Page 19 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
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."
