Dragon Marked_ Supernatural Prison #1(77)

I started to follow her but the guards walking the line stopped me with a hand on my arm.

“Forward! Shower time is over,” was the gruff order.

Braxton didn’t look worried, which meant he hadn’t heard her. She’d definitely been warning me, but I couldn’t tell if her position was that of friend or enemy.

“Do we have to go into the mingling room, or can we stay in our cell?” I asked Braxton, standing on tiptoes to move closer to his ear.

“We have to go.” He glanced at me. “Why?”

I shook my head. “No reason, just worried about being attacked.”

He didn’t say anything, but I could sense his unease. Most wouldn’t have noticed, but I knew him.

We were back in our cells for a few hours. I spent most of the time curled up pretending to read a book. Braxton did weird stuff, like pushups and crap. I don’t think I’ll ever be bored or stressed enough to do a pushup. But we’ll see. My head flew up from the shifter romance I was reading at the ominous sound of our barred gate opening. Uniformed guards lined the hall and started ushering all of us along. I recognized a few of them; they gave me a head nod as I passed. No matter what they personally thought, I was still their alpha and council leader’s daughter, and respect was given.

I hated to admit it, but I was surprised as I observed many of the prisoners around us. Most of them I would never have picked as a criminal. Yeah, I’d fallen into the bad habit of thinking they’d be like their stereotype. The scar-faced guy from yesterday, he’d been my idea of most supe crims. But in reality most looked just like Braxton and me: young, clean-cut, innocent – well, kind of innocent. Until you saw their eyes. Lots of dead eyes in this place. Fair bit of crazy going on too.

Braxton and I didn’t waste any time that day. We went straight to the food, although I didn’t hold out much hope that it would be any more edible. Carting my pathetic selection, Braxton behind me, I stopped at one of the empty tables. I dumped my tray down and was about to climb over the bench when someone slammed their tray down right next to me. A glance over my shoulder had Braxton a couple of steps behind me. Shit, he was too far away to help me.

I dodged the first attack, a small man throwing punches, which were simple enough to block. I even managed to connect with his face, resulting in an instant fat lip and bleeding nose. Unfortunately, the small man had a partner: a big man. A very big man. Freaking bear shifter. The hairy beast reached out and slammed his hand around my throat. I choked, and brought my hands up to fight against his grip. But before I could struggle he lifted me up off the floor and I was dangling above the ground. I couldn’t breathe, and he was squeezing hard enough that dark spots were already dancing in front of my eyes. Since he hadn’t crushed my throat immediately, he was wanting to draw it out. But why?

Between the deafening echo of my own frantic heart beats I could hear Braxton roaring, and I could see from the corner of my eye that he had at least ten men on him. He wasn’t going to reach me in time. If I wanted to be saved, I was going to have to do it myself.

“I’m very sorry about this,” said the dark-haired bear politely. His wide eyes were hard and cold, black as night. “You are just collateral damage in a war that you have no idea about. An innocent victim, punished for crimes you did not commit.”

I’d recovered my equilibrium, and despite the fact this man was exceedingly strong, I had to fight back. I lifted my body and slammed my feet into him. At the same time I used my fingers to dig into a pressure point in his hand, weakening his grip just enough for me to punch him straight in the nose. Cartilage cracked under my hand, but he didn’t drop me until I chopped his wrist. I hit him hard enough that I heard another crack and I could add two broken bones to my tally. I dropped to the ground, landing in a tangle of limbs. I gasped for breath. I couldn’t seem to get the air in there fast enough. I knew I needed to move. Sure enough, bear man recovered quickly. I rolled away as his feet came down at me. He was barefoot but the strength of his stomp could definitely crush bones.

I got to my feet. I was fast and strong. I would not let him get his hands on me again. Braxton seemed to be holding his own; there were plenty of bodies littered around him.

“Do not fight me, I don’t want you to suffer unduly,” the bear said. His nose had already stopped bleeding. He held both hands in front of him with no indication he had any pain. Fucker. “If you submit, I’ll make it quick.”

And yet he hadn’t made it quick, he’d wanted me to understand why he was killing me.

What a freakin’ gentleman.