I howled then, in one long, unbroken note. Where was she? I’d never been away from my wolf before. I was dying.
Braxton stepped into me then; he couldn’t hug me, his arms were secured behind his back, but his warmth still surrounded me, his scent washing over me, his comfort enough to halt my hysteria. I rested my face against the hard planes of his chest as I gulped down the emotions, my breathing rapid and shallow. He continued with the comforting touch until, finally, I was able to stand on my own.
“I’m okay … I’m okay,” I repeated a few times. “I just … can’t touch her, my wolf. She’s locked away from me.”
He nodded. “I know, but she’s still there. Don’t let your brain convince you that she’s dead or you’ll go insane … well, more insane.”
“Thank you,” I murmured into his hard chest. “I love when you point out the obvious to me.” I tilted my head back to glare at him. He returned my look with a lazy grin.
Jeremy jarred us out of our little bubble. “Move it.”
I shifted my glare to him, but couldn’t summon up enough anger to bother with words. Then we were moving again. Apparently it was time to dive into the jungle.
Chapter 13
The cloying pressure of suppressed energy was worse in the long channel of the shifter wing. There were more woven securities there. Silver bars lined the rows of cells, which were about eight by eight meters in size. We walked along the length, each sparse room empty. There were hundreds of cells, one after the other along both sides of a center stone path. Finally, Jeremy led us into a cell which was close to the end. Inside were two small beds with thin mattresses. Other than that, there was a sink and toilet, which thankfully had a curtain that could be pulled across for a semblance of privacy, and a small desk which held a few books and pens and paper.
Jeremy freed our wrists. “You are entitled to literature, art supplies, and, once a day, outside of meal times, you can request a beverage and snack. This is on top of the lunchtime, which happens in the main circle.” I rubbed at my arms again. “Keep your heads down, don’t cause trouble, and this week will be over before you know it.” He made his way back to the door. “Showers are in the morning. You receive new prison cottons then. Mack and Sam will take you to the circle now.” He waved at the two beefy guards before turning and leaving our cell.
The larger of the guards moved closer. “Don’t try any bullshit moves, Braxton.” He looked like a Mack, so I was going with that. “You know I have my whip and I will not hesitate to use it.”
I’d seen those whips when we were captured.
Braxton didn’t remove his eyes from Mack. “Their whips have silver imbedded into the leather. It hurts like a bitch and the healing is really slow.”
I pulled my eyes away and narrowed them on the men. Those fuckers hit my boys? People needed to die, seriously.
“Move it, bitch.” I was shoved out the door by Sam. I stumbled but stayed on my feet, although my arm brushed the silver and I could feel the burn. It was only the slightest graze, so like a mild sunburn, but it would take a while to heal.
“Don’t touch her.” Braxton’s voice barely changed tone, he sounded so matter-of-fact. But whatever it was, both men backed off a little.
We traced our path back along the shifter wing, one guard in front of us and one behind. Braxton made me go first so he was at my back and had Mack at his. As we threaded our way through, I was starting to really understand what the quads had tried to explain to me yesterday. Vanguard was designed like an octopus: the large ‘main’ circular body for mingling and food, and then the tentacle-like legs formed the different cell wings for each of the supernatural races. Long and winding was the shifter wing. I could only assume the others were the same.
We had to pass through many silver-coated doors, each locked with multiple key deadbolts and hand sensor recognition. When you thought about it, it was pretty bad judgment that they had the dragon marked in such an unsecure location. I guess they never expected anyone would know they were even there. If it wasn’t for Nash, we never would have known. I really hoped the little boy was okay. I’d have to ask Braxton if they’d had time to get him set up.