As if she’d read my thoughts, Amira stepped out of the crowd of Wolves in her Fae form, eyeing me with a sense of acceptance as she came to stand before me.
“I take it you’re making a challenge for my spot then?” she asked like she’d already known this was coming.
Most of the Oscura pack were in Cell Block B so I hadn’t had a lot of opportunity to spend time with them yet, but in the Magic Compound and the mess hall, I’d let myself be known and it wasn’t exactly hard to spot an Alpha for a Wolf.
I didn’t bother shifting back, just bared my teeth in a challenge and Amira nodded, pushing her short, brown hair out of her eyes.
“I accept your challenge,” she said before shifting. Her Wolf was big and grey with black flecks in her fur, though I still stood taller than her by a good foot.
The other Wolves backed up, circling us from a distance while yipping and barking with excitement as they waited to see how this would play out.
Amira started circling but I didn’t join her. I fell forward, bracing my paws on the dirt as I readied myself to pounce
Her eyes widened as I failed to follow the usual practice and the moment she hesitated, I leapt at her.
My paws collided with her side and she yelped as she was knocked from her feet, swinging her jaws around to latch onto my leg.
I growled with anger, tearing my leg out of her mouth as blood spilled and lunging for her neck.
She rolled and leapt away from me before I could pin her, circling behind me before jumping at my back as I failed to turn and meet her.
I leapt aside and she landed hard, giving me a moment to clamp my teeth on her hind leg.
I yanked her back with a snarl and she howled in pain as I ripped her off of her feet and knocked her to the ground beneath me.
The rest of the pack were barking their encouragement and I pressed my advantage, pouncing so that my paws slammed into her chest and she was pinned beneath my weight.
Amira snarled, snapping at my face and lunging for my throat, but I was faster, diving forward and locking my immense jaws around her neck.
She fell still, a whimper of defeat escaping her lips as I growled in warning.
My heart pounded with adrenaline but this was the bit that counted. She had to submit. Shift back and put herself entirely at my mercy. If not then I was within my rights to rip her throat out here and now or banish her from the pack for failing to fall in line. That was the Way of the Wolf and all recognised packs in Solaria abided by its laws.
After another beat of resistance, she shifted suddenly and my paws slammed down on the chest of a woman instead of a beast.
“I submit,” she panted as I slowly withdrew my teeth from her neck.
I glared down at her for a long moment, making sure I’d squashed any hint of rebellion from her eyes before shifting back too.
“A morte e ritorno,” I breathed with a grin, quoting our Clan motto. To death and back.
I got to my feet suddenly, leaving her in the dirt and turning to find the entire pack shifting back into Fae form around me.
They poured forward to greet their new Alpha, reaching out to brush their hands across my bare skin or nuzzle into my neck.
The caress of their acceptance washed over me and I smiled as I bathed in the feeling of belonging. Even here, in this damn hell hole they called Darkmore Penitentiary, they couldn’t stamp out the loyalty of a Wolf pack or the love we shared for one another.
“I offer myself as your Beta, Alpha,” Amira said as she made it to me through the throng of naked bodies. “As is tradition.”
She was right. When a new Wolf claimed a pack, traditionally, they selected the previous Alpha as their Beta if they were willing to put their disappointment at being dethroned aside. But I wasn’t your standard Alpha, and I liked to make my own rules.
“Thank you for your offer, but I like to select my pack hierarchy based on things more important than tradition.”
Amira balked at that and I didn’t miss the flame of anger that rose in her gaze.
“Let’s run together!” I called, turning to look around at every Wolf I now had under my command. “And I’ll assign new pack positions once I’ve gotten a feel for how we’ll work best together.”
My pack started howling, cupping their hands around their mouths and shifting back into their Wolf forms at my command. They were excitable, bouncing and yapping at the change which had just occurred and I couldn’t help but grin as I turned away from Amira’s scandalised expression and shifted back myself.
A distant howl caught my attention and my ears twitched as I recognised Ethan again. It sounded like he was heading our way, but I still had no intention of dancing with him in my Wolf form yet.
With a howl of my own, I turned and thundered away from the clearing, charging into the jungle with my pack at my back.
The ruddy brown Wolf came to run at my flank and I turned to him with a bark of excitement as he matched my pace, his eyes blazing. My spirit called out to him in a way which reminded me of home. Of my family. And I was pretty sure I already knew who I’d be selecting for my Beta.
But before I got into the politics of pack hierarchy, I intended to run through every single landscape which was housed within the dome.
I tipped my head to the sky as we burst from the trees onto a swathe of sandy dunes and I caught sight of the moon beyond the roof of the dome, high, high above us.
I released a howl which echoed from my lips and made my soul ache as I thought of home. But I couldn’t let myself dwell on that. This was my home for now. And before long, I’d be back where I belonged anyway.
We ran and ran for as long as we could until the final fifteen minutes were ticking down on the golden clock which was projected on the dome roof. I finally led my pack back to the main building where we would descend back down into the safety of the prison and the Order Suppressant would lock my Wolf away from me again until the next time I could come out here.
I paused as my pack flooded past me into the building to get changed and gave myself one final moment beneath the moon.
I could feel my magic reserves brimming with power deep within me after my run, but thanks to the magic restricting cuffs which were still locked around my front legs, I couldn’t use a drop of it.
With a sigh and only a few minutes to spare, I trotted into the huge building which housed the elevators and moved towards the locker where I’d left my clothes.
Roary was leaning against the wall waiting for me as I entered the room and he offered me a teasing smirk, letting me know he didn’t hold a grudge over me ditching him. I rolled my eyes in response to say that I didn’t either and he headed off to take an elevator down without waiting for me to get dressed.
Most of the other inmates had already gone down but as I shifted back into my Fae form, Ethan staked towards me between the small crowd which still remained. He’d gotten dressed already and had tied his jumpsuit around his waist again, leaving his tattooed arms bare for me to appreciate.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he snarled as he stalked closer.
I gave him an innocent look as around ten of my pack closed ranks behind me.
“Am I supposed to be flattered?” I teased as I pulled my clothes back on and his gaze roamed over me.
“You owe me a fight,” he growled. All of my Wolves growled in response, glaring at him and moving forward like they were preparing to leap in at my defences.
“And you’ll get it,” I agreed casually as I untucked my hair from the collar of my jumpsuit. “When I’m ready.”
I turned to walk away from him and he lunged at me, snatching my arm into his grip.
My Wolves leapt forward to defend me, but I waved them off as I turned to look up into Ethan’s blue eyes.
“I’m the Oscura pack leader now,” I said in a low voice as he refused to let go. “And if you challenge me it means war. Is that what you want with one minute of oxygen left in the room?”
Ethan b
ared his teeth, sparing a glance for the timer on the wall which was down to forty seconds. Two elevators stood open to take the last of the inmates out of here and we were the only ones left lingering as my Wolves backed up into one at a gesture from me.
“This isn’t over,” Ethan promised, his eyes burning with rage.
I reached out to move his hand off of my arm but instead of trying to force him to release me, I brushed my fingers over the back of his hand and onto his forearm. I shifted forward so that our lips were barely an inch apart and his gaze flickered with uncertainty as he tried to figure out what I was doing.
“No, it isn’t,” I breathed before stepping back and joining my Wolves in the elevator.
He watched me go for a moment before turning and heading into the other elevator with a growl of frustration.
Ethan’s gaze stayed fixed on me as the doors began to close and I offered him a smile just before my view of him was stolen.
It was only my second day in this place and already my plans were coming together.
The Order Suppressant slid from the vents and I sighed in disappointment as my Wolf was chained down once more.
Not long now, Jerome, I’ll finish this job in record time and be back for my paycheque before you even miss me.
I watched Twelve from the corner of the Mess Hall, drinking in every detail of her behaviour. When I engaged in the hunt, I liked to know my prey well to make the chase all the sweeter. I’d give them room to breathe, to run, to hope. And just when they thought they’d made it away from me, I pounced.
I’d been watching Rosalie Oscura like a hawk since she’d arrived. Not that she knew it. I didn’t usually pay much attention to the inmates assigned to me beyond keeping them in check, but with her I was happy to follow orders from Warden Pike. So I was going to bide my time, get to know my enemy until I saw the chinks in her armour and figured out where to strike. She obviously hadn’t realised how much power I held over her. I decided her fate in here. Once she was entered into the correctional process, she’d soon realise her mistake. The more she let me see, the more I could exploit when it came to building her programme.
For now, I wanted her lulled into a false sense of security, to fall into the habits of the prison, find her natural place in the hierarchy. My interference would only slow the process down and this was the best way to figure out what I was dealing with.
Contrary to my initial assessment of the feisty little Werewolf, she was proving to be a serious contender for dominance in her cell block. If it weren’t for her neighbour, Sixty Nine, the arrogant fuck of a Lion Shifter Roary Night, she probably would have seized the Alpha position in the block already. Instead, it looked like they were making friends. Although, that word was bullshit in here. Allies was about as strong a tie as it went. I’d seen friends sell each other out for less than a pack of cigarettes when it came down to it. Just like in the rest of the world, Fae were all selfish creatures hunting for power. But it got amplified tenfold in Darkmore, turning Fae into sneaks and snitches. And if the new pups didn’t figure out fast that the ‘honourable way of the Fae’ meant shit in here, they were going to find themselves with the sharpened end of a toothbrush jammed between their ribs before they could even spit and rinse.
I’d spent my childhood witnessing the darkest parts of Fae nature. I’d lived under the roof of a man who’d known how to feed sugary lies to the unwanted kids he so kindly took in. A man who’d pretended to be a father. Who’d faked it so well, I’d been under his spell for years. It had taken me far too long to realise he was just like every other Fae in the world; bloodthirsty and power hungry. But he’d taught me one invaluable lesson which I’d carried with me throughout my life: you couldn’t trust anyone in this world, least of all those closest to you.
Twelve was laughing at something Sixty Nine was saying, her expression playful and carefree. The Oscura Werewolves banded around her, but whenever they got too near, she sent them away again. She was giving Roary her undivided attention and he was playing into her hands, puffing out his chest and acting like the big man. I knew her game. I’d seen it a thousand times in Darkmore, though perhaps not so cleverly played as this. Instead of making an opponent out of her biggest competition in her cell block, she was winding him around her little finger instead. She’d probably hold off on fucking him until he was down begging on his knees for it, and by then it would be too late for him to figure out she’d played him like a fool.
If you can’t defeat your enemy physically, then invade them mentally and pick apart their defences brick by brick.
Life had taught me that. And it had clearly taught Twelve the same thing. So she might have been able to flirt and charm her way into the minds of her biggest competition, but she was forgetting one vital thing in her little plan. Me.
I had the power to throw her in the hole until she was so desperate to be let out, that she did anything and everything I said. I could chip away at each layer of security she built around herself until she was questioning her sanity. Yes, Rosalie Oscura was clever. But she wasn’t smart enough to figure out that every subtle move she made was being watched, noted and deliberated. And after a few days of giving her room to breathe and feel secure in her new position, it was time for my first move. A reminder of who was really the boss in here.
I waited until breakfast hour was over and the inmates were corralled out of the Mess Hall. Most of them were split up by groups of guards as they left, taken to their jobs for the day. Not everyone in here was so lucky as to have a job. Only the new pups and the well-behaved were given the opportunity. If you behaved like an insolent fuck then you got downgraded to the shittiest jobs. Literally. Cleaning the cell block toilets by hand was one of the most menial tasks on offer. But if you were a completely useless prick then you’d be refused work entirely. And that meant you didn’t earn one token an hour like the rest of your cellblock did. And as the commissary only took tokens and ignored what you were worth outside of these walls, the result was that you had to endure having the barest cell, the emptiest stomach and a lack of all privileges.
I moved after the crowd as Twelve walked with Sixty Nine toward the exit.
“Hey, I can see if I can get you a job?” Sixty Nine murmured to her. “We’re fixing up an old cell block. Construction and decorating are pretty sweet jobs.”
“That would be-” Twelve started and I snatched her arm, yanking her back a step.
She turned to me in surprise and a cruel smile tugged at my lips. The Lion lingered there like a bad smell and I bared my fangs at him.
“Is there a problem, Sixty Nine?” I snarled dangerously.
He eyed Rosalie with a frown then shook his head and kept walking.
“You’re on level nine today,” I told her, my heart thudding harder in anticipation.
“That’s isolation,” she breathed and I narrowed my gaze on her.
“Who told you that?” I growled.
“Officer Lyle,” she said with a shrug then caught my sleeve, tugging me forward. “Come on then, what are we waiting for?”
A snarl ripped from my throat and I snatched the back of her collar, ripping her hands off of my sleeve. “Touch an officer like that again and I’ll leave bruises on you as a reminder of the rules.”
I laid my free hand on my baton and her eyes slid down to it, a stubborn flare in her gaze that said she was tempted to touch me again out of sheer exhilaration. It was going to take a lot to break this one. But I knew how to be patient. I’d laid in wait for prey before, hiding in the dark, and just like all those before her, she wasn’t going to see me coming.
I shoved her ahead of me and she stumbled as she almost lost her footing, a growl leaving her throat. I pushed her along through the crowd, leading her out into the stairwell and heading down. The prisoners filed off into corridors around us with groups of guards as we continued to descend. No one else was working lower than level seven so when we got that far we were left alone.
Twelve looke
d around, absorbing every detail of the grey walls while I observed every detail of her.
I took the lead as we reached the heavy red metal door which led into isolation, flashing my ID pass at the scanner before placing my palm against it and letting it register my magical signature. A heavy buzz sounded and the door clunked as it opened.
I pulled it wide for Twelve, eyeing her with a smirk as she stepped past me into the low-lit corridor full of doors as heavy-duty as this one.
I followed her into it, spotting the janitor’s trolley at the far end where I’d told him to leave it in preparation for this.
“You’re going to wash every inch of this floor,” I commanded, directing her toward the trolley where a mop and bucket sat waiting for her.
She walked toward it, sashaying her hips without a word in response and grabbed the mop.
I stalked after her with darkness flickering in my soul as I snatched the mop from her grip and snapped the wooden handle over my knee.
“You’ll do it by hand,” I snarled, pointing to a scrubbing brush on top of the trolley with the sharp end of the broken mop.
Twelve clenched her jaw, that stubborn flare rising in her again.
“NOW!” I bellowed directly in her ear and she snatched it up with a growl, grabbing the bucket and dropping to her knees before me.
A sweet satisfaction twisted through me as she started scrubbing, her jaw locked in fury.
I dropped down to a crouch, placing the sharp end of the handle under her chin and forcing her to look at me. “Do you have something to say, Twelve?”
“No,” she replied simply.
I smashed the handle down on the ground, making her flinch. “No what?!”
She stared at me for a long moment, resilience burning in her gaze. Then she snorted derisively, dropping her head. “No, Officer Cain.”
“Good.” I rose to my feet, striding past the row of doors on my right as Twelve set to work cleaning. I paused outside cell six and reached up to the hatch, twisting the lock and sliding it open. I frowned into the dark space, my Vampire sight heightening as I hunted for the piece of shit Incubus who resided in there.
Darkmore Penitentiary (Supernatural Prison for Dark Fae Book 1) Page 13