Page 24 of Rejected by My Shadow Alpha (Mate to the Fallen #1)
Drew
She was still standing there, hand on the door, lips set in that infuriatingly stubborn line, the same one that made me fall for her, the same one that made me believe we had a fighting chance, even now.
I had just poured out my heart, laid everything bare, but she didn't move. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes...they flickered, unsure.
I stepped closer. "Come stay with me, Ruby. I'm not asking this out of desperation but out of love. For us and for Liora."
She looked away, lips parted like she wanted to speak but couldn't.
"I want to build something real with you, not apart from you."
Still, she said nothing, but something in her eyes had softened. Just enough..
"I've been gathering evidence," I continued gently. "Hard proof, financial trails, criminal dealings, and international operations about your father's empire. He isn't untouchable anymore. I'm not coming to you with just promises anymore, Ruby. I'm coming with a plan."
Her arms wrapped around herself, like she was trying to keep from splintering. "You think you can bring him down?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Drew, you don't know how deep his claws run. He's been untouchable my whole life."
"I know exactly who he is," I said, stepping closer but not touching her.
"I've seen the darkness he hides behind charm and legacy, but I've also seen what's possible when people fight with truth.
I'm not alone, Ruby. My pack, my team, we're close.
Closer than ever to bringing him down." I paused and fixed my eyes to hers, hoping what I would say next would make her see the steps I have taken to protect them.
"I have set some traps in place to fish out the moles in my pack, and soon, Ruby, I will give you the life you deserve as my Luna and my mate. Please believe me."
Her eyes met mine, doubtful and hurting, but something inside her was cracking, letting light in.
"I want to believe you," she whispered.
"Then do," I urged, my voice thick. "Believe in me. Believe in us."
A silence stretched between us, alive and tense.
"Tell me you don't feel what I feel," I said quietly. "Tell me you don't want this, and I'll walk away, but don't lie to yourself, Ruby."
Her lips parted again, but this time she didn't speak. She searched my face, every inch of it, like she was trying to connect to the part of me she could trust. "You're impossible, Drew," she whispered. "Knowing you're Wolfsbane22 makes me want to trust you, but this is not…"
"I mean every word, Ruby. Believe me this one time," I said softly, my eyes locked on hers.
She sighed, her eyes soft, then, with a sudden, aching tenderness, she rose on her toes and kissed me.
It wasn't rushed. It was intentional, full of silent yeses and buried longing.
Her lips moved over mine like a memory coming to life.
I responded slowly, cradling her face, anchoring myself at the moment she chose me.
She deepened the kiss, pressing into me, and I let her take the lead.
Her arms wrapped around my neck, her fingers threading through my hair as her body melted into mine.
The kiss turned hungry, tasting of want and missed time.
I pulled her closer, one hand at the small of her back, the other sliding along her side.
She gasped against my lips when I moved my tongue deeper over hers, her hands gripped the back of my shirt like she needed me to stay.
I will stay forever, Ruby, never to leave or abandon you again.
My hands skimmed under her shirt, her skin warm and soft beneath my fingers.
She arched slightly, pressing her chest against me, her breathing ragged and eager.
Her legs wrapped around me instinctively, hips grinding against mine, and a low growl escaped my throat.
The contact was fire. My cock strained against my jeans, painfully hard, aching for her.
I let her feel how badly I wanted her, grinding slow and deep as my lips traced her throat, then lower.
"Drew…" she gasped.
"You're mine," I whispered against her chest. "You've always been mine."
Her body trembled, her hands tangled in my hair as I moved my kisses lower, then back up, nibbling her earlobe, tasting her skin.
"Say yes," I said again, my voice hoarse, lips brushing hers. "Let me build this life with you."
Her eyes fluttered shut, her lips swollen and parted, her voice barely audible. "It's not that simple."
I pressed my hips against hers again, harder this time, and she gasped. My wolf surged forward, desperate to claim her, but just as I felt her surrender completely, just as I was about to take her up in flames with me, my phone buzzed.
I ignored it. The vibration came again, louder, longer, and persistent. I growled in frustration, my lips still on hers, and my breath panting. "Don't move," I whispered, reluctantly reaching for the phone without letting her go.
I glanced at the screen and everything in me froze. The message on screen hit me like a bullet.
"SAFE HOUSE UNDER THREAT OF ATTACK. NORTHWEST QUADRANT brEACHED. MULTIPLE ASSAILANTS.
"Drew?" Ruby asked, still breathless. "What is it?"
I looked up at her, brushing a kiss against her temple with a sigh. "I have to go. Someone has launched a strike against my pack. I need to handle it."
Her face fell. "Is it my father?"
It could be, but I didn't want her to panic. "No." I lied, "I suspect it's someone closer, maybe the traitors within my pack."
She stepped back slightly. "Do you think they know about us?"
"I don't know, but I won't take chances," I replied.
It wouldn't be safe to leave her and Liora alone. I quickly dialed Alex. "Alex, it's happening. I need you at Ruby's now. Protect her and the pup at all costs. I'm on my way to the compound."
He didn't ask questions. "On it."
I hung up and turned to Ruby, my heart tugging painfully in my chest. I kissed her tenderly and pleaded. "Please. Wait for me. Don't run this time. Don't shut me out."
Her lips parted. I could see the questions dancing in her eyes, the fear trying to rise, and the battle between trust and trauma replaying in her eyes, but she said nothing and nodded.
Relieved, I stepped back, one foot out the door, the pull to her almost too much to bear. "I'll be back soon," I promised, my voice hoarse. "We're not done."
I ran into the brush and shifted mid-stride, my bones snapping and reforming. My wolf took over. I tore down the dirt road, wind slicing past me like knives. Every muscle in me was drawn toward the battlefield ahead, but my mind stayed tethered to Ruby and Liora and the promise I made to return.
War was coming, and I wouldn't let it swallow them whole.
Three weeks ago, I'd planted a hidden recorder in Jay's quarters after overhearing his hushed call in the hallway. My gut had screamed then, but I needed proof, real proof. Days after Liora was attacked, I listened to the recording in my room, headphones on, heart pounding. The audio was clear.
"The woman and the child are a distraction to our collective mission," said the voice. It sounded deep and guttural, like the real voice was filtered, passing through a modulator. The voice belonged to no one from my pack or from any wolf I knew.
Then Jay responded, quiet and cautious, "You're sure no one suspects it came from us?"
"Not yet," the voice answered. "It was supposed to be just the pup because she is still weak and vulnerable. The attack should've looked like a random rogue. We didn't expect Drew to be there or else the wolf would have finished her off."
Jay's voice came again, low with regret. "Shame it didn't work. It would've made things easier."
The stranger's voice cut in like ice. "There's more coming. That woman must be erased. Alpha Drew may have forgotten what her father did to us, but we haven't."
That was the moment I knew that someone in my own pack had sent that wolf to kill Liora. They wanted my daughter dead.
The phone call wasn't the only evidence.
The day of the attack, after leaving Ruby, I tracked the blood trail of the wolf. The scent was faint, but fresh enough for my senses to catch. I followed it through the woods, miles from Littleton, and found it lifeless, sprawled under thick brush, its throat cleanly slit.
Dead.
The air around it reeked of blood and murder.
Whoever did this had hidden their scent, but they underestimated my power as an alpha.
I could still pick the faint, almost impossible scent as I laid my hands on the dead wolf and felt the unmistakable connection.
It had come from my pack. Whoever had done this wasn't sloppy.
They were smart, precise, and calculated.
A traitor was hiding in plain sight, patiently, waiting to strike again, but I'm not the same alpha who once let grief cloud his judgment.
I've learned to follow the whispers in silence, to track betrayal by scent alone.
Let them come. They think they're ready for war, but they have no idea who I've become.