Page 43 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
I didn't reply. I didn't believe him, so I couldn't trust him or his attempts at redemption.
"I tried to kill the part of me that loved you," he said, his voice raw. "But I couldn't, Ruby." He stepped forward and cupped my cheek gently. Emotion twisted in my chest. I hated how sincere he sounded.
"You have no right to speak like this," I said, taking a step back, but Goddess, his nearness, hit me like a wave. The scent of him and the heat radiating off his skin tugged at something deep and buried. My resolve trembled. For a second, just a breath, I forgot why I hated him. My body remembered everything we once were and everything we could've been.
"Ruby, please, give me a second chance." His voice was rough and raw, the kind that scrapes against old wounds. He reached for me, slowly, as if afraid I'd vanish.
I moved away and opened the door wide. "Please leave," I said, gesturing towards the door.
The words were barely out when a scream pierced the air. High, shrill, terrified, and unmistakably Liora's.
"Liora!" I froze in panic, my entire being afraid, pumping with adrenaline. I didn't feel my legs move. I was already running. Drew was close to my heels as we tore through the hallway and out the back door into the garden.
The world slowed.
Liora was cornered, huddled behind Nia's legs. Her eyes were wide and terrified. Nia stood in front of her like a human shield, barely breathing, hands trembling, but her stance was firm.
And there it was.
The wolf. Massive and mangy, foam dripping from its snarling jaws, saliva trailing down like thick strings of venom. Its eyes, Goddess, its eyes were wrong. They were bloodshot, glazed over, and unseeing. The fur along its spine was patchy and mottled with sores. It trembled with every breath, not from fear but from something deeper, like its body was tearing itself apart from within.
Liora's silver hair seemed to brighten up with a pulsating power of its own. I could see what she was doing, trying to keep the wolf away from attacking them, but Liora's powers had only just begun recovering. She wouldn't be able to defend herself if something went wrong. She was still weak from the recent illness, and I wasn't sure how much longer she could keep him away.
I froze.
Everything in me screamed to protect my daughter, but I couldn't move. My wolf surged against my skin, agitated and restless. Nia hadn't shifted, and I realized why. She was afraid the slightest provocation might set the deranged creature off. It was unwell, feral, and possibly broken.
And then it moved, one step forward, then another. Its head was low. Saliva hissed as it dropped onto the stone path. A guttural snarl vibrated through the air, primal and thick with madness.
I took a step forward, my voice breaking. "Nia, get her out of…"
A growl ripped through the silence beside me, low and dangerous.
Drew.
He stepped forward, every inch of him crackling with fury. His body was tense, his jaw clenched, eyes wolf-like. He was locked on the beast like he was seconds from war.
The wolf turned and saw him. It lunged at Drew. Time fractured as I watched the beast soar through the air, all fangs and fury, and Drew shifted mid-sprint, bones snapping, fur bursting through skin. His wolf collided with the attacker in a brutal, airborne clash. They crashed to the ground in a frenzy of claws and teeth.
I heard the sound of flesh tearing and bones crunching. Drew's wolf slammed the beast into the earth, snarling, tearing, dodging, and fighting like something ancient and wild had been unleashed inside him.
"Move!" I yelled at Nia, shoving past the chaos. I scooped Liora into my arms, holding her against my chest so tightly I feared I'd crush her. Her small fingers clutched my blouse.
"Mama…"
"Shh, baby, I've got you." I turned to Nia, who was backing up slowly, eyes never leaving the fight. "Inside, now!"
We sprinted for the door. I slammed it behind us, locked it, and fell to my knees. Liora was still clinging to me, her tiny body shaking like a leaf in a storm, but I couldn't stay there. I had to go back. I had to know Drew was okay.
"Nia, please watch her," I choked, placing Liora in her arms. Then I turned and ran back into the garden.
The scene looked like a battlefield.
Blood streaked the ground. Dirt and torn grass were scattered everywhere. Drew had the upper hand now, pinning the beast beneath him, his teeth buried deep into its flank. The rabid wolf howled, yelped, and then jerked away, limping and bloodied. It scrambled to its feet, disoriented. Its red eyes flicked toward me, then back to Drew. Fear overtook rage.
It turned and bolted, crashing through the underbrush with a pained, defeated whimper. Drew started to chase the wolf.
"Drew!" I called out, breathless. "Let it go!"
