Page 26 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
Her voice, damn, it made me feel comforted, strings of hope attached to its tone. I felt like I was drowning or like I was standing on the edge of something I wasn't ready to name. I barely knew her, but every instinct in me responded to her like a spark to dry tinder, and that terrified me.
I forced my mind to think logically. "Where did you find him?"
"He showed up at the edge of my town. Collapsed. He was bleeding out. Some rogues brought him to my clinic," She explained.
My wolf pushed at the surface. Pulled. What was this? I shouldn't feel this way. I couldn't feel this way, not when I still burned for Ruby.
And yet, the pull was real, deep, and twisting.
"You okay?" she asked.
I cleared my throat. "Yeah. Just a long day," I sighed. "I'm glad he's doing okay."
"You sound tired," she said, her tone filled with empathy.
I could listen to her all day. I wanted to ask her to say something else. Anything. Just to hear her speak again. Just to feel that warmth curl in my chest but I couldn't.
Instead, I asked, "How do you do it? You help so many, how do you keep going through all this?" There was a pause on the other end, just long enough to make me wonder if I'd gone too far.
Then her voice came, soft and steady. "My daughter," she said. "She is the strength that keeps me going. She's the reason I get out of bed some days. She's the strength I didn't know I had."
My chest tightened. A daughter? The words hit harder than I expected. A strange pressure settled in my ribs; cold, sharp, and utterly disorienting. I looked away from the phone like it might offer clarity. She had a child. A life. A family. Has she moved on and found someone who loves her?
"That's beautiful," I said, my voice low. "She's lucky to have you." I hesitated, trying too hard to sound unaffected. "And…her father? Is he around?"
There was a beat of silence, almost too quiet.
"No," she said softly. "It's just the two of us. I haven't let anyone in since I was marked."
The air left my lungs. Guilt surged over me like a wave crashing against rocks. Whoever had marked her left scars that hadn't healed, just like I did to Ruby.
"I still feel it sometimes," she murmured. "The place where it happened. It's like an echo under the skin. It never really goes away." She gave a faint laugh, but it held no joy. "So, I focus on others, healing them. It's easier than trying to fix what's broken in me."
I swallowed the ache climbing up my throat. Her strength made me ache for her, and for the woman I'd left behind. "You're strong," I said quietly. "Stronger than most."
A soft silence stretched between us.
"And you?" she asked after a moment, her tone cautious. "Have you found someone to heal with?"
I hesitated. My instincts screamed the answer, but my mouth refused to shape it. "I made a mistake once," I said instead. "I hurt someone more than I can ever explain. If I had the chance to make it right, I wouldn't think twice."
She didn't speak. She just listened. "And now?" she asked gently. "Is there someone else?"
I let out a breath, shaking my head even though she couldn't see me. "Helping others is what keeps me focused," I said. "Some wounds don't leave much room for anything else."
She didn't press. I didn't explain, but something lingered in the space between us, quiet and weighty, like two souls speaking without words.
"I should go," I said, voice hoarse. "Thank you again."
She paused. "You're welcome, Wolfsbane22." She said my name like a prayer.
The call ended, and I sat frozen for several seconds. What the hell is happening to me? I stood abruptly, pacing. I heard a sound outside.
I froze.
I was being watched.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose. I stood slowly, then shifted in one smooth motion, bones cracking, skin stretching, and fur erupting. In seconds, I was on all fours, massive, black, and silent. I burst through the back door, into the cold night. My senses stretched. The night whispered, faint, almost imperceptible, but I caught it. The scents of mint and smoke.
