Panic builds in my chest, and my arms are wrenched up and my wrists slapped with heavy handcuffs before I’m turned and shoved into the room. I look around and see a very ordinary space with a conference table set in the very center. People are sitting around the table, and their voices of quiet conversation dry up the moment they see me enter. Everyone is a stranger to me, but they’re all paranormals dressed in business suits.
The door is closed, thankfully leaving Sandbag outside, and the Warden motions for me to head to the empty chair at the end of the table. “Take a seat.”
With no idea what the hell is happening, I do as I’m told, the chain connecting my wrists jangling as I move. Sitting down, I leave my hands in my lap, my eyes skating over every face in the room. There are eight people, and I pick up the scent of a vampire, shifters, a few elementals, fae, and something else I can’t quite put my finger on.
The person presiding over the group seems to be the male vampire sitting directly across from me. He gathers some papers in his hands and straightens them as I take a seat. “Sinclair Denali, this is your parole hearing.”
My brow furrows. “Parole?”
He nods. “Yes. You’re eligible for early release. We’re here to discuss the particulars of it being granted.”
My heart suddenly starts pounding in my chest so hard that I know the vampire can sense it. His eyes flash at all the blood zooming through my veins, but my mind is whirling.Early release?
I...I’m not ready. Not yet. I need time to figure out this shit with my mat. Now that I know I’m going to fight her for the lounge, I have to be smart about it and prepare, or I have no doubt she’ll kill me. And Alpha Bowen...I still have to deal with him too.
“I don’t understand,” I admit, shaking my head. “How am I eligible?”
A middle-aged male wolf shifter answers. “Quite frankly, Miss Denali, Nightmare Penitentiary is overcrowded as it is, and we have much bigger fish to fry. You’ve committed minor, non-violent crimes,” he scoffs. “I don’t know how the prosecutor got away with calling a kissassaultor a glitter bombassault with a deadly weapon, but it is what it is,” he says with a roll of his eyes. I nod emphatically, like,right?!Calling my kiss an assault was seriously overexaggerating.
“Anyway, the point is that the parole board believes adding the time you served in the human jail to the time you served here means you’re eligible to be released now. We feel you will be better suited to serve out the remainder of your sentence outside of Nightmare Penitentiary on parole with mandatory counseling.”
“What he means is, we need the cell space for criminals worse than you,” another shifter adds drily.
I have the vague sense that I should be offended for not seeming like a good enough criminal, but I wisely keep my mouth shut.
“Correct,” the vampire says, calling everyone’s attention back to him. “We have a letter here from the prosecuting judge with his recommendations for early release with a probationary period of your remaining sentence, plus two years. We also have letters from several prison guards that speak of your good behavior.”
Good behavior? What the fuck?
My eyes fly over to the Warden.
“Yes, the Warden has also put in his statement recommending your early release.”
The shadows shift around the male where he stands, and he nods in my direction with a creepy as fuck grin. “Like I said, I want you out of my prison,” he states, echoing his earlier words to me.
He wanted me out of his prison, so he decided to give me early release? This fucker knew my initial plan was to stay for as long as possible. He played dirty.
I’m so caught off guard by this turn of events that I’m not even sure how I feel about it. On one hand, I’m relieved to be getting out now that I know I have to face shit. It also means I can get away from the guards and the Warden. But on the other hand...I haven’t prepared for facing my mat or Alpha Bowen. And Rook...I’ll be leaving Rook behind for good. My heart squeezes painfully. I’m not ready. I’m not nearly ready yet for anything.
“But...I knocked over some guards while I was in my cockatrice form,” I argue. “I made illegal paraphernalia and weapons for other inmates. I should definitely be serving out more of my sentence here. Really make sure I learn my lesson,” I blurt, scrambling at straws.
“Sporks and Jolly Ranchers don’t count as weapons,” the Warden drawls, rolling his eyes. “Child’s play compared to the real criminals in the deeper recesses of Nightmare Penitentiary.”
“But...I went to solitary confinement,” I point out. “How can I be commended for my good behavior when I was sent there?”
The Warden’s scowl deepens, and his shadows thicken. I automatically cower in my seat. I probably shouldn’t be fighting this, especially not to the Warden’s face, but this is happening way too fucking fast, dammit!
“Everyone gets sent to solitary. It’s a good learning tool for inmates.”
He’s good. He’s very good.
I look back at the people around the table. “I’m totally up for being released early...but, like, in a month. I vote for that. I get a vote, right?”
Everyone frowns at me. I guess this isn’t the normal reaction for a prisoner earning early release.
The vampire clears his throat. “No, you don’tget a vote,” he says somewhat scathingly. He looks around the table. “All in favor?” he asks, and he’s met with every single hand being raised in the air. “Good.” His eyes land back on me. “The parole board has officially decided to grant you early release, Sinclair Denali. You’re to report to the Warden’s office to gather your things, and then you’re dismissed. You’ll have to meet up with a parole officer every week, and you have some other conditions to your parole like counseling, but aside from that, your time is done here at Nightmare Penitentiary.”
There’s more talking, instructions and rules to be followed, more shuffled papers, and then people get up to leave. I’m in a daze as I’m led away with the Warden, all the way back to his office where I’m suddenly being formally discharged.
