I let out a harsh laugh. "Hours ago you threatened to kill children, but now I'm supposed to believe you're a saint?"
Jordan's jaw clenched. “The Sun Witches have promised to help me bring all the other packs under the rule of the Leos. With you at my side, we can unite what’s left of the Cancers with the Leos, and then the other packs will fall in line without a fight. We'll rule over the Zodiac Wolves together like the stars have wanted all along."
“The stars can go fuck themselves, for all I care,” I said. “And you can too, for that matter."
Jordan cocked his head at me, looking surprised as if he’d expected me to just give in. No fucking way. I might still feel the overwhelming pull of the bond to him, but I wasn’t going to roll over and be his mate so easily. I’d agreed to go with him to stop the Sun Witches from killing the Ophiuchus pack, nothing more.
"This is our destiny," he said. "I know it. You know it. The sooner you give in to it, the easier it will be."
"Never," I growled.
Jordan moved closer to the door of my cell, and I suddenly became all too aware of the way his muscles moved under the light, and how his white button-up shirt was open at the neck, and the way he smelled, like sunshine and desert air. My heart beat faster as my body urged me to get to my feet and meet him, and I found myself moving forward before I realized it. My fingers wrapped around the iron bars as if they could tear them apart to help me get to him. No matter what I said, or how much I fought, I couldn’t deny the base desires of the bond. Even my half-finished meal seemed inconsequential in the face of Jordan's allure.
I closed my eyes, hoping that would be the thing to break me free from the spell, but it didn’t work. The longer I tried to fight it, the more urgent the need to be with Jordan became. To his credit, he was a very handsome male, obviously strong and healthy, everything a woman might want in a mate. On the outside, anyway. His personality sure left a lot to be desired. I let out a huff of frustration and opened my eyes.
When I did, I saw Jordan staring at me with hunger in his gaze. I’d seen that look before in Kaden’s eyes, and I knew exactly what it meant, but with Jordan it was different. Deep under the urge to go to him, I felt a gut-wrenching wrongness that made what I’d eaten turn in my stomach.
"I know you want me," Jordan said, with a cold, self-assured grin on his lips. "The mate bond won’t be fully sealed until we have sex. That's why you feel like you're crawling out of your skin to get to me. Don't worry, we'll have a big ceremony at the next full moon and we'll truly become mates. You'll officially join the Leo pack then too."
It took all of my self-control to hide that I was one step away from throwing myself at the bars to get to him, even as his words filled me with dread. “That’s not going to happen." I held my arm out to show the Ophiuchus mark on it. “I already have a pack, remember? And as for the mating ceremony, I'll be opting out of that too, thank you very much."
“It will happen,” Jordan said, and it sounded like more of a threat than a promise. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Jordan shoved himself away from the bars and left the room, and I felt a harsh tug from the mating bond as he went, urging me to follow him. But I can’t because he has me in a goddamn cage, I thought. Although a part of me was grateful for this prison—I wasn't sure what would happen if Jordan and I were left alone together for more than a few minutes.
The moment there was more space between us, I found I could concentrate again. I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, then returned to my cot and my meal. No matter what happened, I couldn’t mate with Jordan. I wanted Kaden, not Jordan, despite what the mating bond told me, or how irresistible I found the Leo alpha whenever he was around.
Vivid memories of the Convergence came back to me as I finished off my food. The shame when Jordan had rejected me as his mate, and then the violence and sheer terror that had followed, along with the horror and grief of losing my pack and my brother—I felt it all as if it had only happened yesterday. Being hunted by the male who was supposed to be my mate had been horrific, almost as terrible as seeing my brother fall. Everyone I’d called family had died that night, all because of the Leo pack.
Anger simmered in my gut, a familiar feeling I decided to embrace. I was going to make them pay for what they’d done. My parents might have treated me like shit, but they were still family. And Wesley? I'd loved him more than anyone else in my life, and he was dead thanks to the Leos and their allies. Sure, Jordan hadn’t been the one to deal the killing blow, but he was just as complicit in all of their deaths. He’d pay just as much as the rest of them would.
Of that, I’d make sure.
Chapter Two
Hours passed. I tried to sleep, but my mind was all too aware that I was in enemy territory and there were two guards only a few feet away at all times. Besides, I had no idea how long I'd been out after Jordan had injected me. Days, maybe. Long enough to transport me from the Ophiuchus pack lands in Canada to the Leo territory in Arizona. I touched the injection site, wondering what he'd used to knock me out. My shifter blood should have fought most drugs off, but obviously, he'd found a way to sedate me for hours at a time.
After tossing and turning on my hard cot, my body grew restless and I got up. I was used to spending most of my day fighting and training, not trapped like an animal. I started stretching to pass the time, working through each pose until I was limber and all the lingering aches and pains were gone. Then I began running through the forms Kaden had spent so much time teaching me. It wasn't the same, practicing without out him, but it helped keep my mind off of things. Like the mating ceremony Jordan had mentioned.
My body moved smoothly, and it was now second nature for me to dodge, roll, and kick. I had a sudden flashback to the first few days of training when I hadn’t been able to stay on my feet at all, and a grim sort of satisfaction went through me as I continued practicing. I’d come so far thanks to Kaden's persistence and his belief in me. I was hardly the same person Jordan had tried to kill at the Convergence.
When I was panting and dripping with sweat I stopped to take a break. It wouldn’t do any good to wear myself out too much in case Jordan suddenly came back. I sat down on my cot and went over the facts I knew in my head. The Leo pack lived in Arizona near Phoenix, but I didn't know anything else about their territory. It was currently Leo season, so they’d be stronger than any other pack until we passed into Virgo season. A huge disadvantage for me. Escape seemed impossible, and I had a brief moment of despair as I wondered if I’d ever get out of here. I pictured myself trapped here for years, withering away until I eventually succumbed to the mate bond and let Jordan claim me as his alpha female.