I lie down and wrap myself in the blanket, soaking in the presence of another human and enjoying the soft comfort of a pillow under my head. Then I catch another faint whiff of the alpha I threw out of Red’s pack.
“What Cal-ee say? They forgot me?”
“No, he said he’ll come see you as soon as your solitary is over. So probably today or tomorrow. He wants to know if we really made a deal, and if you trust me.” He eyes me for a moment and then takes a small round object out of his pocket and throws it at the wall, catching it as it bounces back. “So, apart from living in the same house, how do you two know each other?”
How do I know Cal-ee? I hum under my breath. “He wanted my ohm-ga. I said no and threw him out.”
Al chokes. “No, you fucking didn’t!” Scrambling noises reach me, and then Al’s head pops up at the level of my bed. “Are you serious right now?TheCallisto Wren challenged you for your omega and you threw him out? Of his own house? Is that why you’re in prison?” His face turns a weird color, and his mouth twitches.
I frown and grip my blanket tighter in case he intends to steal it. Thankfully he seems more interested in my words than the bedding.
But his question is hard to answer. Did Cal-ee challenge me?
“No,” I say slowly. “Cal-ee ask ohm-ga to join. Mine feel—” I tap my belly. “Love, but not right. So I say no.”
“Mine?”
“Ohm-ga. Red.”
Al rears back, shock blanking his face. “You made that call for your omega, and she accepted your decision?”
“Yes.” Of course I should make those decisions for Mine. It was too painful for her.
“Wow, you sneaky fucking bastard.” He slaps the foot of my bed. “I’ll be damned. A feral who’s a pack alpha. What the fuck is this world coming to?” He clicks his tongue. “Is your omega feral too?”
I bare my teeth at him and growl, a genuine challenge spilling out of me.
Al holds up one hand. “Sorry. No dissing the omega. I get it.” He backs down the ladder and drops to the floor. “I can’t believe my ears. This might be the most entertaining story I’ve ever heard about a pack. Please have your omega write a book about it one day.” He chuckles like he knows some joke, but I don’t see anything funny about my pack. “In any case, you gotta put in a good word for me when you see Callisto. We’re practically friends now, right?”
“Friends?”
“Geez,” he says with a sigh. “Never mind. Just tell Cal-ee good things about me.” Under his breath, he adds, “Can’t believe my fate’s in the hands of an irrational man-child pack alpha.” The ball bounces more than five times, then stops. “Hey, Zack. You want to fetch the ball?”
I roll over, turning my back to him. I’ve seen dogs chasing fuzzy balls like the one he’s holding, so while I don’t know whatfetchis, I know enough to be sure he’s mocking me.
“No? Pity.” Laughter squeezes his voice.
I drift into a light doze, warm and comfortable but interrupted by the bouncing ball. Even that annoyance is welcome after the bitter silence. At some point, Al stops playing, and the loud buzzer signaling time changes in the prison jolts me awake from a deeper sleep. The cell door clicks, unlocking.
“Time to go,” Al says as I climb down, rubbing my drooping eyes. “Let’s visit the library before lunch and see if they have any children’s books.”
“Hungry,” I mutter as I trail after him, joining the lines of alphas headed down the stairs. Can’t tell when I last ate.
As we reach the bottom of the stairs, something hooks into my alpha senses, and I stiffen and turn, searching the room. A tall, shaved alpha with one weird ear sits at a table, posture arrogant and the sleeves of his regular white shirt rolled up. He stares at me.
My lip lifts automatically with a challenging snarl. I’ve seen him before, in Cal-ee’s place with all the tall windows and rows of chairs.
“What you stopping for?” Al grumbles, shoving my back.
“Alpha. Challenge.” The man across from me smells bitter in a dark, spicy way, and his eyes narrow on me. Assessing.
“No challenges today, big guy,” Al says. “You want to end up straight back in solitary? At least meet with Callisto before that happens.” He swings around to follow my gaze and hisses. “Fuck me sideways. Is that the Laversham Tax Collector? Zack, if that’s who I think it is, you don’t want to mess with him.”
“Not strong,” I mutter sullenly. Not as strong as me, my senses shout.
“No, but well-connected. Look at him. No bruises, no dark lines under his eyes. He’s living like a prince in a prison, not even required to wear a uniform. That means he’s greasing palms left, right, and center. People here will do anything he says.” Alshudders and tugs on me. “Come on. We won’t take long,” he promises.
I grumble as he tows me past the eating area, which fills with the aroma of food. Alphas in the same orange clothing as us mill on the far side of the serving bench, inside the kitchen, many throwing quick glances at the arrogant alpha. The newcomer really dresses differently from us and the guards didn’t shave his head.
