Page 25 of Rejected by My Shadow Alpha (Mate to the Fallen #1)
Ruby
The soft rise and fall of Liora's breathing was the only sound in the room. She was curled up beside me, her fingers loosely gripping mine even in sleep. I stroked her silver hair back, planting a lingering kiss there, my heart heavy with a weight I couldn't shake. She didn't stir.
It had been hours.
Drew has not returned.
The silence in the house made me uneasy and gnawed at me like rot beneath my skin. Nia had gone to the nearby town to assist a witch with herbs. She wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Drew hadn't responded to any of my messages.
I'd called Drew twice, even texted on the underground platform.
Nothing, not even a word. I'd tried to tell myself it was fine.
He was probably busy and maybe something had come up with his pack, but as the hours dragged on, the silence became a drumbeat of dread pounding in my chest. The last thing he said was that he'd return soon, that he'd come back for us.
But he hadn't.
I leaned down, pressing a kiss to Liora's forehead. She stirred, a soft sigh escaping her lips. For her sake, I picked up the storybook again, reading quietly, my voice steady despite the storm raging beneath my skin.
"…and the silver wolf, though wounded, stood tall because courage wasn't about strength, but the love he fought for…"
Suddenly, I heard the front door burst open with a deafening bang.
The crack of it against the wall shattered the stillness.
My wolf surged up immediately, adrenaline flooding my veins.
Startled, I grabbed Liora instinctively, clutching her to my chest. Her eyes flew open in confusion, but she didn't scream.
She just stared at the bedroom door like she already knew what was coming.
From the living room, I heard snarling, growling, and a heavy crash.
My heart seized. Alex was in the living room, watching to ensure Liora and I were safe.
Panic surged through me. I scooped Liora into my arms as she squealed in surprise.
My feet hit the floor, and instinct took over.
I ran to the back hallway but froze at the growls erupting from the living room.
Snarling, claws, flesh meeting flesh. I could smell the metallic tang of blood and fur. I recognized the scent. Alex and others, but the new scent that followed behind it made bile rise in my throat.
Cornerstone wolves. My father's wolves.
He found me. My father found us.
No. No.
I backed into the bedroom with Liora still clinging to me.
My heart slammed into my ribs. I reached into the drawer beside the bed, fumbling past old notes and a cracked photo frame until my fingers closed around the silver blade I'd found in my mother's diary.
It was barely the length of my palm, thin and delicate, easy to conceal in a closed fist, but its edge gleamed cold and sharp under the dim light.
It was small, but deadly. I fitted it into my grip with practiced ease, sliding it into its cover in a way that let me unsheathe it in a heartbeat.
"Mommy," Liora whispered, her expression calm and stoic. Her eyes weren't afraid. Why weren't they afraid?
"It's okay, baby," I said, trying to sound calm, but my voice shook. "Stay behind me."
She didn't move. She didn't cry. She just tilted her head toward me and whispered, "It's time for justice, but only fate decides the end."
"What?" I breathed, but I didn't get to ask again.
The door burst inward. Two men stormed inside, their eyes glowed an unnatural shade of amber, their lips curled in menace. I shoved Liora behind me, baring my teeth as my wolf surged beneath my skin. I didn't care if they killed me, but I wouldn't let them touch her.
A third figure stepped in behind them, slender, hooded, and face covered by a grotesque clownish mask with a leering grin that turned my blood to ice. The masked figure tilted its head, then spoke.
"I must admit…this has taken far too long." The voice was muffled and altered, but unfamiliar. "Years of chasing ghosts, shadows…and now, here you are, Ruby Alfonso with Drew's child with her beautiful, rare bloodline. A perfect gift with so much potential and power we've never seen before."
I pulled Liora tighter against me, ready to defend and protect her with everything, even if it meant I had to lie.
"She is just a pup. She has no such powers."
The figure chuckled, voice low and cold. "The curse told us everything. She's powerful, Lunaris blood doesn't lie. You've been hiding something priceless, but now…it's time." My heart dropped, my mind reeling. Wait. What?
How did my father's people know all of this?
Only someone inside Drew's inner circle would have had that information.
My stomach knotted as a cold realization crashed over me.
These weren't just my father's people. One of them had been inside Drew's pack.
A mole. Someone close enough to report back in detail, to manipulate things from the inside.
"You," I spat. "You cast that spell on her, didn't you? You cursed her."
The figure sighed dramatically. "Regrettable, yes. The plan was to kill her and the alpha and get you back to your father. We even sent the mad wolf to finish the job after Drew healed her, but last-minute changes came up, and we need her."
"You were in Drew's pack," I whispered, more to myself than to them, my voice cracking with disbelief. "You're the mole…"
The figure tilted their head, unbothered. "Connections run deeper than you think."
My throat closed. What kind of connection could tie someone from Drew's pack to my father's sick web? What deal, what betrayal could make that possible?
Panic surged in my chest, cold and paralyzing. Drew had known there was a mole in his pack, but he had no idea how deep my father's control runs and how far his influence stretches, even into the ashes of Lunaris. Was the call about the attack a ploy to get him away from us?
If my father had embedded someone this close, close enough to curse Liora and report every detail, then he wasn't just watching, he was orchestrating, and Drew had no idea just how many of his moves were being watched, predicted, possibly even guided.
This was what I was running away from all these years.
"You're sick." I spat, sickened by the clownish smile, my fingers itchy to unmask the vile person behind it.
"No. I'm determined." The masked head tilted again. "And now, the time has come to bring her where she belongs."
The figure pulled out a phone, dialed a number, and said, calm as a lullaby, "The suspect has left the location safely. We have them."
Suspect? Them? They have been watching me and Drew all this while. Determined to fight them off, I lunged, and my foot connected hard between the masked figure's legs as I kicked hard, but something strange happened. The figure stumbled slightly and grunted but didn't fall. My stomach dropped.
A woman.
She chuckled darkly behind the mask. "Surprise…stop fighting, Ruby. It's time to go."
Quietly, I turned and quickly placed the blade of betrayal that I found in my mother's journal safely in my bra, pretending to run.
The two brutes seized me. I struggled violently, kicking, snarling, and biting, but they were stronger.
One of them slammed me against the wall, knocking the wind from my lungs.
The figure stretched her hand towards Liora, and Liora held it, without struggling or crying.
Had my child been hypnotized? Alarmed, I fought harder.
"Let her go!" I screamed. "Let my daughter go!"
I fought like hell, kicking, twisting, and biting. One of them cursed and slapped me hard across the cheek. My head jerked to the side, my vision swimming, but I still kept screaming. Liora hadn't said a word. She stood calm and still, her hand tucked gently into the masked woman's grip.
"Run!" I cried. "Baby, please, run!"
She looked at me with eyes that calmly glowed faintly in the dark. Her calmness did nothing to assuage the terror I felt in my gut.
"Liora!"
A white handkerchief pressed against my mouth, and I thrashed, trying to turn my head, but everything blurred. My muscles weakened, my wolf howled inside me, clawing against the haze.
"Liora…" I choked. "Run…"
I looked down and saw her standing still, calm, and walking beside them like she knew what was going on.
"Baby!" I tried to scream, but my voice faltered. My gaze fell to the living room.
Alex.
His body lay crumpled, blood pooling beneath his head.
No. Oh God. No.
I wanted to scream, fight, and tear out every throat in the room, but my limbs felt like sand and my vision narrowed. Liora looked back at me once, her ocean-blue eyes were steady.
"Drew…please find us…" I whispered as the cool night air hit my face. A strange calmness washed over me, and then, there was only blackness and silence.