Page 1 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
Chapter 1
Ruby
It had to be tonight!
Please, Moon Goddess, don't let me crash and burn. Not tonight.
Applause stirred around me like brittle leaves scraping pavement. Laughter. Glasses clinking. The grand chandelier above cast its cold glow on silk gowns and starched tuxedos, and me, standing in the middle of it all, grinning like the perfect bride-to-be.
My skin crawled. My stomach twisted with every step Mark took toward me. His tux strained around his belly, clinging like wet fabric to doughy flesh. That clammy sheen covered his face again. It always did, like he was carved out of something damp and dead.
He reached for my hand. I let him. His fingers closed around mine, moist, eager, and possessive. I didn't flinch. I just leaned in and kissed his cheek like a good fiancée, but inside? I was screaming.
My father's voice thundered in my head. "Your recklessness can ruin everything I've worked so hard for! You will get rid of that bastard, and you will marry Mark. That's the end of it."
I had begged. Pleaded. Even threatened to burn it all down and expose every bloody brick of the empire he built on bodies. It hadn't mattered. To him, I was never a daughter. I was a bargaining chip.
Choosing my own path wasn't rebellion. It was war, and tonight, I would strike first.
"You're such a charmer, Mark," I said sweetly, my voice honeyed.
He beamed. "Only for you, Ruby. I can't believe I'm the luckiest wolf in the whole damn region."
I felt like pushing his clammy hands off me. I took a deep breath. Patience, patience, I recited to myself and plastered a smile on my face, nodding at some guests.
This party wasn't a celebration. It was a cage, gilded with fairy lights and roses, a deal signed between two powerful alphas, Cornerstone and Silvercrest, where I was the currency. Mark was harmless enough, naïve and vain, but harmless. Still, a cage is a cage, even if the bars are soft.
I smiled up at him, brushing a hand against his chest. "Mark," I purred, my voice dripping with flirtation, "Why don't we get some air? You know…somewhere a little more private."
His eyes lit up. "Goddess, "You're full of surprises, aren't you? You're so damn sexy when you say things like that," he whispered, already tugging my hand. "Let's go."
I gave a light laugh.
He grinned, leading me through the back corridor and out into the crisp night air. The Silvercrest hotel glowed behind us like a dream. I kept my breath even. My fingers clutched lightly around my red purse, where a small pistol lay hidden.
We reached his glossy black SUV. He opened the door for me like a gentleman and gingerly walked to the other side, eager to get out of the busy hotel. Mark grinned like a schoolboy, his excitement grating at my growing anxiety. "You're so beautiful tonight," he murmured as he drove past the glowing hotel, brushing his hand against my thigh. "I've waited so long to—"
Click.
The cold press of steel against his abdomen made him freeze.
"Drive," I said softly.
His eyes widened. "Ruby, what are you…?"
"Now."
His mouth opened, but he obeyed. He buckled his seat belt and started the car. My hand never wavered from the weapon resting against his side.
"Where are we going?" he asked as we turned out of the street heading to the express road, his voice shaking.
"Anywhere but here."
We drove for almost twenty minutes in silence until I sighted a gas station. Then I said, "Pull over."
He looked at me with pleading eyes. "Ruby, please, I…"
"Out."
