and dangerous one. I stepped away and began to pace. Could it work? “If he gets rid of this place, his income will dry up,” I pointed out.
Zander shrugged again. “I expect he will keep using the other prisons—or move on to whatever project is really the purpose of this place.”
“What’s on your mind?'' Rawson asked, his gaze following me.
I shook my head, not wanting to share yet. “Nothing, just thinking.” I turned to Zander. “Fine. I’ll figure it out, but while I’m doing that, I want more time with Rawson. He deserves to see Ember.”
Zander rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t deserve anything. None of you do. You’re all criminals, or have you forgotten he killed his mate?”
“Don’t be a prick. We’re here because your boss set us all up, and you bloody well know it. There are criminals in this place, but we aren’t them.”
Zander raised a brow. “You sure about that? How many have you killed in this place to amass all that power you have under your skin?”
I remained quiet, shoving some of that power against him, until he snarled back. I shouldn’t antagonise him, but he really could be a dick at times.
“I did not kill Lyss,” Rawson denied, his voice tight.
Zander turned his attention to Rawson and shrugged. “It looked that way when I got there. You were kneeling right beside her.”
Rawson held Zander’s glare. His own eyes flashed and alpha power seeped from him, something I’d not felt in a long time. I quickly stepped in front of him, but looked over my shoulder at Zander. I raised a brow in question. He shrugged as if he had no idea what I was asking. I turned my attention back to Rawson. “Hey man, tone it back. It doesn’t matter what he thinks. I know you didn’t do it and so does Ember.”
Rawson looked at me, his brows dipping. “Will she be scared of me? She saw me as a Were-beast.”
No idea. “Nah, man, she’s a tough cookie. Seeing you as a Were wouldn’t scare her.”
“He’s right. She quickly figured out you were just a puppet,” said Zander.
Rawson eyed Zander with such hatred, I thought he might lunge. A growl rippled up his chest. “You could stop using me as one.”
For a moment Zander’s expression softened. “I can’t, not entirely. The warden wants immediate access to any vassals he has enslaved. And you are too useful, he’d notice that you were gone.”
“How long?” I asked.
“What for?” Zander’s dark brows dipped.
“How long could Rawson stay here in the pack before he was missed?”
Zander remained silent—thinking. “My next pick up is not for a few weeks.” He studied Rawson. “You’ll have to be there for that or my men will notice your absence and question it. It’ll get back to the warden and he’ll come and investigate.” Zander began to pace. “The last thing you want is that bastard singling you out.”
I empathised with the fear I heard under those words. I’d learned first hand how good the warden was at inflicting both physical and mental anguish. Perhaps Zander was as much a puppet as Rawson was.
Zander stopped pacing and crossed his arms. “I suppose you could stay here until that extraction,” he said to Rawson then turned his garnet eyes on me. “Why do you need him? Is it worth the risk that the warden may find out?”
“Yes. He’s trained Ember before. She respects him and will toe the line better if he’s around.”
Rawson raised a brow at me and grinned. “Has she been giving you a hard time, Prime?”
I shook my head and grimaced. “You have no idea. If you thought she was stubborn and rebellious as a teenager, she’s ten times worse now.”
Rawson cocked his head and studied me, his eyes narrowing astutely. “You're different. Your wolf isn’t as close to the surface.”
I took a deep breath and expelled it steadily. Was it that obvious? “Yeah, she pushed him back. He’s not sure about her yet and he’s sulking because he doesn’t recognise her wolf as his mate, but he knows Ember is mine. She gave me a kick up the arse to take back the reins from him.”
I paced around the small cell. Both men watched me closely, Rawson with a slight smirk on his lips, Zander with intense focus. “She kind of got me to issue a new rule about non-consensual sex. It’s outlawed now, even in gen pop.”
Rawson stared at me incredulously. “What? After all these years of being a total