Page 67 of Rejected By My Shadow Alpha
But I had.
I had looked back just in time to see my father fall, blood gushing from his mouth, his eyes vacant as they met mine. I saw my mother crumble to her knees. I saw the door close before me, and I knew I would never see them alive again. I groaned, my chest constricting in pain, my jaw clenched.
"Drew," Nia said gently, "you're slipping."
"I can't…" My voice trembled. "It's too much."
The terror twisted through me like a serrated blade. My breath caught. My chest heaved.
"I can't…" I choked, the words ragged and hollow. "I can't do this."
"You must," Nia whispered fiercely. "You have to fight through it for Ruby and Liora."
I clenched my jaw so tightly it ached. My fists shook in my lap. Every instinct screamed at me to run, shut the pain out, and bury it again, but I didn't. I shut my eyes tighter and let the darkness rush me. I let the agony swallow me whole: the loss, the helplessness, and the unbearable guilt of surviving.
I let the fire consume the boy who watched his world fall apart. I felt the tears slipping down my face, but I held on in the midst of the chaos. I took one breath, then another until silence enveloped me as I stayed still. I felt weightless and then a flicker, a thread connected me to a heartbeat I knew like my own.
Ruby.
Her presence surged into me. I felt her fear, panic, defiance, and pain. Oh Goddess, I whispered in my heart. Ruby. Then, like a bolt of electricity, the bond ignited. The moment she felt me, it exploded, a gasp in the dark. Shock, surprise, and disbelief.
He's alive? I heard her through our mind-link
"Drew?" Her voice slammed into me, hoarse and breathless, like someone who hadn't spoken in days and had finally found water.
My heart nearly exploded. "Ruby," I gasped. "I'm here."
There was a pause. Then I felt it-joy, hot and urgent, blooming like fire in her chest.
He's alive, she thought, disbelief clashing with relief. He's really alive. Tears burned behind my closed lids.
"I'm okay," I whispered. "I'm here. Tell me where you are."
Her reply came in bursts of thought, panic, and clarity laced together. "I'm in my father's mansion. The Cornerstone mansion in New York.
Relief washed over me. "Good. I will be there soon. I promise."
I sensed the panic in her, her wolf distressed and helpless. Something was wrong.
"Drew, you have to hurry…my father wants to hurt Liora."
A knife twisted in my chest. "What? Why?" I asked, voice rising in panic. "Ruby, is she okay? What has he done?"
The link flickered as panic surged through me. I could feel Ruby's fear and pain clouding my senses, choking my control like I was drowning.
"He took her away," She wept. "Please, Drew."
"Ruby," I choked, struggling to hold on to her, but the bond shattered like glass under pressure. I lurched forward, gasping, the room spinning. Nia grabbed my shoulders, steadying me.
"You felt her," she said quietly.
"I heard her," I rasped. "She's alive. She's scared. He's separated them."
"You broke the link," she said gently. "Your fear broke it."
I buried my face in my hands, breath shuddering. "Damn it."
"You can try again," Nia said, "but first, focus. Channel your emotion, and don't drown in it."
