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“Will you two knock it off? Some of us would like to sleep,” Medjul cried.
“You can sleep when you’re dead,” Gideon cried.
A bang came to the bars, and Avery jumped out of his skin.
“Quiet down in there!” a guard cried. “Lights out means silence!”
Avery settled back against the pillow, soon realizing the silence was much worse than the commotion. It allowed the voices of doubt to scream inside his mind. His cellmates’ stories circled in the maelstrom, too. Stealing to feed a family when there were little to no jobs for an omega to get. Protecting oneself from an abusive alpha. Refusing to accept an alpha’s claim. These were not criminals beside him. They were victims of an unjust society.
Victims who had been silenced too long.
It was in those dark moments before the sky turned gray that Avery decided to be silent no more.
* * *
Wilder leanedagainst the concrete wall of one of the prison’s private meeting rooms, awaiting his first sight of Avery. Both Rohan and Tensen were seated behind a scrappy folding table that appeared to have seen better days, reviewing the notes from the judge the night before. Ultimately, the door opened, and a handcuffed Avery was dragged into the room.
“Oh thank the heavens.” Wilder rushed closer, needing to hold his omega.
“Don’t touch the prisoner,”the guard snapped, glaring at Wilder.
Wilder stepped back slightly and waited for the guard to undo the shackles. Avery held his gaze, terror behind those beautiful eyes. Wilder’s gut clenched, his hands fisting at his sides. He could still scent himself on Avery, and it only drove him further insane.
Finally freed, Avery rubbed his wrists and searched the faces of the men at the table before his gaze landed once again on Wilder. “I’m so sorry you’re here.”
“We’re going to get you out of this mess,” Wilder said.
“It’s not so easy as that,” Tensen mentioned. “Avery broke multiple laws…for years.This is a complicated case. None so extreme.”
Wilder focused on Tensen. “He’s my mate. They can release him into my care. You said it was possible.”
“I said it’s aslimpossibility,” Tensen said. “It ultimately depends on which judge gets assigned the case.”
“We have to try,” Wilder said, spinning to face Tensen. “What other means do we have? He clearly broke laws. He can’t claim innocence.”
“Of course that’s the obvious choice,” Tensen said. “If we could get you two mated here at the prison, it would help tremendously.”
“Is that possible?” Wilder asked.
“No,” Avery suddenly spat.
Wilder’s gaze flipped to Avery’s.“No?”
“Omegas arenotchattel. I won’t be his property to be returned.”
Wilder growled lowly. Sure, he was being a bit possessive, but he would use any means to save his omega.“Iam just as much yours asyouare mine. This isn’t about treating you like a belonging. You know I don’t see you that way.”
Avery rested his palms on Wilder’s chest. “I know…”
“No touching!” the guard spat and Avery took them away.
Wilder missed the man’s touch and closed his eyes briefly. When he reopened them, he nearly broke from the pain in Avery’s gaze.
“Avery, I know it’s not what you want, but telling the judge that the two of you are soon to mate could help your defense. Wilder is an upstanding member of the community, running the largest construction firm in the province—with connections to many layers of government. Hell, his grandfather built this prison,” Rohan said.
And I want to be the one to tear it down.
“I’mnotproperty. I won’t use that as a defense and hide myself behind my alpha,” Avery said. “I want to be tried. I want to fight our system of oppression.”
