Page 25 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
"Comb every damn place, Jay!" I growled, irritated by his hesitance. Alex was one of my most loyal wolves. I could not bear the thought of him being hunted down by the heartless wolves in the Cornerstone pack.
Jay nodded and left. I sighed and shut my eyes, fighting hard against the sense of despair crawling around me. How could a mission as tight as this be intercepted by Alfred? Could it be that we have a mole in our pack? The thought made me pause, jolting my senses. I faced Lena.
Lena watched me carefully, her expression calm but tinged with concern. "You're tense," she said quietly. "What's going on?"
I let out a slow breath. "Something's off. I think Alfred knows more than he should, more than he could without help from the inside."
Her brows drew together. "You're saying, there's a mole?"
I nodded once. "How else would he know about Alex? How would he know we were even close?"
She folded her arms, her gaze thoughtful. "It could be a coincidence."
"It's not," I snapped, sharper than I meant to. "It's too precise, too damn timed. Someone's feeding him, and they're close."
I started pacing, my thoughts racing. If Alfred knew I'm alive, then everything we've built is at risk. We'll have to move faster. Strike before he tightens the noose.
Lena stayed silent, watching me.
"It doesn't make sense," I muttered, more to myself than her. "We've been careful and have stayed locked down, but Alfred still knew where Alex was." My voice dropped as the realization settled. "Only Jay handles that kind of data. Movement logs and secure comms, everything passes through him."
The thought sounded like a betrayal on my part, but I could not gloss over it. Could Jay really be the one?
Lena stepped closer, her expression softening. She laid a hand on my arm. "I trust your instincts," she said gently. "But don't let suspicion eat through your pack from the inside. Keep your mind clear, Drew. You'll find the truth even if it's not the truth you want."
I gave a stiff nod, my jaw clenched. Her words offered comfort, but deep in my gut, something still twisted cold and tight. Just then, my private phone, where I receive and exchange information with the underground clinic, vibrated. I retrieved it from my pocket.
"I will just leave you to it." Aunt Lena said, standing up.
I nodded absentmindedly, my attention already on the phone. I opened the message. It was from Moonleaf.
"Hi Wolfsbane22. Alex is safe and with me. He asked me to contact Wolfsbane22 and deliver this message, but not to tell anyone else."
I read the words again, my heart thudding. Relief swelled, and then, something else. I replied.
"How is he? Is he conscious?"
"He's injured but stable, although shifting in and out of consciousness due to trauma on his head. I'll keep him hidden until he's strong enough to move without notice." She texted back.
Gratitude and awe filled my heart. Without thinking, I pressed the call button, driven by a sudden, aching need to hear her voice.
What are you doing, Drew? I froze, the weight of reality crashing in. She's just Moonleaf, not Ruby, your mate. I moved my finger to end the call, heart pounding, then the line clicked.
"Hello?" Her voice poured through like warm rain; gentle, soothing, and yet it struck something raw and buried deep inside me.
Moonleaf.
I froze. My wolf stirred, alert and restless, drawn to her like a magnet pulled to iron. My throat tightened.
She wasn't Ruby, but this pull felt too familiar, too intense. Was I betraying my mate just by wanting to hear her voice?
"I… It's me. Wolfsbane22."
A pause. Then a quiet breath and the softest laugh, light but disarming. "I know."
Just two words, and something inside me splintered. "Thank you," I said, the words thick in my throat. "For Alex."
"You don't have to thank me," she said, her voice warm and steady. "He was in bad shape, but he'll make it."
