Page 24 of The Alpha's Bullied Rejected Mate

He opted for the couch instead—hard, narrow, and just uncomfortable enough to discourage deep sleep. That was the plan, anyway.

Just for about thirty minutes, he said to himself.

Thirty minutes. That was all he needed.

***

Marcus wasn’t sure how long he was out for.

The air was colder when he opened his eyes.

He blinked awake, feeling disoriented from his sleep. The soft creak of old leather from beneath him strained his ears.

Something was off.

The cabin was eerily quiet.

His body jerked upright, alert in an instant.

His eyes darted to the room where he had laid Riley. The door was ajar.

Had he forgotten to close it?

No, he was sure he did. He was on his feet in seconds to check up on his targets.

His heart kicked once in his chest heavily as he ran toward the room where he had held the boy.

It was empty.

He curled his fingers into a fist and hit the door frame.

Aza.

Marcus bolted down the stairs in a race toward the underground cell room. His heart thundered, every footstep loud against the floorboards.

Blood pumped furiously in his ears as he arrived at the room.

She was gone.

Both of them.

His eyes searched for the cuffs—the magic restraints he had placed on her as they lay discarded in a useless heap on the floor.

“How the hell—?”

His hands hovered over them, confusion thickening in his throat. How?

This wasn’t supposed to be possible.

His thoughts scattered, colliding in his mind.

“Dammit,” he hissed, tossing the cuffs against the wall.

He should’ve known. She was too still.

The submissiveness. The silence. She had fed him exactly what he wanted to see.

She had tricked him.