I shoved my plate away, officially done with this date. "I'm not telling you shit."
“You’re my mate!” Jordan roared, jumping up to loom over me with his broad shoulders and muscular frame. He wasn’t using his Leo power, but he was imposing all the same. “You have to obey me.”
That startled a laugh out of me. “Have to? I don’t have to do anything. You’re so used to getting what you want that you’ve forgotten what the word ‘no’ sounds like. Let me remind you." I slowly raised my middle finger. "No.”
His eyes flashed with fire, and I thought he might strike me, but then his face grew eerily calm again. A chill went through me at the sudden change. “I’ll find out soon enough. In a few days, you’ll be my true mate and then you won’t be able to deny me anything." A villainous grin crossed his face. "You won’t want to.”
He nodded to one of the guards, who grabbed me by the arm before I could even think of trying to resist. The guard shoved me back into the cell, and the door locked as I stumbled inside. Three other shifters rushed in and began cleaning up silently, while Jordan walked out of the room without another word.
As I sat on my cot, sagging back against the wall, I squeezed my eyes shut against the whirlwind of emotions inside me. How am I going to get out of this mess?
Chapter Three
Eventually, I slept. I'd grudgingly accepted that no one was going to come in and murder me during my sleep, and I finally relaxed enough to let exhaustion overtake me. My dreams were restless, featuring me running through the forest with a lion chasing after me, while I called for help but no one came. I didn't need to be a dream expert to know what that meant.
The sound of the door opening roused me from sleep, and I was instantly alert and ready to defend myself if needed. I sat straight up, about to tell Jordan where he could shove it, but to my surprise, it was a woman who'd come to visit me. She looked to be in her mid-forties, with long curls the color of sunshine and a face that would turn heads and make eyes linger. She was tall and very fit, with a commanding presence and an air of importance, making me think of a Viking warrior queen.
She stopped outside my cage and the guards both bowed their heads to her. For a few moments, she simply stared at me with sharp brown eyes in a way that made me feel overly self-conscious, and the slight curl to her lip said she found me wanting. I realized I was wearing days-old clothes and I hadn’t seen a brush for even longer. I didn't even want to think about how I must smell. But I met her gaze without flinching anyway, because I refused to be cowed by the people in this pack.
She lifted her chin. “I wanted to see the girl responsible for my husband’s death. I have to say, I expected more."
I swallowed as I tried to figure out whose husband I might have killed. Then it hit me. The self-assured air, the way she resembled a feminine, older version of Jordan—this was his mother, the Leo alpha female. "I didn't kill him."
She sniffed at that, her eyes raking over me with disdain. "Obviously. I doubt you could kill any of us, let alone the alpha. Yet the blame still falls on you."
I lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I had nothing to do with the alpha's death, though I would have gladly killed the asshole if I'd had the chance, and I certainly don't mourn his loss. Consider it justice for what he did to my father."
A flash of anger crossed the female’s face, and she gripped onto the bars with surprising strength. The metal screamed under her hands, and I had a brief second of panic as I wondered if she could actually pull the bars free of their roots in the concrete.
“You will never mate with my son,” she growled.
"Trust me," I said with a hollow laugh. "That is one thing we can agree on."
Her eyes narrowed, but then she spun on her heel and walked out with a toss of her blond hair, continuing the Leos' tradition for dramatic exits. I wondered what she took most offense with—me being a Cancer originally, or my half-breed heritage, or that I'd been involved in her mate's death. Either way, it was nice to know there was some contention among the Leos about me becoming one of them. With any luck, I'd be able to use that to my advantage.
Another day passed.
I woke up feeling gross, for lack of a better term. I’d been in this situation before, locked up without a shower for days on end, and I’d forgotten just how awful it was. I ran a hand through my tangled hair and shuddered at the feel of the greasy locks between my fingers.
“Are you planning to let me have a shower anytime soon?” I asked my ever-present guards. From what I could understand in the time observing them, they went in shifts of eight hours, changing three times a day. It was a good way to pace the time, and they were my only clock in here. At least the Ophiuchus prison had a window.