But there were things I needed to do before I had to recruit him to my plans and I was happy to let the Lion bastardo sweat while I worked on it. He’d earned a little torture for the years of it he’d given me. I’d spent too many nights dreaming of the day when he’d stop looking at me like I was a little kid and see that I was perfect for him. And even now, when I was well and truly over my childhood fantasies, he still looked at me that same way. Like I was some idiota child nipping at his ankles. Stronzo.
I pursed my lips as I thought about the things I needed to do to further my plans once I was released from this cell for the night. Firstly and most importantly, I needed to find Sin Wilder. He was the one I’d come to break out of here after all. According to my contact, Jerome, he’d been stuck in isolation for way too long, though he couldn’t tell me what he’d done to earn himself that severity of punishment. Isolation was hard on any Fae but for an Order like his, it would practically be torture…
“I meant what I said last night, Rosa,” Roary breathed, drawing my attention back to him. “This place chews up pretty little things like you and spits them back out again. I can see you’ve changed, that you’re stronger than you used to be, tougher too, but don’t underestimate this place. Even those who seem friendly will be after something. Even if it’s just to ride on your coat tails and bathe in the glow of your glory. Nothing comes for free in here. Everything has a price…”
“And what price have you paid, Roary?” I asked, touching my fingers to the metal grate as I sensed there was something he wasn’t saying.
He looked at me through the little holes for a long moment before lifting his hand to press it to the grate too. His fingertips brushed against mine through the tiny gaps in the metal and my damn heart leapt at his touch like it used to when I was fourteen all over again. Not that I let it show.
“I’ve paid in more ways than you can imagine,” he breathed eventually.
A loud bell blared before I could say anything in response and I stilled as I looked around, wondering what it meant.
“Are we about to be let out of here?” I asked hopefully.
“Not yet. That sound means there are guards in the block. They’ll be doing the count before we’re let out, though this is a bit early for that.”
Footsteps pounded up the metal stairs outside and Roary offered me a smile before shifting away from the grate and getting to his feet.
I followed suit, dropping down to sit on my bunk with my back to the wall as I waited for the guards to arrive.
My gaze caught on Plunger on the far side of the block as he started doing squats with his hairy ass pointed towards the door.
I fought the urge to vomit in my mouth and looked away again quickly.
“Where’s Twelve?” a deep voice boomed from somewhere on the bottom floor and I cocked my head towards the door. That had sounded suspiciously like the asshole guard who’d burned me yesterday.
“Sounds like you’re off to meet the Warden, little pup,” Roary muttered.
“Oh really? Let me just put my tiara on and practice my curtsy,” I replied.
He snorted a laugh as the sound of the guards’ footsteps pounded up the stairs, some cowardly Fae giving up my location to them. I swivelled in my bed, flopping back on my mattress and placing my hands beneath my head as I closed my eyes, feigning sleep.
Eventually the guards’ footsteps drew closer and closer until they stopped outside my cell.
“How the hell did a little thing like her snag a top floor cell to herself?” Hastings asked in a low voice which definitely sounded impressed.
The corner of my mouth twitched with a smile. “I’m number twelve,” I said without opening my eyes. “This is cell twelve, I assumed it was meant for me so I kicked the Dragon out, ragazzo del coro.” Choir boy.
“Don’t let her allure fool you, Hastings,” Cain growled. “This one’s a stone, cold killer. Get up, Twelve, you’re coming with us.”
I sighed dramatically and pushed myself up onto my feet, walking towards them with my hips swaying. Two more guards stood further down the walkway waiting to help escort me out of here and I smirked at them as I made it to the door of my cell.
“Do you really think I’m alluring, Officer Cain?” I asked, looking up at him from beneath my lashes.
He damn near snarled at me and I cut my gaze across to Hastings instead, biting my bottom lip as I looked up at him.
“I think you’re damn irritating,” Cain growled. “And if you’re looking for time in the hole then you’re going the right way about it. Get dressed, the warden wants to see you.” He shoved a fresh set of clothes through the bars and I took them from him slowly.
“Are you just going to stand there and watch me change?” I asked as I moved to place the clothes on the spare bunk above mine.
“Hurry up or I’ll be forced to reprimand you,” Cain snarled, gripping his shock baton at his hip threateningly.
I pouted, looking at Hastings like I wanted him to help me but he just offered a shrug, seeming a little unsure and clearly not willing to challenge Cain.
I turned to face the bunk with my new clothes on it and slowly drew the white tank top up over my head before dropping it to the floor. I’d slept without a bra on and the cool air of the cells made my nipples harden as it kissed my skin.
I dropped my panties next, making no attempt to shield my body from them and smirking to myself as Hastings cleared his throat and turned his back like a proper gentleman.
Cain didn’t look away though and I turned to look at him as I slowly pulled my new clothes on. There was a darkness in his gaze which said he hated me, but the heat that blazed within his eyes said he wanted me too.
I offered him a taunting smile, my gaze sliding over the way his black uniform clung to his broad frame as I took my time putting my new clothes on, finishing with the orange jumpsuit which I only buttoned half way, leaving my white tank on show beneath it.
“Open on three, cell twelve,” Cain commanded, lifting a radio to his mouth.
A deep buzz sounded and my cell door slid aside, rattling open so that I stood before the two guards with their magic and their weapons and their looks of mistrust. Although as my gaze slid to Hastings, I was pleased to see my choir boy had a hint of concern in his gaze just for little old me.
“Sembri un agnello, ragazzo del coro. Dovresti temere il lupo,” I said, dropping my voice an octave as I looked up at him, shifting my weight so I was angled towards him. You look like a lamb, choir boy. You should fear the wolf.
“I told you I don’t speak Faetalian,” he replied, clearing his throat as he reached out to take my arm.
“She said she’s going to eat you alive,” Cain snarled as he snatched my other arm. “And if you don’t get that starry look out of your eyes then I might start thinking she’s right.”
Hastings frowned at me like he didn’t know whether to believe Cain or not and I batted my eyelashes innocently as Cain wrenched me into a fast walk.
My gaze snagged on Roary’s as he leaned against his cell door with his arms trailing through the bars, watching me go. For a moment it seemed like he was concerned about me, but his features shifted subtly and I couldn’t see anything beyond a blank mask. I smirked at him all the same, offering him reassurance if he wanted it. I wasn’t afraid of this stronzo or any of the other guards. They may have been harsh, brutal even, but they weren’t going to risk killing one of us without a good reason and getting locked up with the monsters they were paid to contain. If that ever happened, their deaths would come surely enough, though not before the dark Fae who resided here made them suffer to the full extent of their power. And even without the use of our Order gifts or magic, there were a lot of creative ways that someone could be made to hurt with a bit of time and effort involved.
Cain and Hastings were quickly flanked by the two other guards who I recognised from my research, Teresa Taylor, a Manticore with a thing for eating raw turnips and Cam Martin, a Centaur whose
whole life was her work. I hadn’t been able to find out much about them that would make them good candidates for turning so I didn’t have any intentions to attempt to win them over.
We headed down the metal stairs which ran between the gangways and I could feel the eyes of my cell mates crawling over me, assessing me, underestimating me. They’d gotten a taste of what I was made of when I’d taken down the Dragon asshole yesterday but beating Two Hundred wouldn’t be enough on its own. Even now, some of them would be looking at my small stature and slim frame and thinking it had been a fluke. They’d come for me soon enough to test their theory. I had plenty of challenges left before me to prove myself in here but I wasn’t afraid. If there was one place I thrived then it was in the midst of a fight.
We made it to the ground floor and the guards led me over the bridge which crossed the evermist trap and my gaze trailed down to look at the coiling smoke with interest. I’d heard all about the way that shit made you feel if you came into contact with it, but I had to wonder if it really was as bad as they claimed. My Aunt Bianca’s voice rang in my head as I almost considered jumping in there to test it out. Curiosity killed the cat, Rosa! But I was no kitty cat and curiosity had only ever made me stronger.
The cell block doors opened as the guards unlocked them and I glanced back at the cage where the lower ranking members of my cell block had to sleep all penned in like pigs. Wide eyes and curious stares followed me and I tossed them a wink before I was dragged out into the long grey corridor and the cell block door closed behind us.
We headed past the doors for the wide staircase which led to the other levels of the prison and I was directed into a slim elevator. I watched as Hastings activated it with a flare of magic before the doors slid closed and we started ascending.
“Not to be a bother…” I said slowly.
“If you don’t want to bother us then don’t talk,” Cain growled.
“Yeah. Totally. Shutting my mouth… But I was just wondering what I have to do to get a bit of medical attention?” I eyed Hastings hopefully, pouting with my busted lip and a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“I guess kicking a Dragon Shifter out of his cell takes a bit of doing,” Hastings said, offering me his hand.
Cain grumbled irritably but didn’t stop me from placing my palm in Hastings’ and I smiled widely as healing magic slid beneath my skin, repairing my lip, the tender patch on my scalp and the bruised ribs too.
“Thank you,” I purred, keeping hold of his hand for an extra beat before drawing back.
Cain scowled at me and I gave him my most innocent look in return.
When the doors opened again on the first floor, we stepped out onto thick black carpet and warm air surrounded me. I glanced about, looking casual while I was really inhaling every single detail of my surroundings.
We passed a set of double doors which stood open, showing a huge lounge where a few off duty guards sat about, watching tv and chatting before a crackling fire. I caught sight of a well-stocked kitchen where some more guards sat eating their breakfast around a long dining table and a door which held a sign for showers on it.
We passed through another corridor and my gaze snagged on a row of blue lockers with the guards’ names printed on them in silver lettering. That was where they stored their shit between shifts. Batons, uniforms, magical cuff keys…
Cain yanked on my arm with a sharp jerk as he caught my attention fixing on the lockers and he dragged me flush to his powerful body as he leaned down to snarl in my ear. “Keep your eyes down.” His grip bit into my arm painfully but I didn’t let it show as I looked straight into his grey eyes while we were nose to nose.
“Or what?” I breathed, a clear challenge in my tone.
His grip on me started to burn as his Elemental power slid to the surface of his skin. He was too quick to anger. He wouldn’t have done well in a cage fight. Emotions equalled a battering in a brawl, but then that wasn’t what he liked. He liked the hunt, the chance to unleash that rage in him and lean into the bloodlust of his kind. Vampires weren’t really supposed to engage in the hunt. It was in their little code, but Cain clearly didn’t like to tame the beast which lived beneath his flesh. We had that much in common at least.
Cain bared his fangs at me, but before he could reply with some dark threat against my safety, a door at the end of the corridor swung open.
“Is there a reason you’re lurking?” a woman’s voice came from inside the room and Cain dragged me into a fast walk again.
“We brought Twelve, as requested, ma’am,” Cain announced as he dragged me into the ostentatious office and pushed my ass down into a hard seat before the Warden’s mahogany desk.
I raised my chin as I looked into the beady eyes of the woman who ran this place. Audrey Pike, a Pegasus with the Element of air. She was one of those overachieving, goal orientated people who drove me to fucking tears. I’d done my research on her the most thoroughly of all. There wasn’t a week that went by in this place when she didn’t try out some new idea, strategy, creative path to criminal rehabilitation. She was also a hard bitch. She may have been all for pushing the prisoners here to try new things and work on their inner Fae, but I’d read between the lines of those glossy articles. Punishments were up fifteen percent since she’d taken the role as Warden. Stints in isolation were longer, time in the interrogation more common, she had implemented tighter restrictions on magic and Order exercise despite the fact that Fae could sicken and die if they were cut off from their powers for too long. She presented the face of fairness and sung the song of wanting to better the lives of the prisoners in her care, but as far as I’d been able to grasp, this prison was run to her tune. So you either listened to the beat and got your ass shaking along in time or you’d be tossed in the rejects corner with the dudes no one wanted to dance with and left to rot until you found a way back to the rhythm she set.
So overall, not someone I wanted paying me much attention.
“Rosalie Oscura…” Warden Pike said thoughtfully, her discerning gaze scraping over me from my long, black hair which was tangled around my shoulders to my half buttoned jumpsuit and landing on my standard issue boots which I hadn’t bothered to tie. “Stop lingering like a bad smell, Cain. I’ll call you when we’re done.”
Cain turned and left the room without a word, but I didn’t miss the fire that flared in his gaze for half a heartbeat. He didn’t like being spoken to like that. Not one bit.
“Nice to meet you, Warden,” I said, sweet as pie as I offered her my cuffed hand to shake.
She had ice blonde hair and cold eyes which took in the gesture thoughtfully, cynically. I got the feeling my innocent act didn’t fly with her for a single second, but she went along with it all the same.
“A shame it isn’t under better circumstances,” Pike replied, grasping my hand and shaking once. She didn’t squeeze hard like some asshole trying to prove how big his balls were, simply shook and released, nothing to the gesture which could be taken as any kind of posturing. I guessed she didn’t need to try and intimidate me anyway. We both knew my ass was hers for the duration of my stay.
“I like your blazer,” I commented. She was wearing a white suit. All white without a speck of dirt on it, not even a blob of breakfast. That was its own special kind of impressive.
“And lucky for you, orange seems to be your colour,” she replied easily.
I smiled at her and she raised a defined eyebrow at me. I imagined half the male inmates had fantasies about breaking her perfect poise and ruffling her feathers. She was that unattainable kind of beautiful. That painted on perfection which you usually only saw in the media and I imagined took a whole lot of work to maintain. Wildly alluring was more my bag. It took a lot less prep anyway.
“Your power levels are high, you ranked in the top ten of your class at Aurora Academy and you received a special distinction for Elemental Combat,” Pike said, sounding like she was reading from a file while she was actually just speaking
from memory. “So much potential…but you’re an Oscura so I suppose blood will out. Your upbringing in one of the most infamous gangs in Solaria would be what led you into crime, though you don’t strike me as the type to be easily led. In fact, despite the fact that you’re clearly an Alpha, there’s no reports of you ever having challenged your cousin Dante for his place as head of your family, care to tell me why?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “A morte e ritorno,” I replied as easily as breathing. To death and back. “It’s my family motto. Dante is the best person I know, I don’t care if our natures should push us into conflict, it’s never going to happen. Besides, the Oscura Clan is more than big enough to hold two lead Alphas. Dante never tried to clip my wings, he encouraged me to flourish, even offered to fight me for the top spot. But I love him. And he’s a great head of our family. I have no intention of seeing him unseated.”
“You speak as if you think you’d win that fight,” Pike commented. “Do you really believe you could take on a Storm Dragon and win? His rap sheet is even longer than yours…”
I smirked. “Every Alpha thinks they can win all battles,” I replied. “But that’s a question I don’t ever intend to have an answer for.”
Pike’s eyes stayed fixed on me like I was a puzzle she was trying to figure out and I just smiled. I might have been full of secrets but she wouldn’t be getting any from my lips.
“Assault, affray, driving under the influence of the moon, minor in the possession of stardust, Alpha Wolf status abuse, hijacking a Pegasus and trespassing on private property, Coercing of law enforcement, bedazzlement and finally, bank robbery and murder…It seems like a bit of a deviation from your usual vices. And the reports claim that the great Storm Dragon abandoned you to the FIB. Seems like a strange thing for him to do if your bond is as strong as you claim.”
I smiled sweetly without speaking a word. Was I about to confirm that Dante had been with me on that job? Fuck no.
Pike got the hint and dropped it. “I invited you up here so that we could have a quick face to face. You’ll soon find your way around the prison and get to learn the rules. But there’s only one which really counts. Don’t. Cross. Me. Take out your rage and your petty issues on the members of your cell block, run off steam when you’re up in the Order yard, channel your magic into whatever you feel you need to while you’re in the Magic Compound. But don’t break the rules I’ve set. Don’t go up against my guards. And don’t go thinking you’re special.”
Darkmore Penitentiary (Supernatural Prison for Dark Fae Book 1) Page 7