Claimed By The Twin Alphas

Chapter Twelve: Alden’s Suspicion

KAEL'S POV

I was in my private study reviewing border reports when Alden entered without knocking. The expression on his face told me immediately that something had happened.

"We need to talk," he said, closing the door firmly behind him. "About your Luna."

I set down the reports, tension already building in my shoulders. "What about her?"

"She's hiding something." Alden moved to the window, looking out over the palace grounds. "I just came from her chambers. She was there with Dante, having what looked like a very private conversation."

"Dante is her bodyguard," I said, though unease was already creeping through me. "Of course, they talk privately."

"Not like this." Alden turned to face me fully. "When I entered, she jerked away from him like she'd been caught doing something wrong. And Dante positioned himself between us, protective. Defensive."

I stood from my desk, the unease solidifying into something darker. "What are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything about Dante." Alden's voice was measured, careful. "But your Luna is definitely hiding something. Something to do with the Vale twins."

The name made my jaw clench. "She told me she didn't see them this morning."

"She lied," Alden said it flatly, without embellishment. "I saw their motorcycles leaving the palace grounds myself, right around the time servants reported hearing voices from the Luna's chambers."

Anger surged through me, hot and possessive. "She lied to me? Directly to my face?"

"It gets worse." Alden moved closer, lowering his voice even though we were alone. "I saw the marks, Kael. On her wrists, before she could hide them again."

My blood ran cold. "What marks?"

"Mate bond marks." He watched my face carefully as he continued. "Silvery marks that glow with the bond's power. They appear when true fated mates first see each other."

I wanted to deny it, wanted to call him a liar, but I'd felt something wrong when I marked Lara at the Claiming Ball. The way the bond had resisted hadn't settled properly. I'd ignored it, told myself it didn't matter.

"Show me," I demanded.

Alden pulled out a worn book from his coat, one of the ancient texts he was always studying. He opened it to a marked page showing detailed illustrations of mate bond marks, the silvery patterns that appeared on fated mates' skin.

"The Vale twins have them too," Alden said quietly. "I had spies watching them after the Claiming Ball. Both twins bear matching marks on their wrists. The same marks your Luna is hiding under her long sleeves."

I stared at the illustrations, rage and something like despair warring inside me. "So what does this mean? She's fated to them, not me?"

"Exactly." Alden closed the book. "You chose her, claimed her, made her your Luna in front of everyone. But fate chose the Vale twins for her. And no amount of claiming can change that."

I wanted to destroy something. Wanted to hunt down those twins and rip them apart for having what should have been mine. "She's mine," I growled. "I claimed her first."

"And that's what we'll use," Alden said, and something like satisfaction crept into his voice. "Don't you see, Kael? This is perfect."

"Perfect?" I stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "My mate is fated to my enemies. How is that perfect?"

"Because her body will call to them." Alden's eyes gleamed. "The mate bond is the strongest pull in our world. It doesn't matter that you claimed her, doesn't matter that she wants to be loyal to you. Her very soul will draw the twins to her like moths to flame."

Understanding began to dawn, cold and calculating.

"I want to acquire their ancient Alpha power without having to hunt them across the entire north,". "They'll come for her, Kael. They won't be able to help themselves. And when they do, when they try to take what they think is theirs, we'll be ready."

The plan was elegant in its cruelty. But jealousy still burned in my chest like acid. "What if she chooses them? What if the bond is too strong and she leaves me for them?"

"She won't get the chance." Alden's voice was absolute, certain. "Her deaf week ends tomorrow at midnight. After that, you keep her close. Isolated. Make her completely dependent on you for everything. Don't let her out of your sight."

"And the twins?"

"They're making moves already. They'll try to try to convince her to leave you." Alden smiled coldly. "When they do, we'll be ready to trap them, drain their power, and complete the ritual."

I turned away, staring at the maps on my wall showing Northwind territory. My pack. My responsibility. Everything I'd sworn to protect, no matter the cost.

"What if she finds out?" I asked quietly. "About the ritual? About what we're planning?"

The silence stretched long enough that I turned back to look at Alden. His expression was harder than I'd ever seen it.

"If she discovers the truth before we're ready," he said slowly, deliberately, "then we move up the timeline. We take the baby at six weeks instead of eight."

"The ritual won't work at six weeks," I protested. "You said the soul needs eight weeks to form properly."

"It's not ideal," Alden admitted. "The ritual will be weaker, less stable. But it will still grant you immortality, just with more risk involved." His eyes bored into mine. "And yes, taking the baby that early will almost certainly kill her in the process. But if she knows the truth, if she's trying to escape or warns the twins, we won't have a choice."

The words hung between us like a death sentence. Which, I supposed, they were.

"She trusted me," I said, and hated how weak my voice sounded. "This morning, she looked at me with such love."

"And she'll keep looking at you that way as long as you play your role perfectly." Alden moved to the door, then paused with his hand on the handle. "But don't forget what this is really about, Kael. Your pack needs an immortal Alpha. They need a leader who will never weaken, never die, never fail them the way your father did."

The reminder hit exactly where he intended. My father's weakness had gotten half our pack killed. I'd sworn I'd never let that happen again.

"Keep her close," Alden said again. "Keep her isolated and dependent. And whatever you do, don't let those twins get to her alone. The mate bond will only grow stronger the more they're near each other."

He left, and I stood alone in my study, staring at nothing.

Lara had lied to me. Had the mate bond marks of the Vale twins on her wrists. Was fated to be with them, not me.

But she was mine. I'd claimed her, marked her, made her Luna in front of every pack in the north. And I wasn't giving her up, not to fate, not to the twins, not to anyone.

Even if keeping her meant her death.

I pulled out the ritual book Alden had left behind and opened it to the final pages. The instructions were clear, written in ancient script that detailed every step of the Alpha Curse.

Eight weeks for the ideal ritual. Six weeks if we had no choice.

Either way, Lara was already dead. She just didn't know it yet.

I closed the book and locked it in my desk drawer, then headed toward her chambers. Time to play the devoted Alpha again. Time to make sure she stayed loyal, trusting, completely in love with me.

Because if she ever discovered the truth, we'd have to kill her early.

And I found I still cared enough to want her to die thinking I loved her.