Page 19 of Rejected by My Shadow Alpha (Mate to the Fallen #1)

Ruby

He was here again.

I could hear him playing in the living room with Liora.

I wiped down the dusty frame of an antique mirror, the golden swirls on its edges catching the light in a way that once made my heart flutter with excitement, but today, they were just shadows of a life that didn't feel like mine anymore.

My hands moved with mechanical precision as I rearranged the shelf in my day shop, placing a pair of old porcelain candlesticks beside a vintage jewelry box.

Anything to keep my mind from spiraling again.

But it spiraled anyway.

Drew had to stop coming.

How do I tell him to stop coming around when my daughter lights up the second he walks in? When her laughter, once hesitant, now bubbles out at the sound of his voice?

She was healing and thriving, and I was grateful for his help, but watching her with him made my skin prickle. It was too easy, too perfect, and nothing in my life had ever been perfect without a price.

He'd once looked me in the eye and walked away. What was this now? Kindness, affection, and fatherly care? Real or rehearsed? I didn't know, and that terrified me more than anything.

And there was the matter of the curse. It came from his pack, whether he knew or not. Someone close to him had wanted Liora dead. How could I possibly trust him after that?

A sudden burst of laughter snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts. It was Liora's laughter, bubbling and bright, followed by Drew's deeper chuckle.

My heart cracked.

I turned, wiping my palms on my jeans, and walked towards the sound like a woman approaching a fire she didn't know how to contain.

The living room glowed with late afternoon light.

They sat on the rug, surrounded by scattered sketch papers and colored pencils.

Drew had a paper crown on his head, crooked, ridiculous, and Liora was trying to glue a second one together.

"You're not the only alpha here," she declared proudly. "Princess alphas get crowns, too."

Drew laughed, his eyes crinkling with something I couldn't name. "Then I bow to you, Princess Alpha."

My heart twisted.

For a few seconds, I saw a different Drew.

This vulnerable, tender man seemed different from the man who broke me with a look and walked away with my soul in his fist. I could see this man kneeling beside my daughter, grinning like a fool, his eyes soft and shining.

There was something tender in the way he ruffled her hair.

Something reverent in the way he looked at her, like she was a miracle he didn't deserve but would spend his life protecting.

Wolfsbane22's words echoed in my mind, "I had hurt someone more than I can ever explain. If I had the chance to make it right, I wouldn't think twice."

Could it be the same for Drew? Could Drew carry that kind of remorse?

That kind of ache? I didn't want to believe it, but doubt stirred quietly inside me, loosening the certainty I'd held onto like a shield.

Maybe he wasn't the same man who left me bleeding in Westbrow.

Maybe something had changed. Or maybe I was just a fool, seeing what I wanted to see.

He looked up, sensing me, and his smile faltered.

"Mama," Liora beamed. "Look what we made!"

I swallowed hard and forced a nod. "Looks beautiful, baby."

She jumped to her feet. "I want to show Nia!"

"Go on," I said, brushing her cheek. "She's in the back garden."

Liora bolted off, crown in hand. The moment she disappeared, silence fell like a heavy curtain.

Drew stood, awkwardly brushing his hands on his jeans. "She's incredible."

"We had a deal," I said flatly, folding my arms. "You heal her. You don't stay."

His gaze didn't waver. "I know. I've been trying to keep my distance, but Ruby…."

"Don't," I snapped, my voice rising. "I mean it. You made your choice the moment you rejected me. You made it again when you disappeared. Liora is getting attached, and I don't want her hurt."

He stepped closer. "I know I don't deserve a second chance, but I'm trying now, Ruby.

I stayed rooted. "Trying doesn't erase the damage, Drew."

"No," he said, voice steady. "But it's the only thing I have to offer. I don't expect forgiveness. I just want to show up for you and Liora, to protect you both."

I looked at him, really looked. The walls I'd built around my heart didn't shake, but something in his eyes made me pause. "I'm not the same woman who begged you to see me," I said, arms folded. "So don't ask for anything you're not ready to earn."

His lips parted like he wanted to say more, but he nodded. "Then I'll earn it. Day by day. Whatever it takes."

I didn't reply. I didn't believe him, so I couldn't trust him or his attempts at redemption.

"I tried to kill the part of me that loved you," he said, his voice raw. "But I couldn't, Ruby." He stepped forward and cupped my cheek gently. Emotion twisted in my chest. I hated how sincere he sounded.

"You have no right to speak like this," I said, taking a step back, but Goddess, his nearness, hit me like a wave.

The scent of him and the heat radiating off his skin tugged at something deep and buried.

My resolve trembled. For a second, just a breath, I forgot why I hated him.

My body remembered everything we once were and everything we could've been.

"Ruby, please, give me a second chance." His voice was rough and raw, the kind that scrapes against old wounds. He reached for me, slowly, as if afraid I'd vanish.

I moved away and opened the door wide. "Please leave," I said, gesturing towards the door.

The words were barely out when a scream pierced the air. High, shrill, terrified, and unmistakably Liora's.

"Liora!" I froze in panic, my entire being afraid, pumping with adrenaline. I didn't feel my legs move. I was already running. Drew was close to my heels as we tore through the hallway and out the back door into the garden.

The world slowed.

Liora was cornered, huddled behind Nia's legs. Her eyes were wide and terrified. Nia stood in front of her like a human shield, barely breathing, hands trembling, but her stance was firm.

And there it was.

The wolf. Massive and mangy, foam dripping from its snarling jaws, saliva trailing down like thick strings of venom.

Its eyes, Goddess, its eyes were wrong. They were bloodshot, glazed over, and unseeing.

The fur along its spine was patchy and mottled with sores.

It trembled with every breath, not from fear but from something deeper, like its body was tearing itself apart from within.

Liora's silver hair seemed to brighten up with a pulsating power of its own.

I could see what she was doing, trying to keep the wolf away from attacking them, but Liora's powers had only just begun recovering.

She wouldn't be able to defend herself if something went wrong.

She was still weak from the recent illness, and I wasn't sure how much longer she could keep him away.

I froze.

Everything in me screamed to protect my daughter, but I couldn't move. My wolf surged against my skin, agitated and restless. Nia hadn't shifted, and I realized why. She was afraid the slightest provocation might set the deranged creature off. It was unwell, feral, and possibly broken.

And then it moved, one step forward, then another. Its head was low. Saliva hissed as it dropped onto the stone path. A guttural snarl vibrated through the air, primal and thick with madness.

I took a step forward, my voice breaking. "Nia, get her out of…"

A growl ripped through the silence beside me, low and dangerous.

Drew.

He stepped forward, every inch of him crackling with fury. His body was tense, his jaw clenched, eyes wolf-like. He was locked on the beast like he was seconds from war.

The wolf turned and saw him. It lunged at Drew.

Time fractured as I watched the beast soar through the air, all fangs and fury, and Drew shifted mid-sprint, bones snapping, fur bursting through skin.

His wolf collided with the attacker in a brutal, airborne clash.

They crashed to the ground in a frenzy of claws and teeth.

I heard the sound of flesh tearing and bones crunching. Drew's wolf slammed the beast into the earth, snarling, tearing, dodging, and fighting like something ancient and wild had been unleashed inside him.

"Move!" I yelled at Nia, shoving past the chaos. I scooped Liora into my arms, holding her against my chest so tightly I feared I'd crush her. Her small fingers clutched my blouse.

"Mama…"

"Shh, baby, I've got you." I turned to Nia, who was backing up slowly, eyes never leaving the fight. "Inside, now!"

We sprinted for the door. I slammed it behind us, locked it, and fell to my knees. Liora was still clinging to me, her tiny body shaking like a leaf in a storm, but I couldn't stay there. I had to go back. I had to know Drew was okay.

"Nia, please watch her," I choked, placing Liora in her arms. Then I turned and ran back into the garden.

The scene looked like a battlefield.

Blood streaked the ground. Dirt and torn grass were scattered everywhere.

Drew had the upper hand now, pinning the beast beneath him, his teeth buried deep into its flank.

The rabid wolf howled, yelped, and then jerked away, limping and bloodied.

It scrambled to its feet, disoriented. Its red eyes flicked toward me, then back to Drew. Fear overtook rage.

It turned and bolted, crashing through the underbrush with a pained, defeated whimper. Drew started to chase the wolf.

"Drew!" I called out, breathless. "Let it go!"

He skidded to a stop, his massive form panting and snarling.

Then slowly, he turned and shifted back.

Naked, bleeding, and glorious. I grabbed a bed lining from the clothes line and rushed to him, covering him, my heart still thundering in my chest. His arms were torn, scratches deep and raw, blood dripping onto the grass, but he was alive. Thank the Goddess, he was alive.

"You're hurt," I said, reaching for him.

"I'm fine."

"You're bleeding," I snapped. "Don't argue."

I picked his clothes up from the floor and held his hand.

He let me lead him inside. My hands trembled as I pushed him onto the clinic bench.

I grabbed supplies from the cabinet, trying to calm the quake inside me.

If he hadn't been here, if he hadn't acted when he did.

I shut my eyes. Liora. That wolf. It seemed madness had clouded its senses. What if it had gotten to her?

I watched Drew wash his hands in the sink, his back bruised with claw marks. I guided him to sit down and fought the tears brimming in my eyes, my heart grateful he had been around on such a day as this.

"Thank you for saving her," I whispered, pressing gauze to his arm.

Drew looked up, his eyes dark. "I'll always protect her. I'll protect both of you. I don't care how much you push me away. I'm not walking away again."

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to focus on the wound, not the ache building in my chest.

"Did you recognize the wolf?" he asked.

"No." My voice was barely audible. "It wasn't from around here. I've never seen it before."

He cursed under his breath, his jaw tightening. "Then someone sent it, or something darker is happening."

I didn't argue. I just cleaned his wounds in silence, but I couldn't stop my hands from shaking. He'd fought for her without hesitation, and he'd bled and saved her again. He showed a fierce, relentless protectiveness, and I was still keeping the truth from him.

Was I doing the right thing? For the first time in a long time, I wasn't so sure.