Rejected, Then True Mate

Synopsis

The dim lighting of the back office cast long shadows across the crumpled bills scattered on Marcus Thompson's desk. I counted them for the third time, my fingers trembling as they moved across each worn note. Three years. Three years of serving drinks to rogues, of dodging unwanted advances, of suppressing my wolf to survive in this godforsaken place—and finally, I had enough. Fifty thousand dollars. The exact amount they'd demanded for Alec's safe return. My heart hammered against my ribs as I stacked the money into neat piles. Soon, I'd hold my son again. Soon, this nightmare would be over. The thought of Alec's face, older now but still carrying traces of the boy I'd left behind, made my chest ache with longing. "Finally got your blood money together, sweetheart?" Marcus's gravelly voice cut through my thoughts as he entered the office, his massive frame filling the doorway. I didn't look up. "It's all here. Every cent." He moved to his desk chair, the leather creaking under his weight. Something in his scent—amusement mixed with something darker—made my weakened wolf stir uneasily. After three years of suppression, her senses were barely functional, but even she could detect the wrongness in the air. "You know," Marcus said, leaning back in his chair, "I gotta hand it to your mate. This whole setup was brilliant. Really brilliant." My hands stilled on the money. "What setup?" Marcus chuckled, the sound sending ice through my veins. "Oh, come on, Melissa. You can't be that naive. Three years of this charade, and you never once questioned—" His voice cut off abruptly, his eyes going distant in that telltale sign of a mind-link connection. My wolf, weak as she was, caught fragments of the mental conversation—Dean's voice, clear as day, filtering