a lot of questions for me. I knew what she smelled like to other wolves. She smelled fucking delicious, and she didn’t have a mark on her like a wolf had claimed her. My big question was, fucking why? She had me all levels of curious.
If I had to kill that witch who was arrested with her, I had no problem with that. No one was paying me to, but I looked into her too so I could figure out why the scene went down, so they were both caught. I totally understood being a criminal with an honor code. That didn’t apply to a lot of the prisoners here.
The witch, inmate 775, would have sold anyone out if it bettered her situation. The not fox mentioned someone named Hauser when she punched inmate 775. I’d lay odds that was the wolf who trained her.
Uncultured people thought wolf hunts involved creeping around and sniffing things, but that was totally wrong. It was so much more nuanced than that. There was research involved. I would be digging deep into inmate 898 and relying on every skill I had to find out what she was.
I already decided I wasn’t going to kill her. I wouldn’t take the job if someone wanted her dead in here either. She was nothing if entertaining. It wasn’t just the hunt that made her fun. The other inmates knew better than to mouth off to me. If they saw me coming, they went the other way.
Not this inmate. She told me she hated me right to my face, and she called me a pervert after I complimented her tits. I never said anything nice unless it was deserved, and she did have a nice pair. They were barely a handful and perky. Even the witch saw that.
I was so behind on my paperwork, but the new inmate was consuming all my thoughts. I could see those violet eyes when I was sleeping. I was having fun with this, even if she hated me.
This was a hunt that didn’t involve me killing anyone. Sometimes, killing criminals just got old. And I looked into her. They offered her a plea deal just like the witch. She didn’t rat anyone out. If another wolf taught her, then maybe she was a criminal with honor, just like me.
Maybe that explained this pull I felt to her. Because I was trying desperately hard to avoid it.
Chapter 13
Dakarys
R
ei was taking too long to get to breakfast. There was too much at stake with Faust and that witch after her. Rajack went to get her while I fixed a plate for her. I didn’t know what her favorite foods were, but I knew what was acceptable to eat here in Silverhold. The powdered eggs were by far superior to the oatmeal, and there was never enough sausage for the entire prison. I grabbed enough for all three of us.
Rei’s late appearance made sense when Astrid plopped down at my table and looked utterly put out. I liked Astrid. Out of all the gang leaders here in Silverhold, she was probably the least petty. She was in here for some epic curses cast in revenge, but you could say those people had it coming.
Astrid took care of her witches and made sure none of them did anything to earn more time here. Sure, they killed and got revenge, but they were sneaky about it, and it never pointed back to them. I did not want Astrid and her witches focused on my thief.
“Have you claimed the fox you were sitting with at dinner the other day?” she asked.
“Rajack and I both have, and I already know what you’re about to ask. We know all about your new witch and the bad blood between the two. We followed both of them on the news after they got busted. Have you looked into Venus at all?”
Astrid shrugged.
“I know she’s a thief, and she got caught because your fox assaulted her. We’ve come at people for less in here. I know she’s yours, but she hurt one of mine.”
“We don’t deny she bit her, but—”
“Venus would have needed stitches if one of the guards at the scene wasn’t a warlock and healed her wound before they took her to jail. She has a scar. Your fox left permanent damage on my witch and landed her in jail.”
“Your witch was sloppy. If she were good at what she does, the guards wouldn’t have chased her into the parking lot