Page 29 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
"Stay with me," I whispered, my voice cracking, my forehead pressed to her knuckles. "Please, baby. Please."
Terror gripped me like a vice. I had faced monsters: Drew, my father, his enforcers, the darkness of exile. But nothing compared to this. Nothing compared to watching my daughter slip away before my eyes and being powerless to stop it.
My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would crack open. Why her? Why now? A colder fear bloomed in my chest, twisting and relentless. Had someone recognized her? The silver hair, the sudden surges of power, had they been enough to give us away?
What if it wasn't just a random attack? What if someone from Drew's pack had discovered I was Alpha Alfred's daughter and decided to hurt my child to avenge Drew's death? This wasn't the sort of way my father could hurt me. He would rather kill the child than inflict a curse.
My wolf growled low, mournful, and protective, bristling with helpless fury. Was this their way of punishing me? Of making me pay?
I had never stopped looking over my shoulder, never let my guard down, but maybe it hadn't been enough. Maybe the sins of my father had finally caught up with us. Or worse, maybe Drew'sdeath wasn't just something I had to grieve. It was something I would be made to answer for. I swallowed hard, trying to keep from unraveling completely. Liora whimpered, barely audible, and my vision blurred again.
I couldn't lose her. I wouldn't lose her.
"I should've kept her closer. I should've left this town months ago," I said, shaking my head in helpless sorrow.
"You didn't know," Nia said gently.
"Nia," I choked, my voice a wreck, "there has to be something more. Anything."
Nia's face was grim, but her eyes softened. "Ruby," she said, her voice low and steady. "There's something you need to know."
I looked at her.
"This kind of curse can't be reversed by herbs or healing magic, not even by me."
The floor vanished under me.
"No," I said. "No, there has to be something. We'll go to the witch in Crescent Hollow or the seer beyond Ashwood."
"No," Nia said, firm now. "This curse is blood-bound. The only thing that can cleanse it is the presence and power of an alpha from her paternal bloodline."
I stared at her, uncomprehending. "What?"
"Only an alpha's blood from her paternal pack can stop the curse. A bond tied by lineage and dominance. The paternal line."
I stood frozen, my mind completely numb, but screaming with one question: how would I locate an alpha from a non-existent pack? Drew could have been my link to them, but he's dead. There was no one else. No alpha, no healer, no miracle that could reach across bloodlines and time to undo this curse.
I stared at Liora, her silver hair fanned across the pillow like a blade of light, still too bright even in illness. My little girl. My secret. My heart. And possibly, my loss.
A sob built in my throat, raw and suffocating. The past had already taken so much. Was it about to steal her, too? I gripped her hand tighter, afraid to let go, as though that simple touch was the only thing anchoring her here.
I didn't know how to fix this, and that terrified me.
I'd prepared for everything. I'd coded escape bags, hidden routes out of town, and forged documents and false names. I'd hidden her hair, taught her to hide her strength, and drilled her on what to do if I ever didn't come back, but none of that mattered now because this spell, this attack, came from inside, from somewhere I couldn't predict and someone I hadn't seen.
It came from someone who had known who she was and who I was.
My wolf stirred, tense and restless, still haunted by those scents: cedar wood and storm, wild and clean, mingled with unfamiliar undertones that I couldn't place. But that first note, I'd know anywhere. It was from Drew's bloodline, which meant someone from his old pack had found us, and they hadn't come to talk.
A fresh wave of dread curled through me like ice in my veins. What if they were still watching? What if more were coming? What if this was only the beginning? I had to leave. We had to run again, but where could I go this time that would be far enough and safe enough? What if moving her in this fragile state made it worse? What if I made the wrong call and lost her because of it?
I bent over her and pressed a trembling kiss to her temple. "I'm so sorry, baby. I should've seen this coming. I should've done more. I should've kept you safe."
I held her and let the fear pour through me, swallowing every ounce of strength I had left. There was no one else coming to save us. There was only me, and I didn't know what to do.
Chapter 12
Ruby
