Jordan's brow furrowed, but he nodded slowly. "I understand."
It was absolutely the last thing I expected from him. Everything I knew of him said that he was a selfish asshole who didn't care about the feelings of others, but for some reason, he was listening to me. Technically, nothing I'd said was a lie, but now I had to really sell it. "I want to be your mate, I do. But I’d appreciate it if you gave me a little time to get used to everything first.”
"Of course." A grin appeared on his handsome face, nearly blinding me with his good looks. "I have an idea of something that will help you."
“An idea?” I asked, suddenly uneasy.
“More like a gift, actually,” Jordan said, which didn't make me feel any better. This new Jordan was way too level-headed and kind, and I didn't trust him one bit. I wished he'd go back to the guy who'd tried to kill me—that guy I understood, at least.
“What is it?” I asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of my voice.
Still grinning, Jordan stood up and held his hand out for me to take. “You’ll see.”
Chapter Five
We left the garden and headed into the village, which looked like a typical suburb full of big SUVs, perfectly mowed lawns, and basketball hoops in driveways. There was nothing that showed the place was full of shifters, no hint that there was anything out of the ordinary until you caught a glimpse of a wolf loping past or a woman in a burnt orange robe glaring at you. I shuddered and hurried after Jordan.
We stopped in front of a two-story sand-colored house that looked like all the others, except this one was surrounded by guards. All of my alarm bells started ringing and I cast Jordan a wary glance. Where was he taking me now?
He just gave me an enigmatic smile and opened the front door. "Come on. Your surprise is inside."
As he motioned me inside, my nose caught the scent of someone familiar. I stopped dead in my tracks, not believing my own senses, but then rushed forward. I had to see for sure. I blinked as my gaze adjusted once again from the glaring sun to the cool interior of the house, and a familiar figure with long, dark hair turned around.
“Mira?” I asked, my heart leaping into my throat.
“Ayla!” She launched herself at me, and I found myself running forward to meet her halfway. I hadn’t seen her since the Convergence when Mira had left with the Pisces pack. She'd been practically dragged away by her new mate after the Pisces alpha had refused to help me for fear of retribution from the Leo pack. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since we'd seen each other.
I wrapped Mira up in a tight hug, nearly sobbing with relief at seeing her unharmed and in front of me, especially after what I'd been through the last few days. I'd been surrounded by the enemy for so long, unable to trust anyone, and it was exhausting. Even in the Ophiuchus pack, I'd felt some of that, though they hadn't been as hostile. They’d all been together for years, or since birth, and I’d been an interloper. Even after joining the pack, I would have had to build years of trust with the pack members before being truly accepted. But with Mira, it wasn't like that. She'd been my one true friend for my entire life, and I’d known her for so long that I couldn’t remember a time when I hadn’t trusted her.
“I was so worried,” Mira said, the moment we pulled away from each other. Her nose wrinkled at the sight—or maybe the scent—of me, but her eyes were full of warmth. “I had no idea if you were dead or alive, or what had happened to you after we left the Convergence. I'm so happy you're okay."
"I'm sorry. I wanted to send you a message to let you know I was alive, but I couldn't." While with the Ophiuchus pack I'd been told I couldn't have a phone or any contact with the outside world until I became a pack member. They wouldn’t have let me risk the location of the pack just to send word to my friend. Then once I finally became a pack member, everything with the Leos had happened so quickly, I hadn't had a chance to get her a message.
Jordan moved to my side, flashing me a charming smile. "I thought you could use a friendly face here. And as a show of good faith, I'm going to let you both stay together in this house, instead of sending you back to the prison."
"Really?" I was so excited to see Mira and to know I wasn't going back to my prison cell that I almost hugged him. I'd never expected something like this, especially after the Sun Witches had told him to keep me locked up. Perhaps their grip on Jordan wasn't as strong as I'd thought.
He nodded. "Consider this a trial. You'll have to stay inside the house for now, but as long as you don't try anything, you'll be given more privileges."