The Five Million Debt

Rhea’s POV

My heart plummets into my stomach, hitting the floor with a sickening thud.

"What?" I gasp, the single word scraping against my dry throat.

I stare at my adoptive mother, unable to process the devastating words she just spat between her heavy sobs. We live in a massive, beautiful house in a safe neighborhood. My father is a successful businessman and a respected Delta of the Bloodstar pack. We have money and status. None of this makes sense.

"He was arrested," she cries, her hands trembling as she wipes her tear-soaked cheeks. "He made a terrible investment using the company's main accounts. He lost the funds. All of it. He went bankrupt in a matter of days. He owes the pack a massive debt, and until he pays it back, the Gammas threw him in the underground prison cells."

My legs turn to jelly, but I force myself to remain standing. I pace the hardwood floor, my chest tightening with raw panic. "They cannot just show up in the middle of the night and drag him away!" I shout, my voice cracking. "Without warning? Without a fair trial? That is unjust!"

"They do whatever they please," she sobs, burying her face in her shaking hands. "The Beta operates under the Alpha's direct jurisdiction, and it was his decision. Loan sharks are ruthless monsters, and nobody wishes to deal with that kind of dangerous fallout. It is easier to get rid of the problem. Right now... your father is the problem."

The room spins. I press my palms against the cold granite counter, struggling to pull air into my lungs. Before the shock can even fully settle in my mind, my phone rings loudly, the shrill noise piercing the deafening silence of the kitchen.

I reach into my bag and pull it out. My stomach drops when the caller ID flashes across the bright screen. Declan.

I press the phone to my ear, my jaw clenched tight. "What do you want?"

"I heard the news about your father," Declan murmurs. His voice is soft, laced with a calm tone that makes my traitorous heart skip a beat. I hate how my body still instinctively reacts to him. Even though he rejected me, it did not sever our bond. It will not be severed until he physically marks Aurelia. "I might have a solution to your family's nightmare, though. Come outside. I want to tell you in person."

The line goes dead before I can argue.

I shove the phone into my pocket and march out the front door. The chilly night air bites at my exposed skin, but the cold is nothing compared to the ice flooding my veins when I spot him. Declan leans against his sleek, expensive car parked by the curb. He wears an arrogant, self-satisfied smirk plastered across his handsome face that immediately churns my stomach.

Goddess, I hate how striking he looks in the dim moonlight. For over two years, he was my confidant and my fated mate. When he rejected me for another woman, it destroyed everything I had dreamt of.

I wrap my arms tight around my waist, desperate to hold myself together and fight the primal instinct to seek his warmth. "Why are you here?" I demand, breaking the tense silence.

"I wanted to talk to you," he replies smoothly.

"Why?"

The corner of his lips tips upwards. His dark gaze roams over my body, and I nearly melt under his intense scrutiny. I force myself to shift my gaze to the dark pavement to keep my composure.

"Because I can help you," he answers, taking a slow step forward. "Your father's funding chain is broken, and he owes a staggering amount of money to the pack. I know for a fact he lacks the capital to dig himself out, especially now that his business has gone under. But I have the funds."

I lift my gaze to meet his eyes; he is dead serious.

"Are you saying you would pay my father's massive debt?" I ask, almost afraid of the answer.

He nods slowly. "Yes."

A heavy pit forms in my stomach. Declan never offers anything without a catch. "And what would we have to do in return?"

His smirk widens, sending a wave of sickness into my gut. "There is a condition," he confesses, holding my gaze with a dark, predatory intensity. I wait silently for him to continue. "After I get married to Aurelia, I want you to drop out of school and become my secret mistress."

The night goes dead silent. I stare at him, my jaw practically hitting the ground as the sheer audacity of his words registers in my brain.

"Excuse me?" I manage to sputter, my chest heaving with disbelief. "You want me to what?"

"Drop out of school and become my mistress," he repeats, acting as if this twisted, adulterous arrangement makes perfect, logical sense. "I already have a luxurious hidden home picked out for you to live in. You would never have to want for anything ever again. I will pay off your father's entire debt and give you endless wealth."

I am gutted to my core. My inner wolf whimpers in pure, excruciating agony at the degrading disrespect. The man who was supposed to cherish us just asked us to spread our legs for him in the shadows while he parades another woman around as his Luna.

"How could you ask me to do such a filthy thing?" I choke out in a ragged whisper. Hot tears threaten to spill, but I swallow them down, refusing to let him see me break.

He steps closer, closing the distance between us. I feel rooted to the pavement. "Because we have always been so good together, Rhea," he murmurs, reaching out to gently touch my bare arm. "We will always have this strong connection, even if I mark someone else. You and your family would be set for life. All you have to do is say yes."

His fingers rub slowly up and down my skin. Sickness claws its way up my throat. Trembling with explosive rage and heartbreak, I finally find the physical strength to forcefully pull away from his touch. I step back into the shadows.

"No," I snap, staring directly into his darkened eyes. "I will never become your whore."

His handsome face twists into a dark scowl. The fake sympathy vanishes. "I am about to become the Alpha, Rhea. You must get with the times. Becoming my mistress would only benefit you, and besides, do you not want your father out of jail?"

"I will find another way to save him," I hiss through my teeth, my fists clenching at my sides. "If that is all you came here to say, then I have heard enough. You can leave my property."

Declan raises his brows, studying me with infuriating amusement. He truly believes I will crawl back to him on my knees.

"You will change your mind," he states confidently, turning his back and walking to his car door. "And when you do, I will be right here. But until then, your father will remain rotting in prison."

"I will figure it out!" I yell at his retreating back. "We do not need you, Declan!"

He chuckles a dark, mocking sound as he pulls open his door. He pauses, looking over his shoulder to deliver a final, crushing blow.

"In order to get him out of prison, you will need at least five million dollars. When you face the reality of that sum and realize there is no other option, you will come to your senses. I am sure of it."

Without another word, he slides into the driver's seat and starts the engine. I watch as he drives away, his taillights disappearing down the street into the dark night.

It is only when he vanishes that my knees buckle. I collapse onto the cold concrete. Bitter tears stream down my cheeks before I can stop them, mixing with the dirt. I sob under the suffocating weight of that impossible number.

Five million dollars.

How am I ever going to come up with that kind of astronomical money?

The following morning offers no comfort, only the harsh reality of daylight. Desperate for a distraction and terrified for my future, I throw myself rigorously into my classes at the Imperial Academy. I attend my warrior training at dawn and my shifting class right after, both of which I excel at. I push my body to the physical limit, kicking and punching the heavy bags until my muscles scream. I am fiercely determined to finish my Gamma training. Once I graduate, I can prove myself to the Gamma force and become a high-ranking warrior. Maybe then I can secure a loan, easily pay off my father's debt, and save my family from ruin.

Exhausted and covered in a layer of sweat, I drag my aching body across the campus quad. I slump down in the soft grass under our usual large oak tree, leaning my heavy head against the thick bark. I pull my textbook from my bag and lay it on my lap to study.

"You look like hell," a familiar voice points out.

I crack one eye open. My best friend, Meg, stands over me. She plants her hands firmly on her hips, her observant eyes studying my terrible state.

"It was a rough night," I admit.

Meg drops down onto the grass beside me. She never lets things go. "Where did you go last night? When I returned from my waitressing shift, you were nowhere to be found. Did you leave early because of the engagement party?"

I bite my lower lip, my heart racing as I think about what to say to her. I need to be careful. If I lie, she will be able to see right through me. I am a terrible liar on a good day, but Meg can read me like an open book.

"I ripped my shirt, and a man brought me into his room so I could change," I confess, keeping my gaze locked on the pages of my textbook. My cheeks grow incredibly warm at the sudden memory of those large hands grabbing my waist and the intense heat of his bare chest against mine.

Meg gasps. She shifts closer, her eyebrows shooting up to her hairline. I can barely look at her.

"You went to a strange man's room?" she asks, her voice pitching up. "Whose room?"

I stay quiet for a moment, chewing on the inside of my cheek. Meg reaches out and grabs my arm in a tight grip, forcing my attention back to her.

"Rhea, who did you leave the party with?" she demands, her tone spiking with sudden, protective alarm.

I know there is no getting out of this interrogation. I let out a heavy sigh, defeated. I bite my lip and peek up at her through my lashes, bracing myself for her inevitable explosion.

"Silas Vance," I squeak.