left, and then they snap back to me with a glare. You’re not done yet,” he grumps, and the peephole on the door slams shut.
“What the hell?” I call out. “I spoke to my visitor. She left!” I shout at him, turning around to motion to the empty visitor table.
Except I freeze when I realize that there’s someone sitting in the chair that Dinah just vacated. I stare at him with confusion, no recognition sparking in my brain. I stand at the door for a moment, unsure of what to do. Is this dude lost?
He picks up the receiver of the phone and motions with his head for me to do the same. The silver-feathered tail wagging behind the man is enough to get my hackles up. The expensive suit and briefcase he’s toting leads me to suspect that he’s here on official business. The question is, whose?
I sit down and pick up the receiver again, holding it up to my ear as I study him. He looks to be in his thirties, with a short silver beard and hair and darkly tanned skin. His eyes are so dark they’re nearly black, and despite how intense he looks, he flashes me a friendly smile. My heart pounds in my chest, but I try to remain impassive-looking.
“Sinclair Denali?”
“Who are you?” I ask.
“I’m Trex. Beta of the Bowen Lounge.”
Fuck. Alpha Bowen’s second-in-command? This can’t be good.
“What do you want?” I ask warily.
“I hope you’re being treated well, Miss Denali,” he says, instead of answering me.
A stupid blush creeps up my cheeks. Oh, if he only knew exactly how well one of the guards is treating me…
“It’s fine,” I say after clearing my throat awkwardly.
“Glad to hear that,” he says with another warm smile. I notice for the first time that his left incisor is capped silver. Either he lost it in some kind of fight or it’s a fashion statement. With this male, it could be either option, really.
“Miss Sinclair, I’m here today on official business from Alpha Bowen. He sent me to make sure you’re...taken care of.”
I snort. “I’ll just bet he did.”
“I can assure you, Alpha Bowen wants nothing but your wellbeing,” he tells me. “Which is why he was so confused as to why you would evade his attempts at freeing you from unjust persecution.”
Fuck, this guy either has balls the size of Mars or he knows that this room isn’t tapped.
“I wasn’t interested in being broken out,” I say. “And I have nothing to do with Alpha Bowen, so he’s not my concern.”
“I thought you might say something to that effect.” He grabs the clasps on his briefcase and flicks them open. Shuffling through it, he brings out a stack of bound papers. “I brought the contract that was made on your behalf, as proof that you do, in fact, have everything to do with Alpha Bowen.”
He holds it up to the glass, and I see the blood signatures the contract is bound with and my name on it, right there before my eyes. I feel sick.
My angry green gaze flicks back up to the beta’s face. I shrug. “Like you said, it was made on my behalf. I never agreed to anything.”
The beta sighs and puts the contract away, like I’m being a difficult child. “Miss Sinclair, the contract is binding. When you’re released from this penitentiary, you will go to Alpha Bowen and become his mate.”
Fury heats up my body until my palm starts sweating where I grip the phone. “Guess it’s too bad my sentence just got prolonged then,” I lie, smirking over at him. “Alpha Bowen is gonna be waiting a long, long time.”
He narrows his eyes. “I see.”
“Do you?” I challenge. “Because from where I’m sitting, you and your alpha don’t know when to catch a hint. I don’t want him, and I sure as fuck don’t want to be his mate because of some contractual obligation that my fucked up matriarch drew up for her sole benefit.”
We stare at each other through the glass for a beat, and I let him see every inch of the righteous anger on my face. Fuck him. Fuck his alpha too for sending this male over to lecture me.
After a moment, he nods. “Alright, Miss Sinclair. I can see you need more time to adjust to the idea.”
“No, I don’t,” I quickly say, watching as he puts his things away and re-latches the briefcase. “I don’t need time. My decision has been made. I’m not going