Chapter 13

The next few days are relatively uneventful. No more attacks. No strange bombs. No one even talks about the list circulating the underground prison.

Yes, we call it thelist now. Not the dead pool. Not the hit list. Just…the list. It somehow demotes it from bone-chillingly terrifying to only slightly nauseating.

To be completely honest, it makes me queasy to think that there might be two lists, one predicting our deaths and the other offering money for it. Why us? Why me? Logically, I understand why people might want to take action against my guys, but I don’t understand why I’m at the very top. I’m practically useless, with very little control of my powers. Besides, it’s not like anyone knows the truth about what I am. Only my men and Braelyn do.

So why? Kai seems to believe that the Compound isn’t involved. After all, they would want their investment alive and unharmed.

Maybe it’s someone against the Compound?

Or heck, maybe we’re looking too far into this and it truly is just a fellow prison mate who’s rich and hoping to eliminate the guys once and for all. And if they take me down, that’s a surefire way to do it.

I shift on the steel bench as the raucous shouts and jeers ring out around me. There’s the distinct sound of flesh hitting flesh, but I don’t bother to slide into anyone’s mind. I know what I’ll see.

Every grievance between inmates takes place in the fight ring. If you’re issued a challenge, you’re forced to fight for your life…or you’re hunted down.

I was in that ring once when Tessa, a girl who I thought was my friend, became jealous over my relationship with Rion. I chose not to kill her, but my men still deemed that she was too dangerous to have around.

Rion…

The thought of my shifter lover still in the medical wing of the prison tightens my stomach into dozens of knots. The last time I talked to him, he promised he would be released today. I’m practically holding my breath in eager anticipation.

Braelyn places a reassuring hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze.

“You doing okay, Nina?” she asks softly as one of the fighters begins to moan and another one roars in victory. The crowd goes positively wild, and a few steps behind me, I hear Kai’s slow clapping as he watches the exchange. I don’t need eyes to know that he’s standing beside Bronson and Damien, both of whom are watching me more than the fight itself. I can feel their eyes on my flesh like a physical caress.

But of course, the crowd of bloodthirsty prisoners don’t know what this fight is truly for—a distraction.

While men and women beat the shit out of each other in the ring, Abel and Cain are traveling from cell to cell, searching for any leads. I think the silence and tranquility of the prison is worrying them almost as much as it is me. Besides the arrival of a new prisoner, nothing overly exciting has occurred, and I don’t know if I should be glad or wary.

Or both. Definitely both.

“Just thinking,” I respond, shivering as I huddle into Damien’s suit coat, pulling it close. The air is uncharacteristically frigid today, almost as if a vent has been left open. Since my wardrobe consists of nothing but dresses, Damien gave me his jacket as soon as we arrived, with the promise to procure me warmer clothes.

“A penny for your thoughts?” She nudges her shoulder against my own as I fiddle with one of the buttons lining the open flap.

I laugh lightly, remembering the first time she asked me that and I didn’t understand the saying. I simply held out my hand and waited for her to give me a penny, thinking if she wanted to pay me for my thoughts, that was her choice.

She still teases me about it to this day.

“It’s just…everything.” I shrug helplessly. “The list. Rion. My powers.” Almost absently, I push up one of the long black sleeves and scratch at the skin of my wrist.

“Damien still working with you?” Braelyn queries, and I nod once, nibbling on my lower lip anxiously.

While it’s true he’s been helping me harness my powers, that’s not the only thing we’ve been working on. My mage fiancé is still working tirelessly to lift the spell my mother put on me that prohibits me from having kids. He describes it as a thorny vine squeezing my uterus. Slowly but surely, he’s removing the weeds and demolishing them in a ball of flames.

But we still don’t know what effects Alyssa’s magic will have on me. Will I ever be able to have kids? Do I even want to, especially while I’m trapped here? It sure as heck isn’t an environment I want to bring babies into.

“Well…” Braelyn trails off for a moment, her arm brushing my side. “If you ever need a break from all of the dick energy, let me know. Jenny and I would love to have you.”

My lips can’t help but twitch into the beginnings of a smile. She talks as if we’re neighbors visiting each other’s houses and making dinner, not inmates in a maximum security prison.

“What’s this?” Braelyn questions suddenly, and before I can comment, she reaches into my jacket—Damien’s jacket—pocket.

“You shouldn’t be doing that,” I hiss, cheeks flaming. “This isn’t mine. It’s Damien’s.”

Braelyn is silent for a moment, so silent, I almost think she left when she breathes out, “It’s a love note.”

“A…love note?” I parrot dumbly as something uncomfortable settles in the pit of my stomach. Why would Damien be carrying around a love note in his pocket?

Panic threatens to consume me, already beginning to cut off my air supply, but the knowledge that none of my guys will ever hurt me keeps it adequately subdued. Still, that doesn’t stop the lingering jealousy that persists like an annoying mosquito buzzing around my head.

Why would he have a love note? Did someone slip it into his pocket when he wasn’t paying attention? Or did he keep it purposely? Why?—

“It’s not for Damien,” Braelyn continues, voice nearly inaudible. “It’s…it’s for you.”

“For me?” My eyes widen in disbelief. “Damien wrote me a love note?”

“I don’t think he’s the one who wrote it,” Braelyn states cryptically, and this time, my curiosity takes over and I slip easily into her head.

Fortunately, she’s still staring down at the crisp sheet of paper, so I’m able to see the words written in blood-red ink.

My precious, white-eyed darling,

You’re mine. My sun. My moon. My world.

I will find a way to get to you.

Love,

Me.

“What the heck?” I gasp as I reread the words. The ink still appears to be wet, almost as if someone just wrote it. “Who put this in my pocket?”

“I have no idea,” Braelyn confesses, but her attention is no longer on me. She glances in both directions warily, as if preparing for an attack.

In the ring, a shifter and a vampire partake in a bloody fight, one that involves claws and fangs, but Braelyn’s gaze sweeps over them without stopping. Finally, she focuses on my three men still standing slightly behind me, whispering amongst themselves.

“Come on,” Brae says, gripping my upper arm and hoisting me to my feet. Our sudden movement garners the attention of all three of them, and they turn to stare at me with varying degrees of confusion. Well, except for Damien. His face is as blank as always, his ice-cold eyes traveling over my body and assessing me for injuries…as if I could’ve possibly gotten hurt in the hour since we’ve been here.

Braelyn doesn’t speak as she thrusts the note into Kai’s hand.

“What is this?” He doesn’t immediately open it. Instead, he keeps his dark gaze on me.

“A love note,” Braelyn responds curtly. “I found it in Damien’s jacket pocket.”

At that, I see the first hint of emotion cross Damien’s face. Shock and anger color his cheeks crimson as he grabs the note from Kai’s hand and unfolds it.

“I don’t know why anyone would send me a fucking love note,” he seethes, staring directly at me. “Would you like me to kill her?”

“Calm down, psychopath,” Brae placates lightly. “It’s not for you.”

“It’s not for…?” His brows furrow as he finally reads the note, and then a chilling coldness overtakes the previous shock and disbelief. His eyes harden until they’re chips of ice in his arresting face, and his lips flatten. “I see.”

Without a word, he hands the note to Kai and tugs me forward, wrapping his arms around my waist. I pull out of Braelyn’s head and simply exist. His scent surrounds me, coddling me, and his arms make me feel secure, loved, and protected.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Braelyn,” Kai says, and his words are accompanied by an enraged growl. No doubt, he handed the note to Bronson to read.

“A threat?” my shadow wolf rasps out, more animal than man.

“I don’t think so,” Kai replies, and though his tone is casual, almost nonchalant, it does little to belie the barely veiled violence lingering just beneath the surface. “I think it’s just some sap taking a romantic interest in our girl, nothing more.”

“Not a surprise,” Braelyn mumbles. “Half the guys here are in love with her, and the other half want to fuck her.” Her matter-of-fact tone causes both Bronson and Kai to hiss sharply, and I can imagine my friend shooting them a “what can you do about it?” look.

“But it is concerning how they got it in my coat pocket,” Damien muses in a cold, detached voice. His hands tighten almost imperceptibly around my waist. “They would’ve had no way of knowing I’d give Nina my jacket, and we had our eyes on her the entire time we’ve been at the ring. So how did they slip it in?”

“Magic?” Kai guesses, sounding supremely pissed off, as Abel would say.

“It takes powerful magic to make an object materialize in a new location,” Damien agrees.

“Fuck, I need to fight,” Bronson snaps, and I hear the heavy thud of his footsteps as he stomps away, no doubt to find an opponent willing to fight him—there usually aren’t many. He returns only a moment later and rips me away from Damien. He nuzzles his face into my hair, inhaling my scent, before whispering, “I don’t like the thought of having competition, Goddess.”

I giggle into his chest—because heaven knows I’m not tall enough to reach his neck—and say, “There’s no competition. You’re my mate, Bron, for now and ever.”

This time, the noise he makes is all male satisfaction. “Damn right I am.”

Kai’s strident bellow interrupts our conversation.

“Next up in the ring, we have my chief enforcer, Bronson, versus Piggy!”

The audience immediately breaks into roaring cheers, and I can’t help but crinkle my nose.

“Piggy?” I ask in disbelief. “What type of name is that?”

“The name of someone who’s going to have his ass beat in the next five seconds,” Braelyn mutters from behind me.

I just know that Bron is smirking smugly, agreeing with her assessment.

“What will you give me if I win, Goddess?” He once more rubs his nose up and down my neck, ignoring the chants from the crowd. He seems content to make them wait as long as he likes.

Bron-son. Bron-son. Bron-son.

“What do you want, my love?” I reach my hands up to cup both of his cheeks, loving the way his whiskered face feels against my soft palms. He’s in desperate need of a shave, but honestly? I love the rugged look on him.

And that gives me an idea…

Remembering my last talk with my girlfriends, when they were discussing their favorite sex moves, I say, “If you win, I’ll give you a blow job.”

His breath hitches, and I’m suddenly acutely aware of his hard cock pressing against my stomach. Behind me, I hear someone—Kai more than likely—choke on air.

“Motherfucker,” Bronson grits out.

“And if you lose,” I lick my dry lips, trying to remember the correct terminology, “you’ll have to watch while Kai reams my ass and I swallow Damien whole. Or Kai can pound my pussy. I’m not picky.”

Totally nailed it.

Bronson doesn’t speak. Heck, he doesn’t even move. Even Kai and Damien have become unnaturally quiet behind me, almost as if they’re holding their breaths.

All at once, Kai releases a ragged gasp and whispers, “Fucking hell, baby.”

Damien adds, “You’re going to lose, Bron, or I’ll cut off your dick and feed it to Piggy.”

“Not a chance in hell, assholes,” Bronson retorts, claiming my lips in a bruising, possessive kiss. He captures my wrist and brings my hand down to his fully erect cock. I instinctively palm it. I’ve given my guys blow jobs before, but this feels different somehow. I don’t know how to even explain it.

Maybe it’s because I initiated the playtime? I’m usually so timid and unsure when it comes to pleasuring my guys. But throughout the year, my confidence has increased and I’ve learned to embrace my sexuality.

“Tonight, this big fat cock is going to be sliding between your perfect lips, goddess,” Bronson murmurs, releasing a low moan as I squeeze down hard, just the way he likes it.

“Then win.” I shrug as I release him, and he lets out a low, almost threatening growl. It’s a noise a predator would make the second it locks eyes on its prey. And I can’t say I’ll mind being hunted and devoured by the likes of Bronson.

“Have fun fighting with a boner!” Braelyn calls as Bronson stomps towards the ring. She giggles wickedly before once more jabbing me with her elbow. “I taught you well. ‘Reams my ass’? Classic!”

“You taught her that?” Kai demands in disbelief.

“Well…porn did, technically.”

Damien makes a weird noise in the back of his throat, and Kai growls sharply. But Braelyn? She just laughs her ass off as she retreats, no doubt to sit back down beside Jenny.

I soon find myself alone with two very horny and very pissed off monsters.

“What’s this about porn, Angel?” Damien asks darkly, running his finger down my neck and then back up. “Are we not pleasing you enough?”

I blush. “She’s joking… I don’t… I mean…I wouldn’t…”

I mean, I know what porn is. Sort of. Maybe? But I don’t…

I haven’t…

“We know that, baby.” Kai’s voice is dark as sin. “And fortunately for us all, we can have a lot of fun tonight.” He leans forward to lick the shell of my ear. “Because Bronson’s going to lose.”

Bronson? Losing? That’s laughable. He’s one of the best fighters in the prison.

“How is he?—”

My question is answered when Bronson releases a hiss of pain. I slide into Damien’s eyes immediately to see his gaze fixed firmly on Bronson, my wolf shifter held immobile by his magic. His eyes are a glowing yellow as his opponent, Piggy, lands another punch to his midsection.

“Motherfucker! Damien, you’re a dead man!” Bronson snaps.

Instead of answering, Damien moves behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. He places his lips directly to my ear and whispers, “All’s fair in love and war. And sex. Definitely sex.”