Fated to the Alpha I Should Fear

Chapter Twelve: The Correction

The word “reset” didn’t leave Luna’s mind.

It echoed.

Again and again.

Like it had been carved into her thoughts.

Aiden stood in front of her without moving, his entire body tense like he was holding back something dangerous.

“Don’t listen to it,” he said quietly.

But Luna could still hear it.

The figure in the forest didn’t move closer.

It didn’t need to.

Its presence was enough.

“The bond was broken once,” it said calmly. “It must be corrected.”

Luna swallowed hard. “Corrected how?”

Aiden’s voice sharpened. “Enough.”

But the figure ignored him completely.

Its attention stayed on her.

“You were not meant to survive as two separate existences.”

Luna’s breath hitched. “Two… what?”

Aiden turned slightly toward her now. “Luna—don’t engage it.”

But it was too late.

The mark on her wrist pulsed violently.

And the moment it did—

images flashed.

Not memories this time.

Possibilities.

Luna saw herself standing alone.

Aiden gone.

Then Aiden alive.

But her fading.

Then both of them collapsing.

She gasped sharply, stumbling back. “Stop! Stop showing me that!”

Aiden caught her immediately. “What did you see?”

Her voice shook. “I don’t know… endings.”

That made his expression darken.

The figure tilted its head.

“Correct outcomes.”

Aiden stepped forward slightly. “You don’t decide outcomes anymore.”

The figure paused.

Then—

it smiled faintly.

“We already did.”

The ground beneath them trembled again.

But this time, it wasn’t the seal reacting.

It was something else.

Something inside Luna.

Her knees weakened suddenly.

“Aiden…” she whispered. “Something’s wrong.”

He turned instantly. “What is it?”

Her breath turned uneven. “I can feel it… inside me.”

The mark on her wrist burned brighter than ever.

Not just glowing now—

expanding.

Aiden grabbed her wrist carefully. “Look at me.”

Luna did.

And for a second—

everything else faded again.

Just him.

Just that grounding presence.

But the figure spoke again.

“He anchors you.”

Aiden’s eyes flicked sharply toward it.

“That is why the correction must remove him first.”

Silence.

That hit differently.

Luna’s grip tightened slightly on Aiden’s sleeve.

“…Remove him?” she repeated.

Aiden’s voice dropped dangerously. “Try it.”

The forest shifted instantly.

More figures appeared now.

Not just one.

Several.

Surrounding them slowly.

Luna’s breathing quickened. “Aiden…”

He didn’t look away from them.

“Stay behind me,” he said again.

But this time, his tone was different.

Not just protective.

Definitive.

Luna stepped closer instead. “No. I’m not just hiding behind you while everyone keeps talking about me like I’m some experiment.”

Aiden finally glanced at her.

And something in his expression softened slightly.

“…You’re not an experiment,” he said quietly.

That pause mattered.

Luna frowned. “Then what am I?”

Aiden hesitated.

Just for a second.

Then—

“The one thing they can’t control.”

That silence that followed felt heavier than everything before it.

The figures moved closer.

The leader among them spoke again.

“Then we will remove what makes you uncontrollable.”

Aiden moved instantly.

Faster than before.

The air around him shifted violently as he stepped forward, positioning himself fully between Luna and them.

But this time—

something changed.

The mark on Luna’s wrist flared.

And Aiden froze mid-step.

His eyes widened slightly.

“…Luna,” he said quietly.

She looked down.

The mark wasn’t just glowing anymore.

It was connecting.

A faint light stretched from her wrist toward him.

Like a thread.

Alive.

The figure’s voice echoed again.

“The correction has begun.”

Aiden clenched his jaw. “No…”

But Luna felt it too now.

A pull.

Not fear.

Not pain.

Something deeper.

Like her body was responding to him instinctively.

“Aiden…” she whispered. “I can feel you…”

His breath hitched slightly.

That alone was dangerous.

The connection between them tightened.

The figures reacted instantly.

“Separate them!”

And everything exploded into motion.

But something unexpected happened.

Luna didn’t move back this time.

She stepped forward instead.

Aiden turned sharply. “Luna—don’t!”

But she grabbed his hand.

And the moment she did—

the bond locked.

Everything stopped.

Not the world.

But them.

Aiden froze completely.

His eyes widened slightly.

Luna felt it too—

a surge through her entire body.

Not pain.

Not fear.

Recognition.

The figures hesitated.

The leader narrowed its eyes.

“The bond is stabilizing again…”

Aiden’s voice came out quieter than before. “Luna… let go.”

But she didn’t.

Because something inside her finally clicked.

“I remember something,” she whispered.

Aiden’s eyes locked on hers. “What?”

Her voice shook.

“I didn’t erase myself because I wanted to.”

A pause.

The figures grew still.

Luna’s grip tightened on his hand.

“I erased myself because if the bond stayed whole…”

She looked up at him fully now.

“…you would have been destroyed first.”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Even the wind stopped.

Aiden stared at her like he couldn’t process it.

“…Luna,” he said softly.

But she shook her head.

And for the first time—

she didn’t look confused.

She looked certain.

“The correction isn’t trying to fix us,” she said. “It’s trying to separate what we were always meant to be together.”

The mark flared one final time.

And the connection between them shattered outward in a wave of light—

blinding everything.