Page 35 of Rejected by My Shadow Alpha (Mate to the Fallen #1)

Ruby

Relief hit me like a crashing wave. It was over.

The nightmare, the fear, the weight of our past, we had survived.

Drew was here, warm, breathing, and bloodied, but alive.

His arms wrapped around me, and I clung to him, my fingers digging into the torn fabric of his shirt as if letting go would undo everything.

My body shook with sobs from overwhelming relief.

He came just in time to save us.

I held Liora close, cradling her face, checking her breathing, brushing damp strands of hair from her forehead. Her chest rose and fell, though shallow, but steady. Relief crashed through me so hard my knees nearly gave out.

"She's okay," I whispered, more to myself than anyone.

Only then did I turn to Drew. I buried my face in his chest, the scent of stormy cedar wood wrapping around me, wild and soothing.

It anchored me and calmed every frayed nerve screaming in my body.

My tears soaked into his skin as I sobbed freely into him, no longer trying to be strong, no longer carrying it all alone.

Drew held me tighter, his heartbeat thudding steadily beneath my ear. Then, his voice dropped low, worried. "Ruby, your arm. Let me see it."

I hesitated, but he was already pulling back just enough to look at me, his eyes soft and full of concern.

Slowly, I extended my injured arm. Blood stained the torn fabric of my sleeve, the skin beneath bruised and raw.

His fingers ghosted over the wound with a gentleness that undid me all over again.

"I'm okay," I whispered, even though I wasn't.

His jaw tensed as he studied the damage. "You are a brave woman, brave and fearless."

"You came back," I whispered. "I thought you died. When you left for your pack, I thought I lost you for good."

His thumb brushed a tear from my cheek. "I should never have gone, but I had to play his game to end it."

I blinked. "How did you do it? How did you find us? How did you get Darius and the Council to turn on him?"

"One question at a time." Drew laughed."So Nia helped me connect to you through our mate-bond. When you told me where you and Liora were, I got Jay to track where Lena was because I had put a tracking device on her phone."

"What?" I asked in disbelief and awe, "How did you know she was the one? I thought you trusted her?"

"I did, and I didn't," Drew replied. "I wanted to be sure she was clean, so I tracked her like I tracked Jay. It turns out it was for the best."

"Indeed," I replied, impressed by his smart and logical approach.

"To answer your next question, I promised Darius exactly what your father promised but couldn't give," he said, a flicker of triumph in his eyes. "The only difference is I could give it legally, but he couldn't. All he had to do was get the Council on my side."

My mouth fell open. "You convinced my father's friends to turn on him?"

Drew laughed, "It was either that or they lose out completely. So it was a safe gamble to play. I learned from the best," he said dryly. "He played power games. I played smarter."

I shook my head, still in disbelief, wondering what it had cost Drew to be able to pull this off. Unbidden, I recalled Alex, who gave his life to save Liora and me. "Drew…Alex, did he…?"

Drew held me closer, "He's alive, Ruby, alive and recovering."

I sighed deeply, relieved all was well. I hadn't expected it would end this way. I had expected worse than this, but I guess fate had been on our side. I let out a shocked breath, half-laugh, half disbelief.

"It's really over?"

Drew nodded, "It is. Lena and your father are gone. Alex is alive, the extraction machine's been dismantled, and Liora…" his voice cracked as he glanced at her, now surrounded by medics. "She's safe."

I swallowed back another sob, and then I laughed through my tears. "I can't believe it. Thank you, Drew."

Drew's hand cupped my face. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I'm sorry for everything I put you through, for walking away, for doubting us."

I held his gaze, the ache in my chest finally softening.

"I'll spend the rest of my life making it right," he continued, his voice rough. "If you'll let me. I love you, and I will never stop loving you."

I stared at him, heart wide open, nothing left to shield. "I love you, too," I whispered.

He leaned in and kissed me, soft at first, like a question.

Then I kissed him back, like an answer. The world didn't feel like it was ending.

It felt like it was just beginning. Something in me cracked.

All the nights I told myself I didn't care and that I didn't need him, that I had survived without him.

All the walls I built to hold myself together.

They fell.

I leaned in and kissed him. When we broke apart, we were both gasping and trembling.

"I love you," I said, my voice shaking. "I think I've always loved you, even when I hated you, even when I thought you were dead and wanted to forget you. I couldn't."

His forehead rested against mine. "Will you forgive me?" he whispered. "For everything I was? For everything I couldn't be?"

Tears slipped down my cheeks. I laughed and cried all at once. "Yes," I breathed. "Yes, Drew. For everything. Just don't leave me again."

"Never."

Then we heard footsteps, dozens rushing towards the lab. Jay was the first to burst into the lab, his eyes taking in the scene with a sharp intake of breath. His eyes moved slightly as he scanned the blood-slicked floor, the two lifeless bodies, and Liora, strapped, unmoving, but breathing.

Behind him, others from Drew's team filed in. Some shifted, some bloody. All wide-eyed.

"Holy hell," Jay whispered. "It's over."

His gaze snapped to Drew, then to me. "Some of the Cornerstone wolves surrendered. The rest…" he hesitated, then met Drew's eyes, "...they won't be a problem anymore."

Drew exhaled, a heavy, weary sound that seemed to drain the tension from his shoulders. He stood slowly, his body still stained with blood and dirt and fury, and clapped Jay on the back.

"You did good," he said.

Jay nodded once, then motioned to a medic who'd arrived behind him. Drew turned to me, crouching again, his voice softer now, still protective, still him.

"Stay here. Let them check you both," he said, gently brushing hair from my face. "You and Liora, make sure she's safe."

I reached for him, my hand trembling. "Where are you going?"

His lips curved faintly. "To see what's left of the wreckage."

"Drew…"

He leaned down and kissed my forehead, his touch assuring me, holding me together. "I'll be back," he promised, his voice a vow more than reassurance. "I swear, Ruby. I'm not going anywhere."

I nodded, too raw to speak.

As he stood and turned away, giving quick orders to those around him, I let my gaze fall to Liora. Medics were already working to free her from the machine, murmuring assessments and gentle reassurances. Her chest rose and fell, slow but steady.

My heart throbbed with pain and gratitude. The monster was dead. The betrayal was exposed, and now, my daughter was alive.

We were free.

I watched him walk across the room, tall and steady, the man I once loved in secret, now out in the open, no more shadows, no more pretending. For the first time in a very, very long time, my heart was full. I was no longer running because love had found me.

And this time, it refused to let go.

Two weeks later…

The city still hadn't caught its breath. Every station, every screen, every headline was screaming the same name.

"Authorities have now confirmed the full extent of Alfred Alfonso's underground operations, ranging from corporate fraud and forced experimentation to illegal mining and cross-border trafficking.

With new evidence continuously surfacing, legal experts predict…

" The voice of the newscaster trailed off as I tore my eyes off the screen.

It's been two weeks since my father's death, and more damning evidence was being uncovered. I still couldn't believe how deeply my father had been entrenched. For years, I'd seen fragments of his obsession with control and constant secrets, but I had never imagined the rot ran this deep.

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the words sink in. I should've felt relieved, but all I felt was… hollow.

"Ruby?" Drew's voice rumbled gently against me, his hand stroking my arm in soft, gentle circles.

I turned my face up to him. His expression was thoughtful and unreadable, his eyes fixed on the screen but not really watching.

"I just… I knew he was capable of many things," I murmured, "but not this much, not this deep."

He exhaled slowly. "Took me eight years to trace it all, and seven years to understand how much he'd buried and how many lives he'd trampled to build his empire."

His voice was quiet and steady, and I leaned into him, letting his strength steady me, but I felt the weight behind it. He had hunted the truth while living as a ghost, carrying the pain of a murdered pack and a stolen legacy, and now justice, real, undeniable, and permanent, had taken root.

I reached for his hand, and we laced our fingers together.

"But it's over now," he added softly. "He can't hurt anyone else."

I nodded, my fingers tightening around his. "And we're free of him."

The silence that followed was tender, heavy with everything we didn't need to say.

Later that day, Drew stood before the chest, the golden chest now restored to its rightful place in the Lunaris mansion, the same mansion he'd grown up in. The same one I now walked through beside him, reclaimed brick by brick from the ghost of our pasts.

"You ready?" I asked softly, nudging his shoulder.

He nodded, his hand hovering over the chest. "Let's see what's been waiting all this time."

He knelt, pressed his palm to the intricate crest carved into the lid, and closed his eyes. A soft glow shimmered beneath his touch, responding to his alpha energy. The lock clicked, metal shifting and hissing softly as ancient magic yielded to its rightful heir.

The lock clicked, and the chest creaked open slowly, its weight groaning against years of silence.

Inside, rows of gold bars gleamed like the sun itself, stacked, untouched, and sacred.

Symbols etched into their sides marked them as old Lunaris wealth, untouched and unsullied.

Nestled among them, at the very center, was a single iron key.

Before either of us could reach for it, a small hand appeared. Liora.

"The key," Liora said softly, pointing.

Her eyes, with that strange mix of ancient and innocence, flicked from the gold bars to the small, iron key nestled between them. "Can I have it?" she whispered reverently.

Drew reached into the chest and pulled it free. The iron was worn smooth in some places, jagged in others, cool to the touch but pulsing faintly with warmth. It was odd and ancient. He hesitated for a breath, then placed it in her hand without question.

She cupped it like something sacred. Without another word, Liora turned and began walking, bare feet padding softly across the stone floors of the Lunaris mansion.

We exchanged a look, then followed. She led us past the old archway, deeper into the west wing, an area untouched since the day Drew's pack fell.

Time hung heavy there, thick with dust and silence.

Liora stopped before a grand wooden door, its iron handle rusted, vines peeking through its edges.

"This was his private study," Drew murmured.

Liora didn't speak. She walked in like she'd lived there before. At the far end, she pointed to a tall bookshelf bolted to stone. "There," she said. "Behind it."

"How do you know?" Drew asked gently.

She turned to us, her voice small but sure. "I saw it in my dreams, Mommy. I've been here… many times in the moonlight. A woman with silver eyes showed me the path."

My breath caught. Drew said nothing. We simply believed her.

Together, we heaved the bookcase aside with a groan.

Dust spiraled through the shafts of light streaming in.

Behind it, embedded into the stone, was a thick iron safe.

Faded runes lined its edges—Lunaris sigils etched in ancient script, pulsing faintly the moment Liora stepped closer.

Drew knelt, inserted the key, and turned.

A deep click echoed. Then the door creaked open.

Inside was no treasure chest of gold or weapons of war.

There were papers, yes, neatly filed documents: untouched inheritance trusts, unclaimed properties, stock bonds, land deeds.

All clean. All his birthright, protected by blood seals Alfred had never been able to break, but behind those papers, there was something else.

Wrapped in silvery cloth was a slender black journal bound in lunar leather, its edges gilded with white-gold glyphs.

Liora's fingers hovered above it, as if afraid to touch.

Drew gently unwrapped it, and as he opened the first page, the air shifted.

The runes along the walls glowed brighter. The room felt warmer. Alive.

"It's a Moonblood Codex," Drew said hoarsely. "I've only ever seen illustrations in our archives."

I blinked. "A what?"

"It's a record, an ancient diary, but more than that, it contains spells, prophecies, ancestral gifts, only readable by direct descendants." He turned the page, and the words shimmered into view beneath his fingers. My heart pounded.

"It's written in your family's bloodline," I whispered, awed.

Liora stepped forward. "It's mine, too," she said quietly.

She touched the page. The glyphs bloomed brighter. Symbols rearranged themselves, revealing a map, a star map overlaying the old territory lines. At the bottom, a phrase shimmered into view:

"To the Child of Shadow and Flame, balance shall be gifted. Power awakened must be guided, or it will consume the wolf within."

Drew's hand trembled slightly. "It's for her."

A second item rested beneath the journal: a small crystal vial, its liquid swirling silver and blue, like bottled moonlight. I reached for it and felt it hum beneath my fingertips.

"What is it?" I asked.

Drew took it gently. "A stabilizer," he said. "A lunar elixir used by seers and elemental wolves in the early packs. It's meant to help young wolves channel power safely through their bones during early transformations."

I looked at Liora and knew this wasn't a coincidence. This was a legacy. It was her destiny. We'd come looking for riches, for proof of Drew's claim. What we'd found was far more valuable.

Hope.

He turned toward me, still holding the journal and vial. "It waited for her," he said. "The mansion, the Codex, the bloodline…it all waited."

My hand found his, and right there, I wasn't afraid of what Liora's powers meant because now she wouldn't have to walk that path alone.