The Alpha's Forbidden Vow novel Chapter 47

POV: Selene

The news spread through the manor like a disease.

It traveled in the hushed whispers of the staff, in the triumphant glances of the senior pack members, in the very air itself, which now felt thick with Isabella’s victory.

I was in the kitchen, a space that had once been a refuge but now felt like just another corner of my prison. I was carefully slicing an apple for Leo’s afternoon snack. My movements were my only anchor, a simple, repetitive task to keep my mind from shattering.

A rare, fragile sense of hope had been growing in my chest over the past few weeks. It was a foolish, dangerous thing. I had seen the torment in Zane's eyes, felt the desperate possessiveness in his touch. I had started to believe that his cruelty was a mask for a pain as deep as my own. I had started to imagine a future where he might finally fight for us.

Then, I heard the maids gossiping by the pantry.

“Did you hear?” one whispered, her voice buzzing with excitement. “Lady Isabella is with child! The Alpha’s heir!”

“The Moon Goddess be praised!” the other replied. “A true-blooded heir! Lady Seraphina is planning the Mating Ceremony for the next full moon. It’s finally happening!”

My hand stopped moving.

The knife I was holding clattered against the wooden cutting board.

Mating Ceremony.

Not just an engagement. A Mating Ceremony was a sacred, magically binding ritual. It was for life. It was a union of souls, blessed by the Goddess herself.

It was final.

The world went quiet. The ticking of the clock, the hum of the refrigerator, the distant sound of Leo playing in the garden—it all faded into a high, piercing whine in my ears.

He was going to bind himself to her. Forever.

She was a liability I could no longer afford.

I stared down at the apple I had been cutting, at its pristine white flesh now exposed to the air.

I picked up the knife again, my hand perfectly steady.

I finished slicing the apple into neat, even wedges.

I placed them on a plate for my son.

My movements were calm. Precise. Empty.

I was building a wall of ice around my heart. And this time, it was a fortress. No one would ever get through it again.