by C. R. Jane
“You are in my quarter, darling. And I’m surprised you’re back here after what happened last time.”
I stiffened, well aware of what he referred to, but instead, I wrenched my head to the side and studied everyone minding their own business for a change. “It looks like the rest of the prison to me. Plus, I don’t run away from fear.”
His lips arched wider, and just having him stare at me with such admiration had me picturing that mouth, warm and soft, demanding across my mouth. Taking what he wanted. My nipples hardened in response.
I pushed away from him. “Have fun,” I said and turned to walk away.
Suddenly, he snatched the back of my neck and hauled me toward him. Before I had the chance to protest, his lips brushed against mine, tender at first, then hard. With his other arm sweeping across my back, he walked me backward and right into Alaric’s prison cell.
My back hit the wall, and his body crushed mine. Hands drifted up my arms. Something overcame me, and I lifted my hands, cupping his face and kissing him back. I hadn’t come here to make out with Laz, but I worried I’d opened up a Pandora’s box when it came to him.
Finally, we broke apart and reality crashed through me that I was kissing the hellhound in Alaric’s room. He would go ballistic if he found out, and the guy had connections everywhere. Fuck. I didn’t want Laz dead.
I shoved him off me, then slapped his face, anger rising through me. “Why did you do that?”
He didn’t even seem to feel my hand striking his cheek, but instead grinned. “Little one, a small pack of snake shifters were headed down this hallway, and you’re not exactly their favorite person. So count yourself lucky I just saved that sweet ass of yours.”
I glanced outside to people casually walking past the prison cell. My lips ached from his hard kiss, my body straining for him, and my nipples grazing the fabric of my bra each time I moved only added to the growing desire.
“You did that for me?” I asked, turning to look at him as he ran a hand through his hair. And the bulge in his pants didn’t go amiss either. He was a beast of a man in size all around.
“You seem surprised.”
“Well, not many people in the penitentiary go out of their way to help others.” I shrugged, eyeing Alaric’s room. The simple bed. Clothes folded perfectly on the shelves in the back. Two books sat on the table near the bed, and not much else. Nothing personal, though I didn’t know why it surprised me. If he had the secret television room, why would he leave anything personal in the room?
“Want to see something?” Laz asked.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is that some euphemism for…” I lowered my gaze to the way his cock tented his orange pants.
He laughed, the sound a cross between a howl and the deep kind of noise that came from the pit of his stomach. Then he reached down and groped himself. “My one-eyed monster is yours whenever you want him, babe.” He cocked an eyebrow. “But that’s not what I meant.”
“What then?” On purpose, I ignored his comment about him offering himself to me whenever, refusing to flirt before I ended up in Alaric’s bed with him.
His hand slid into mine, and he guided me outside. “Follow me.”
Was I being a fool in getting close to him, holding his hand in public? Technically, I wasn’t with any of the other guys, but the three of them were extremely possessive, so me grasping onto Laz’s hand might lead to war.
When I tried to pull free, his hold tightened, swinging his gaze over his shoulder at me. “Better to be safe than sorry.”
Of course he was referring to the snake shifters, and I found myself looking at everyone who looked my way in case someone intended to hurt me. Maybe coming here wasn’t such a good idea after all.
I tracked alongside Laz, who held me close, until he took a sharp left with me in tow. He was opening a door, and in seconds, we stepped outdoors.
Fresh wind blew through my hair, and it was the most beautiful sensation. Indoors felt like a sardine can with stuffy air. I took in several deep mouthfuls, bathing in the natural light before looking around at a yard covered in grass nestled between two lofty buildings. The sun remained hidden behind heavy clouds, and I stared at what looked like small garden patches that had long been overgrown with weeds.
“What is this place?”
“Something I want to offer you to use when you need it. It originated as a small project by the prison doc, but it was quickly shut down by the warden. He doesn’t believe in rehabilitation.” He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small metal key, then placed it into my palm. “Stole it ages ago, and I come out here to calm down, otherwise I have terrible sleep walking problems. I walk into the wall over and over. You know how many times I woke up in a puddle of my own blood? But now I want you to have it.”
His words piqued my interest instantly. “You sleep walk as well?” I curled my fingers around the key, feeling the warmth of the metal from his touch. “Thanks for the key by the way. That’s really sweet of you.” I slipped it into the pocket of my pants.
“Seems we have more in common than I’d realized.”
An excitement rose through me. “How do you stop it?” I asked. “Did you ever find yourself out of your cell and doing strange shit?”
The way he looked at me said none of those things applied to him. “Generally, I just walk and bump into things since I’m closed in my room.”
“Oh.” I glanced away, hating that I let myself have high hopes so quickly.
“Hey.” He touched my shoulder. “Tell me more about your experiences. Maybe we can help each other.”
I lifted my head and stared back at him. What did I have to lose by telling him the truth? I had no idea what was going on, and maybe he’d have some insight.
I moved to a soft patch of grass and sat down, Laz doing the same, leaning his arms over his bent knees.
“This stays just between us, all right?”
He nodded.
“I don’t really understand it. I’ve never walked in my sleep before, but last night, I woke up outside my prison cell. And my door was open like someone had unlocked it for me once the lights went out. Worse part, I think I broke into someone else’s room and plucked their taxidermic raven.”
He frowned. “You said plucked, right?”
I rolled my eyes and whacked him in the arm. “There were black feathers everywhere. And yesterday, those women accused me of stealing other stuff from them. That’s strange, right?”
“You sure you were sleepwalking and someone isn’t pranking you?”
I blinked up at him as his words sank in. I had contemplated the idea, and it would explain a lot. “Maybe those witches set me up? But why? I don’t even know them.”
“Maybe leave some kind of trap in your door,” he suggested.
“Right, so then the two of us can sleepwalk together? I can see it now.”
“Wonder if there’s such a thing as sleep sex. If I leave you horny enough, then you’ll break into my room instead of someone else’s. I like this plan.” That time, I laughed at his fantasy, though my lips still tingled from his mouth on mine earlier. The guy knew how to damn kiss.
I lifted my head to the blue sky bruised with dark clouds as though a storm approached. I missed seeing the weather, experiencing rain, the sun burning down on my shoulders. The key in my pocket was a reminder that Laz had given me something special. A small escape when I wanted nothing more than to get away.
It was a strange thing to feel comfortable while in someone’s company you barely knew. But Laz had a way of calming me. I leaned back on my arms and crossed my legs at my ankles. “How’d you end up in here?” I asked.
“I was framed by my second in command,” he answered, lowering his head, his back curling forward. “The bastard wanted my pack, so he killed my mate and planted her dead body to frame me. Before I knew it, the cops had busted down my door and I was thrown into this place.”
“Fuck. I’m so sorry. That is horrific.” My
stomach rolled. “How could he do that?”
“The worst part is that I never saw it coming. It happened seven years ago, and I still burn with rage to destroy him.”
Soul-crushing, his recount throttled me. I pushed up and rubbed his back. I had no words to say about something so horrific. We sat in silence, and I remained by his side. Goosebumps raced up my arms, the hair standing on end along my arms to imagine experiencing such devastating betrayal.
“Laz,” I said after a while. “Are you okay?”
There was no response a first, then he stood. “We should head back inside.” His voice cracked, then he cleared his throat.
He leaned down and took my hand, hauling me to my feet. “Don’t worry about me, babe. I’m perfect. Once I get out of this joint, I have someone to hunt down and obliterate.”
I was lost for words and wished I knew the right thing to say.
Back indoors, I pulled the locked door shut, and Laz led me back to the main part of the prison where my cell lay.
“I’ll see you hopefully in my room tonight.” He winked so sexily, my legs trembled, then he strolled back the way we came, vanishing into the crowd. He was definitely not what I expected. Seemed no one was.
Someone snatched my hair and yanked backward, forcing me to cry out and retreat with quick steps to avoid falling over.
“Bitch, I know it was you,” a croaky female’s voice came.
I twisted around, grabbing my hair and managed to wrench myself free. I swallowed the lump in the back of my throat and hated how it was one thing after another here.
Raising myself, I faced the short-haired witch glaring in my direction, and if her stare could kill me, I’d be pinned to the wall already, dead.
“You killed our bird. I know you did,” she bellowed.
“You’ve got me confused with someone else, I told you before.” I curled my hands into fists, ready to fight if required.
Instead, a sudden explosion of cheering sounded from behind me. In a sudden flurry of busybodies, so many of the prisoners shoved past us to get to the commotion. Elbows in my ribs. Trodden on feet. I was pushed backward, but with the distance between the witch and I growing, I didn’t resist the push and tug. I really didn’t know what to tell the woman until I worked out what the hell was wrong with me.
Pivoting around to see where the masses were taking me, I came to where a group of guys were in a vicious brawl. It seemed to be happening daily, and everyone craved them for entertainment. I might have turned around if it wasn’t for Keon slicing through the masses and jumping in to stop the battle.
He had no clue I’d joined the audience, but seeing him move, he reminded me of a wolf. Swift and predatory, he knew exactly what he was doing. He went for the largest guy first, locked an arm around his neck, and wrenched him backward, then drove a knee into his back, sending him to his knees. The crowd seemed to be cheering Keon more than the fighters. And by the look of his grin, he was right in his element. He loved fighting, and he knew he was so damn strong, I wasn’t sure anyone stood a chance against him. With each punch he delivered, he grinned wider, taking joy from his punishment. I wouldn’t have thought guards were allowed to beat up prisoners as he was doing, but no one stopped him. Not even the three other guards watching.
Alaric was right about Keon being a wild cannon. I withdrew through the mob and rushed back to my cell, just wanting to hide from everything and sleep. Right then, I was reminded too much of Keon fighting before he turned into his demon side. How far did he have to push himself before he lost control and killed someone else?
Chapter 9
Selena
My whole body was sore from my most recent wakeup underneath a table in the cafeteria. I’d woken up when someone had clanged a tray full of food right above where I was sleeping.
I shrieked when I opened my eyes and realized once again, I wasn’t in my bed. Adrenaline coursed through me as a group of prisoners sat down right around where I’d found myself. I narrowly missed being kicked in the ribs as one of them guffawed loudly as he swung his legs underneath him.
I lay there for a moment, examining the old food crusted under the table, wondering how the heck I was going to explain myself if I suddenly popped out from under the table.
Not only was I freaking out because I’d woken up somewhere other than my cell, I was also freaking out at the fact that I hadn’t woken up before this.
The cafeteria was loud already.
Meaning that we were well into breakfast, and I definitely should have woken up before this.
What if it wasn’t breakfast? What if it was lunch?
Just then, I realized that not only was I underneath a disgusting cafeteria table, but my clothes were also soaking wet, like I’d gone swimming during the night.
I shifted out of the way of another swinging foot and cringed when I felt something slimy squish against my neck. These floors had obviously not been cleaned last night. Or maybe ever.
Another person sat down, and this time, I didn’t miss the kick to my leg.
I gasped in pain, and the confused face of a guy I’d seen before, rumored to be a bear shifter, suddenly appeared underneath the table. His mouth dropped open as he saw me there.
I waved and took the opportunity to scoot out from under the table as smoothly as I could. What felt like a million eyes were suddenly on me. The area around the table was silent for a moment before whispers and laughter erupted.
I stood up, trying to look as confident as I could, despite the fact that I knew there was last night’s casserole squished in my hair and I was soaking wet.
I kept my chin held high as I strode quickly over to the door. Laz appeared beside me, and I held up a hand before he could say anything and he wisely kept silent. I’m sure the smell emanating from me was a great deterrent as well.
I was about to turn right to go to my cell when I heard what sounded like a pack of prisoners coming down the main hall. Not wanting to run into so many people, I turned left and jogged down a hall and then another, turning down what I thought would connect me to another hallway that led to my cell.
It only took me a minute or two to realize I in fact had never been down this hallway. I stopped and leaned against the wall, fighting the urge to bash my head against the wall in frustration. I didn’t need a headache or a concussion on top of everything else.
A sign for a women’s shower room just down the hall caught my attention. Thinking that I could clean up a bit before finding my way back into my cell, I hurried over, thinking it was odd there weren’t any guards around.
There was no one around, and I couldn’t hear any of the showers running. I walked over to the sinks and let out a squeak when I saw myself. It was a good thing that I didn’t care what anyone in this prison thought about me, because I looked like I had been ridden hard and put away wet.
I was literally soaked. Clumps of food were bunched in my hair like I was going for a sort of epicurean dreadlock look. There was ketchup somehow smeared on my cheek. Although I’d gone to bed in my nightclothes, I’d somehow ended up back in my prison jumpsuit. It was smeared with food stains and of course soaking wet.
Sighing in distress, fear over what was happening to me searing through my veins, I headed to the showers.
Looking around, I noted that these showers were unusually clean. Dusty but clean…like they hadn’t been used in a very long time. Usually, the showers were littered with debris and questionable items. There was nothing like that here.
Everything was spotless.
Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I wandered over to the showers. They were dusty as well, but clean.
Weird.
I slipped off my disgusting, food-laden jumpsuit and turned on the shower, not bothering to wait until the water warmed up, because that was never going to happen.
The warden was all about torturing his subjects, and a cold shower was just another way that he did so.
“Has no one ever taught you
how to eat? The food is supposed to go in your mouth, not on your clothes,” a miffed English accented voice sounded from beside me unexpectedly.
I screamed and jumped away, slamming into the side of the shower stall farthest from where the voice had come from.
I looked around wildly.
There was no one there.
“Boo,” the voice whispered from behind me, which should have been impossible, because behind me was the freaking wall.
I ran through the freezing cold spray of water and out into the open areas in front of the showers. I frantically tried to cover myself as I looked around for the asshole who’d just joined me in the shower. There was a clump of mashed potato between my toes that must have dropped from my hair and I tried to shake it off as I glared around the room.
I couldn’t see anyone.
Still naked, I held my hand across my chest to try and support my breasts as I ran frantically to each stall, trying to find out who was in here with me.
“My dear, a lady does not run around naked as the day they were born in public. It’s just not polite.”
Where was that voice coming from?
“Who are you?” I screeched, shivering from my brief, glacial shower and beyond pissed.
A figure suddenly materialized a foot away from my face, and I fell backwards to the tiled floor in shock.
There was a ghost standing in front of me. The ghost of a tight-ass headmistress who probably sipped tea with her pinkie out by the looks of it. Her skin was a shimmering, barely translucent silver in color, and she had black hair that was pulled back in a severe bun parted down the middle. I had the sudden urge to tell her that not many people could pull off the middle part, but I refrained.
She was wearing spectacles low on her nose, and her lips were pursed as she studied me like I was a cockroach she’d found crawling around on her freshly cleaned floor. The ghost was wearing a black Victorian dress, with a white frilly collar that was almost to her chin, and went down past her ankles. She looked like she’d never smiled in her life, and I expected at any minute for her to pull out a ruler and rap me across the knuckles.