Star Cursed (Zodiac Wolves #2)(8)

It had been a few days since my encounter with the Sun Witches, and the boredom was starting to drive me a little insane. All I could do was sleep, eat, train, and scheme, only to repeat the process again and again. No one came to visit me, and I was starting to think they were going to leave me in this prison until the full moon ceremony. The possibility of escape dwindled with every day that passed, while my despair and desperation only increased. I wouldn't even consider how smelly my armpits were at this point.

The sound of someone walking down the hall caught me off guard and I sat upright in bed, feeling the mate bond tug at my gut. I slid the blanket off my legs and put my feet on the floor, trying to shake away the last remnants of sleep so I could face Jordan with a clear head.

Jordan and his annoyingly perfect face appeared in front of my cell. "Good morning, Ayla."

I crossed my arms. “Oh, so you remember I exist now. What do you want?”

Jordan nodded to the guard with the keys, who unlocked the door without question. I expected Jordan to step inside, but instead, he held his hand out as if gesturing for me to follow him. "Let's go for a walk."

Although I desperately wanted to get out of this cage, even for a minute, this smelled like a trap. "Have the Sun Witches convinced you I'm a threat now? Planning to take me out back and kill me?"

“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this, but that’s not on the agenda anymore,” Jordan said.

“Look,” I said, but I stood up all the same. “The first time we met you hunted me through the forest like prey and broke multiple bones in my body, and now I’m just supposed to take you at face value that you’re not interested in harming me? Especially when the Sun Witches seem more than ready to kill me?"

Jordan cocked his head. "Did you actually see me kill anyone at the Convergence?"

I paused to search my memories and found he was right, but I still scowled at him. "Just because I didn't see it happen, doesn't mean there isn't any blood on your hands. Besides, you wanted to kill me."

"I was acting on my father's alpha command. He made me reject you, and he made me try to kill you. Now that he's gone, things can be different between us."

"He...what?" I fell back on my cot, so shocked my knees gave out. I searched Jordan's eyes, looking for any hint he was lying. Could it be true? That would explain how Jordan went against the mate bond's pull and was able to reject and hurt me. Dixon was a powerful alpha, and his command would have overruled anything else. I knew firsthand how impossible it was to resist an alpha command, thanks to my own father. The only time I'd been able to resist was when Kaden had tried to use one on me—but that must have been a fluke.

"I know I was an asshole to you when we met. But I never wanted to hurt you." He stepped back, giving me space to exit the cell. "Come on. Let's talk outside. I bet you could use some fresh air."

I couldn't deny that. I reluctantly followed him, still waiting for the axe to fall. As I left the cell, I kept an eye on both of the guards, but neither of them made a move. No alarms went off either.

Jordan led me out of the room I'd been trapped inside for days, and I realized mine wasn't the only prison cell. There were maybe a dozen or so identical rooms lined up in a row under soul-sucking lighting and no windows. All the other cells seemed empty, which made sense. I hadn’t heard anyone else during my stay here.

Jordan took me up a dark stairway and then we passed more guards, some sitting at desks and doing paperwork, others chatting over a water cooler. Up here there were a few windows, at least, and sunlight streamed through them. Every person in the building seemed to stop and gawk at me as we walked by, but no one said a word.

Jordan pushed open a door and led me through it. After spending so many days in a dark cell that was climate-controlled to be slightly chilly, stepping outside was a shock. The hot, dry air of the desert hit me and the sun beat down with a particular intensity, intent on driving nails of pain into my skull. I squinted and tried to resist the urge to cover my eyes.

When they finally adjusted, I glanced around. We were at the edge of the Leo pack village, and beyond it, there was only harsh desert, with hills, and tumbleweed, and an honest-to-god cactus sticking out of the ground. I was definitely not in Canada anymore. The Leo village butted right up against the desert, with rows of nearly identical two-story houses that all looked pretty new, each painted in one of three shades of sand with clay tile roofs.

Before I could take it in, Jordan started walking away, toward a patch of green up ahead. I hesitated, looking back at the prison building, but the guards stayed put. Jordan was going to take me out into the village by himself, with no backup? Was he that confident?

I hurried to follow Jordan. “Aren’t you worried I’ll try to attack you, or run?”

"Not really." He gave a casual shrug, his face lit up with a cocky smile. When he glanced over at me, his hair blowing in the wind and the sun kissing his tanned skin, I got the distinct impression that he belonged here in this dry, hot place. “I’m trying to treat you like my mate. If you do try to run, you won’t get far. And if you attack me..." His smile turned wicked. "I'd take great pleasure in pinning you to the ground. I think we both know what would happen after that."

His words flared the lust inside me I'd been trying so hard to ignore. I couldn't help but picture us tousling out here in the desert heat, trying to battle one another until we finally gave in to the urges we both felt. No, attacking him was not an option. Not when I couldn't trust my own body to obey. My only choice then was to run. Maybe not now, but later.