Chapter 433
Four hundred and thirty-five
Alexander POV
Everything was a blurry haze when my eyes cracked open.
The overhead light burned into my retinas, making my head throb. I was lying flat on a hard cot in the prison medical wing, the smell of antiseptic heavy in the air.
Memory of the door creeping open rushed back, the masked bastards who tried to kill me.
I looked down at myself. I was back in human form, wearing thin prison pants. The guards must have hit me with a tranquilizer after they dragged the attackers off me, forcing my body to drop the wolf shape while I was knocked out cold.
My wolf seemed completely uninjured, but my human body was an absolute mess. Thick white bandages were wrapped tightly around my left ribs where the knife had sliced deep.
But that wasn’t the pain making my breathing shallow. It was the burning behind my sternum. The tightness I had felt earlier had morphed into a razor-sharp heartburn that radiated outward with every heartbeat. It felt like someone had poured liquid fire directly into my lungs.
Footsteps clattered on the floor, and a doctor in a white coat walked over, holding a clipboard. He flipped through his papers with a dismissive sneer.
“Glad to see you’re awake, prisoner,” he said, his tone dripping with disdain. “You rogues really don’t know how to act like civilized people, do you p>
I swallowed hard, my throat dry as dust. “What… what did you give me p>
“Painkillers and a standard antibiotic,” he replied flatly, tapping his pen against the board. “Though frankly, treating men like you is a waste of medical supplies. Fighting the guards on duty is a fast way to end up in a body bag p>
The burning in my chest flared as I tried to draw breath. “I didn’t… fight guards. They were assassins p>
“Save the fairy tales,” the doctor cut me off, glaring at me over his glasses. “The incident report says you attacked two on-duty officers during a routine cell check. You’re lucky they didn’t put a silver bullet in your head right then and there p>
Zachary and his people were turning a botched assassination into a fresh charge to keep me locked up forever.
I opened my mouth to push back, but a sharpness shot straight through my chest. The pain choked the words right out of my throat. My lungs seized, and my vision swam with dark spots.
“Don’t strain yourself,” the doctor said coldly, already turning his back on me. “Get some sleep. You have an interrogation tomorrow p>
I sank back onto the pillow, clutching my sternum as darkness pulled me under again.
When I woke up the second time, the room was dimmer.
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A nurse was standing by the bed, setting a plastic tray with a bowl of soup on the side table. Her collar
as unbuttoned low, and she stared down at me with a weird glint in her eyes.
“You’re finally awake, handsome,” she purred, leaning close enough that I could smell her heavy perfume. “I heard about what happened. You really put up a wild fight, didn’t you p>
The chest pain was still there, but I could bear it if I kept my movements stiff. I stared up at her, keeping my face blank.
“Your medication is on the tray,” she continued, her eyes scanning over my shoulders and down the ink traced across my arms. “Honestly, it’s such a crime seeing a built guy like you locked up in a place like this. Have you even been touched properly since you got thrown in here p>
She reached out, her fingers running slowly along my right side, right over the uninjured skin of my ribs.
“Take your hands off me, or you won’t like what I do with them p>
Her cheeks flushed red, a mix of embarrassment and sudden fear washing over her face as she pulled her hand back as if she’d been burned.
“Jeez,” she hissed, backing away toward the door. “So irredeemable. You really are just a savage rogue, aren’t you? What a total waste of a face p>
She hurried out, slamming the door behind her.
I slowly dragged myself into a sitting position. Every shift of my torso made the fire in my chest roar, but I pushed through it. I grabbed the spoon and forced the soup down my throat. I needed my strength back. My wolf was fine, but my human body was deteriorating fast under whatever was happening inside me.
Zachary had sent those men to put a blade through my heart. He knew he and his mother were hiding secrets someone was likely to uncover, and a desperate Zachary was a dangerous one.
By the next afternoon, they put my left arm in a sling and marched me down a corridor into an interrogation room.
Two high-ranking guards sat behind a metal table. Standing against the wall was one of the men who had broken into my cell. His face was covered in jagged claw marks from my wolf. His left eye seemed damaged, and the right one was bloodshot and wild with rage.
“Look at him!” the injured guard spat, glaring at me as I was shoved into a chair. “The bastard’s wounds are already closing up, while my face is infected because of whatever filthy rogue sickness he carries! He tried to murder Kai, and I had to step in to save him p>
The head guard at the table tapped a folder. “You heard him, Alexander. You’re facing an additional charge of attempted murder of pack officers. That’s an automatic twenty years added to your sentence, even if you somehow clear your father’s trial p>
He leaned forward, watching me.
I said nothing.
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He slammed his fists on the table. “What do you have to say for yourself? Are you just going to sit there ooking stupid p>
I sat back, resting my cuffed hands in my lap. I didn’t say a single word.
“Answer the question!” the second officer barked. “We don’t have time for your silent brooding. Talk, or we’ll make sure the warden puts you in maximum restriction p>
I kept my mouth shut, staring right through them. Talking was useless. Anything I said would just be twisted to fit their narrative and cover up Zachary’s failed hit.
The head guard cursed, kicking his chair back as he stood up. “Fine. Take the silent treatment back to solitary. Let’s see how quiet he stays when he’s staring at four bare walls for the next five days p>
They dragged me down to the lower level, shoving me into a solitary cell that smelled like rat piss. The door slammed shut with a thud.
An hour passed in complete silence before the hatch on the cell door slid open.
Wilson, the guard who seemed a bit saner than the rest, stood on the other side. He looked unsettled, his eyes scanning my sling and face before he checked to make sure the hallway was clear.
“Are you all right? Why would you try to attack officers during a check p>
I leaned my head back against the concrete wall, my voice raspy and harsh from disuse.
“Did Zachary send you down here to fish for more details? Tell him his plan failed, because I’m not telling you shit p>
Wilson flinched. “Where is that coming from? I’m trying to help you. I even brought you some food and
“If you want to help me,” I cut him off, my eyes locking onto him through the iron grate, “then stop asking stupid questions. You know as well as I do that those men didn’t come in to check my cell. They came to kill me, and your bosses are sweeping it under the rug p>
Wilson shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He looked down the corridor, the hesitation clear in his eyes. He was a guard trying to keep his job, terrified of getting caught in the middle of a high-level Alpha war.
“I… I can’t get involved in pack politics, Alexander,” Wilson said quietly, his voice tight. “I have a family to feed. I just… I hope your innocence speaks for you at the trial. If you really are innocent p>
He closed the hatch and hurried off.
I closed my eyes in the dark, letting out a painful breath. The burning in my chest flared again.
A fake murder charge, and assassins at my door.
I had little strength left, and it made me wonder what would become of me when they ganged up on me at the trial.
If Kobe, Emma, and Lucas didn’t pull off a miracle on the outside, it was clear what my fate would be.
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Cedella
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.