Ouch. The truth of his words burned inside me. "The Sun Witches are evil," I finally said. "What they're doing to us isn't natural. Ophiuchus pack members gain their wolves as toddlers, and they find their mates on their own. The Moon Curse doesn't affect them at all."
"They also use dark magic from the Moon Witches. Did you ever consider that might be the reason they've managed to escape the Moon Curse?" He leaned forward, meeting my eyes. "Can you deny that the Ophiuchus pack plans to wage war on the Zodiac Wolves to force us to submit or die?"
"Are the Leos not doing the same thing? I seem to remember my pack screaming and dying all around me not too long ago."
Jordan's jaw clenched. "Like I told you before, that wasn't my doing and I don't want that to happen again. Can you say the same for the Ophiuchus alpha?"
My heart clenched at the thought of Kaden. "He's not the monster you think he is. None of them are."
Jordan's eyes narrowed and his voice turned cold. "Is he the one you fucked during the full moon?"
I froze, a shiver going down my spine. How did he know about that? "What are you talking about?"
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.