Malevolent Penitentiary: The Alpha’s Prisoner Mate

Chapter 7

***Avery***

I had made predictions since my last visit to the visitor room, a strange but hopeful anticipation mingling with anxiety. A week had passed, and I would soon be back in the same sterile, oppressive space. At first, I toyed with the idea that the male who was meant to be my mate—Harlen Essex—couldn’t possibly align with the name Harrison had given me. But as thoughts churned through my mind, the pieces fell into place; the power structure loomed larger than I had understood. The Essex family was connected to the Alpha Kings, linked by blood and tradition.

It made sense why he had been able to get a visit a prisoner in Malevolent Penitentiary, why he had brought my sister with him; he must have had immeasurable power to bend the rules in his favor. My heart raced at the thought of him, each reverberation echoing through to my wolf, who howled with the pull of our bond. After over a decade in this hellhole, could this be my way out?

The door swung open, and I felt that familiar rush of anxiety bubble up. I stepped into the room and looked around. This time, it was different. The stale scent was mingled with something sharper—the tang of anticipation. I took a calming breath, and the scent soothed my frayed nerves, even if it pulled my wolf forward in longing.

My sister wasn’t waiting for me this time. The absence struck a chord within me. Her safety was paramount; they had taken her and brought her near me; was it a gift, or was there an ulterior motive? Tension coiled tight in my stomach as I searched for Harlen. I needed to hear his voice again, to connect to that sense of purpose and identity that had begun to dissolve my fear.

I caught sight of him, standing tall and imposing, his dark brown hair framing his chiseled features, gold sharp eyes scanning the room with an intensity that set my heart racing. It explained why I found him familiar, I didn’t see it then but now I saw his father’s features. He was not alone this time; another male stood beside him, shadowing him with a confident air. My instincts buzzed to life, caution prickling at my skin; after all, I had spent years among those who’d make a spectacle of vulnerability.

“Two visits in eight days after ten years of no visitors,” I said, forcing a smirk to mask my underlying nervousness. “I’m feeling very special.”

Harlen’s lips curved into a half-smile but never lost the serious edge that came with his presence. “You should be,” he replied, the weight of his words a promise wrapped in authority. “I wanted to speak with you about everything that’s been happening, specifically about the rumors surrounding your case. You deserve to know the truth.”

“Just get right to it then.” Laughter rippled through my gut, sharp and frustrated. “The truth? What a novelty. You expect me to believe you can pave a path out of this hell based on what you’ve heard?” I became serious and abandoned all sense of emotion especially since I didn’t know this male in front of me. I resisted shifting my gaze to the other male beside him. The newcomer exuded confidence, but I didn’t feel the same connection to him that I did with Harlen. Instead, I kept my focus trained on the Alpha Harlen, the thrumming energy between us crackling like fire.

He stepped closer, the glass the only thing separating us, yet making the space feel charged. I could almost feel the weight of our fates colliding in the air. “What I can offer, Avery, is much more than the thin veil of rumors and half-truths that have been tossed around this place. The Essex family has been investigating the deeper layers of your situation. There’s more to your conviction than meets the eye, and it’s time you understood what’s truly going on.”

My heart raced faster. “So, Alpha Harlen Essex.” I began and the other male stiffened beside Harlen.

“How did you know?” He asked calmly yet showed no sign of interest to the question.

I held my hands up the wounds fresh from only four hours ago. Harlen’s eyes flashed amusement or surprise for only a second. “You’re speaking so upfront in here, does that mean no guards are listening in?” He nodded the moment I asked the question.

“Just my Gamma.” He sound d honest.

“Who did you speak to outside?” I asked and he c****d a brow.

“What made you think I spoke to someone outside?” He asked calmly yet his tone gutted that he was surprised that I knew that

I landed closer to the glass, “four days ago, someone came into prison, a new face. I killed him after he attacked first, his last words were ‘you will die with the knowledge you have’.” I said, Harlen’s mouth dropped to a frown. “I’m in confinement again after beating the gel out three new prisoners who walked in here and shouted my name. They admitted to being sent in here, although I let them live. It almost sounds like someone wants me dead.” I finished and the other males head turned to Harlen. A sign that told me they must have suspected that people would come after me.

“How do I know if they weren’t people that you pissed off?” He challenged and I only smiled.

“They weren’t pissed off at me. Those that are don’t live to keep their angers directed at me.” I said.

“You should sit.” Harlen offered.

I felt the pulse of destiny slipping through my fingers, and yet this weight of information felt as heavy as chains. “What secrets do you think they hold?” I questioned, my suspicion mixing with an urgency for answers.

“The Alphas have intertwined our lives for long enough. Your name has constantly been dragged through the mud, but we believe you were framed to take the fall for something much larger,” he said, intensity sparking in his gaze. “I’m here because we need to unravel that web. I’m certain there are conspirators in your story, leading back to the heart of the Essex family.”

My breath caught in my throat. I had spent years burrowing down questions I had no means to answer. Each layer stripped away the meager stability I had managed to build. “So, you’re saying this isn’t just about me? My life has collateral damage attached?”

“Yes. But I also believe you hold the key to answers,” he offered, his voice steady and captivating.

I scoffed, “If my sentence was wrong, then congratulations. Your father accused me of being a murderer and being in here only made me the very thing I was accused of.” I said coldly and for a second his jaw ticked. Either for calling out his father or admitting I murdered prisoners in here.

“Your sister’s safety relies on how we navigate these truths. She was taken the next morning after we came to see you.”

I felt a rush of panic but restrained from showing it. the mention of my sister, being taken after seeing me. She had always been my anchor, the one thing I clung to through the dark recesses of this place. “You waited a week to tell me?” I asked, leaning forward. “Is she still alive?” Losing her was a foreign emotion, I was scared for her life but my voice sounded like I didn’t care.

“Sit,” Harlen said firmly. “We can talk more calmly.”

“I think I like standing and I’m very calm right now.”

“Really?” The male beside him spoke for the first time.

I tilted my gaze to him. “You sound like you’re going to kill the first person you get your hands on.” He added and I ignored him, turning back to Harlen.

“You’re an investigator, what did the crime scene look like?” I asked and I didn’t missed the other males surprise at how I knew things about him.

I glanced at the other male—he was silent again, observing, assessing, but I felt no trust towards him. I needed to focus on Harlen, on the possibility that the mate bond could force him to get me out. It was the only play I had if I wanted to find my sister on my own.

“Before that, you should know,” he replied, gesturing to the male beside him. “This is Reece. He’s my beta and apart of my team that investigations murders and captures wrongdoers.”

Reece stepped forward, his demeanor relaxed yet poised, as if he had navigated a hundred similar encounters before. But there was a steeliness in him that I respected. “Avery,” he said, his voice smooth and deliberate. “Harlen’s right; you should sit.”

“Why?” I shot back, crossing my arms defensively. “Why do you keep telling me to sit?”

“It will help if you stay calm,” Reece said simply.

“Fine” I gave I sat on the chair. The two males sat down, Reece pulling out a folder.

Harlen grabbed it quickly. “We’re here to get clues to the murders, not to manipulate you.”

I searched their faces, trying to ascertain if I discerned honesty behind their words. “And you think that just because you’re connected to the Alphas, I owe you loyalty?”

“No,” Harlen replied, unfaltering. “We only ask for your cooperation in exchange for your freedom.”

The earnestness in his tone chipped away at my walls. My mind swirled with possibilities, fears, and uncertainties. Could I truly forge a path toward freedom alongside a male I had only just learned was my mate?

Yet freedom was the play I had yearned for. So, I decided to hear whatever they had to say.