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Damn if the Cage wasn’t a true cage, even the part of the prison that allowed civilians. It was designed to be a constant reminder that there was no freedom here: no windows, save for the artificial light streaming down from the fluorescent bulbs hanging overhead, and absolutely no fresh air.
Colt had to resist the urge to shift and take off. Just run. His wolf was all for it.
Another scent suddenly filled the stuffy corridor. It was faint, barely noticeable against the caustic stench of the cleaner, but he recognized it in a flash.
Colt was well acquainted with the sour tinge of fear. He was making Bennett nervous.
And that’s when he realized that he was growling under his breath and, yup, those were his claws. He hadn’t been able to keep them back after all.
He took a deep breath, held it, pushed it out through his nose. Again.
Maddox was his older brother and, though not much got to him anymore, his protective instincts were often triggered when he saw that Colt was having a hard time holding it together. Right then? He needed Maddox calm. Which meant he needed to calm the fuck down himself.
Bennett was an honest man, a good man—and he was a pretty brave man, too. Despite the flare of unease in his scent, he turned, daring to look Colt straight in the eyes. Not long enough that it was a challenge, Colt couldn’t deny that it was a reminder. Officer Bennett was a cop, an experienced Cage guard, and the gun his hand was currently resting against? Colt would bet his left nut that it was full of silver bullets.
“You doing alright, Wolfe?”
Colt jerked his head in agreement. “Yeah. Sorry. Just anxious to see my brother.”
“Wright should’ve already called him down to the visitors’ block. Good chance he’s there, waiting for you.”
Part of Colt wondered if
Wright was going to dick him around some more. He hoped not. The annoying prick seemed to respect Bennett so maybe, for once, he’d do his job without giving Colt an even harder time.
Or maybe Colt’s threat to go over Wright’s head had hit its mark.
Didn’t matter. The only thing that did? When Bennett got through the locks that led into the visitors’ area, just how relieved Colt was to find Maddox slumped on a stool behind the glass.
The square room was the same one Colt always met Maddox in. About twice as large as the waiting area on this floor of the Cage, it had three grey cinderblock walls and a fourth made up of glass that separated the brothers. A mirrored row of stools sat on both sides, a seat each for the inmate and the civilian. Behind the inmate, there was another solid cinderblock wall and a door that would bring Maddox back to his cell.
Colt had never seen his brother’s cell before. He tried not to think about Maddox living locked up behind bars like a common criminal. Locked away for the crime of loving his mate, then losing her.
It only made Colt want to howl his rage at the unfairness of it all.
As soon as Bennett slipped back into the hall—followed by the soft snicking of the lock behind him—Colt knew that this illusion of privacy was all he and his brother were going to get. His senses didn’t pick up anyone else in the room, but he wasn’t fooled. He remembered the position of every camera, knew there was always someone watching.
Colt snorted out loud. He didn’t care if the cameras picked it up or not.
Voluntary.
Right.
Maddox heard the snort. Colt knew he did, just like Mad’s shifter hearing would’ve picked up on the door opening, closing, then locking. He pretended he didn’t, though, the other man refusing to lift his head, leaving it bowed, his chin tucked into his chest as if he were praying.
Colt’s hands flexed, deadly claws unsheathing all of the way without a sound.
It did a number on him, seeing his older brother like this. He always left the Cage with the urge to hunt down whoever was responsible for turning a once proud wolf into this sad, sorry shadow of a man.
Too bad that there was no one to blame. The Claws Clause said Maddox had to choose, yeah, but he never should’ve been forced to make that decision in the first place. It all came down to one terrible night, some awful bad luck, and that bitch, Mother Nature. How did you fight against that?
Of course, that was before this morning. Now… now he knew better.
2
The lighting was surprisingly brighter than the back halls, especially when he took the coarse, solid, pale walls that surrounded the room into account. Still no windows, but the wattage in the overhead lights was almost blinding.
Between the cameras, the lack of shadows, and the glass partition that was doubly as warded as the one protecting Wright, Colt couldn’t come nearer than two feet to his brother. No doubt that level of security was why the cops felt comfortable leaving them “alone”.
