Jordan's fingers tightened around his fork and I worried he might stab someone with it. Possibly me. "I felt it when you went into heat that night—and I felt you fucking someone else for hours. It was agony. I've never felt such betrayal and desperation in my entire life. I nearly tore off my own skin."
My mouth fell open. He'd felt that? Oh shit. I'd never even considered what Jordan might have gone through during my heat, or how it would affect him. For a second I felt a small twinge of guilt, knowing what he must have gone through, but then I pushed it aside. I looked him dead in the eye and said, "Good. Now you know what it felt like when you rejected me."
For a split second, a hint of pain crossed his face. "I suppose I deserve that."
His words surprised me and I took a long sip of wine before answering. "Yes, I slept with Kaden that night. He kept me from losing my mind and fucking every male I could find since I couldn't get to you. But it was just sex. That's it. And we never did it again after that night."
Jordan cocked his head at me. "So you don't care for him?"
"No," I lied. Everything else I'd said had been true, but I didn't want him to know just how much I cared for Kaden. That seemed like something that could be used against me, and I didn't want to give Jordan any more power over me. "And he definitely doesn't care about me."
"Good." Jordan leaned back, his shoulders relaxing. "I didn't think so, but I had to be sure. Unlike you, I've been faithful all this time. The only woman I will mate with is you. And from now on, you won't be fucking anyone but me."
A shudder ran through me at the possessive words, making me squirm in my seat with a mix of desire and revulsion. "Not interested, thanks."
"You can’t deny the way you feel about me,” Jordan said. "It's obvious from the look in your eyes that you're one second from leaping over the table and climbing onto my lap. Trust me, I'm there too. And since we've established no other man is coming for you, why resist the inevitable?"
He made a good point, and it would be so much easier to just give in, especially when I knew Kaden wasn't going to rescue me. But deep underneath the pull of the mate bond, something told me it was wrong. I shook my head. "Maybe it is inevitable, but I'll fight it for as long as I can."
To my surprise, Jordan grinned at that. "And in the end, my victory will only be sweeter for it."
I rolled my eyes and finished off my meal, taking care not to look at him, which helped me resist the desire to go to him. He finished his food too, and then he tapped his fingers on the wine glass as he stared at me. I felt his eyes all over my body, moving across my skin like a caress, and suddenly it became hard to breathe.
Jordan downed his wine in one gulp. "Tell me, how did you escape me at the Convergence?”
My heart rate picked up at this sudden change of topic. "I ran. You were just too slow I guess."
"Don't lie to me. I know something strange happened. One second you were there, and the next you were somewhere else. Was it some kind of magic?"
“I don’t know."
Jordan slammed his fist down onto the table, making me jump. “I saw you disappear, Ayla. Tell me how you did it.”
Ah, there was the Jordan I knew, the one who'd beaten me and hunted me through the forest. For a moment I'd worried maybe he'd grown a conscience and a heart, and now I was actually glad he was back to being a total dick. It made it much easier to tell him to fuck off.
I shoved my plate away, officially done with this date. "I'm not telling you shit."
“You’re my mate!” Jordan roared, jumping up to loom over me with his broad shoulders and muscular frame. He wasn’t using his Leo power, but he was imposing all the same. “You have to obey me.”
That startled a laugh out of me. “Have to? I don’t have to do anything. You’re so used to getting what you want that you’ve forgotten what the word ‘no’ sounds like. Let me remind you." I slowly raised my middle finger. "No.”
His eyes flashed with fire, and I thought he might strike me, but then his face grew eerily calm again. A chill went through me at the sudden change. “I’ll find out soon enough. In a few days, you’ll be my true mate and then you won’t be able to deny me anything." A villainous grin crossed his face. "You won’t want to.”
He nodded to one of the guards, who grabbed me by the arm before I could even think of trying to resist. The guard shoved me back into the cell, and the door locked as I stumbled inside. Three other shifters rushed in and began cleaning up silently, while Jordan walked out of the room without another word.
As I sat on my cot, sagging back against the wall, I squeezed my eyes shut against the whirlwind of emotions inside me. How am I going to get out of this mess?
Chapter Three
Eventually, I slept. I'd grudgingly accepted that no one was going to come in and murder me during my sleep, and I finally relaxed enough to let exhaustion overtake me. My dreams were restless, featuring me running through the forest with a lion chasing after me, while I called for help but no one came. I didn't need to be a dream expert to know what that meant.
The sound of the door opening roused me from sleep, and I was instantly alert and ready to defend myself if needed. I sat straight up, about to tell Jordan where he could shove it, but to my surprise, it was a woman who'd come to visit me. She looked to be in her mid-forties, with long curls the color of sunshine and a face that would turn heads and make eyes linger. She was tall and very fit, with a commanding presence and an air of importance, making me think of a Viking warrior queen.
She stopped outside my cage and the guards both bowed their heads to her. For a few moments, she simply stared at me with sharp brown eyes in a way that made me feel overly self-conscious, and the slight curl to her lip said she found me wanting. I realized I was wearing days-old clothes and I hadn’t seen a brush for even longer. I didn't even want to think about how I must smell. But I met her gaze without flinching anyway, because I refused to be cowed by the people in this pack.
She lifted her chin. “I wanted to see the girl responsible for my husband’s death. I have to say, I expected more."
I swallowed as I tried to figure out whose husband I might have killed. Then it hit me. The self-assured air, the way she resembled a feminine, older version of Jordan—this was his mother, the Leo alpha female. "I didn't kill him."
She sniffed at that, her eyes raking over me with disdain. "Obviously. I doubt you could kill any of us, let alone the alpha. Yet the blame still falls on you."
I lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I had nothing to do with the alpha's death, though I would have gladly killed the asshole if I'd had the chance, and I certainly don't mourn his loss. Consider it justice for what he did to my father."
A flash of anger crossed the female’s face, and she gripped onto the bars with surprising strength. The metal screamed under her hands, and I had a brief second of panic as I wondered if she could actually pull the bars free of their roots in the concrete.
“You will never mate with my son,” she growled.