Page 34 of Rejected by My Shadow Alpha (Mate to the Fallen #1)

"Drew," Ruby called my attention across the room, her hands still bound and her eyes wild with panic. She was struggling against the ropes, her wrists raw. I moved, and in less than a second, I was beside her, snapping the ropes open with one twist.

"I've got you," I breathed.

Her eyes welled up, but she didn't stop to cry. "Liora," she whispered. "She's still strapped…she's…quiet now, but the machine is still working."

I looked past Lena and saw Liora strapped to that infernal machine, her body trembling, her mouth open in a silent scream. The extractor buzzed, its hum like death itself.

A growl cracked the air behind me, low and rumbling like a coming storm. I turned just as Alfred's black wolf launched at me, a monstrous shadow with foam at his maw and fury in his eyes.

I shifted instantly.

Bones snapped, my muscles stretched and reformed.

My black wolf burst forth, lean and lethal.

We collided in a brutal clash of fang and claw, crashing into the tiles with bone-jarring force.

His teeth clamped around my shoulder. I tore free and slammed him into the wall.

He retaliated, his claws raking across my ribs.

I snarled, my teeth finding purchase at his neck, but he twisted, driving me back.

We fought with savage precision, not just a battle of strength, but years of hatred unleashed.

Every blow echoed through the chamber. Blood sprayed across the walls. The air reeked of fury and vengeance.

Across the room, Ruby had broken into a sprint. Her eyes locked on Liora, panic and purpose burning bright. She didn't see Lena move.

The traitorous bitch stepped into her path, eyes gleaming with cruelty.

"You'll have to go through me," Lena growled.

She shifted fast, gray and towering. Ruby skidded to a stop, then reached into her bodice and drew the silver dagger, its jagged edges glowing faintly.

Lena lunged, and Ruby waited until the last second, then stabbed.

The blade struck deep through fur and flesh.

Lena's shriek of pain echoed like a death knell.

Blood splattered across the stone. She staggered back, one paw dangling with the knife deep underneath it.

Alfred and I paused. Both of us turned, even in the throes of battle, staring in shock.

"The Knife of Betrayal," Ruby said, her voice a whip-crack. "My mother left it for me. Now I know why."

Lena dropped to her knees, panting. Blood poured from her leg. That moment of distraction was all Alfred needed. He roared, breaking from my grasp. I lunged, teeth bared, but he was already past me, a streak of black death heading for the machine.

Ruby turned, but it was too late. His claws slashed deep into her wrist as she shielded Liora.

She cried out, staggering, but then her body shimmered.

She shifted. Her wolf erupted from her like a hurricane, white and furious.

She howled and sank her teeth into Alfred's throat, halting him inches from Liora.

I growled and moved to join the fight again, only to be blindsided.

Lena sped past me, and her wolf pushed me off as she lunged.

Her wolf collided with Alfred from the opposite side.

She was still bleeding but furious. The traitorous bitch was bent on killing my mate.

But then I saw her claws sink into Alfred, not Ruby.

She snapped at his flank with savage precision.

My confusion deepened. Why was she fighting him?

Chaos erupted.

Three wolves tangled in fury. Jaws snapped, claws tore. Blood flew in arcs. I circled, looking for an opening, but they moved too fast, too violently. Ruby tore into Alfred's flank. Lena latched onto his shoulder. He flung her off with a furious twist and lunged again.

Ruby and Alfred crashed to the ground. She yelped, but her claws raked across his eye.

He howled. I leaped, finally catching Alfred in the ribs, my jaws crunching into bone.

He kicked me off, blood pouring from his side.

Lena slammed into him next, biting down hard.

He spun and slammed her to the ground, but she shifted mid-impact.

Her human form hit the tiles hard, bloodied and panting. Alfred also shifted to his human form, pinning Lena to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alfred snarled, dazed by Lena's sudden change of allegiance.

"You betrayed the plan," she snarled, coughing blood. "You killed the man I loved. You were never going to share anything. The plan was to kill you as soon as the chest was opened, but I guess we are both going down, Alfred."

She drove the Knife of Betrayal into his gut. Alfred choked. Blood burst from his mouth. He stumbled back, the blade buried deep. Lena twisted it cruelly. He gasped once and then collapsed on Lena, twitching, bleeding out beside her. Both of them lay still, gurgling and gasping.

I shifted back, my heart pounding, and rushed to Ruby. She knelt beside Liora, blood running down her arm. Ruby scrambled to the machine, frantically smashing buttons, tears pouring down her cheeks. The extractor sputtered, screeched, then hissed to a halt.

Liora slumped in her restraints.

"Liora," Ruby breathed, rushing to her.

I was there in an instant. My hands shook as I touched her and felt her pulse, which was faint but steady.

"She's alive," Ruby whispered, sobbing.

I nodded, swallowing back the emotion tightening my chest. "We are, too."

"You're bleeding," I whispered.

"It's healing," she said breathlessly.

We turned together and watched as Alfred was dying, his eyes wide and empty. His wolf form twitched once more, and then it stilled. Beside him, Lena's body lay broken, gasping one last time before going completely still. Silence fell across the room like a shroud. It was over. At last.

I wrapped my arms around Ruby and pulled her into me. She didn't cry, not yet. Her eyes were still fixed on the destruction.

I looked around and saw Darius, his eyes taking in all that had happened like a witness. He gave a slow nod, a satisfied glint in his eyes. I nodded also, and he left the room as quietly as he came.

Ruby sobbed. I dropped beside her. My hands were shaking as I drew her to my chest. Ruby collapsed against me and cried.

"You found us," Ruby whispered.

"I had to," I rasped. "I will always find you."

For the first time in my life since the flames swallowed my home, I felt something I thought I'd never touch again.

Peace.

And a future worth fighting for.