I couldn’t risk getting caught and I needed to use the last of my power to hide what I’d done in case they came and checked my cell again.
With a sigh of frustration, I extinguished my light and headed back through the tunnel. I used my magic to disintegrate all the bricks that had made up the central part of the wall, leaving a thin layer to rebuild the outer edges and cover my tracks.
Once I was back in my cell, I drew all scraps of dust and dirt from my clothes with my magic and deposited them in the sink before washing them away. Then I disbanded my silencing bubble and detection spells and quickly cut off my connection to my magic before hiding the key again.
I crawled into bed at last with my heart pounding and my smile growing. Everything was coming together. And I was pretty sure I’d be back out of here by Christmas.
I sat on the bleachers in the Magic Compound, my gaze fixed on the fence opposite me across the concrete as it pulsed with magical energy. Right then, I felt the current in that fence as keenly as if it lived in my own blood. I was fixated on one thing and one thing only: someone in this prison had a cuff key. A motherfucking key. Outside of this pig pen, they could use magic. Which made them the most dangerous asshole in the complex and my number one target. Because if anyone in this prison was going to have a cuff key in their possession, it was me. Numero uno. The top fucking dog. So who the hell had it?
I searched the faces of everyone on this side of the Veiled Wall, wondering who it could be. Half of the inmates weren’t clever enough to pull off something like that. So the gang leaders were my prime suspects. But there were plenty of skeevy, low-lying molluscs who could have been sneaky enough to pull it off too.
Most of my pack were off searching for leads and the rest of them sat around me, pawing at my arms and nuzzling into me as they sensed my unease. Harper brushed her mouth over my neck in a clear offer and I elbowed her away with a low growl in my throat. I wasn’t in the mood for fooling around. And even if I had been, there was only one Wolf on my mind these days. She haunted me in my dreams and in the fucking daytime too. She was everywhere. On the scent in the air, in every swish of every raven haired girl, in every pair of hazel eyes that turned my way. But none were as heart-wrenchingly, breath-stealingly beautiful as hers. And I hated them. I despised how they lured me in and tugged on a cord in my heart that begged me to go to her.
I’d never met an equal Wolf before, but my sister, Eisha, had warned me of what it was like. She‘d coupled up with her perfect match years ago. She’d only been sixteen and my mother had nearly busted a lung when she found out, but once she realised they were true equals. Mates. That was it. Mom fell in line and helped them organise the wedding.
Eisha was the reason I was in here, but I didn’t blame her for what had happened. Every day that passed, I would pay diligently because of the decision I’d made the day the cops had arrested me. I knew I’d be stuck in here when she and her mate had their first pup, but that was on me. They’d had a bunch since and I’d missed every one of them. Eisha wasn’t allowed to bring them to visitation until they were sixteen. But I could accept that. Because when I met them, I wanted to be a free Wolf, ready to earn my place as their Alpha again.
I signalled to the Fae playing wall ball in front of me and they tossed me the ball. I ran my thumb across it and a series of jobs started to appear on the back of my hand, but I wasn’t interested in taking on a job today. I was going to post one.
I pushed my magic into the ball, visualising the words then I stood up, jumping down from the bleachers and dropping the ball. I kicked it at the wall and the second it hit, the job was posted. I played a few rounds for the sake of the guards watching then left the players to it and turned back to the bleachers.
A howl caught my ear before I made it there and I glanced over my shoulder, spotting two of my pack guiding a girl toward me. She was barely over five feet tall and her bubblegum pink hair was pulled up into two pigtails. She was only twenty two, but she’d earned her name in this prison. Everyone called her Bullseye. Despite the fact every Fae in here was practically mortal without their magic, we retained the inclinations of our Orders. And Bullseye was a Vampire with the keenest eyes I’d ever known. Even out of her Order form, she was a dead shot. So if you pissed her off, you could expect a stone between your eyes from the slingshot she carried about. And that shit could kill if she wanted it to.
“Hello, love,” I purred as my Wolves shoved her in front of me and I lifted a hand to cast a silencing bubble around us.
“I figured she was a likely candidate for taking out the cameras in the Mess Hall yesterday,” Ramsey said and I nodded at him, turning to Bullseye.
“Is that true? Did you do it?”
Her eyes flitted from me to the Wolves who I could hear gathering at my back, but there was no sign of nerves in her. Not yet.
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “So what? I took a wall job.”
I clenched my jaw. I should’ve guessed whoever took that key had been clever about it. There had probably been multiple moving parts in their plan. There was no way you’d get a cuff key unless your plan was meticulous. And outsourcing through the wall meant there were no leads back to the culprit.
I lifted my hand, releasing my magic to make a cloud form above Bullseye’s head. She winced as it started to rain on her and I made sure it was cold as shit.
I moved a step closer, taking a threatening stance. “What did you take in payment for the job, love?” I growled.
“Hair d-dye,” she said through chattering teeth, gesturing to her bright hair. “Is that a c-crime?”
I intensified the rain, folding my arms as I surveyed her. “I want you to work for me. You need hair dye in future, you come to my pack. You take jobs from the wall, you tell me about them before they’re executed.”
“I don’t align with anyone, Shadowbrook,” she said, hissing at me as she raised her palms in an almost threat. Holy fuck, the balls on this girl.
I smiled darkly and she shifted under my gaze. “You align with me or you fight against me.”
She pressed her lips together, glancing at my Wolves then back to me. Apart from being over twice her size, I was also carrying a tsunami of power in my veins. She couldn’t win. And she’d only been in Darkmore a few months, so it was time someone as valuable as her got claimed.
“So what will it be, Bullseye?” I rolled my shoulders back, letting the rain fall away and casting blades of ice in my palms instead. My Werewolves tightened the circle around us, howling and yapping excitedly. “Be forced to bow or do it willingly?”
Bullseye swallowed thickly then nodded, her pissed off expression not bothering me one bit.
“Good choice.” I wrapped my arm around her, dragging her in for a tight hug as I let the ice melt away in my palms. I dropped my mouth to her ear as my muscles tightened around her in an almost threat. “If any more jobs get posted on the wall to take out cameras, I want you to accept them, got it?”
She nodded against my chest, half suffocated as I held her too firmly. I scrubbed my knuckles in her hair then shoved her away from me and my Wolves parted to let her go. They immediately rushed back toward me, running their hands over my arms and chest and I soaked in their company as determination crashed through my veins. Whoever had that key could hide it in the recesses of hell for all I cared, I’d still walk through the nine circles to get it. It was only a matter of time until it was mine.
***
I hadn’t slept well in my cell since I’d hooked up with Rosalie. Sleeping alone wasn’t natural for a Wolf, but somehow I couldn’t find it in me to invite my pack into my cell since her. It was hard to get any rest at all without the brush of hands across my skin or soft breathing against my flesh. But tonight, like every night since I’d fucked that Oscura bitch, I was only longing for the weight of one body on top of mine. Hers.
When I closed my eyes, she was all I could see. And whenever I did get to sleep, I was plagued by dreams of her naked body riding m
ine until I woke hard as stone and pissed off as fuck.
A buzz sounded out in the cell block and my ears pricked up as the cell doors unlocked. Fuck yes.
Order time. The guards never gave us a heads up of when exactly we were going to get it. It was just another way to make us go crazy in here I guessed. But when it did happen, it was like waking up on Christmas morning.
I bounded out of my cell, cupping my hands around my mouth and howling to call my pack to me. Excitement tumbled through my veins as I charged downstairs and flexed my arms and rolled my neck, ready to shift and run and be free. Well, as free as was possible within these walls. The Order Yard might have been an illusion, but it was one I was willing to buy into as often as possible.
My pack caught up with me as I reached the bridge and I jogged across it with another howl, feeling like a pup again as a smile pulled at my cheeks. I couldn’t wait to see the beautiful eye of the moon. That silvery vixen was always calling to me. She sang songs in my heart that made me miss her like an old friend. And it was time to reunite.
The guards directed us up the stairs as if I didn’t know exactly where to go. I was already racing up past the second floor and rounding into the corridor where the elevators stood to take us to the surface. Sometimes I forgot we were half a mile underground. But these shiny doors were a reminder of how far up we needed to go to get out of the main prison.
As the first set opened, I piled into it with the entirety of my pack, taking up the whole space. It soon started climbing and energy made my pulse pound to a feral beat. There was something in the air tonight, something stirring and shifting beneath my skin.
The elevator doors opened and we poured out. I was half out of my clothes already and I tossed them to my Omega so he could put them in a locker for me, shifting instantly so my four black paws hit the ground hard. I was a beast, a creature of the night that could slip through shadows like I was made of them. My family lived up to their name. The Shadowbrooks were all dark like this and the only thing that marked me as different was the silver star that adorned my forehead. Mom had always called me her guiding star. And I called her my sun. Sometimes it felt like she was still in this world when I looked to the sky and saw her hanging there. The fact that she’d died while I’d been inside these walls had torn me apart, eaten away a part of my soul which would never recover. My brother, Tyson, had taken on the Alpha role in the pack in her absence. He was only a year my junior and I’d seen the way he’d grown since my incarceration here when he’d visited. He was a true Alpha and would be my rival for control of the pack when I got out of here in a few months. I couldn’t wait to be free, the day was drawing ever closer. I could taste it on the wind.
Crackling energy spilled along my spine as I raced out toward the exit and lifted my head to the sky beyond the dome high above. A yap of excitement escaped me as I realised why I was feeling so frisky tonight. It was a full moon. She winked down at me, flirting like she always did. If the moon was a girl, she’d be one hell of a fuck.
I raced into the forest, tearing up the earth with my huge claws as my pack pounded after me. Running under the moon fuelled my magic reserves even though I couldn’t use any of that power. The cuffs expanded and moulded to fit any Order, their magic infallible even out here. It didn’t matter though, because tonight the only muscles I wanted to flex were the ones of my Order form. I was going to hunt down Rosalie Oscura and make her pay for tricking me. She was going to be crushed beneath my paws and begging for mercy. And the thrill of that image finally gave me some relief from the hold she’d had over me since the moment we’d met. All I needed to do was defeat her and she’d no longer be my equal. I’d stop pining after her and would be able to focus on taking pleasure from my pack again. From anyone I damn well liked in fact. She was in my head like an electrode that was cock-blocking me from having anyone else. And tonight, that ended.
I ran with the pack, listening for Rosalie’s howls in the distance. I was sure she’d be out tonight. She might have been my enemy, but she was still of my kind. And her nature was to run under the moon at any chance she got just like mine was.
I strained my ears as I raced into the rocky region to the south of the dome, climbing out of the forest to an outcrop which looked back over it. I lifted my head and howled to the sky then fell quiet as I listened for her. There was a still pool of glistening water to my right and my pack shifted back out of their Wolf forms, climbing into it. They were soon starting on an orgy and the word Alpha kept falling from their mouths in breathy moans as they begged me to join them. Without me amongst them, Harper was getting most of the attention and I was kind of pissed at myself for not joining in when she sat on the edge of the pool and two guys moved between her legs to pleasure her.
I growled in refusal, keeping my eyes set on the trees down below as I listened for Rosalie. She had to be out here somewhere. I refused to believe she’d given up the chance to see the moon tonight.
Eventually, a low howl drew my attention down in the trees. Not far at all.
My pulse quickened as I answered it, lacing my tone with a challenge that cut the night apart. I waited one second, two, three. Anticipation crawled through my veins like a drug. And then she answered. A challenge filled her tone too. She was accepting it at last. And I was finally going to force her beneath me.
I took off with a bark that told my pack to stay where they were, racing down the hill into the trees and howling again to let her know I was coming. Her reply told me she was waiting close by and I upped my pace, my heart thumping wildly as I searched for her.
I soon broke through into a clearing and dug my claws into the ground as I came to a halt in a circle of moonlight. I sensed her moving through the trees, the soft thud of her paws drawing closer.
I peeled my lip back, lowering as I readied to pounce the second she showed herself.
A glimmer of silver caught my eye and I twisted around as Rosalie lunged from the trees to my right, her coat catching the light as she collided with me. I was prepared for it, slamming a huge paw into her muzzle, knocking her off balance and forcing her back a step.
She was incredible to behold, a beast as large as me. I’d never seen another Wolf so powerful and it set my instincts alight with need. But no. Fuck no. I would not accept an Oscura as my equal. She was going to bow.
She darted around me, her tail flicking out like molten silver behind her. She dove at me once more, the full force of her blow nearly knocking me from my feet and making my heart pound harder. Her teeth sank into my shoulder and I snarled furiously as pain ripped through my flesh. I slashed at her with razor sharp claws, tearing a mark down her glorious fur and blood spilled, dripping to the ground.
Satisfaction pooled in my gut as she fell back with a yelp and I rose up to my fullest height, springing at her again before she could regain her feet. She darted away from me before I could catch her, tearing around the clearing and coming at me from behind. I swung around, but her huge paws slammed into my spine as she tried to uproot me and I barked a laugh, throwing my hind feet at her and leaping away.
I turned again with a dangerous growl, locking her in my sights as she lowered her head too, ready to strike.
We jumped forward at the same time, colliding in the air in a clash of claws and teeth. The adrenaline in my blood was too keen to feel any pain as we crashed to the ground and it was only by sheer luck that I landed on top.
I didn’t waste a second, spreading my paws in the dirt and widening my jaws to grab her throat. Her head slammed into mine as she thrashed, but I managed to get my teeth into her neck and hold her still. Her paws smacked into my gut and I was almost thrown off from the blow, but I held on by sheer force of will.
She didn’t yield, continuing to fight and I knew it was only seconds until I lost my grip on her.
In a flash, she shifted, slipping out of my jaws with ease as she fell naked beneath me in her Fae form. I shifted fast before she could scramble away, grabbing hold of her t
hroat with one hand and snatching one of her wrists with the other as I pressed her down into the dirt.
She gazed up at me through those kerosene eyes which could have lit the world on fire. I tried not to blink, but energy was spilling down my spine as the moon called to me, begging me to take her. It was the most natural thing in the world and my cock betrayed me as it swelled against her thigh.
“Submit,” I snarled, squeezing her throat tighter.
She grinned at me, a wildness in her eyes that made me almost groan with how much I wanted to claim that taunting mouth. To teach it a lesson it wouldn’t forget.
“Submit!” I roared at her, slamming her head down against the soft earth.
I squeezed her throat tighter and her eyes sparkled with some dark secret I wasn’t privy to. She pushed back against me, clawing her free hand up into my hair and drawing me toward her.
“You’re beat, love,” I snarled, my grip easing on her throat as I fell into those eyes. The second I did, she lifted upwards and pressed her mouth to mine, her tongue pushing between my lips.
I moaned as the sweet taste of her drowned all of my senses, but the second I gave in to that kiss, she drew back and punched me right in the face.
“Fuck!” I snapped as my head wheeled sideways.
She shoved me away, wriggling out from beneath me and I was too stunned to move for a long second as she darted away into the trees. Her laughter called back to me and I growled as I rose to my feet.
“You’re beat, love!” she called to me, her voice sing-song and mocking.
A snarl tore from my lips as I took chase, running into the thick woodland where rays of moonlight cut through the dense foliage above.
“What kind of Alpha hides in the shadows!?” I roared, hunting her with the desperation of a madman. I cursed myself for being so easily tamed by her and cursed my dick even more for wanting her again. I twisted my head to the moon and cursed her too, because that bitch was horny tonight and I could feel her trying to force me to claim Rosalie Oscura once more. But that wasn’t what I came here for. I came here to defeat her.
Darkmore Penitentiary (Supernatural Prison for Dark Fae Book 1) Page 19
