Chapter 23
Bear waved Raven into his cell as soon as block time came around.
‘Let’s hope someone sees some light tonight,’ said Raven standing in the doorway, one eye on the inmates before gesturing towards Bear’s small mirror.
There had been no sign of Elbar the night before, so Bear hoped his trip to the cove would be more successful later.
As long as any part of the moon could be seen, the mirror would work, according to Elbar’s friend who had placed the enchantment into one of the prison mirrors and had it smuggled to Temple from the mainland.
‘I’m taking Smithson.’ Bear gave Raven a firm look.
Raven’s brows drew together. ‘You told her?’
‘No.’
‘So you don’t know if she’ll agree.’ Raven sighed, his golden eyes fierce. ‘You know who she is,’ he whispered through clenched teeth.
Bear glanced up from the floor. ‘I think she’s my fated mate.’
‘No way.’
Now Bear was the one sighing. ‘I can’t explain it, Rav. There’s something between us. I can feel it. I can sense it. It consumes me sometimes. I don’t know what’s happening, I just know I’m drawn to her.’
Raven circled a finger at the wall. ‘It’s this place. Forced proximity and that. Does things to a person.’ He thumbed behind him. ‘On the outside, you wouldn’t feel this way.’
But Bear knew he would because the way he felt about Scarlen was something he’d never experienced before, and as much as it messed with his head, he wasn’t about to turn his back on it all. ‘You know what it feels like. Would you leave Wyn?’
‘It’s not the same. I’ve grown up with Wynter. You’ve known Smithson all of five minutes in comparison.’ He leaned closer, his voice even quieter. ‘And you don’t know the real her at all.’ He shook his head as he straightened. ‘And what would the general do?’
‘What’s that I hear about the general?’ asked Varklee, snaking around the door, making Raven jump.
As quick as ever, Raven replied, ‘We were making our own selection for the War Zone.’
Bear held back his smile. Rav always was an excellent liar.
Varklee scoffed, his nose scrunching in disgust. ‘Forget the general, I’d put his bitch daughter in there.
’ He looked at them both with a flash of innocence.
‘Just note, it took ten men to pin me at my arrest, but is that the story told by her? Oh no, she lied through her back teeth to impress her daddy.’ He tapped his chest in annoyance.
‘There is no way she got the better of me. I know she’s strong, but she did not come at me alone. No, she did not.’
A wordless conversation went between Bear and Raven as Varklee continued with his rant about how he wasn’t captured by a girl.
Raven interrupted him, reaching for the information Bear needed. ‘I don’t think I’ve seen any of the general’s daughters before.’
Varklee picked at his blunt fingernail as though the subject bored him. ‘He’s only got the one. Big bitch. Red hair. Ooh, what I wouldn’t give to meet her in the Zone.’ Someone called him, so he walked away, leaving Bear and Raven staring at each other.
‘That can’t be right,’ said Bear quietly. Because if Scarlen isn’t the general’s daughter, who the fuck is she?
Thoughts of Scarlen stayed with Bear all night, interfering with his concentration as he stood in the cove.
He didn’t normally waste time, knowing someone could peer into his cell at any time.
Mostly, the guards didn’t bother with cell checks after the second headcount, as they preferred to spend their time among themselves, taking bribes from someone, or fucking an inmate in a dark alcove, usually Varklee and Miss Goolan.
There was so much corruption and lack of belief that anyone could escape the island, Horstal wasn’t exactly competent after lights out.
Bear stared at the pile of rocks he’d laid out to make easy steps for when Raven and Wynter arrived, as he didn’t want an avalanche when they all climbed to their freedom.
He had been set to take Scarlen, but now a dilemma was lodged in his mind, tugging him both ways, and he had to laugh at the thought of being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Carefully, he climbed the mound, moved the top boulder, and secured himself in place, ready to spend the next five minutes flashing his mirror.
Clouds hid most stars, and the waning moon was only visible when the strong icy breeze hissed through the air, but he held the small square mirror in place, not even bothering to hope for the best, thanks to his mind still firmly on Scarlen.
All sorts sprang to mind, but nothing that made much sense. The one he clung to the most was that Scarlen was a secret love child, and that’s why Varklee didn’t know who she was.
The memory of the general speaking to him in Cardell’s office was raw. Going over every word said, Bear knew he hadn’t misheard. The man had been adamant his daughter was to be cared for. There was no way Wynter’s pardon would be on the table if Scarlen didn’t mean so much.
So much of him wanted to race to her and demand the truth.
He had a right to know who he was in bed with, but his traitorous heart told him it didn’t care who she was or about her secret.
She also had rights, and if her truth had any sort of impact on his life, he was sure she would confess all. Wouldn’t she?
Bear tried to home in on the sound of the bay gently lapping the rocks around him. It was calm tonight, giving the impression it would make a relaxing night-time swim, but it deceived him as much as his fated mate, as all knew the water was deadly. Was Scarlen? Was she really his fated mate?
A glint of light flashed his way, bringing him out of his trance with the dark sky. Straightening, he angled his mirror, and within seconds the light from the mainland twinkled back.
Yes. Fucking yes, Elbar. Adrenaline hit hard, shaking his hand holding the mirror.
It was time. Both he and his friends back home knew exactly when to bring a rowing boat to the cove.
All he had to do was start a riot, and with the tension so high in the prison, and Varklee ready for war with the Pirates, it shouldn’t be that hard to pull off.
The hardest part would be getting over to Green Block Two to free Wynter, but he’d always known that, so it was better to kick things off in the canteen at dinner, but it couldn’t just be his block causing chaos, the whole prison had to be involved in order for inmates to run the corridors.
With Varklee on the warpath, it was a done deal.
If only the same could be said for taking Scarlen away with him.