Page 16 of Rejected by My Shadow Alpha (Mate to the Fallen #1)

Drew

The silence in the room was so loud it rang in my ears.

I could hear every tick of the wall clock echoing like a drumbeat.

Ruby stood across the room, arms crossed, her posture guarded, her emerald eyes fixed somewhere behind me as if looking at me would shatter her.

I didn't blame her. I deserved every ounce of her silence, but it still hit me like a punch to the gut.

My hands remained at my sides, twitching with the need to reach for her, and yet I stayed frozen.

What words could possibly bridge the chasm between us?

How could I stand here, alive, after I'd let her believe I was dead?

My eyes clung to her like a lifeline, desperate to memorize every curve of her face.

The fiery red of her hair spilled down her back like a curtain of flame, still wild and untamed.

Her emerald eyes, though dulled now with exhaustion and pain, remained the most beautiful things I had ever seen, but they wouldn't look at me.

My wolf stirred beneath my skin at the mere scent of her, earthy like rain-drenched pine with a twist of sweet wild rose flowers.

She stood across the room, a wall of cold restraint wrapped around her.

No welcome, no fury, just silence. Somehow, her coldness hurt more than if she'd screamed.

I opened my mouth to speak, to apologize, to explain, but nothing came out.

What could I possibly say to undo the damage?

I rejected her and cruelly faked my death.

Her silence was a punishment I knew I deserved.

Then the door creaked open.

A tall woman stepped inside, arms full of fresh herbs and a gentle strength that immediately shifted the air in the room. Talismans adorned her wrists and neck, clinking softly like distant wind chimes. She paused, her gaze lingering on me, warm but questioning.

Ruby straightened. "This is Nia," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "She's the healer who runs this place with me," Ruby continued, her voice cool, almost clinical, "Nia, this is Drew, alpha of the Lunaris Pack."

Nia's hands paused mid-motion, her brows rising a fraction.

Her gaze flicked back to me, but it was Ruby she lingered on.

Like she'd expected something else. A different tone, maybe, a hint of fondness and gratitude, but there was nothing in Ruby's voice except flat neutrality, like she was introducing a stranger.

The ache in my chest flared. My past with her had been erased, reduced to nothing more than a name and a title.

Nia gave a slow nod. "So, you're the one we've been waiting for."

"Healer," I echoed with a respectful nod. "It's good to meet you."

Nia offered a small smile but turned to Ruby. "Has he seen the child yet?"

I glanced at Ruby, and she tensed. A flicker of something unreadable crossed her face before she met my eyes. Her lips parted, a hesitation so brief it might've gone unnoticed by anyone else, but not me. Never me. "Follow me."

I did.

I followed. Every step down the hall felt heavier, the sound of my footsteps echoing off the old wooden floors. When we stepped into the room, I stopped cold. There, on a low cot beneath a soft blanket, lay the child.

Liora.

Her skin was pale, almost translucent, with bluish veins running faintly beneath.

She looked impossibly fragile, her tiny frame sunken against the pillow like the breath had been stolen from her.

A chill ran down my spine. Whatever poison coursed through her veins was unnatural, something dark and cruel.

My instincts screamed that if we didn't act fast, we'd lose her.

"This is her?" I asked quietly.

"She's gotten worse," Ruby whispered, her voice cracking.

I swallowed hard. "What happened?"

"A curse," Nia replied, entering behind us. "It is powerful and ancient. Someone didn't just want to harm her. They wanted her erased."

My hands clenched at my sides. "Tell me what to do."

Nia stepped closer. "Your alpha energy is the only thing strong enough to flush out what's poisoning her, but it has to be intentional and deliberate, just as the poison was deliberate. You need to focus on healing her, not just physically, but spiritually. Connect to her. Let her feel it."

I nodded once and knelt beside the bed. My fingers trembled as I reached out and laid my hand on the child's forehead. The moment my skin touched hers, something slammed through me, a jolt, raw, electric, and ancient.

The room vanished.

Suddenly, I was a boy again, stumbling through burning trees, the scent of blood and death thick in my lungs.

I heard screams and my uncle's voice. Pain bloomed in my chest, blood soaked the snow, and my pack mates screamed as they fell.

I saw my mother's face and heard her final cry before the flames took her.

I tried to pull back, but something rooted me to the girl beneath my hand.

Then came something else—warmth, like a tether connecting me to her. It was deeper than instinct and logic. Peace enveloped me. I saw a soft hand and heard a cry and a lullaby I couldn't place but felt I'd known all my life. I ripped my hand away, gasping.

"What was that?" I croaked, looking wildly between Ruby and Nia, my whole body trembling.

Neither answered. Nia's eyes were on Ruby now, unreadable, but Ruby wouldn't look at me. My heart thundered in my chest. Why had it felt so personal?

"I don't understand," I whispered. "I've never felt something like that, not even when healing others. Why did I feel so connected to her?"

Still, Ruby said nothing. Instead, her shoulders stiffened. "How do we know if this will work?" she asked coldly, her attention on Nia, deliberately ignoring me. The words hit like a blade to the chest, but I nodded in agreement, my eyes on Nia as well.

"Did it work?" I asked, voice raw.

"Something shifted," Nia said softly. "We'll know soon."

Still, I couldn't stop the storm of thoughts swirling in my mind.

She'd once said she hadn't been with anyone since her rejection.

She had spoken of the scar where she was once marked, but that didn't mean she hadn't had sex with someone.

And the child…could she be mine? I stared at her hair. It was silver, not like Ruby's or mine.

She couldn't be…but then, why had I felt that spark? That inexplicable pull?

"You should rest," Nia said gently to Ruby. "You've barely slept. He's here now."

Ruby turned her gaze away. "I'll rest when she's better."

Nia sighed and turned to me. "You'll need to try again soon. She's holding on, but just barely."

As she stepped out with her herbs, I remained there beside the cot, the weight of questions and old wounds crushing my chest. Who was this child? And why did some deep, ancient part of me feel like I already knew her? Why did I feel so connected to her?

I looked up.

Ruby was watching me. Grief clung to her like a second skin, her arms folded tightly, lips pressed in a thin line.

Her eyes, Goddess, those eyes held so much pain.

It physically hurt to look at her. I wanted to speak, to cross the space between us, to say anything that could dull the storm in her gaze, but when I shifted, her eyes cut away.

I froze.

She was shutting me out. The sting was immediate.

It felt worse than rejection, worse than death.

I looked back at Liora. The child didn't stir, but something in her called to me with aching familiarity.

Maybe it was her strength and resolve to fight this curse cast on her, or maybe it was something deeper that I couldn't name.

I reached out and brushed a knuckle gently across her limp hand.

"I'll make it right," I murmured, my gaze on Ruby. "For her. For you."