face and he smiled. “Good. So are you staying with my pack or moving to his?”
“Erm, I didn’t know I could shift packs. I haven’t been around many shifters since I was a teenager and I’ve never been in a pack.” I took a breath. “Would you do that? Let me go to Connor’s?”
Drake studied me like I was mad. “Y’all are kidding me, right?” His drawling southern accent was more pronounced, and his brows disappeared under his hair. “You’re sleeping with the Prime, and you think he’s going to let ya come back to another alpha’s pack and protection every night? Of course I’d let you go, honey. No offence, but I don’t know you well enough to die for you.”
I raised my brows, irritation stirring my blood. “Connor doesn’t let me do anything. Besides, there wasn’t much sleeping involved,” I confessed grinning from ear to ear.
“Good lord above, so y’all spent the night together? He never does that. And now you’re here—with me? D’you want him to break my legs?”
“Oh now, now, he’s fine with it. He asked me if I wanted to stay with him or come back here. See? He gave me a choice and I made it. There was no issue.”
Drake’s mouth dropped open and he swallowed hard, looking at me like I had a second head. “Godsdamn. The Prime allowed his female to leave his bed to go to another alpha’s territory?”
I just grinned at him. It was true that I’d expected at least some show of alpha-hole possessiveness. When I’d told him I wanted to go, Connor’s wolf had surfaced and both man and beast had growled. It had been a kind of test. Seeing if he’d respect my decisions was important to me. He had kissed me deeply until I was panting for more and questioning why I wanted to leave his side, but despite his obvious reluctance, he’d walked me back to my cell. Myles and Kawan had flanked us wearing such big stupid grins on their faces, I’d wanted to smack them, but Connor had distracted me by thrusting his hand into my hair and kissing me thoroughly again. “Remember, you’re mine,” he growled, leaving me panting at the door of my cell.
“Anyway, darlin’,” Drake drawled, his eyes twinkling now that his shock had abated a bit. “Glad he’s treating you with some respect now. Everyone deserves that, ‘specially a strong and gorgeous female like yourself. So? I guess you know how important your training is? The fight rings are no joke, and that’s why you’re being pushed so hard. Every one of those males wants you to survive. Because if y'all gets chosen and you die, they know their Prime will lose his shit and this place will fall apart.”
“Yeah, I know.” Though we hadn’t openly discussed it, my heart flipped now I knew Connor had such deep feelings for me. My love for him had been with me for so long and was so deeply seated inside my soul, it had become an indelible part of me. With difficulty, I swallowed a mouthful of gloopy oats. Despite all the sugar I’d dumped in it, it got stuck in my throat, but I needed to force it down if I wanted enough energy to train. I shoved in another spoonful, and another, until I’d emptied my bowl, then swallowed down a cup of water. Only then did I look up. People came and went, some eating, some just loitering. “Do you think they have more prisons? There are only shifters here…” I mused.
Drake glanced at the people nearby. “I’ve no idea. But I doubt we’re the only supernaturals they know about in this world.”
“Hmm.” I gave a neutral response thinking about the fae. Was the warden a fae? Maybe that would account for his abilities.
“Come on. Let’s get to the gym.” Drake stood up, then laughed as I swung my leg over the bench seat and moaned loudly.
I glared at him. “Shut up.” His big shoulders shook as I followed him stiffly out of the hall.
Rawson was already waiting for me in the training hall. I glanced around searching for Connor. He wasn’t there.
“Morning.” Rawson grinned, inhaling and assessing the stiff way I walked. “Sore?”
I flushed, not fooled by the innocent look on his face. And yeah, I was, and not just my muscles.The shit-head chuckled at my response and held open the ropes for me to climb through. I did. Slowly.