His convict Luna

03 Welcome To Prison

Ivory

Prison wasn't welcoming, and I didn't expect it to be so. The wardens had stripped me bare and washed me clean using a semi-high pressured hose to rinse my skin, and it stung. They mocked me severely. These were people who looked at me with respect. People that took orders from me and followed me. Now, in their eyes, I was a traitor and a mistake.

To them, I had tried to kill their Alpha and ruin their lives. Indeed, they won't be nice, and I knew that would be my life henceforth. I was handled roughly and bruised badly throughout the onboarding process.

"Wait until the prisoners welcome you, traitor b***h. Alpha might not have had the heart to do it himself, but you won't be alive for long," One of the wardens said to me and pushed me into the cell that would now be my home.

The cell had a bunk bed, so I knew I would have a cellmate, and I dreaded who it would be.

"Don't worry, Luna," The warden said mockingly.

"You'd get a royal welcoming soon," she said, winking at me. There was so much joy on her face that I knew whatever they would do might be life-threatening.

I hugged myself and stepped back until my back was against the wall.

I had shed so many tears, and my head hurt. I never imagined that my life would change in the blink of an eye like this.

I was arrested while attending to pack matters in my office. I didn't even know my husband had been attacked. Unfortunately for me, I was writing cheques at that moment. I was also in a hurry to get home so I could prepare something my husband could come home to and enjoy. Because of the circumstances and my countenance, the testimony of the staff in my office made it seem like I was trying to cash out in a hurry and leave. As for Erin, I didn't know how he ended up in an accident. Melissa's death was a shocker. I couldn't piece it all together.

"O dear goddess, how did it come to this? Would I not be vindicated?" I cried, wondering where justice was in the world.

"Melissa and Erin deserve justice. Cole and Rain deserve justice and protection. I deserve justice, too, but will I get it? Will you smile at me and give me this that I ask? " I said, silent tears falling down my cheek.

"You know I will die in here. Is this what you have in store for me?" I asked, knowing I would never get a response, but I'd asked anyway.

I didn't know what to do. So I curled up in the corner of the cell and waited for what would happen next.

A few moments later, a warden came to my cell and dragged me out to a space where there were plenty of female prisoners.

As they dragged me through, I could see the hatred and venom in their eyes. Some had mockery, and some were downright surprised.

That was when I saw Diane Preston, a woman who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. This was supposed to be her second year. I know this because I had presided over her case.

Diane was looking at me. Her face bore no expression. We were in the same space and the same place now.

Diane was Brian Preston's half-sister. Brian was Cole's former friend. They had severed ties because of Preston's affiliation with crime lords. A silent feud had occurred since then, and it worsened when Diane was put away.

I was sure she'd be my tormentor. There was no way I could go head-on with the alpha b***h. There was no way I could beat her.

"Okay, ladies, you have three minutes. We can't kill her right away," The prison warden said, and my eyes widened with surprise.

Before I could compose myself, the women gathered to give me the beating of my life.

I was on the floor in no time, in a fetal position, receiving blows and kicks from the women. I tried to zone out. Somehow, I knew it would be more than three minutes. I had no silver on, and my wolf was a gamma; I knew I would need to toughen up and take it.

I had been shielded all my life. This was a reality I never knew would be mine. I braced myself, and soon, everything went dark.

I woke up on the lower bunk in my cell. Someone was in the cell with me, and I dared not think who it was. My body was in pain, but I knew my healing had set in.

Rea, my wolf, remained silent. I guess she was still grieving Rain.

Honestly, as things are, death would have been better than this, and maybe that is why Cole chose this for me. I'd never know.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Luna," a mocking voice said above my bunk.

"You'd need to toughen up to survive this hell hole. Honestly, I wouldn't want to be you right now. Everyone wants a piece of you," she said, and I couldn't get up to check who was speaking to me. I was in that much pain.

"They should have just killed me," I said, and she chuckled.

"Alpha Ashbrook wouldn't like that, they said, and besides, I think ripping your soul apart in bits and pieces would be more fun. Welcome to hell, Luna," The woman said, chuckling, and I didn't say anything else after that. I knew that this would be my life henceforth.

In the morning, I found out that my cellmate was Diane. My heart was thumping in my chest. I was afraid of what she might do to me. She stood in front of me, looking at me as I lay. It was as if she were observing me.

"Your wolf heals pretty fast, Luna," she said, and I was freaking out. Diane had pure hatred for me the day I pronounced her sentence. It was logical they would put me in the same cell with her. Coupled with the feud between her half-brother and Cole.

"Now, don't be afraid, Luna; I am not going to hurt you," she said, chuckling.

I frowned at her, not knowing whether I could trust her words. She laughed, wagging her fingers.

"Great start, Luna; never trust people at face value," she said, reaching for me to help me get up, but I refused to take her hand.

"Come on, I won't beat a woman that is already down. I am the least of your problems here. Word has it that your mother-in-law plans to pardon and reward whoever hurt you the most. I mean, even if these bitches have nothing against you, a promise of freedom is motivation enough," she said, holding my hand to help me get up.

I noticed then that she was being nice, and I wondered what her deal was.

"Why are you nice to me?" I asked her, suspicious of her intentions.

"You may find this hard to believe, but I know an innocent woman when I see one," she said, and I was stunned.