Breaking the kiss, she panted, breathless, between them. “I knew you couldn’t deny what we had together forever. You are more than simply a werewolf prince, Jason. You deserve to be alpha.” She trailed her fingers under one of his nipples and down the hills and valleys of his abdomen. “When Alex wakes, you’ll defeat him, force him to bow to you, then the three of us will take your pack and your society. And you will be alpha.”
“You thinkIshould call the shots instead of Alex?” This genuinely surprised him, until he thought about Alex’s body in the jar. Alive or not, healed or not, he was obviously not the man he used to be. His body was likely weak after months of lack of movement, and who knew what kind of damage being jarred like a preserved frog might have done to his brain? He finally understood why Nickelova had wanted him here so badly. She needed him. There was no telling how much Alex there was left.
“Oh, I think you can rise to the occasion, and with my help, you’ll have more power than you ever dreamed.” She licked her lips.
“First things first,” Jason said. “Where can we be alone? I want to show you how I reconnect.”
“Right here isn’t good enough for you?”
“There’s no bed.”
“You’ve never needed a bed before.”
He sighed. “I don’t like the audience.”
“Afraid to upset the girl?” Nickelova asked with venom in her voice.
Jason forced himself not to look in Selene’s direction and instead turned his gaze on Alex. “Actually, I was referring to your boyfriend. The way his eyes are open like he’s watching us… it’s creepy.”
Nickelova frowned. “Hmm. He’ll have to get used to the idea. No time like the present.”
Jason cringed. “Are you telling me he’s conscious in there? He can see us?”
“And hear us. He’s in an altered state of consciousness but his senses still work. Everything is simply slowed down.”
With a shake of his head, Jason tried to maintain his composure. He called on the wolf again, who growled and eyed his prey. “Privacy, Nickelova. Now!”
He was taking a risk speaking to her like that. He was defenseless and she could shred him with one pulse of her amulet. But he’d had enough experience with her to know she liked a man to take control. Nickelova was a dragon, but she was also all female. And Jason wasn’t above using sex as a weapon. He stared her down.
“Come, my darling.” She threaded her fingers into his and led him past Selene’s cell. Jason glanced at her, just long enough to notice Selene’s tear-stained face. He prayed to a goddess he didn’t believe in that she’d catch on to what he was doing.Trust me, he thought. But there was no way to tell her. Nickelova turned a corner and they descended deeper into the mountain.
23
Selene wiped under her eyes. Had Jason just tried to send her a message?Trust me.The phrase had popped into her head. More likely it was a fabrication by her subconscious to try to convince her there was a reason for this nightmare.
When Jason had ignored her and approached Nickelova, she’d been devastated. Watching him kiss her had almost ripped her heart out. She didn’t want to believe that Jason would turn on her so quickly, but she’d seen the darkness in him, knew what he was capable of. Jason and Nickelova had a history, a history that may be repeating itself.
The way Jason had looked at Nickelova was the same haunting way he’d looked at her that first day in his apartment and the time he’d almost lost control and she’d had to use her power against him. It was his wolf, his vice, back again from the graveyard of his past. Her first instinct was to believe he’d lost control.
But the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if Jason had more power over his wolf than she was giving him credit for. He’d arrived naked and alone. All he had at his disposal was his cunning, and his most practiced weapon within that arsenal was his ability to seduce. Was he truly attracted to Nickelova, or was he drawing her in, trying to earn her trust?
Her breathing slowed. Her tears dried. He’d found a way to lure Nickelova from the room, which meant she was alone. Alone for the first time since she’d been imprisoned here. Whirling, she scanned the pile of bones, looking for the sharpest one she could find. As she lifted it from the pile, she made a choice. She wouldn’t think about or analyze what was going on wherever Nickelova had taken Jason. Instead, she’d devote all of her mental power to finding a way out. Today, she would not play the victim. Selene was a survivor.
Dragging the bone along the wall, she tested the confines of the space she was in. Three stone walls capped by a magical force that seemed impenetrable. But as Selene inspected the place where the magic met the stone, she found an irregularity in the surface. Digging her finger into the small opening, she was able to extend past the magical barrier. She picked up the bone and wedged the point into the hole, dislodging a chunk of rock the size of a fist.
As she brushed the rubble away and repositioned her tool, her gaze landed on Alex in his glowing amber tomb. His eyes were staring directly at her. Were they like that before? She’d recalled his eyes being closed. How much could he see from there? How aware was he?
Selene decided it didn’t matter. For now, he wasn’t a threat, and she had her work cut out for her.
24
As inconspicuously as possible, Jason swept his gaze around the room where Nickelova led him, looking for anything sharp he could use to pry her heart out of her chest. There was a large bed dressed in oxblood linens and lacquered black furniture: including a dresser and nightstand, as well as a dressing screen decorated in a gold crane print.
“You must love red and black,” he said.
“It’s more than a preference. Red and black are the colors of my bloodline. They may not mean anything to you, but to me and my six siblings, they are the colors of home.”
“Six?”
