The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 203: Chapter 203

Isabelle POV:
“Alpha, we have a situation.”
Carson burst through the doors of my studio, his chest heaving, his blue eyes wide with alarm.
I frowned, setting aside the brush I'd been using to touch up a portrait of my late father, the scent of oil paints a stark contrast to the wild energy that radiated from Carson, a chaotic blend of pine and fear that made my wolf growl.
“What is it now, Carson?” I asked, my voice sharp.
It seemed like every day brought a new crisis, a new challenge to my authority, to the fragile peace I'd been trying to maintain within the Mondragon pack.
“They’re testing me, these wolves.” My wolf snarled, her claws itching to extend, to assert dominance, to remind them who was in control, to…
“Don’t, Isabelle. Not now.”
I silenced her, the memory of Rowan’s words, his accusation, his pain, a fresh wound on my own heart.
He’s right. You’re pushing everyone away.
You’re letting your anger, your… disappointment… control you.
“It’s… Rowan, Alpha,” Carson said, his voice a hesitant whisper, his gaze darting away, unable to meet mine, the weight of what he was about to reveal.
“He’s… gone. To the Bloodmoon territory.”
My heart lurched, a mix of anger and… fear?
An emotion I rarely allowed myself to feel, a vulnerability that I’d buried deep, the icy facade that I’d worn for so long, a shield against the world, against the pain, against the… love, that I’d denied, a love that threatened to consume me.
“What?” I exclaimed, my voice sharper than I intended, my hand tightening on the brush, my knuckles turning white.
“He’s gone to the Bloodmoon territory? What in the goddess’s name is he thinking? He’s supposed to be preparing for the Alpha ceremony, for the summit, not… not going on some reckless, impulsive… quest!”
“He’s gone after that omega, hasn’t he?” I said, my voice cold, flat.
The knowledge that the man who was supposed to be my mate, my partner, my equal, had chosen another, a forbidden love that threatened to shatter the fragile peace that held our world together.
“That… Catrina girl.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Carson said, his voice barely a whisper.
His blue eyes, usually so bright, so full of life, now clouded with a sadness that mirrored my own.
“He… he found out she was missing. And he… he blamed himself. He said… he said it was his responsibility to bring her back.”
Guilt, sharp and unexpected, twisted my gut, a knot of pain that echoed the emptiness in my own heart, the longing for a connection that was forbidden, a love that was denied.
I’d seen the way Rowan looked at the girl the day of his graduation, the warmth in his amber eyes, a love that defied logic, that challenged the very foundations of our world.
And I’d seen the way Derek looked at me, the desire that he couldn’t conceal, a reflection of my own forbidden longing, a dangerous flame that threatened to consume us both.
I pushed them away, Carson. Both of them.
I built walls around my heart, hid behind my Alpha mask, and now… they’re both hurting.
And it’s… it’s my fault.
“The Bloodmoons… they’re dangerous, Carson,” I said, my voice a low growl.
The fear for Rowan, a fear I wouldn’t acknowledge, a vulnerability I couldn’t allow myself to indulge, masked by a concern for the pack, for the alliance, the duty that was my birthright, my burden, my shield.
“They’re unpredictable. Ruthless. Rowan… he’s walking into a den of vipers. He’s… he’s putting himself in danger.”
“He doesn’t care, Alpha,” Carson said, his voice a soft rumble. “He said… he said he’d do anything to bring her back. That she’s… his everything.”
His words, a confirmation of my own worst fears, the knowledge that Rowan’s heart belonged to another, that I, was nothing more than a… pawn, a placeholder, a… stranger, in his life.
“And Derek?” I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it.
“What about Derek? He’s with Rowan, isn’t he?”
“Yes, Alpha,” Carson said, his gaze meeting mine for a fleeting moment.
“He… he insisted on going with Rowan. He said… he said he wouldn’t let his brother face the Bloodmoons alone.”
A wave of… relief? Gratitude?
A warmth that spread through my limbs, chased away the chill of fear that had gripped me, a feeling that I couldn’t explain.
A connection to Derek, of the ancient laws that sought to control us, a loyalty that I’d taken for granted, a love that I’d… rejected?
“He’s not like Rowan, Isabelle. He’s… different. He’s… yours.” My wolf’s voice, a soft purr in my chest, a dangerous temptation, a forbidden desire.
“He'll be a good Beta” I said, my voice softer now.
My icy facade cracking, a vulnerability that I hadn’t allowed myself to show, a glimpse of the woman beneath the Alpha.
The she-wolf who yearned for a connection, for a love that was real, for a mate who would choose her, who would fight for her, who would…
“He’s… loyal. Brave. And… he cares deeply… for this pack. For… his Alpha.”
“...For you, Isabelle. He cares… for you. “ My wolf’s words, a whisper of truth, a dangerous temptation, a reminder of the forbidden desires that simmered beneath the surface.
I paced the length of my office, my steps agitated, my mind racing.
The conflict between my duty, my responsibility to the pack, to the alliance, and the pull of my heart raged within me.
Rowan was reckless, impulsive, blinded by a love that I knew, from the echoes of a past I’d tried to forget, could be both a blessing and a curse, a force that could either heal… or destroy.
He was walking into a den of vipers, challenging the Bloodmoon pack on their own territory, risking not only his own life, but the stability of the alliance, the future of our world.
And Derek… Derek was loyal, protective to his brother, a wolf who would follow his Alpha into the jaws of hell itself, a devotion that both touched and terrified me.
“You have to choose, Isabelle. Duty… or desire? The pack… or your heart?” My wolf’s voice, a low growl, a challenge, a mirror reflecting the truth that I’d been trying to avoid.
I stopped, my gaze fixed on the portrait of my father, his emerald eyes, so like my own, staring back at me, a legacy of strength, of leadership, of a responsibility that I’d inherited, a burden that I couldn’t escape.
What would he do, Isabelle? What would he expect of you?
The answer, clear, unwavering, a voice that echoed through the generations, a whisper of blood and bone and an instinct to protect, to lead, to… love?
He’d expect you to do your duty, Isabelle. To protect the pack. To secure the alliance. To… let Rowan go.
But another voice, a softer voice, a whisper of rebellion, of a desire that I’d tried to suppress.
A longing for a connection that defied logic, of a happiness that I’d denied myself, tugged at my heart, a persistent ache, a reminder that I was not just an Alpha, a leader, a pawn in a game of power, but a woman, a she-wolf, a creature with a heart that yearned to be free, to love, to be… loved.
“But what about Derek, Isabelle? What about… us?” My wolf whimpered.
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, the scent of pine and leather, of Derek’s wolf, a reminder of the choice I had to make, a choice that could either save our pack… or destroy it.
And as the weight of my decision, the knowledge that the fate of our world, the future of our kind, rested on my shoulders, a burden I couldn’t escape, I knew that I had to choose.
“Alpha what have you decided to do?”