“Yeah actually, you must be right,” he agreed. “The thing looked really complicated…but once you understood it, it was actually pretty easy to use.”
“It was?” I asked, my heart lightening as he referred to the tank.
“Yeah. I should really go now, though,” he added. “I’ve got a lot of work to do today. But I’ll write you tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Dante,” I breathed, clutching the phone tighter as tears pricked the backs of my eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Good thing you’ll never have to find out then,” he teased.
“Ti amo,” I whispered.
“Ti amo, Rosa. I’ll see you soon.” The line went dead and I released a shaky breath before opening my eyes and dropping the phone back onto the hook.
I strode away from the phones and headed back into the Mess Hall to rejoin my pack. There wasn’t much that I could do about the tank until I heard back from Dante. But I could move on with the next part of my plan. Which meant I needed to locate a Polethius Mole Shifter.
“Number One, Fifty Eight, Thirty Nine, Three Hundred and Forty Six,” the guard continued shouting out numbers from the bottom of my Cell Block, but I ignored the rest, my heart pounding with excitement as I headed out of my cell.
Every week, inmates were randomly selected to head to the Fate Room and today, my number was up. The most valuable part of being selected, was that those lucky enough to be sent there could access horoscopes, scrying bowls, tarot cards and more. And with a little insight into where the planets were sitting in my chart and a few forecasts, I could secure a month-long advantage in Darkmore.
The guards liked to keep these little visits randomised so the top dogs couldn’t dominate the future. Especially considering that if anyone was planning shady shit, having a visit to the Fate Room prior to that could be very favourable indeed. The Warden insisted we were allowed access to it on occasion because it was a Fae’s right. But the guards always got antsy afterwards, keeping a close eye on anyone who’d taken a visit.
I was soon out of my cell block, marching downstairs with the ten others who’d been selected, following the two guards. There’d be ten from every other cell block too so I wanted to get down there first and make the most of the two hours they gave us in the room.
We soon arrived on level eight and my heart thumped a hungry tune as I forced my way to the front of the masses gathered before the entrance. The huge, arching metal doors were engraved with the star sign constellations and three large iron bolts were slotted across to lock it.
Officer Cain stood beside it, surveying us all with his usual pissy expression. If it was up to him, he wouldn’t ever let any of us in that room. But it wasn’t, so he could rage out and turn into a fiery pile of soot for all I cared. It wasn’t gonna change the Warden’s orders.
His eyes trailed over me and a growl escaped his throat. That motherfucker hated it when the gang leaders got called into the Fate Room. It usually meant all hell was about to break loose. And he wouldn’t be wrong. I had a score to settle with Gustard, one that preceded him attacking Rosalie, though that had sure as shit cemented his fate. And not just that, but he’d tripled the amount of pain I was going to rain down on him. And it had been a fuck load to begin with.
My breath caught in the back of my throat as her voice suddenly carried to me and I turned my head, finding Rosalie shoving through the crowd with that long-haired asshole Roary Night at her side looking like her fucking bodyguard. They were laughing and messing about together and jealousy burned a line through my chest at the sight. I turned my back on them again, a snarl rolling over my tongue. I hated that bitch with a passion, but I cared about her just as fiercely. I was a man divided down the centre, torn in half by this mate bond. I’d spent plenty of time trying to find a way to break it during library hours. But even if Rosalie died, it looked like I’d pine for her forever. And the mere suggestion of her dying made me want to kill everyone in this prison just so that no one was a threat to her.
I took a deep breath, pushing a hand over my hair and making sure it was perfectly styled as I focused on the task at hand. I needed to find out if the stars were in my favour this week. Because I’d been waiting for this for a long time, and Gustard had it coming. If fate was on my side, I was going to start executing the plan I’d been concocting against him.
Cain pressed his hand to the scanner beside the door and the thick bolts slid open at his touch. The doors opened inwards as the sound of heavy chains rattled through the air, drawing them wide.
“These doors will shut behind you,” Cain growled. “They re-open again in two hours. You will be watched through cameras so any interference with the Horometer or tampering with the Arcane objects will result in one month in the hole. If any smartass thinks they can smuggle an artefact out of that room, think again. Even an attempt to do so will see you punished. Is everyone clear?”
A murmur of yes sir sounded around me and Cain clenched his jaw, stepping out of the way of the doors.
I hurried forward into the darkened room. The air was chilled and sent goosebumps prickling along my skin. A huge silver Horometer hung above us beneath the domed ceiling which glittered in mimicry of the night sky, each constellation twinkling down at me. The Horometer was a series of large silver orbs which represented the solar system, each of the magically suspended planets slowly circling the sun at the heart of it.
There was a metal staircase that led up to a walkway above it and I hurried through the room toward it, passing tables where scrying bowls, crystal balls and pendulums were chained to tables. Tarot cards and all manner of crystals sat waiting to be used, all of them magically linked to each surface so nothing could be taken a foot away from its place. I’d return to use them later, but right now, I wanted what every fucker in here wanted most. Their horoscope.
I raced up the stairs ahead of everyone else, my boots clanging against the metal. I reached the top, moving around the walkway to a large screen which was embedded in a podium. My pulse drummed harder as I pressed my right hand flat to it and a hum sounded as it scanned my palm.
My prison profile flashed up and I chewed on my lip as I read it, a loading bar at the bottom telling me my Horoscope was about to be revealed.
Prisoner Number: #1
Name: Ethan Shadowbrook
Crime: Kidnapping
Order: Werewolf
Star Sign: Cancer
Element: Water
Sentence remaining: Two months and fifteen days
I smiled at the sight of my sentence. I was so close to freedom, I could taste it. And if I made Gustard pay before I got out of here, then the world would be set right. I didn’t dare let my mind wander to the idea of being parted from Rosalie. Maybe once I was far enough away from her, the moon would get the hint and break us apart for good. I sure as shit hoped so. I lifted a hand to scratch at the mate mark behind my ear, a growl leaving my throat. I’d had to promise pack protection to the guy who’d done it. He was a newbie who weighed a hundred and ten pounds. He’d also been facing the wrath of the Pegasus herd’s hooves since he’d arrived, but he was one helluva a tattoo artist. So having him on side worked for me in more ways than one.
My horoscope finally loaded as a queue of inmates formed behind me and I turned to growl at the nearest asshole, making the guy back up several steps to give me more room. There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to let anyone see my horoscope. It could give vital insight into my future. What if I was due a spell of bad luck? I couldn’t let that shit get out and be used against me.
Hello Cancer inmate,
The stars have spoken about your fortune.
A bond has formed between you and a Taurus and your compatibility is off the charts. Such signs can form a deep, loving relationship because of their mutual desire to build a home and family. However, you will feel split into two halves, one ruled by the war planet Mars and the other ruled by the love planet Venus. It is up to you to choose which planet’s guid
ance you follow.
With the unbalance you hold in your soul, you may feel conflicted in other areas of your life too. If you lean towards the right planet, you will find all endeavours pay off, but be warned, a terrible fate could await you if you choose poorly.
I snarled, slamming my hand down on the railing as I drew away from the screen. So my fate hinged on the decisions I made about my fucking mate? That was just perfect. And if I chose wrong, I was screwed up the ass with cherries on top. So which side of me was I supposed to follow? Which fucking planet could make everything right for me? The raging asshole that was Mars or that lovestruck whore of a planet Venus?
I shoved people out of my way as I headed back to the stairs, hurrying down them. I needed to use this time to hunt for clearer insights into my fate. Maybe the tarot cards could see which choice I needed to make, but even the idea of giving in to Venus and trying to make it work with Rosalie set my veins alight. She was an Oscura. My mortal enemy. I’d fought against her family since I’d followed in my mother’s footsteps and joined the Lunar Brotherhood.
Rosalie started marching up the stairs, bypassing the queue and I drew to a halt, barring her way forward.
“It doesn’t matter what your horoscope says, love, there’s only one fate coming for you. You’re going to bow to me.”
She rolled her eyes, throwing her shoulder into mine as she tried to get by, but I caught her arm in a painfully tight grip to stop her. She bared her teeth and I released a breath of amusement, leaning in close to her ear so no one would hear my next words. “I’m going to show the moon where you really belong then she’ll see sense and unbind us.”
“Good luck arguing with the moon, stronzo,” she said coolly and her dark eyes carved a path all the way to my soul. My grip softened on her arm and my mouth became dry as her heavenly sweet scent rolled under my nose.
She smirked then ducked under my arm, running on up the stairs and I cursed her as I continued down to the ground floor.
I strode over to a table at the back of the room, snarling at a guy who was about to pick up the tarot deck there and he backed off fast, dropping his head and scampering away.
I cracked my knuckles one by one before picking up the cards and shuffling them.
Fucking beautiful fucking Wolf with her stupid fucking Bambi eyes and those tits that follow me into my dreams.
I swept a hand over my hair, checking it was in place before laying the cards out in three piles in front of me.
I’d been perfectly happy being a polyamorous sex god, and now look? She’s in my brain. Even when I try to jerk off about other girls, they always end up looking like her in my head.
I’d asked several girls into my cell this week with the intention of fucking my mate out of my mind, only to freak out the second they started undressing and shoving them out again. There were rumours going around about me. My pack knew something was up. I’d tried sleeping with them in one cell, but as soon as things turned towards an orgy, I had to excuse myself like a fucking No-Dick Daniel. They were gonna think I had problems down there. Like Faemidia or Centyphilis.
Shitballs, I needed to come up with a good excuse and fast. But what?
I snarled as I turned over the first card on the closest pile, my mind not nearly focused enough for this. Predictably I got a card about my one-and-fucking-only.
The Lovers.
I tossed it aside with a growl, turning over the next card.
The Lovers.
“Fuck you, who’s mixed up this deck?” I turned the last card over and threw the whole lot at the wall as The Lovers stared up at me again. The cards were flung back by the magical shield keeping them bound to this table and half of them slapped me in the face.
“Having a little trouble there, Shadowbrook?” Roary Night swept past me, plucking a card off of my shoulder and tossing it down onto the table in front of me. The Lovers.
“Nothing I need your help with,” I said coldly.
“Are you sure? I’ve never seen a pack of cards attack someone before.”
“Ha. Ha,” I said dryly, shoving away from the table and heading toward another one and swiping up the tarot deck there. How had someone even tampered with that pack? And by the stars, why would they do it?
Roary headed over to a scrying bowl on the table beside mine and I pointedly ignored him as I laid out the new deck, focusing on Gustard and his bunch of asshole followers. A few months back, Gustard had taken something precious from me. My Wolves in his Cell Block had told me that the picture of my sister was now hanging in his cell above his bed. My fucking baby sister. And if I even let my mind stray to the thought of what he used that picture for, I wanted to tear his head off with my bare hands.
It wasn’t just that though. My pack had had one too many run ins with The Watchers of late. I didn’t know what their vile gang had done to Kayla, but she hadn’t been the same since and she refused to talk about it. One guess about what had happened had my blood burning. And after what they’d done to Rosalie, I could say that guess was pretty solid. So Gustard had written his own death by touching my Wolves. And I was going to make him regret it.
Rosalie soon joined Roary at the table beside mine and I couldn’t help but let my attention drift to their conversation as I tried my hand at another tarot prediction.
“What do you need next, little pup?” Roary asked in a low voice and my brow creased at the intensity of his tone.
“I need to buddy up with a Polethius Mole Shifter,” she said, dipping her finger into the water in the bowl and swirling it around. “But there’s only two in the prison. Sook Min and Norman Hitchcock.”
My frown increased as I listened. What did she need a Polethius Mole for?
“Well Norman Hitchcock is out,” Roary said with a grimace.
“Why?” Rosalie questioned.
“That’s Plunger. And I’ll let you befriend him over my dead body.”
Rosalie cringed full bodily and I hid my smirk with my thumb. I not only knew Sook, she even worked for me. She wasn’t part of the Lunar Brotherhood, but she was strong and I liked to keep her sweet with luxuries while she ran Veiled Wall jobs for me.
“Yeah, wasn’t planning on it, Roar,” Rosalie laughed and irritation crackled up my spine at how over-familiar she was with the Lion. I didn’t have a right to be jealous considering my fucking stance on our mate bond, but Venus was having a good go at tugging on those strings.
I realised I suddenly had leverage on Rosalie for the sake of that cuff key and I abandoned the tarot deck, walking up behind her and gazing down into the obsidian bowl over her shoulder. Roary was resting his elbows on the table, looking into the water and I cocked my head as I waited for them to realise I was there.
“Wait, is the bowl showing me-” Rosalie started.
“The hottest guy in Darkmore?” I finished for her and she snapped around in alarm.
I smirked, folding my arms as Roary stood upright, his eyes narrowing on me.
“Here’s a twist of fate, love…Sook Min is under my control. So if you want her, you can buy her.”
Rosalie’s lips parted and I couldn’t help but remember my cock pressed between them as she knelt before me in the mud. Shit, must concentrate.
“You can’t own people, Ethan,” she said scathingly, arching a brow. “I’ll just offer her a sweeter deal than you so she comes and works for me instead.”
Roary smirked at me and I had the good mind to throw my fist into his face. But I didn’t think Rosalie would trade anything with me if I broke her bestie’s face.
“The thing is, love, loyalties in here are hard to find and even harder to keep. I’ve built up a rapport with Sook. She’s my girl. And I look after her, she gets pack protection and a decent cell. And as she’s in my Cell Block, what more could you offer her than I can? In fact…” I moved into her personal space, devouring the air around her. “If she crossed me to work for you, I’d make her life all kinds of hell in our block, so you could offer her the sw
eetest fruit in your basket for all I care, but she’s not going to take a bite.”
“What do you want in exchange for her?” Roary growled, but I ignored him, keeping my eyes trained on my mate.
“I know what he wants,” she said, her lips pursing and a smile spread across my face.
“Good,” I purred. “Give it to me in the Mess Hall tonight.”
I moved to walk away and Rosalie caught my arm, yanking me back to face her. “I can’t just walk up to you in the middle of dinner, idiota.”
Her accent made my dick jerk happily and I growled, dragging my arm free of her. “You’re a smart pup. Figure it out. Or you don’t get your Polethius Mole.”
I marched away, heading to a tarot table far away from her so I could finally get a good reading done which wasn’t tainted by her driving a wedge into my head.
If I got that key tonight, I could start my war against Gustard. So the stars had better be on my side.
***
I waited for Rosalie to come to me at dinner. Part of me wondered what she wanted Sook for, but I wasn’t going to fall into that little mind trap. In Darkmore, everyone’s business was their own. So if she wanted her to dance naked with nipple tassels on to the tune of Baby Shark then that was her concern. Not mine.
I queued up behind Rosalie, even spent some time away from my pack as I waited for her to approach me, but she never did. She just sat with Roary Night and her pack and they all laughed together like life was so fucking hilarious.
The guards finally ejected us from the Mess Hall and I glared over at Rosalie then to Sook who was sitting with a couple of Griffins. She was covered in tattoos and the long, dark hair that fell down her back was completely straight. She was size extra, extra small but had the kind of dangerous look about her that said she’d murder you in your sleep. My kind of friend.
Her almond shaped eyes flashed my way and she raised a brow, waiting for an instruction, but I just pressed my lips together and walked away. Maybe Rosalie was going to recruit Plunger for whatever it was she wanted done after all – so I really hoped the naked Baby Shark tassel dance wasn’t what she had planned- but was lending me that key really so bad that she would rather spend time with that lecherous creep than do a trade with me? Plunger was currently bent over in the doorway as he fished for something on the ground, forcing unsuspecting Fae to accidentally trip over him and brace themselves on his ass.
Darkmore Penitentiary (Supernatural Prison for Dark Fae Book 1) Page 31