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I fought the tears as he spoke the truth that I was too scared to admit out loud.
“And that is why you remain in the cell, pup,” he said softly.
I heard him walking away from me, the door closing behind him, and the light turning off as he left, leaving me in darkness. It was only then that I let the tears fall.
I was everything my pack had feared me to be.
Wild and feral.
CHAPTER 17
Kezia
Cannon stayed away from me for several more days, and when Nikan came in, he was always accompanied by Royce, who, thankfully, had decided to stop hiding from me.
Nikan had reverted to saying little, but they had put slightly more food on the plate, and for that I was grateful. The more they left me alone in the cage with one meal a day to see me through to the next day, the more she paced in my awareness.
Some days, I tried to reason with her, but other days, we stared at each other in silence, neither of us willing to break first. I knew I had to address it. I needed to shift. The uncomfortable itching beneath my skin that had been starting to surface all those months before Bullet attacked me was back. I did not want a repeat of my heat taking over as I was locked in a cell with Cannon watching me again.
Nikan and Royce came into the barn—I recognized their scents now. Nikan was fresh pine and citrus. He smelled clean, and it was almost addictive to inhale deeply when he was near, almost like his scent was cleansing me. Royce smelled of rainwater and cotton. He was so grave and stern it confused me that he smelled of comfort.
And with them came the tantalizing smell of meat, juicy sauce, and delectable spices. My mouth watered in anticipation.
As they crossed over into the light, Royce’s arm shot out, pulling Nikan back, causing Nikan to almost lose his grip on the tray.
“Careful!” I yelped, lurching to my feet from the cot. “That’s my only meal,” I added quietly, wondering why Royce glared at me. “You okay there?” I asked him warily.
He gave me a long look of consideration and then turned to Nikan. “Give me the tray. Get the Alpha.”
Nikan looked between us both, his confusion clear. “Why?”
“Nikan, I gave you an order.”
Nikan’s cheeks flushed, but he gave a stiff nod and hurried out of the room, leaving my not-so-number-one fan and me alone.
“If you’ve spent all this time starving me, only to kill me now, I’m going to be so pissed off if I don’t get to eat what’s on that tray first.”
“You are insolent.”
I returned his hard look with one of my own. “I probably am, but you have given me no reason to show you anything else.”
“I feed you.”
The tray was placed on the floor, and I looked between him and it with mounting suspicion. “You’re not giving me it, are you?” I watched him step back. “What do you mean you feed me?”
Royce’s stance widened slightly as he folded his large arms across his chest. He remained quiet as my frustration grew at my food being so near to me but still too far from reach.
“Are you the jailor?” I asked with derision. “How many barns are there with cells in them? You do this a lot?” Royce gave nothing away as I began to pace. “Okay, I get it…you hate me. I understand I’ve been a snarky bitch, and you’ve been a grumpy dick.” I nodded as I paced. “We met under really shit circumstances. Were you there the night your alpha kidnapped me?”
“Kidnapped?” Royce drawled skeptically.
“He took me against my will…that’s kidnapping.” I ignored his sneer. “Anyway, whether you were there or not is irrelevant, but since I’ve been here, we’ve been…okay? Right?” I stopped pacing. I was more or less in line with the tray, and I pointed to it. “Why can’t I have my food, Royce?”
“Wait.”
“I’ve been waiting. I’ve been waiting since yesterday. I’m so fucking hungry that I’m ready to chew off my arm, so I think I’ve waited long enough, you sick, twisted asshole.”
He said nothing, but I noticed his shoulders eased slightly. Had he been tense? What had happened to relax him? And then I sensed him.
