Bloody unbelievable.
No one else who had walked through had the same amount of security. I couldn’t process anything, freezing as the guard unlocked the door and shuffled her to our booth.
The guard said something, but the sound was muffled. All I could see was Briar, our Omega. Another wave of guilt threatened to cripple me. We’d driven her to this.
My hand trembled, and I curled my fingers into my thigh to stop them. I didn’t want to show her my weakness.
I forced my lips to curl. It was damn hard doing it as both her hands lifted, so she could grab the phone.
A bandage covered her palm. I gritted my teeth. Kyan had already plucked the one on our side and held it to his face.
“What are you doing here?” Her angry voice came through the receiver, just high enough for us to all hear. We all leaned closer.
I kept my mouth shut, knowing I didn’t have anything to say that wouldn’t be an angry accusation. Why did she leave? Why did she turn herself in?
“Briar,” Kyan started. “We’re getting you out of here?—”
“Please,” she interrupted, rolling her eyes. “Don’t even try. Just leave me be.” She lifted the phone to return it.
“Briar,” I snapped. She stopped, raising an eyebrow. “Stop being bloody stupid?—”
“No, I needed you, and you didn’t give a fuck.” She stopped herself and took a breath. The living ache in my chest grew spikes.
“Your bail hasn’t been signed or approved. We’re waiting on the paperwork.”
“Well, stop.” Her lip curled; the disdain on her face crippled me. I couldn’t breathe.
“What happened to your hand?” Elias spat, his hand on the glass.
Her gaze flicked over all of us.
“Briar, we understand your anger, but we can explain?—”
“I don’t care,” she whispered, her face as exhausted as I’d seen it. She looked at us with a dull, hate-filled expression.
Every bit of what we deserved.
“You could have protected me,” she whispered. “You could have kept me safe!” Her voice rose a few levels. And they met their mark.
I dropped my gaze.
“I’m no longer your problem. Just leave.” She looked at me with dead eyes, full of so much pain that I’d rather she cut my throat. “Don’t bother returning,” she said and stood, turning to leave without a backward glance. “I want to go back,” she said, looking at a guard standing near the wall. After a buzz, the gate swung open. She stepped onto the metal platform.
That shite suffocation in my gut throbbed.
Watching my Scent Match suffering wrecked me.
“I’ve already registered us as her Pack,” Kyan murmured. “So she doesn’t have a choice.”
He was right; she could be as pissed as she wanted. Elias continued to watch her, almost plastered to the window pane.
“I’ve been digging into information on the warden.” I struggled to move my mouth.
Elias grunted, and his legs gave out, dropping to the ground too quickly for us to catch him. His knees thudded on the ground.
“Fuck, we need to get him out of here.”
He was shivering like mad. “The bond ripped,” Elias croaked, struggling to breathe.
