“I haven’t tampered with it,” he said, mistaking the reason for my hesitation.
I raised my eyebrows as I opened the water, and I did hear the snap of the cap showing it was brand new. I chugged the cool liquid down, desperate to ease my thirst, but after a few long sips, I made myself stop so I wouldn't be sick.
Jordan passed the food through to me next. I couldn’t help but stare at the bacon and cheese omelet with sausages and toast arranged neatly on the paper plate. I had to physically stop myself from shoving it into my mouth, and instead, I inhaled deeply, using my wolf’s senses to check if there was anything out of place. Spices, meat, cheese, egg, and bread. Nothing else.
“I didn’t poison the food either if that’s what you’re trying to figure out,” Jordan said, and he sounded almost amused. “I'm not going to hurt you, Ayla."
"No? You had no problem hurting me before." I went to sit back on my cot with my meal. I might as well take advantage of the food to get my strength back up. Jordan watched me silently as I used the knife and fork—plastic, just like the plate—to cut into the omelet and take a bite. Delicious, although anything would be delicious at this point. I forced myself to take small, slow bites instead of devouring it.
Jordan leaned against the cell bars as he watched me eat. “Have you reconsidered my offer to be my alpha queen?”
I chewed my bite and stared at him, not breaking eye contact even as my emotions warred between hatred and desire. “You killed my brother and stole me from my new pack. I'll never be your mate, let alone your queen."
“You’re already my mate." The arrogance of his assertion rubbed me the wrong way, even if it was correct. “The stars have decreed it, and now that my father is dead and I’m alpha, things are going to be different.”
“You don’t sound very sad about that loss,” I muttered around a mouthful of toast.
“Killing your family was my father's decision, not mine," he continued. "I don’t want any more bloodshed.”
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."