by Jaymin Eve
That’s if we were alive long enough to make it to trial.
Braxton’s blue eyes were like a blaze of light, a beam that would cut through anything that ended up in his path. I could sense his struggle to hold his form, to not let the dragon free, to not plunder and pillage as the old cliché goes. But his strength as a man was unsurpassed. No one controlled Braxton, not even his dragon.
“A compromise then,” he finally said, his words hard through his locked jaw. “I’ll take Mischa’s place in the prison, a life for a life. The old rules still exist, even though most don’t remember them.”
I furrowed my brow as I attempted to recollect this information from our supernatural history class. I couldn’t remember hearing of such a law.
“Yes,” Maximus said. “You step in for Mischa and I will for Jessa. Neither of the girls will have to go in there.”
Jonathon shook his head. “I wish I could take you up on this, but Kristoff wants Lebron blood and you know the council has right of refusal.” He tented his hands on either side of his face, as if massaging a migraine. “But I could possibly swing it for Mischa alone. They mostly associate Jessa with me, and I would be a little less homicidal to know that you were in there watching her back,” he said to Braxton.
Lienda stepped in then. “I don’t want either of my girls in there, Jon. There must be something else we can do?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, my sweet, but Braxton’s idea is better than anything I can think of. Jessa is trained to fight, unlike Mischa. It is the best option.”
There were nods all around. No one looked happy, but they were a little more resigned.
“We will make sure the trial never has a chance for success.” Tyson kissed me on the cheek. “You just have to make sure you survive.” His voice got a little louder. “Do you hear me, Jessa babe, your only job in there is to survive.”
Jacob dropped a kiss onto my other cheek. “Forget about the prisoners in that room, now you have to be selfish and only think of Jessa.”
A blast of energy had all of us turning back to the large group waiting across the clearing. Their patience had ended, it was time to go quietly.
Jonathon’s face went dark and stormy. “Give me a moment.” The fact that his voice was low and growly was a pretty big indicator that he wasn’t calm.
Lienda reached out and looped one arm around Mischa’s shoulders. The other went around me. My arms were starting to ache from being held in their position at my back and I was missing my wolf like crazy. But I knew this sensation was something I was going to have to get used to, at least for the next week. We watched as Jonathon started to argue with the council, putting forth the proposal for the Braxton and Mischa switch. He only needed a majority vote, and I knew Torag would be on his side.
Three hands went into the air, which left Kristoff and Galiani, the fey, on the opposing side. That was victory enough for us.
Mischa was breathing rather rapidly for someone who’d just been given a reprieve.
“What?” I said.
She swallowed audibly. “I’m not okay with you going back in there without me. I don’t think I will survive the worry.”
I left our mother’s side and nudged into her. “Don’t be afraid for me, Braxton will never let anything happen to me, and more importantly … I can take care of myself.” I let the smallest of smiles grace my lips.
“We will make sure you don’t go back after the trial,” Lienda said. They all seemed to feel the need to repeat this. “Your father and Louis will figure out how to make whatever evidence disappear, including the guards’ memories.” Her voice dropped even further. “But if you’re convicted, we will run. I have done it once, I sure as hell will do it again to keep you safe.”
It wasn’t hard to see where she’d gotten the strength to run with Mischa, to leave behind her mate and other child, to keep her family safe. She might be a wolf, but the mama bear was there in spades.
Jonathon turned to us and with a wave of a hand indicated it was safe to walk across. I knew, as the quads closed ranks around us, that it went against their instincts to let this happen. They wanted to fight. The set of their jaws, the fire in their eyes, the power which rode all of them, they wanted to fight so badly. But there was a time for fighting and a time to wait, and now was the waiting part.
The trip to Vanguard was pretty uneventful. Braxton had been cuffed and we were both blindfolded. The leather necklace had been removed from my neck so I knew I was going to feel every single one of the security measures. But there was comfort in the warmth of Braxton close by. I was attempting not to think of the hard faces and tight hugs of my friends and family as they were forced to watch us leave. I hadn’t said goodbye. I refused to acknowledge that I might not see them again. Despite the odds against us, I was determined to survive and I was hardening myself to the experiences on the inside.
By the time the mask and cuffs were removed, we were in some sort of front entrance waiting room. I rubbed at my aching wrists and swung my arms a few times to move the blood through them again. The scent of this part of Vanguard was very different to that of the sewer area I’d been in, clean and sterile.
The first thing they did was separate me and Braxton. His expression and low growls indicated he wasn’t very happy about this move, but he didn’t say anything. He knew when to fight his battles. I assumed he’d already been through this and knew what was about to happen. I took comfort from that.
The next part wasn’t too bad, just goddamned degrading. I was stripped, searched, and clothed in a simple tank and shorts. All cotton, gray and drab. Nothing on any garment could be used as a weapon; there wasn’t even a button or stud. I was allowed a hair tie for my hair, but that was all the accessories. Even my bra was minus underwire. I guess I needed to wrap my head around the fact that most of the supernaturals in this prison were hardcore criminals. Murderers, drug runners, human and supernatural smugglers, black market magic users, terrorists … we had them all.
The woman, who’d just had her hands all over my body, led me out of the small room and into a hallway.
“When did they change the policy of placing those awaiting trial into the main prison?” I knew she probably wouldn’t answer me, but it never hurts to try. Something told me the change had simply been for the Compass’ benefit or detriment. But it looked like I was going to get the same special treatment.
The woman glared at me, tugging me along roughly. I clenched my fists tighter but forced myself to calm. It was going to get much worse than this. The hardest part of being an alpha was the way my wolf needed to be the strongest, always in control. It made situations like this near impossible to stay calm in. The restrictions, lack of freedom, fear, control … all antithesis to my wolf.
Plus I was freaking hungry. No doubt the food was going to suck ass in here. No chocolate cake, no pie … they might as well have signed me up for torture.
I was led back into the original room, and relief flooded me to find Braxton seated, his extra-long legs spread out in front of him. He looked relaxed. And the boy could fill out some prison cottons. Who knew gray could actually look sexy on a person. Go figure. His eyes landed on my face well after they took a long leisurely look starting from my bare feet and moving over my own gray ensemble.
“You okay?” he rumbled.
I nodded, falling down into the seat next to him.
There was one man in the room with us now, although I could hear heartbeats of the others stationed outside the door. This robust man, who was not tall, but had thick, strong muscles, dropped down in a chair across from us. There was a desk between us, which he leaned forward and rested his elbows on. His eyes were dark brown, his hair starting to pepper a little around the temples, so he was pretty old for a supernatural. I was getting a magic vibe from him, thinking he was a wizard or sorcerer.
“Welcome to Vanguard,” he started, his words accented, but faint as if it had been a long time ago that he’d come to America. “My
name is Jeremy, I’m the head of the guard and magical protections. When we leave here, you will be escorted to your cell first.” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t agree with this, but it has been dictated that you two will share a cell, for safety. Then you’ll be led out into the center zone. It’s mingling, lunch and activity time, and we need to get you two out there and try and nip any threats in the bud.”
I shivered a little. I had no idea how bad it was going to be. I kept hoping they were exaggerating, but something told me they weren’t. I turned my head to the side and met Braxton’s eyes. He nodded. At least we both agreed that the fact we were bunking together was a bonus. Thank you, Dad.
We turned back to Jeremy.
“I know what you’ve been accused of doing.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “I have no idea why you would have been trying to infiltrate the prison, and to my knowledge there is no doorway where you were found. I think this is all a misunderstanding and I have no doubt that these charges will be dropped. The fact that you are forced to be in the main jail is not ideal, however. Powers above me have dictated.”
Truth. I could hear the frustration in his voice. Seems as if, no matter how high you were in the pecking order, there was always some douche-canoe with his hand up your ass, controlling your actions.
He stood then. “Follow me,” he said as he turned and moved toward the door. I wondered if they were just going to let us freely wander behind.
Yeah, not happening. Our hands were magically cuffed at the doorway by the two guards waiting there. I liked to think it was me they were so afraid of, but I knew better.
The guards stayed around us as we were led out of the office section and toward the large barred gate that seemed to mark the beginning of the actual prison. Upon Jeremy’s command, there was the distinct whoosh of magic, followed by locks clicking across. The metal double doors swung open. The moment I stepped across the threshold I almost fell to my knees. I paused and had to close my eyes. My breathing was deep and even as I fought to regain equilibrium.
“You okay?” Braxton’s low voice had my lids shooting open. “Keep breathing, it can be hard to adjust to the loss of power. Especially when you’re strong.”
He wasn’t kidding. I used the familiar and piercing blue of his eyes to ground myself. It felt as if there was a cloying cloth pressed onto my energy. This was like the magical cuffs, only a thousand times stronger, pushing my power down, suppressing my natural urges and limiting my strength.
I attempted to call on my wolf but I couldn’t reach her. She was there but hidden, unreachable. Unlike the cuffs, this time it felt as if she was gone.
I howled then, in one long, unbroken note. Where was she? I’d never been away from my wolf before. I was dying.
Braxton stepped into me then; he couldn’t hug me, his arms were secured behind his back, but his warmth still surrounded me, his scent washing over me, his comfort enough to halt my hysteria. I rested my face against the hard planes of his chest as I gulped down the emotions, my breathing rapid and shallow. He continued with the comforting touch until, finally, I was able to stand on my own.
“I’m okay … I’m okay,” I repeated a few times. “I just … can’t touch her, my wolf. She’s locked away from me.”
He nodded. “I know, but she’s still there. Don’t let your brain convince you that she’s dead or you’ll go insane … well, more insane.”
“Thank you,” I murmured into his hard chest. “I love when you point out the obvious to me.” I tilted my head back to glare at him. He returned my look with a lazy grin.
Jeremy jarred us out of our little bubble. “Move it.”
I shifted my glare to him, but couldn’t summon up enough anger to bother with words. Then we were moving again. Apparently it was time to dive into the jungle.
Chapter 13
The cloying pressure of suppressed energy was worse in the long channel of the shifter wing. There were more woven securities there. Silver bars lined the rows of cells, which were about eight by eight meters in size. We walked along the length, each sparse room empty. There were hundreds of cells, one after the other along both sides of a center stone path. Finally, Jeremy led us into a cell which was close to the end. Inside were two small beds with thin mattresses. Other than that, there was a sink and toilet, which thankfully had a curtain that could be pulled across for a semblance of privacy, and a small desk which held a few books and pens and paper.
Jeremy freed our wrists. “You are entitled to literature, art supplies, and, once a day, outside of meal times, you can request a beverage and snack. This is on top of the lunchtime, which happens in the main circle.” I rubbed at my arms again. “Keep your heads down, don’t cause trouble, and this week will be over before you know it.” He made his way back to the door. “Showers are in the morning. You receive new prison cottons then. Mack and Sam will take you to the circle now.” He waved at the two beefy guards before turning and leaving our cell.
The larger of the guards moved closer. “Don’t try any bullshit moves, Braxton.” He looked like a Mack, so I was going with that. “You know I have my whip and I will not hesitate to use it.”
I’d seen those whips when we were captured.
Braxton didn’t remove his eyes from Mack. “Their whips have silver imbedded into the leather. It hurts like a bitch and the healing is really slow.”
I pulled my eyes away and narrowed them on the men. Those fuckers hit my boys? People needed to die, seriously.
“Move it, bitch.” I was shoved out the door by Sam. I stumbled but stayed on my feet, although my arm brushed the silver and I could feel the burn. It was only the slightest graze, so like a mild sunburn, but it would take a while to heal.
“Don’t touch her.” Braxton’s voice barely changed tone, he sounded so matter-of-fact. But whatever it was, both men backed off a little.
We traced our path back along the shifter wing, one guard in front of us and one behind. Braxton made me go first so he was at my back and had Mack at his. As we threaded our way through, I was starting to really understand what the quads had tried to explain to me yesterday. Vanguard was designed like an octopus: the large ‘main’ circular body for mingling and food, and then the tentacle-like legs formed the different cell wings for each of the supernatural races. Long and winding was the shifter wing. I could only assume the others were the same.
We had to pass through many silver-coated doors, each locked with multiple key deadbolts and hand sensor recognition. When you thought about it, it was pretty bad judgment that they had the dragon marked in such an unsecure location. I guess they never expected anyone would know they were even there. If it wasn’t for Nash, we never would have known. I really hoped the little boy was okay. I’d have to ask Braxton if they’d had time to get him set up.
Finally, we seemed to reach the main exit. It was a much larger doorway than had been down the stone path. It took both guards to simultaneously press their hands to the sensors to activate the unlocking mechanisms on this one. I could hear the loud shouts and raucous uproar beyond before the door had moved even a sliver. There was some serious intermingling going on out there. I was relieved to find that, despite the suppressing of my wolf, my senses were still functioning almost to normal. The security measures seemed to target just our supernatural animal – the predator that lived inside of a shifter … except for those bloody rabbits, they weren’t predators, they were just bitey little shits.
The door swung open. I expected it to be slow and loud on its hinges. It was a massive door but it opened silently. Although the noise beyond was anything but. The shouting hit me like a slam of water in the face. And not to mention the scents, and the pull of thousands of supernaturals. It wasn’t exactly pleasant, and yet at the same time it brought forth memories of home. Of pack. Of the spice and bite that made up the supernatural community.
“It’s lunchtime. Try not to get eaten.” Mack grinned his asshole grin and left us there. The doors slammed shut again.
/> Braxton spun so fast I almost missed it, although I was pretty distracted by everything beyond our position. He gripped me on either side of my body, almost lifting me up to face him.
“Do not leave my side, do not let them separate us. They will try, you need to be aware.” His voice was low and close to my ear. I could feel his breath caressing my cheek. “Use your training, Jessa. One on one you have it over all of them, but we are vastly outnumbered.”
“Do you have any friends in here from last time?” My eyes were still trying to dart around and take in the entire room.
He nodded. “Maybe, but none that I trust. You don’t really have friends in here, you form alliances. There are vast differences. Alliances can be shifted easily. Many here gravitate to whomever they think is the most powerful. In their eyes I’ll have lost much strength without my brothers.”
I swallowed. It was a visible movement. Then I schooled my face. It was time to act tough. Well, tougher than I was currently feeling.
We strode into the middle, and unlike the movies, everything didn’t stop so people could stare at us. Mostly no one even glanced our way. They gave zero craps about us, and that was fine with me. My guess was that it would be in a day or so, when someone either scented me or word got around, that we’d have our trouble.
Braxton reached out and gripped my hand. His touch was nice, and then he threaded our fingers together. “First thing, we walk the perimeter, learn the layout, and then we eat.”
I nodded. My tension had me gripping his hand tighter.
The round room was massive, and I mean gi-freaking-gantic massive. It had high stone walls, glittering with their strands of mineral and stone embedded throughout. There was this weird half roof on sections allowing sunlight to flood the area. We were still underground, so this was a sun of magical nature, but it at least gave the illusion that we were outside. I swear a breeze even ruffled my ponytail. Dead center were three huge rows of bench-seat tables and chairs, clearly for eating. They were a lot like the cafeteria ones in Stratford College. These tables were half-filled with supernaturals, some in large groups, others solitary as they focused on the food in front of them.
