Page 24 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
Wolfsbane22 made me feel seen, understood, and whole, in a way I hadn't felt since Drew. I told myself it was just the anonymity and that it was easy to open up behind a screen, and that if I saw his face and heard his voice, the illusion would shatter. But every time I got a message from him, something in me leaned toward the screen, my pulse ticking a little faster.
He never crossed the line, and he never made it personal.
Sometimes he would say things like, "Your way of explaining healing is like listening to nature." And I'd sit there staring at thewords, wondering how a stranger could understand me better than anyone had in years.
Was it possible that our wolves recognized each other through words alone? No. I shut the thought down before it could take root. I had Liora to protect. The past was dead. It had to stay that way. Still, I couldn't deny that Wolfsbane22 had become more than just another healer in the network. I turned and walked back through the back door, determined to squash all thoughts of Wolfbane22 off my mind.
I let my mind drift to my daughter, a gnawing feeling of fear settling in my stomach.
Liora…
She was more than a child. She was legacy, power, and future all wrapped into one. I had to do more than warn her about showing her gifts. I had to make plans—backup plans. I needed to speak to Nia and maybe even craft a warding charm around the house, something to mask Liora's energy in case it flared again, because if anyone ever discovered what she truly was, I knew what kind of wolves would come.
They wouldn't be kind. They wouldn't ask questions. They'd take her.
And I would burn the world before I let that happen.
Chapter 10
Drew
The board stared back at me, mocking me with its red threads, pinned photos, targets, maps, and timelines. It showed every plan my pack and I had crafted to destroy Alpha Alfred, yet it all felt like sand slipping through my fingers. Time was thinning, the kind you feel in your bones. I desperately hoped this plan with Alex would finally get us closer to the finish line.
Lena sat quietly by the fire behind me. I paced around quietly, trying to distract my thoughts from the tension of waiting for the final submission of the files from Alex. I watched her knitting, wrapped in her shawl, eyes keen and watchful as her hands worked on the wool meticulously, her graying hair swept in a tight bun, face lined by time and torment. The act reminded me of my mother, a faint memory of her knitting in our living room tugged at my memory, the thought comforting and nostalgic.
She rarely said much these days unless it mattered, but I knew she hated Alfred as much as I did, maybe more. She'd seen what he did to our pack first-hand. She had seen him burn theHeartwood and use children as bait to draw out survivors. She never talked about it in detail, and I never asked.
She had shown up at our safe house some months ago, half-frozen and bleeding, and never left. We didn't need blood to call each other family. Sometimes, when I was too deep in my head, her presence helped me stay focused and reminded me of what we were fighting for. As an elderly wolf who was a witness and survivor of Alpha Alfred's atrocities, I felt such a sense of comfort being around her and a strong conviction as to why this mission must succeed. She noticed patterns and quipped in quiet observations, old instincts about Alpha Alfred. But the weight of decisions rested on my shoulders alone as the alpha.
"Alpha!" Jay burst into the room, eyes wild.
I turned, looking up, my expression calm but worried at the raw fear on his face. "What is it?"
"It's Alex. He's been attacked."
The room tilted for a second. "Where?"
"Just outside Manhattan. He barely made it out alive."
I swallowed my rage and slammed my fist on the table. "How the hell did they find him? No one knows his cover."
Jay hesitated. "It wasn't just any wolves. It was Cornerstone, Alfred's pack."
Cold, coiled dread slithered down my spine. How did Alfred know about Alex? Alex had just passed me critical information: documents, wire transfers, shell companies, and illegal mining locations, all linking Alfred to off-the-books funds hidden across multiple states and countries. Alex was our inside man at the bank, someone who could access records that would take Alfred down permanently.
If Alfred sent his wolves to attack him, it meant he knew about us. My blood ran cold. My voice came out low and sharp. "You sure it was Cornerstone?"
Jay nodded. "Alex had sent an SOS and his last known location, and then I could no longer track him. Some wolves and I rushed there to help, but he was gone. I know their scent, Alpha. I'd stake my life on it. He was ambushed as he was fleeing. Reports say he barely made it out alive."
Lena went still. "Did he survive?"
Jay nodded in acknowledgment but didn't speak. Lena leaned back on the armchair, her eyes calm and calculating. "Where is Alex now?" she asked Jay.
Jay exhaled. "We're still looking. He escaped, but we don't know where he is."
Lena's gaze darkened. Her eyes flicked to Jay. "We have to look for him before the wolves find him."
Jay hesitated, his eyes doubtful, "We have searched for him and are still searching…"
