Page 30 of Rejected by My Shadow Alpha (Mate to the Fallen #1)

Drew

The Wren mansion stood like a fortress of arrogance—cold gray stone, steel gates, and more guards than I'd ever seen stationed outside a single house. Every corner of the property reeked of control and caution. Silvercrest wolves.

I stepped through alone, unarmed, surrounded on all sides by wolves who would gladly rip me apart if given the order. Their eyes tracked my every breath, muscle twitch, and heartbeat.

This wasn't just a visit. It was a gamble.

The Wren mansion was cold and elegant, a sprawl of gray stone and glass nestled into the mountains like a predator's lair.

The kind of place that exuded wealth, legacy, quiet, and old blood.

Silvercrest was no ordinary pack. It was born from war and negotiation, shaped by ruthless alphas who didn't believe in second chances or sentiment.

And Darius Wren was the worst of them.

Once, he and the council had stood by while my pack, the proud, ancient Lunaris, was torn and reduced to ash. They hadn't lifted a claw to stop it, not because they feared Alpha Alfred but because they wanted what Lunaris had.

The mining fields.

Our pack, led by my late uncle, had access to rich mining fields in Africa and remote territories of the U.S. My uncle had sealed the ownership documents in a blood-locked vault of generations ago. No one could touch them. No one, except someone with true Lunaris blood from the alpha bloodline.

Alpha Alfred had promised the council those mines. He had offered power, land, and shares in exchange for their silence during Lunaris' downfall.

But Alpha Alfred didn't deliver on his promise.

Years passed, and no chest was opened because he could not access it, and those who had betrayed their honor for gold got nothing but dust and empty promises.

Alpha Alfred had not banked on the chest having a special seal that required alpha powers from my pack.

He had killed my uncle and my parents as well as many top wolves from my pack before he realized it, and all attempts to open the seal had been frustrated.

Darius Wren had been the most humiliated of them all, especially after Alfred failed to deliver the second half of the deal: the marriage of his daughter, Ruby, to Mark, Wren's heir.

That failed match had severed what was left of their shaky alliance.

For a man like Darius, betrayal wasn't just personal, it was political.

It cost him standing, leverage, and his place at the top of the food chain.

A marriage alliance with the daughter of the powerful Cornerstone Pack was an advantage for his greedy heart, and the denial of that embarrassed and infuriated him.

That was the crack I needed. The one place where bloodlust could become a strategy.

Use an angry wolf to hunt another. I moved through the foyer, noting every shadow and every set of eyes.

I could smell the suspicion in the air. One wrong word, one twitch too fast, and I'd be dead before I crossed the next threshold.

But I wasn't here to play nice. I was here to trade vengeance for power. I was holding the one thing Darius had craved for over a decade: access to the chest. A dark-haired guard pushed open a pair of double doors and jerked his chin.

"Go in."

I stepped inside. Darius Wren sat at the far end of the room, a mountain of a man in a steel-gray suit and eyes like razors under a crown of silver hair.

He didn't rise or smile. He just stared at me, fingers steepled in front of him, the only movement in the room was the faint tapping of his thumb.

His wolves flanked the walls, silent sentinels.

One command, and I'd be in pieces, but I didn't flinch.

He let the silence stretch, a game of dominance, scanning me with the kind of stare you give to something you'd rather eat than talk to.

I didn't break it. In another life, in another moment, I would gladly wrap my hands around his fat, wobbly neck and strangle the greedy breath from him, but today, I needed him.

Finally, he spoke. "So. The ghost of Lunaris walks into my house."

I met his gaze evenly. "Because even ghosts get tired of waiting for justice."

His lips curled faintly. "Justice? Is that what you think this is? You're a bold man, Drew Cavanaugh. Walking in here, alone, with your father's blood on your name."

I straightened. "Bold men get things done. I think you were promised something," I said calmly. "And you never got it."

He stilled. Good.

"I think," I went on, "you helped Alpha Alfred destroy Lunaris because you wanted your piece of the pie, only to watch him be unable to open the chest for many years." I said calmly, my tone accusatory.

His eyes narrowed, but he didn't deny it.

"And then he dangled Ruby in front of you like a peace offering, failed to deliver her to your son, and lost your trust. You backed a man who couldn't finish what he started."

His voice was a blade. "What are you offering?"

I took a breath. "A way to finish it. Alpha Alfred would never give you access to that chest. As we speak, he has devised a way to open it. I bet you have no idea about this."

That got his attention.

I stepped forward, slowly and deliberately. I didn't smile. I didn't blink. This wasn't a negotiation. This was a dance with a viper, and I had to convince him it was in his best interest not to strike.

"I have Lunaris blood as the alpha. I am the real key to that vault, and I know where the chest is because he's using my daughter to unlock it."

Darius blinked once, then leaned back slightly. "You have a daughter?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"With Ruby," I said calmly. It was best to state everything to him to know where I stood with him.

A long silence followed, then he exhaled, sharp and cold. "So. She ran from one alpha and bred with another."

I didn't rise to the bait. "You want access to those mines?" I said. "You want what Alfred couldn't give you? I can deliver it, but only if you help me."

His eyes glittered like ice. "And what exactly is it you need?"

"Support," I replied. "I need your wolves and mine to work together to bring him down.

I want you and the Council to stand aside while I bring him down like you did when he attacked my pack.

I have strong evidence to bring him down and face the law.

All you need to do is stand aside and watch while your wolves and mine take down his wolves. "

He chuckled, dark and mirthless. "You think I'll betray an old ally for a promise?"

"No," I said, my voice steady. "I think you'll betray him because he already betrayed you and because you've waited too long for your cut and because if I succeed, you walk away richer and cleaner than if you tried this alone."

He didn't answer, not with words. But something in the air shifted. He was thinking about it. Good. Now I just had to push once more before the whole thing crumbled.

"I know you wanted to take him down, but for the power he wields. Let me do the honor of taking him out of your way and give you the mines you desire legitimately," I concluded.

He stared at me for a long, excruciating moment. Then, finally, his mouth curled into a smile, a slow, greedy, wicked smile.

"Interesting," he said. "Tell me what you need."

The door creaked as I stepped into Ruby's house.

It was too quiet, like an abandoned sanctuary.

I stepped into her home, quiet and cautious, as if the walls could speak, and maybe they could.

Everything here still bore traces of her…

the faint perfume on the curtains, the knocked furniture where she must have fought hard to escape with Liora.

Goddess, just standing in this space made my chest ache.

The living room was a mess, chairs knocked over, a cracked vase bleeding dried petals onto the hardwood floor. My heart ached at the thought of how Ruby and Liora were faring, a stab of guilt piercing my heart. Ruby had foreseen this happening, but the fool I was thought I had it all under control.

Then I saw her. Nia.

She sat on the bare floor in the living room, barefoot, one leg tucked under the other. She was perfectly still, her back straight, hands resting calmly on her thighs like a woman waiting for a verdict she already knew. She looked up without surprise.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to come." She said, her tone calm

I didn't have time for riddles. "I need your help," I said, stepping into the light. "Now."

Her eyes searched mine. "To find them?"

I nodded once. "They're gone, taken, and I have no trail, no map, no link, but I know you can do something. You've always had this ability."

She raised an eyebrow, her expression unreadable. "You want me to reach for your mate."

"Yes," I replied, grateful she had spared no time to say what I couldn't.

Nia sighed, "You know that's not like dialing a number, Drew. It requires emotional alignment and openness."

"Then teach me how to open it." My voice cracked. "I don't care what it takes."

Nia studied me for a moment longer, then stood and crossed to the center of the room. "Sit."

I obeyed, my heart pounding so loudly I could barely hear Nia's footsteps. She moved behind me, gently placing her fingertips against my temples. Her touch was light, almost reverent, as if she knew she was unlocking something fragile and broken.

"Don't force it," she murmured, her voice a balm over jagged wounds. "Just breathe. Let your soul settle. Feel for her… not with your mind, but with your bond."

Bond. The word cut through me. I did as she said and tried to breathe, to quiet the static inside my chest, but all I found were ghosts. I tried. Goddess, I tried to breathe and tried to listen, to open myself up, but the moment I closed my eyes, the silence wasn't peaceful.

It was a battlefield.

I was a child again, standing at the edge of hell.

I was back there again. The smoke, the screams, the scent of burning fur and blood-soaked soil.

I smelled the smoke first. Then I smelled the burning fur and scorched wood.

Then I heard the screams and my father's roar as he shifted to fight.

I saw my mother's face, twisted in terror as she screamed my name, her voice shrill and raw as she shoved me and my aunt into the hidden tunnel.

"Go, Drew. Don't stop. Don't look back."

But I had.

I had looked back just in time to see my father fall, blood gushing from his mouth, his eyes vacant as they met mine. I saw my mother crumble to her knees. I saw the door close before me, and I knew I would never see them alive again. I groaned, my chest constricting in pain, my jaw clenched.

"Drew," Nia said gently, "you're slipping."

"I can't…" My voice trembled. "It's too much."

The terror twisted through me like a serrated blade. My breath caught. My chest heaved.

"I can't…" I choked, the words ragged and hollow. "I can't do this."

"You must," Nia whispered fiercely. "You have to fight through it for Ruby and Liora."

I clenched my jaw so tightly it ached. My fists shook in my lap.

Every instinct screamed at me to run, shut the pain out, and bury it again, but I didn't. I shut my eyes tighter and let the darkness rush me.

I let the agony swallow me whole: the loss, the helplessness, and the unbearable guilt of surviving.

I let the fire consume the boy who watched his world fall apart.

I felt the tears slipping down my face, but I held on in the midst of the chaos.

I took one breath, then another until silence enveloped me as I stayed still.

I felt weightless and then a flicker, a thread connected me to a heartbeat I knew like my own.

Ruby.

Her presence surged into me. I felt her fear, panic, defiance, and pain. Oh Goddess, I whispered in my heart. Ruby. Then, like a bolt of electricity, the bond ignited. The moment she felt me, it exploded, a gasp in the dark. Shock, surprise, and disbelief.

He's alive? I heard her through our mind-link

"Drew?" Her voice slammed into me, hoarse and breathless, like someone who hadn't spoken in days and had finally found water.

My heart nearly exploded. "Ruby," I gasped. "I'm here."

There was a pause. Then I felt it-joy, hot and urgent, blooming like fire in her chest.

He's alive, she thought, disbelief clashing with relief. He's really alive. Tears burned behind my closed lids.

"I'm okay," I whispered. "I'm here. Tell me where you are."

Her reply came in bursts of thought, panic, and clarity laced together. "I'm in my father's mansion. The Cornerstone mansion in New York.

Relief washed over me. "Good. I will be there soon. I promise."

I sensed the panic in her, her wolf distressed and helpless. Something was wrong.

"Drew, you have to hurry…my father wants to hurt Liora."

A knife twisted in my chest. "What? Why?" I asked, voice rising in panic. "Ruby, is she okay? What has he done?"

The link flickered as panic surged through me. I could feel Ruby's fear and pain clouding my senses, choking my control like I was drowning.

"He took her away," She wept. "Please, Drew."

"Ruby," I choked, struggling to hold on to her, but the bond shattered like glass under pressure. I lurched forward, gasping, the room spinning. Nia grabbed my shoulders, steadying me.

"You felt her," she said quietly.

"I heard her," I rasped. "She's alive. She's scared. He's separated them."

"You broke the link," she said gently. "Your fear broke it."

I buried my face in my hands, breath shuddering. "Damn it."

"You can try again," Nia said, "but first, focus. Channel your emotion, and don't drown in it."

I stood, trembling. "No. I don't need to try again." I looked toward the front door. "I know where they are now, and I know someone who can take me there."

I clenched my fists. Alpha Alfred had taken my mate and my daughter like he had taken everything I had left in this world in the past, but now, I would strike back with no warning.

The game had changed.