I huffed out a laugh. “How long have you been living off-grid? It’s rare, but for whatever reason, you guys voted for a dark-haired leader.”
“They don’t vote,” he replied matter-of-factly. “It’s a challenge. Do you mean to say that a defect won the title of Overlord?” His gaze grew distant as he processed the idea.
I really didn’t have time to swap stories with this guy. “Thanks for your help, but I’ve got a lion to track. Do you know which way he went?”
“You’ll never find him on your own, female. My name is Matteo Leone. Come with me.”
Chapter 19
Matteo filled my cup with more water before sitting across the table from me. “It’ll get cold.”
“I’m not hungry,” I said for the fifth time.
He glared at my bowl of tomato and fennel soup. “Is it not to your liking? I grow everything myself.”
Matteo’s home was rustic but spacious. The entire cabin was constructed of wood, and he probably had a massive garden in the back. This homestead wasn’t just a getaway; this man had lived here for a very long time. Contrary to my first impressions, Matteo wasn’t a filthy mountain man. He didn’t have any kind of relationship with razors or trimming shears, but he was strong and looked like he took good care of himself. He obviously ate well.
I sipped the soup to be cordial. “It’s good.”
When he smiled, only one side of his mouth curved up. “I’ve often wondered if the food is good or I’ve just gotten used to the way I cook it.”
I noticed a shelf filled with carved wooden figures. “Lived here long?”
He hooked his arm over the back of his chair and stared at the candles on the table. “Eat more.”
“You didn’t drug it, did you?”
His eyes locked on mine, and I gazed down to the soup. Matteo didn’t have any motivation that I could see to poison me, so I ate the delicious meal. What I didn’t like was the way he watched me. Chitahs have a thing about cooking for and feeding their mates, but I was neither a Chitah nor his mate, so his long looks made me uneasy.
I set down my spoon. “I appreciate your hospitality, but I can’t stay.”
“You won’t survive the night.”
“I’ve survived hell. One night in the woods is a walk in the park.”
“The lions will hunt you.”
“I thought you only saw one.”
He stood up and moseyed to the kitchen behind me. His house was one large open room with a huge fireplace in the center that you could enjoy from both sides. And it wasn’t just for warmth—he’d put my soup in a kettle and hung it over the fire. There was no refrigerator or electricity. The kitchen space had cabinets and tall shelves filled with jars of all kinds of different foods. They were stacked in deep rows from floor to ceiling. Hopefully the large barrels contained something innocuous like rice instead of pickled bodies.
Matteo returned with black licorice in his hand. “Before dusk, a group of men passed through. The leader had a blond mane of hair and walked ahead of the others. I followed them and discovered they were a pride of lions when I saw them marking trees.”
“Did you confront them?”
He chewed off a piece of the dark candy. “Do I look foolish?”
I sat back. “They set up camp within walking distance?”
“They were letting their animals out for the night. They’ll be hunting for food.”
The way he looked at me, he thought I was going to be the food.
“Did you happen to see anyone else hike through here?”
He sucked on the candy, drawing it slowly past his lips. “I picked up several different scents.” He reached across the table and tapped my bowl with his licorice. “Finish your meal.”
I lifted the bowl and polished off the lukewarm soup so we could put an end to the constant shift in subject. His pupils dilated as he watched me gulp down something he’d grown, harvested, and prepared with his own hands. When I finished, I stood up and appraised his home. My fingers ran across the soft fur coat that hung from the wall close to the fire. “I take it you hunt?”
