Page 51 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
I didn't respond, I couldn't. The ache in my chest was so loud. I pressed my lips together, resisting the urge to scream and curse.
Later, I sat on the couch in the quiet of my living room, the silence pressing in like fog. I stared blankly at the wall, but mythoughts spiraled back to the long nights and tender emails from Wolfsbane22.
His words had felt like lifelines, raw and unfiltered. He didn't hide behind bravado or pride. He wrote like a man bleeding honesty. He was gentle, patient, and aching. He listened as I unraveled my heart, not just with his ears, but with understanding. He saw me and understood me. He felt my fears, my anger, my hope and he never dismissed any of it. He made me feel safe.
And all this time, it had been Drew.
The realization twisted through me like a slow blade. My wolf had sensed it, hadn't she? Even behind screens and fake names, my heart leapt at his messages. His voice lingered in my head. It had always been him. The real him, not the cold, guarded Drew who broke me in Westbrow, but the version he never let me see.
I exhaled, trying to steady the chaos inside me. So why was it so hard to accept they were the same? Because Wolfsbane22 hadn't lied. I felt him in every word. I felt his grief, regret, longing, and love for the woman he'd hurt.
Maybe that's what scared me the most.
If the man behind Wolfsbane22 was the truest version of Drew, where did that leave me and everything I thought I believed? It left me unsteady, like the ground had shifted beneath me. I didn't know whether to grieve the lie or mourn the truth because if that part of him was real, maybe I was wrong about him, and that meant I hadn't just opened up to a stranger in the dark.
I had fallen for the man I swore to hate because knowing Wolfsbane22 was Drew cracked something in me. I couldn't unsee the man behind the mask anymore, and somewhere along the way, my heart stopped bracing and started breaking for him instead.
A soft knock broke the silence. I looked up, wondering who it could be. Dusk was already settling in, and it would soon be night. Another knock, I stood up slowly and approached the door, a familiar scent drifted through the door—cedar wood and storm.
Drew.
I opened the door slowly. The sight of him made my heart skip. Drew stood there, eyes dark with nerves and something softer—hope. In one hand, he held a large plush bunny wrapped in ribbon. In the other, a bouquet of red roses that trembled slightly, like even the flowers sensed rejection.
He looked unsure, almost boyish, like a schoolboy trying to win back the girl he hurt, and damn it, a part of me was pleased to see him, and I hated that. I hated how my heart surged at the sight of him and how badly I wanted to close the space between us and just…forget. But I didn't move. I kept a straight face and stared down at his hands.
"Hi," he said quietly. "Can we talk?"
I said nothing, my fingers curled tightly around the edge of the door, fighting the softness threatening to rise.
"Is that Drew?" Liora's voice called from behind me. Before I could stop her, she ran past me.
"Drew!" she squealed, launching herself into his arms.
He caught her midair with a soft laugh that cracked something inside me. His eyes welled up as he held her close, burying his face into her hair. "I missed you, little moon," he whispered.
Liora beamed and hugged him tighter. "You brought me a gift?"
He handed her the bunny. "I saw it and thought of you."
She gasped, her joy so pure it left me breathless. "It's perfect!"
I stood by the door, unmoving, watching the way his arms wrapped around her and the way she smiled against his chest like she'd found the sun again. It wasn't performative. It was instinct; raw and real, and it killed me because I could feel the love radiating between them, undeniable and fierce. Guilt twisted in my stomach. I would again have to separate father and daughter after leaving Littleton for an undisclosed location.
"Liora, sweetheart," I said, forcing a smile. "Go inside and get your jacket. It's getting cold."
"Okay!" she said, racing off, cradling the bunny like treasure.
Drew stepped in. "Thank you," he said, his voice low. "For letting me see her."
"Why are you here?" I asked coldly.
He held up the roses. "These are for you. I came to apologize."
I didn't take them.
"Ruby, I'm sorry." He took a step closer. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I was desperate to reach you, to talk without everything between us getting in the way."
"So, you lied," I said, my voice sharp. "You knew I trusted Wolfsbane22, and you used that."
