Chapter 32
“These chairs are arse,” I snarled, yanking at the seat so hard it scraped the cement floor.
The Beta male, feet away in the other booth, looked over. I sneered at him, and he quickly turned to face whoever he was visiting, his fear tangible.
Elias leaned against the metal divider, attention fixed on the glass pane separating the civilian side of the room from the other.
Elias sucked in a harsh breath, his shoulders jerking.
“Briar,” Kyan whispered, leaning forward on the other chair. I followed his gaze.
She appeared in the hall, swimming in a blue jumpsuit.
Dark hair grew out from the roots. She shuffled down the hall where another guard was waiting. I’d watched two other inmates come through, but seeing her escorted made me choke up.
A strangled sound left my mouth, and I cleared my throat. I didn’t want her to see the horror on my face. I quickly smoothed my expression.
Little by little, she made her way to the end of the hall.
My entire focus narrowed on her, the chatter of other visitors melting into the background.
She reached the end and awkwardly stepped onto the metal platform where the female guard waited.
With her fully in view, I saw why her gait had been so uneven.
She had cuffs snapped around her wrists and ankles that were connected.
It only allowed a limited movement. My stomach dropped.
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.
Kyan and I worked together to hoist him up. I couldn’t help but look back for a final glimpse of my Briar.
She was already out of view.
Elias coughed, and blood dribbled out from the corner of his mouth.
It was bound to happen since she hadn’t claimed him back, but this wasn’t the end. She could send us away, but it didn’t mean a bloody thing.
“She’s ours, and she’s going to get with the program,” I gritted out.
Briar could be as angry as she wanted, but she was made for us.