Page 8 of Rejected by My Shadow Alpha (Mate to the Fallen #1)

Ruby

Eight Months Later…

"Nia," I gasped, clutching the headboard as another contraction twisted through my abdomen like a blade. "It's happening. I think… I think it's time."

Nia was already moving, calm and focused, clearing the space near the fire and guiding me toward the bed. "Lie down. That's it. Just breathe, sweetheart. You can do this."

I shook my head vigorously, faint from the waves of pain that shot through my body. I had been contracting all day, but now, it was relentless.

"You can," Nia said firmly, kneeling at the edge of the bed with her sleeves rolled up and her eyes calm as moonlight. "You are stronger than you think, Ruby."

Sweat trickled down my spine. My vision swam. My legs trembled beneath me as I gripped the sheets, trying not to scream. I wasn't ready. I'd never be ready.

"Breathe, Ruby. You need to breathe," Nia urged, her voice steady against the chaos inside me. She brushed my damp hair back. "You've done harder things than this."

Yes, harder things like escaping to Littleton, New Hampshire. It wasn't the first place I ran to, but it was the first place that didn't spit me back out. Tucked deep in the forest, past winding roads and ancient trees, the town was quiet and cautious, perfect for wolves with broken pasts.

I met Nia on my second night there. She was slumped outside the old storefront I'd later turned into an antique shop. Blood trickled from a gash on her arm. I didn't know her name then, only that she needed help. I cleaned the wound while she studied me like she already knew I didn't belong.

Later, I learned she was no ordinary rogue. Nia was a psychic, a healer, and a speaker of the ancient wolf tongue. She didn't just use herbs, she listened to them. She became my anchor.

"You've got fire," she'd once said, eyes gleaming. "But you carry sorrow too."

She never asked why I came to Littleton, and I never told her. We understood each other in silence, but I had no peace.

Peace never came, not after Drew, not after the bond snapped like a broken string the moment I heard he'd died. He was burned alive in a car at my father's doing on the night I'd overheard my father's call.

I've already taken him out…Yes, he's the one in the news. Burnt beyond ashes and dead for good. My sources confirmed it. He is dead."

I had collapsed in the hallway, silent screams echoing in my chest. My mate was dead. Murdered. Burned. Just like his pack. Faint from the shock, I had just woken up when he barged in, already furious.

"You will not have that child," he spat. "And you will marry Mark."

"This is my child." I had tried to speak, but he slammed his hand on the table.

"Your recklessness can ruin everything I've worked for! You will get rid of that bastard."

I didn't speak again. I only cradled my stomach. That night, I began planning my escape.

I could not bear staying locked and caged under the same roof with the man who had murdered an entire bloodline and intended to kill the one in my womb.

Even though he was my father, and the thought of leaving him made me sick, it was the only way out for me, especially after the evidence I found in my mother's room that same night.

The next day, I smiled at breakfast and said yes to his plans to marry me off to Mark in one week.

I agreed to all the arrangements, my dress, the food, and the entire engagement party.

But I had meticulously planned my escape and ran until I escaped all his wolves searching for me.

I ran till I found Littleton. I ran until I wasn't Ruby Alfonso anymore—just Ruby.

Another contraction hit. "Harder things," I choked out, half-laughing, half-crying. "This is ripping me apart."

Nia adjusted the blankets around my legs and wiped my forehead. "You don't have to talk. Just breathe. You're not alone."

I wanted to believe her, but I'd been alone for so long, even before Drew. Another wave came, harder. My vision went white.

"Good," Nia murmured. "You're almost there. Keep going."

I clung to the bedpost, my body burning and trembling. Then it came, the final, tearing wave.

Then, a cry.

A real one.

Small, sharp, and alive.

"She's here," Nia said, holding the baby, a wide smile on her face. "You did it."

But she didn't hand her over right away. She stared, utterly still. I watched her expression shift, from relief to something else, something like awe. Her eyes widened, glancing from the child's silver-flecked hair to me, as if trying to make sense of what she held.

"What is it?" I asked, breathless, still trembling from the effort.

Nia didn't answer right away. Her eyes were wide, fixed on the newborn's chest. A soft silver shimmer pulsed beneath Liora's skin, right over her heart.

It wasn't a wound or light, but a glow, like moonlight trapped under flesh.

It was faint, but undeniable. Nia's fingers hovered above it, not touching, yet sensing what it meant.

"She's not just a pup," Nia whispered, her voice low with awe. "She carries something old, something sacred."

My heart beat fast, overwhelmed by the eeriness of it all

"I can feel it," Nia went on, her voice deepening, touched by her psychic sight. "Ancient blood, dormant power awakening. The moon has marked her."

She wrapped the baby in cotton with almost ceremonial care, then placed her in my arms like she was handing over a relic.

"Your daughter is touched by something great."

I stared at her. She was tiny and perfect, her tiny wispy silver hair curling against her flushed skin. Her eyes were a stormy, clear ocean blue.

Drew's eyes.

My heart cracked, and I felt my heart stop. Tears pooled in my eyes. "Liora," I whispered. "Your name is Liora. You're my light." Born from my darkest night.

I reached for the necklace around my neck, my mother's, and I carefully fastened it around Liora's. A symbol. A promise. A new legacy. One born from everything they tried to destroy.

Nia smiled softly from the shadows, wiping her hands. "She's healthy. And loud."

I laughed, the sound broken and full. "Good. She'll need that voice."

Nia nodded and stood. "I'll give you two a moment."

She left quietly, and the room fell still, lit only by firelight and the breath of something new.

I held my daughter tighter, I looked down at her, and a small sob escaped from my throat. "I'll protect you," I swore. "From all of them, from this war you never asked to be born into."

At that moment, something changed in me.

I no longer mourned the woman whose father's thirst for power destroyed what could have been but never became. I no longer carried Drew's rejection like a curse. I grieved, yes, but I had something far greater than vengeance or sorrow.

I had a purpose. I was a mother, and this child, this light, was everything worth surviving for. The past may have broken me, but Liora was my future, and I would burn the world down before I let it take her from me.

My fingers brushed her soft curls. "I'm a mother now. I don't want revenge. I want peace. I want to protect you, and I will."

I kissed her forehead, sealing the vow. I had lived through fire, and now I had something worth surviving for.

Liora.

My light.