Conveniently Convicted

by Ivy Asher

  There’s more talking, instructions and rules to be followed, more shuffled papers, and then people get up to leave. I’m in a daze as I’m led away with the Warden, all the way back to his office where I’m suddenly being formally discharged.

  It all happens so fucking fast.

  “Don’t ever come to my prison again,” the Warden snarls at me. “If I ever see you standing outside the gates, know that you’re not getting out of here alive. I’d rather kill you than deal with the shit that accompanies you. Do you even know what I’m going to have to deal with because your boyfriend made it possible for an inmate to escape?”

  I open my mouth to correct the whole your boyfriend thing, but he glares at me and grabs the cuffs at my wrists roughly, so I shut the fuck up. He unlocks them and leans down and snaps a smooth metallic anklet around me instead. “Part of your parole,” he says with a smirk. I’m too shocked to even process it.

  I’m trying to wrap my mind around what the hell I’m going to do now. I need a phone. I need to call Dinah and see if she can help me lay low until I figure out my next move. Fuck, I’m really not ready for this.

  The Warden shoves a small bag at me, breaking me from my thoughts. It’s labeled with my inmate number, and I suddenly realize that they’re not even going to let me get my belongings from my cell because someone already did.

  “Am I going to get to say goodbye to…” I trail off to keep from letting Rook’s name slip out of my stunned lips.

  The Warden gives a humorless snort. “Anyone you think cares about you in there will have forgotten you in a month,” he declares callously as he opens his door. “The logs say you came in wearing jail-issued clothes. You can leave wearing what you have on now. Consider it my parting gift.”

  Oh, gee. Thanks.

  “Follow me, inmate,” he barks, and I jerk at his yell and robotically fall into place right behind him.

  How is this happening? I just came up with a new plan, and it was going to work...but now this. Why is the universe fucking with me? How can they just shove me out of the gates without warning?

  I’m terrified, irritated, and hoping somehow that Rook will round a corner and see what’s going on. What will he do when I’m just suddenly not here? I shake those thoughts away and square my shoulders. I have bigger things to worry about than Rook. We were always doomed, and my leaving doesn’t change that.

  All too soon, I’m outside the prison. It’s just as gloomy and creepy as I remember. I have to practically jog to keep up with the Warden’s steps, and my bag bounces against my thigh as the cuff he forced on me starts to chafe my ankle. My bag definitely isn’t heavy enough to contain what’s left of my rock collection, so I know they didn’t give me all my stuff. I’m going to have to add the pretty stones to the list of things I’ll mourn when I’m gone from here.

  It seems like it takes way less time to cross the familiar creepy yard than when I came in, but the gates look just as daunting and foreboding on this side as they did when I first arrived and stared at them from the other side.

  When they open on a loud creak, I suddenly feel like I can’t breathe. I don’t want to walk through them yet. Reality and everything I have to face—everything I’ve been running from—is now slamming into me.

  I look behind me, like somehow Rook will hear my thoughts and come running out, but I remind myself that he’s not the knight in shining armor type, and I turn to face forward. I’m on my own.

  Before I can even take a step, the Warden shoves me. Hard. I stumble forward and struggle to keep my feet under me.

  “Get the fuck out,” he snarls and slams the gates behind me, cutting me off from the safety and security I worked so hard to acquire in the first place. My plans crumble all around me, and I’m left alone and vulnerable.

  I look around, noting the missing element here. “Wait, where’s my portal to get me out of here?”

  “What makes you think you deserve a portal?” he grins.

  I blink at him, worry dragging up my spine at the ominous landscape around me. “But...I don’t even know where the fuck I am. Can’t I even get a phone call?” I beg from the other side, but the Warden’s eyes just gleam with sick satisfaction as he stares into my pleading eyes.

  “Good luck out there, Miss Denali,” he taunts. “Oh, and I forgot to mention, a condition of your parole is that you can’t shift.” He gives my anklet a pointed look, and ice-cold panic explodes inside of me with his words.

  My wide eyes shoot from my anklet and back to his cruel face. “You can’t do that!” I exclaim, his words like a kick to the gut.

  How the fuck am I supposed to defend myself without being able to shift? How am I supposed to challenge my mat and claim my lounge? I can’t survive in the outside world without my beast—it’s too cutthroat and brutal. I can’t even make it out of...wherever the hell I am right now without my ability to shift and fly away from here. We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere.

  I stare at the Warden and the twinkle in his eyes. He just signed my death certificate and he knows it.

  I drop my bag and rush up at the gate. I’m not dumb enough to touch it, not with the amount of magic pulsing off it, but I pace back and forth like a caged lion as I scream at him. “I don’t deserve this, you piece of shit! I didn’t help Zen escape. I never even wanted out. My death is gonna be on your head, shadow eater. And I swear on everything, I’m going to hunt you down and feed you to a foul-assed Drake!” I bellow, irate while I mock-spit on the ground.

  The Warden just shakes his head dismissively. “You have five minutes to get away from my prison, or I’ll have you tased. And be careful with your threats, Miss Denali. Something like that could get you locked up again, and we both know who would come out on top in that scenario.” With that, he turns on his heel and strides away from me.

  I wish I could shift and peck him to death, pick him up in my talons and drop him over and over again on a ton of sharp rocks. I want to burn this place to the fucking ground. And honestly, I don’t know what’s worse: sending me out here to wander aimlessly to my death, or bringing me so low that I envy a piece of shit dragon’s fire breathing ability. Fucking Drakes.

  I pick up my bag and stomp away on a rage-filled scream that would give a banshee a run for her money. I’m so fucking pissed and helpless. It’s like the worst emotion combo ever, and I hate it.

  I flip off Nightmare Penitentiary as I start to make my way down the road. There’s no sendoff, no time for goodbyes. They didn’t even let me go to my cell to grab my own things. Nope, they just tossed me out. Let Sinclair get eaten by whatever fucked up shit lives in the woods that surround this shithole of a prison. I didn’t even get to eat first.

  Dust kicks up at my feet as I stomp down the dirt road that leads away from the paranormal prison. With a churning stomach, I look back at its looming presence one more time. “Bye, Rook,” I whisper. Then I face forward and try to figure out how the fuck I’m going to keep myself alive.

  15

  I feel like I’ve been walking forever.

  Then again, I thought that same thing when I was in the evil labyrinth basement, and it had only been a couple of hours, so maybe I’m not the best judge.

  I check over my shoulder and realize that I can’t see the prison anymore, so at least I know my steps have been making progress. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m thirsty and mad, and there’s not a sign of civilization anywhere around me.

  “Could have given me a bottled water, you prick!” I yell to the heavens, as if the Warden will somehow hear it. “Bet you’d hate it if I died from something boring like dehydration,” I tell the shadows around me. “What will you jerk off to at night for your evil spank bank?”

  I just need to find a phone. If I can get that sorted, then I can call Dinah. I know she’s already off the grid with her rogue parents, and that’s exactly where I need to be so I can prepare for everything. But there’s nothing out here other than gray clouds, trees, and this never-ending
dirt road that I’m just wandering angrily down. It’s going to get dark soon, and I have a feeling that being out here after nightfall is not a fun place to be.

  After another hour or so of walking, I look up at a noise that pulls me from my troubled thoughts. It takes me a moment to peg it, but then I realize it’s the distinct sound of tires driving over packed dirt and rocks.

  I spin around to find a black SUV with dark tinted windows driving down the road behind me. It’s closing the distance fast, and all I can think is, well...this probably isn’t good.

  I clutch my bag of crap, debating for a minute whether or not I want to make a run for it to the tree line, but I doubt that would help. At this point, whoever is driving can see me, and without me being able to shift, I can’t outrun a car.

  Then again...I snort at my narcissism in thinking that whoever is in that vehicle is here for me. Nightmare Penitentiary is huge. Whoever is driving probably has nothing to do with me.

  As it nears, the SUV starts to slow down, and I curse. Maybe they just want to rubber neck as they pass? Or offer me a phone? I tense and step off the road to let them go by unobstructed, but they stop at my side instead.

  Fuck. A second goes by where I just stare at my scraggly reflection in the dark window before it rolls down. And then I’m suddenly staring at Trex, Alpha Bowen’s second-in-command.

  Fear and anger boils up my throat until I’m spitting mad. “Oh, come on!” I throw my head back and shout up to the sky. “Lube a girl up before you fuck her in the ass!”

  How the hell did he find out and get here so fast?

  I shake my head at the stupid question. Of course the guards on Alpha Bowen’s payroll called him, probably before I was even out of the gate. I take a step back and Trex’s eyes narrow slightly. They silently say that if I run, he’ll track me, and he won’t give up until I’m cornered like prey. I’m pretty much already cornered like prey, and running on a good day isn’t my jam, so here I stand.

  We just stare at each other. He doesn’t say anything, but then again, he doesn’t need to. We both know the position I’m in and the scary lack of options in front of me. He doesn’t need to threaten or wave the contract in my face. His presence alone reinforces what Alpha Bowen has been communicating from the beginning...I’m never getting away from him.

  I sigh and switch my weight from one foot to the other as I come to terms with what I’m about to do. I can’t shift, and I need to find a way to save my lounge. I may hate it, but I can’t logically deny that Alpha Bowen might be my best option. Emotion sits like an anvil on my chest, and my eyes sting as I work to swallow it back down. I look over in the direction of Nightmare Penitentiary and take a deep breath as my heart screams for me not to do this.

  But I have to.

  I turn back to Trex and give him a nod.

  “Wise choice, Miss Denali,”

  He opens the door and hops out before holding the door open for me and gesturing for me to get in. I stare at the inside of the car as if it’s a whole new kind of prison, but there’s nothing that can be done about it now.

  I climb into the leather-clad back seat, and Trex skirts the back of the vehicle and gets in on the other side. The driver and the other unfamiliar shifter sitting in the front seat don’t even acknowledge me. As soon as both car doors are shut, the SUV resumes its course down the dirt road.

  I can feel Trex’s weighted stare on the side of my face as I stare out the window. I feel the unspoken words hanging on the tip of his tongue in the air like humidity that’s bogging me down. But the inside of the vehicle stays silent.

  After a minute, he sets something in my lap, and I look down to discover a thin black blindfold. I pick it up and stare at it, like the inescapable fate it represents. Trex arches a brow, almost daring me to put up a fight.

  I sigh and slip it over my eyes and get lost to the darkness.

  At least it will hide my tears.

  I’ve never been around much fanciness before in my life.

  Being the daughter of the matriarch and patriarch had its advantages of course, but our lounge was stingy. Comfortable, sure, but nothing ever over-the-top.

  So the last forty-eight hours have been almost unnerving. After sleeping in the luxury SUV for an indeterminable amount of time, I blinked, bleary-eyed, and found myself at a private airport, sans blindfold. The private plane was small but nice, and Trex had new clothes waiting for me to change into. I tried not to be weirded out by the fact that the underwear, jeans, and T-shirt fit me perfectly. After cleaning up and getting changed, I ate an entire platter of overpriced cheese and wine before promptly falling asleep again.

  And now I’m...here.

  When Trex put the blindfold on me again to take me from the plane to the car, and the car to...wherever the hell I am now, he didn’t tighten it enough, so there’s a gap between the fabric and my skin.

  Now I’m sitting in a chair, hands tied behind my back, in the middle of an elaborate room—from what I can gather from the fragments that I can see. Peeking around is difficult, because the fabric is only slightly loose, but it’s enough that when I tip my head back, I can look down my nose and see beneath the fabric. I probably look like I’m aggressively smelling the air, but whatever. I’m pretty sure I’m alone, so I crane my neck, my head tilted all the way back as I take in the rich surroundings.

  I see dark hardwood floors and a plush cream rug beneath my feet. Sparkling wall sconces, crown molding, floor-to-ceiling windows and silk drapes that flutter slightly on a brisk breeze that brings me no scent other than permeating pine.

  I can see a glass fireplace burning through crystalized rocks that makes my cockatrice purr as it reflects a dazzling prism of color. The whole room screams wealth. It’s warm and masculine, and if I didn’t want to gut the male who owned it, I’d appreciate his taste. I inhale deeply, trying to sense if anyone else is in the room with me...and...fucking hell, the dude seriously needs to lay off the Pine-Sol.

  I’m not sure why I’ve been tied up. I haven’t put up a fight this entire time, and it feels a bit dramatic. Then again, this is the douche Bowen we’re talking about, so I probably shouldn’t be surprised.

  I hear a faint squeak, like someone stepped wrong on a grumpy floor board, and I immediately drop my head.

  Who, me—peeking because my blindfold isn’t secure? Never!

  The air pressure around me changes, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that someone else is definitely in the room now. They don’t talk, which again, shouldn’t surprise me, because it seems like what I’ve met of Alpha Bowen’s lounge is the big, over-muscled silent type. Even the pilot of the plane that flew me to my mystery location was ripped and mute. I wonder how he fit in the cockpit.

  I want to ask what this motherfucker is doing lurking in the room and watching me, but I feel like whoever talks first loses in this silent battle of wills. I don’t like to lose those.

  Maybe it’s a babysitter watching over me, or someone from Bowen’s lounge, curious to get a look at me. Maybe it’s the alpha himself. I imagine him looking over his prize tied to a chair and smiling like the smug bastard he is. Well, we’ll see how long that smile lasts.

  My being here may be conceding to the whole mate thing, but no one said I had to be a good mate. After he pays my lounge’s debts, I have every intention of being the most annoying mate ever, so that he’ll want to return me in no time. Talking and chewing with my mouth open, never closing the door when I go to the bathroom, leaving my clothes all over the floor, doing that annoying exaggerated squeak every time I sneeze…I have a whole list in my head of shit I’m going to pull.

  Someone tugs at the tie of my blindfold, and I tense. I didn’t even hear the fucker come up to me.

  My heart hammers in my chest, and I wonder what Alpha Bowen is going to look like. Maybe he’s actually part dragon and that’s why he’s such an unforgivable prick. I hold my breath, partly because I’m nervous as fuck and partly because I’m pretty sure I’m getting h
igh from the oversaturation of Pine-Sol cleaner in here.

  The blindfold drops away from my face, and despite my little peephole, I have to blink as my eyes adjust to the flood of light in the room.

  I turn to see who’s next to me, and my eyes bug out of my head as my blood runs cold. “Rook? What the hell are you doing here?” I demand on a frenzied whisper.

  He leans down quickly to untie my hands, and I start hyperventilating with panic. “Rook, you have to get out of here! How did you even find me?” I look around the room, terrified that Alpha Bowen is going to come stomping in at any moment and end him.

  “I came as soon as I could. I’m so sorry, Sunrise, I had no idea—”

  My hands come free, and I leap out of the chair and tackle him in a hug. He squeezes me tightly, and we both release a deep relieved sigh at the same time. Tears prick my eyes that he’s here, that I can feel him, but as happy and grateful as I am that he came for me, he has to leave. I won’t be able to bear it if he gets hurt trying to save me.

  “Rook, you have to go,” I urge again, pushing out of his arms and grabbing his hand to pull him to the closest door. I pause, suddenly realizing that I have no idea where I’m going.

  “Sunrise, wait,” Rook calls as he pulls me back toward him.

  “We can’t wait, Rook! You have no idea what Alpha Bowen will do to you if he catches you here,” I whisper-growl. He has no clue how dangerous the situation is that he just snuck into.

  “I’ll take back everything I ever thought about you being a coward and a piece of shit. Your knight in shining armor card will be handed back to you promptly as soon as you get your ass out of wherever we are and get safe!”