He winces when I describe myself that way, reducing myself to an asset, part of a strategy that Leon has that’s unclear to me, but is no doubt despicable.
“Because I don’t agree with it.” His gaze is steady, unapologetic. “I don’t agree with a lot of things.”
A sad little part of me wants him to say that he’s telling me because he needs my help, that he senses something between us, something, anything that would suggest he has any clue about what I’m feeling.
But why would he? Not when I’m in this state.
That’s when it happens. As I look into his dark eyes, something deep in my core ignites, a burning that I know is going to bring with it, a whole load of trouble.
My wolf surges forward, clawing to get closer to him, howling one word over and over.
Mine.
The sandwich suddenly looks like sawdust. I can’t eat, can’t think. All I can feel is the primal urge to breed singing through my blood. It’s what I’ve been afraid of since I got here.
Since my wolf whispered the fateful word,mate.
Billy Lennox is my mate, but has no clue about the connection that struck me like a lightning bolt the first time I picked up his scent. I’m far from home. My captor has a history of breeding as many women as he can to expand his clan and his criminal empire.
And I’m about to go into heat.
The knowledge is as terrifying as it is certain. Wolves only recognize their mates once in life, and the recognition triggers heat, the fertile time when we’re most vulnerable.
If Leon discovers what Billy is to me... if he realizes I’ll go into heat soon...
I force my expression to remain neutral, even as panic floods my system.
Billy can’t know. No one can know.
“You should go,” I manage, my voice thankfully steady. “Thank you for this. I… I’ll try to eat.”
Billy’s brow furrows, unhappy instead of pleased by my agreeableness. “Are you okay? You look pale.”
I cringe, aware of how awful I look. This is not the way I wanted to meet my mate. Not the way I pictured it in my dreams.
“I’ve spent three weeks in a basement with no sunlight and no fresh air. My wolf is going stir crazy. How do you expect me to look?”
He studies me for a moment longer, and I fear he’ll see the truth written all over me. Instead, he just nods and stands, looking suitably chastened.
“I’ll come back tomorrow,” he says, like a promise.
I turn away, pretending indifference, but every cell in my body tracks his movement up the stairs. When the door closes behind him, I bury my face in my knees and squeeze my eyes shut to stop the tears from coming.
Of all the men in the world, my fated mate is the son of the monster who holds me captive. And if I go into heat here, I might never leave this basement alive.
CHAPTER 2
CARLA
Footsteps on the stairs wake me from a restless sleep. I sit up, trying to work out what time it is, immediately alert, and listening in the darkness. My heart pounds, and I hold my breath, concentrating on the strides crossing the floor above me.
Too heavy for Billy. Too slow for Dave.
Leon.
The door creaks open, and the bear clan leader appears at the bottom of the stairs, massive and intimidating. At fifty-five, he’s still a formidable figure, six-foot-five and with a heavy-set build that makes him seem even bigger.
But it’s his cold, black eyes, like empty pits, that make my blood chill every time I see him. That and the knowledge that he has a plan for me. One I’m well aware I’m not going to like.
