My mind immediately supplied me with the answer.
Old.Not feta-and-ferry boats Greek. More like Parthenon Greek. As in, maybe he’d seen it built.
Jesse had said werewolves got more powerful with age. In that case, Stefanos might be the most powerful werewolf alive.Which meant he was also someone who could make sure Jesse walked away from this.
My mind carried me back to apple slices on a cutting board. To warm water pounding on my shoulders and a pair of chocolate-brown eyes peering up at me through long lashes. To steak cooked exactly the way I liked it. To sprints under the night sky. To Jesse kissing the tears from my eyes. To brownies in plastic wrappers.
“Leave Jesse alone,” I said. “Do whatever you want to me, but no one touches him.”
Stefanos’s dark eyes were steady. “You’re in no position to negotiate.”
“I’m not negotiating.”
The pressure came out of nowhere. One second I was standing. The next, my knees slammed into the concrete. Pain blasted me, and I couldn’t smother my cry.
I couldn’t move, either. I knelt, the cold concrete seeping into my throbbing knees, my eyes on Stefanos like I was locked in a tractor beam.
Deep in my mind, my wolf bucked against the restraints and got nowhere. My beast was just as trapped as I was.
Stefanos stared down at me with a mild expression. “You presume to make demands of me.”
It wasn’t a question.
Every instinct screamed at me to lower my head—to avoid the stare of a vastly more powerful wolf. But I couldn’t move.
“Yes,” I croaked.
Stefanos narrowed his eyes, which had lightened to a rich, glowing gold. “You’re not as intelligent as I thought.”
Eyes streaming, I dragged in oxygen. “You’re going to kill me anyway. Just…leave Jesse…alone.”
Stefanos stared. The pressure held. Then it intensified, squeezing me from head to toe. My skull pounded. My ribscontracted, bone vibrating like it might give way. Okay, so his gift wasboa constrictor, which would have been nice to know ahead of time. Black spots floated at the edges of my vision. Just when the cell went blurry, the pressure lifted.
I collapsed forward, catching myself on my palms. My arms shook as I hung my head and sucked in air.
Stefanos turned and left, the cell door clanging shut behind him.
I struggled to my feet and staggered to the cot.What a dick.I slumped against the wall and waited for my head to stop pounding.
The door opened, and Stefanos entered with Jesse on his heels.
I jumped to my feet, my heart slamming against my ribs.
“You have two minutes,” Stefanos said before stepping out and closing the door.
Jesse crossed the cell in two strides and pulled me against him. Emotion lodged in my throat and stuck there.
“Are you okay?” he asked, arms tight around my back. He pulled away and ran anxious eyes over me like he needed to see for himself. “Did they hurt you?”
“I’m fine,” I said, giving him the same treatment. He looked exhausted but unhurt, although he’d obviously been staying in a cell like mine. His clothes were rumpled, and his usual five o’clock shadow was well on its way to becoming a beard.
The anxiety in his eyes didn’t ease. “They’re going to put you on trial.”
“What, like I stole something?”
“No.” He exhaled. “They want to test you. But, baby—” The anxiety deepened. “These tests are designed for you to fail. They want to prove that you lack control.”
“So what do I do?”
