looked back up at Wyatt. He was angry, his eyes taking on an unnatural glow, showing the intense fury he felt.
It wasn’t surprising. Just as Holden had said, Wyatt was a traditionalist. More so than any other wolf. Thinking that Alpha Alexander may have even glanced at her flesh was enough to set him off, imagine how he would feel if he knew that Jackson had touched that flesh.
Jackson felt a smile trying to show itself on his face. He quickly pushed it away, focusing on the conversation.
“I don’t know,” Jackson said, his tone serious, “she wouldn’t tell me.”
Wyatt growled.
“All she would say was that she had run into him, and they had a disagreement, that he got upset. I didn’t tell her that I had seen him use his alpha tone or that I had heard only one sentence that had been spoken between them.”
“What sentence?” Wyatt asked.
“I heard Selene repeat that I was her mate. It was after this that he got angry.”
Wyatt moved away from Jackson. He walked to the stone fireplace and held to it as though without it, he would fall. He was silent for a long time. Jackson observed, trying to decide if he should continue or not.
“I don’t understand this.” Wyatt finally spoke, “If this all happened, if Selene felt so sure that Alexander had ill intentions, why did she not tell me? Why did she agree to go to Summer?”
Jackson smiled a Cheshire cat grin, this question he was more than prepared for. He knew exactly how to answer this in a way that would benefit him most.
“Duty before heart.”
Wyatt turned and looked at Jackson, whose smile had quickly faded back to a face of quiet anger and concern.
“What?” Wyatt asked, his eyes holding a painful expression.
“When I asked her why she wouldn’t tell anyone, why she wouldn’t let me tell anyone,” Jackson said, sadness carefully playing in his voice. “All she would say was duty before heart.”
Wyatt’s shoulder sagged; a wave of sadness crept over him.
Jackson felt confident that he had succeeded in convincing Wyatt of Alexander’s ‘true’ nature.
“Thank you for telling me.” Wyatt said sadly, “I will be more aware of Selene’s wellbeing from now on.”
Jackson nodded respectfully.
“I will let Selene know that she won’t need to worry about Alpha Alexander’s return.” Jackson smiled.
“What do you mean?” Wyatt said, looking at Jackson as though he said something strange.
“His training,” Jackson said, “I’ll just let her know that someone else will handle it.”
“Why would you do that?” Wyatt asked, straightening himself.
“I just assumed… now that you know what happened…” Jackson replied, unable to hide his confusion or fear. “You aren’t still going to let him try to steal her… are you?”
“Steal her?” Wyatt asked, “Jackson, no one can steal your mate.”
“But–“ Jackson began.
“There is no need to worry about something like that happening. The Goddess herself has blessed the two of you with your bond. No one can break that,” Wyatt smiled, putting a hand on Jackson’s shoulder reassuringly.
“Yes, I know,” Jackson said, “but, Alpha Alexander–“
“I understand your concern, and as I said, I will pay more attention to Selene and her wellbeing from this point on. But, as far as Alpha Alexander, I think there have been some misunderstandings.”
There it was, one of the words Jackson had feared finding its way into this conversation.
“You said yourself that you were not present for the whole conversation, and let’s face it, Selene is a good girl, but she can be a bit hostile herself. It’s possible they simply had a disagreement that got out of hand. Alexander is a good man.”
Another of the words he feared.
“I will talk to them both, see if we can clear this up.”
Jackson felt a rush of panic. If Wyatt told Selene about their conversation, how would she react?
“She really didn’t want me to tell you about this. I came here on my own. Please, I beg of you. Don’t end my marriage before it has even begun.” Jackson laughed nervously.
“Alright,” Wyatt sighed. “But I will give you a piece of advice, do not hide things from your mate. It never turns out well.”
“Agreed,” Jackson said.
“As far as this situation goes, I won’t be removing Selene from her assignment, as I am the one who made this agreement. So I cannot back out of it at the last minute. But I can ask one of the other berserkers to train with them if we feel it is necessary to have a chaperone.”
“Thank you,” Jackson replied, trying desperately to keep from showing his frustration and anger.
“But,” Wyatt added, “I will be talking to Alpha Alexander about all that has been shared. I will make sure he understands and respects the mate bond as the will of the Goddess!”
Jackson felt familiar darkness slithering into his heart.
‘If Alexander tells Wyatt that he is also Selene’s mate, he’ll take her from me!’ his panicked thoughts screamed, ‘I won’t let that happen!’
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?