Page 55 of Rejected By My Shifter Billionaire

And so he had lived, but now he was also a slave to the same humans who were behind his mother’s assassination.

The door in front of him finally opened, and the memories of his past disappeared. Trying not to quake with fear, he entered and bowed at the presence of his employers.

Little smiles played on their faces, the couple finding the Lyccan’s penchant to scrape and bow amusing.

The man spoke first. “Tell her what you’ve learned.”

At the man’s nod, Rocco said nervously, “I’ve reason to believe Kassia Summers will soon be announced as the future mate to Alessandro Moretti.”

Rocco’s other employer drew her breath sharply, hatred contorting her beautiful face into something unattractively evil. “How sure are you of this? Paparazzi follow the professor everywhere. Shouldn’t they know about this if it’s true?”

“N-not necessarily, madam.” Rocco’s answer came out a stammer. He hated having to contradict his employers, knowing their tempers were so rash they could turn on him at any moment. “Masking our identities is second nature—-” Rocco stopped speaking as a sudden memory jarred him.

He saw his mother dying in these people’s hands—-

“Rocco?” The man’s voice was tinged with irritation.

Rocco quickly shook the thought away.

It was his mother who had signed her own death warrant, not him. She had chosen to stay loyal to the Council despite the threat to her life. That was her fault, not his.

Repressing another shudder, Rocco hurriedly continued, “Most of my race avoid spending too much time with humans as a preemptive measure for avoiding detection. But the girl has Alessandro Moretti’s scent all over her. That much time spent with each other can only mean one thing.”

Silence, coldly contemplative, followed Rocco’s words.

Mel said finally, “This can be the break we’ve been waiting for.” Tall and distinguished-looking with flashes of silver threading his hair, he was bodyguard to one of the state’s richest citizens, whose wife he fucked in secret.

“See for yourself.” He handed his lover his phone. Its screen displayed a list of their most prominent targets and the bounty placed on their heads by a criminal organization so secret even Interpol hadn’t ever heard of them.

The woman’s eyes widened at the amount stated next to the photo of Alessandro Moretti.“A billion dollars?”she read incredulously.

“I’ve sent inquiries about this, and I have received confirmation that they’re willing to advance us $100M on the spot if we commit to this.” Mel paused. “But this won’t work without your full cooperation.”

Her lip curled. “You want me to play prodigal mother, is that it?”

His answering laughter was pleasant, but his words were not. “For one billion dollars, sweetheart, I’d make you fuck your own daughter if that’s what it takes.” Closing the distance between them, he cupped her chin and, pressing a bruising kiss on her mouth, he murmured, “What do you say, my beautiful whore?” He bit her lower lip, hard enough to make her bleed. She gasped, a mixture of pain and pleasure glittering in her eyes, and his lips formed a ruthless smile.

“Bastard,” she spat in a low whisper, but the way her nipples pebbled against her dress belied her anger.

“You’ve done much worse than this as Dresden’s wife,” Mel pointed out. Turning to Rocco, he ordered the cowering Lyccan to continue with his surveillance. “I want to know all the places Kassia Summers goes to, the people she hangs out with. I want to knoweverything, and if there are times when you can be sure she’ll be alone, tell me immediately.”

When Rocco left, Mel raised a brow at his lover. “Have you made up your mind about how badly you want that billion-dollar bounty?”

THREE DAYS AGO

18-year-old Kassia Summers was going crazy.

It was the only reason that could explain why, one second, the professor had been standing right in front of her, and then the next second he had disappeared and Kassia found herself alone in a park office with...a wolf.

And it wasn’t just any kind of wolf.

Bigwas a gross understatement, and so wasbadass. Resting on its haunches, the black wolf in front of her was even taller than Kassia. Lethal power emanated from the creature, and it was so terrifying that if the wolf thought of baring its fangs, she had a feeling she’d faint on the spot.

Across the office, the wolf stared at her, unmoving, unblinking. A pool of Alessandro’s clothes lay on the floor next to it, screaming a truth Kassia didn’t think she could make herself believe.

Dry-mouthed, Kassia whispered, “A-Alessandro?”

The wolf nodded.