Page 60 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
"Goddess…if You're listening, I need you now. I need more than strength. I need a miracle." The words scraped out of me, low and desperate.
Chapter 27
Ruby
I woke with a jolt, my heart hammering in my chest and my breathing shallow and rapid. The ceiling above me was soft cream, the kind of color meant to soothe, but it didn't. A shrill, suffocating silence enveloped and pressed in on me like a thick shroud. My eyes flew open.
No.
I knew this room. The floral curtains, the carved dresser, the pristine vanity set in the corner like a relic of a life I no longer claimed.
My old bedroom.
For a second, I couldn't breathe. My pulse thundered in my ears. I sat up too fast, the sheets tangling around me like restraints.
Where was Liora?
My chest seized. I looked around frantically, my eyes scanning the room for any sign or clue that she was in my room. There was no evidence that she was here. There were no child'sclothes or warmth lingering in the air. There was not even a scent of her.
She wasn't here.
I shot out of bed and stumbled to the door, grabbing the handle. Locked. Of course, it was locked. I banged on the door, desperation clawing up my throat, my heart screaming louder than my voice as I pounded with both fists.
"Liora! Liora! Where was she? Someone answer me!"
Nothing.
"Open the damn door!" I shrieked, slamming my palms against it until they stung. "Don't you dare touch her! She's just a child!"
A moment passed, then the click of a lock slid into place, the door creaked open, and there he was.
Alpha Alfred. My father.
His silhouette filled the doorway like a ghost from my worst memories. Tall, broad, and regal as ever, he stepped in, and I felt the same air of icy control on tailored suit and unbothered posture I remembered from seven years ago. There used to be warmth towards me. But the warmth I once searched for in his eyes wasn't there. His eyes were colder now, layered in disappointment, wounded pride, and something else I couldn't name.
Disgust? Anger?
Seven years.
It had been seven years since I ran, defied him, and chose my own life over the dynasty he wanted me to die inside of.
"I was wondering when you'd wake up," he said smoothly, like we were catching up over dinner. "It's been a long time, Ruby."
"Where is my daughter?" I demanded, my voice was sharp and trembling, but I didn't care. "Where is she?"
He stepped in, shutting the door with deliberate calm. "She's safe. For now."
"For now?" I snapped. "You think that's comforting?"
He looked around the room with a detached sigh, like inspecting an old wound. "Still as stubborn as ever."
"No, Father. I'm done with your mind games and your delusions. I want my daughter, and I do not want to be here. I'm not staying in this nightmare."
"You think you can walk away so easily?" His tone was calm, but every syllable dripped with condescension. "After everything you've cost me?"
I crossed my arms, fury rising like bile. "What? You mean power? Status? Control?"
"Respect…everything I built," he growled, stepping closer. "The moment you fled, you dragged my name through the mud."
