Chapter 138: Out Jail

LORALI POV - BEFORE

The heavy iron gates of the high-security facility groaned as they parted, screeching against the asphalt like an opening tomb. I kept my foot resting lightly on the gas pedal of Torin’s massive black SUV, letting the engine rumble quietly beneath the chilly morning air.

Yesterday’s warehouse party with Astrid felt like a hazy, distant dream, but the cold reality of my new existence was standing right outside the heavy steel doors of the prison intake building.

Oracle stepped into the overcast sunlight. He was dressed in a plain, oversized grey jumpsuit provided by the facility, holding a single plastic bag containing his personal belongings. He looked completely shattered. The dark bruises on his jaw had deepened into an ugly shade of plum, his lip was split open, and his posture was completely broken. He approached the passenger side of the SUV, his movements agonizingly slow and hesitant. He didn’t dare touch the door handle. He just stood there in the wind, trembling slightly, waiting.

I rolled down the window two inches. "Get in," I commanded coldly. "You’re letting the cold air in."

Oracle flinched, quickly opening the door and sliding into the leather passenger seat next to me. The second the door clicked shut, the thick, musky scent of his suppressed Alpha aura filled the enclosed space. Instantly, the nagging, dull throbbing over my left shoulder blade, the agonizing fire that had been threatening to make its way into my life again for a week now, snapped off like a flipped light switch. The physical relief was immediate, washing through my nervous system like ice water.

I let out a quiet, slow breath, steadying myself, but kept my face entirely impassive.

Oracle sat completely rigid beside me, his hands clamped tightly between his knees. He didn’t adjust his seat. He didn’t reach for the seatbelt. He barely seemed to breathe, hyper-aware of every single millimeter of space between us, terrified that a sudden movement might trigger another wave of physical agony in my body.

"Lorali..." he rasped out, his voice hoarse. "Is... is your shoulder okay? Did the pain drop?"

I shifted the heavy vehicle into drive and slammed my foot onto the accelerator, sending the SUV surging forward onto the highway.

"Do not speak unless I ask you a question," I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the empty road ahead. "And do not use my name so casually."

"I’m sorry," he whispered instantly, shrinking deeper into the passenger seat. "I’m sorry."

The silence in the car for the next forty-five minutes was suffocating, thick enough to cut with a blade. Every time I adjusted my hands on the leather steering wheel, Oracle’s eyes darted toward me in a flash of pure, hyper-vigilant panic, checking to see if I was grimacing or in discomfort.

"Let’s get one thing straight before we reach the city," I said, my voice cutting through the hum of the tires against the pavement. "You are not here as my mate. You are not here as my partner. You are here because your proximity keeps my body functioning properly so I can live semi- decently."

"I understand," Oracle said quietly, his head bowed.

"You will sleep on the floor of my room," I continued, enforcing every non-negotiable boundary with razor-sharp precision. "You will not touch me. You will not look at me unless I ask you to. You will speak only when given permission. If we are in public, you will walk two paces behind my left shoulder. You are an accessory. A leash-bound shadow. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Oracle replied without a second of hesitation. There was no lingering pride, no resistance. There was only a hollow, desperate eagerness to comply—a man completely consumed by his own overwhelming guilt, clinging to my punishment as his only form of penance. "I am whatever you need me to be."

I offered no response, pressing harder on the gas pedal as the high-rise buildings of the financial district rose up on the horizon like jagged glass teeth.

We reached the penthouse building shortly before noon. I parked the SUV in the private underground garage, taking my time to smooth down the lapels of my sharply tailored blazer, adjust my high-waisted trousers, and check my leather heels before stepping out into the cold concrete space.

"Two paces behind," I reminded Oracle as he scrambled out of the passenger side.

"Yes," he murmured, instantly stepping into position behind my left shoulder, his hands clasped tightly behind his back, his eyes glued to the floor tiles.

We rode the elevator up in absolute silence. When the heavy doors chimed and swung wide open on the penthouse floor. The violent sounds of a physical brawl immediately slammed into my ears. I stepped into the living room, casually leaning my shoulder against the doorframe.

The scene inside was pure chaos. Oril was pressed hard against the wall, blood running down his lip, while Torin stood over him, his fist cocked, his dark eyes blazing. Overturned chairs lay scattered across the hardwood floor, while Keion and Augi watched from near the kitchen island.

I swear this pack will fight whether or not I have a hand in it. Embarrassing really.

"My, my," I drawled, letting my voice carry easily over the heavy breathing in the room, my tone dripping with absolute venom. "Look at the big, strong Spade pack. Fighting like wild dogs in their own living room."

Torin’s fist froze in mid-air. Oril held his breath against the pillar. Every single head in the room snapped toward the doorway. "Don’t let me interrupt," I added smoothly, a slow, lethal smile spreading across my lips. "Please... continue."

Torin slowly lowered his fist, unclenching his fingers from Oril’s shirt. The moment his dark eyes locked onto me, the furious edge in his stance vanished, replaced instantly by a desperate, hopeful strain. His eyes swept over me, searching my face.

"Lorali..." Torin rasped out, his voice soft, almost fragile as he took a cautious step toward me, completely ignoring the blood on his own jaw. "You’re here. I... I did what I had to do at the press conference. I tried to make you—"

He stopped dead mid-sentence. His gaze drifted past my shoulder, locking onto the shadow standing precisely two paces behind my left heel.

"Oracle?"

The air in the room instantly turned to ice.

Keion’s fingers went limp, his water glass shattering loudly against the marble kitchen tiles. Augi pushed himself up off the counter, his jaw dropping. Oril slid a few inches down the wall, staring at the doorway in pure, unadulterated shock at seeing his beloved twin, whom he looked nothing like at the moment.

Oracle stood motionless behind me. His very presence filled the room with confusion. I’m sure they’re all wondering how is a man, that is supposed to be in prison currently right here standing before them. He didn’t look at Torin. He didn’t look at Oril. He didn’t emit a single trace of an Alpha aura. He stood like a broken, disciplined hound, anchored entirely to the heel of my shoe. Honestly I’m surprised at how compliant he’s being, I know he’s feeling guilty but I expected some sort of a pushback.

"Oracle?" Torin breathed out, his dark eyes wide with utter confusion. "What... how are you out? You refused to sign the bail papers?"

"I pulled him out," I cut in smoothly, taking a deliberate step forward. Oracle matched my movement instantly, sliding forward two paces behind my left shoulder like a seamless extension of my body. "We came to an agreement that he belongs to me now."

"Belongs to you?" Oril spat from the floor, wiping blood from his chin as his eyes burned with pure hatred directed straight at me. "Continue staring at me like that, I will dig out your eyes, when you are sleeping." I said in a calm tone and he scoffs, clearly thinking I’m joking. Someone has clearly lost some brain cells after losing his position as second. "You crazy bitch." He sneered.

"Oh, you are still mad about the whole me accusing situation. Let it go, you struggled for a week." This man knows how to hold a damn grudge, acting like he suffered for years because I lied on his name.

His glare moved from me to Oracle. "Oracle, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you just standing there?!"

Oracle didn’t answer. In fact, he didn’t even acknowledge that Oril had spoken. Keeping his hands clasped behind his back, Oracle adjusted his posture to shift half an inch further back behind my left heel, his gaze locked strictly onto the marble floor tiles at my feet. He was following my rules to the letter. He was treating his own twin brother and everyone in the room like they were invisible, reducing himself entirely to my passive shadow.

To Oril, seeing his twin, standing there like a brainwashed, hollowed-out ghost deliberately ignoring him for me was worse than a physical strike.

"Look at you!" Oril roared, his voice cracking as he pushed himself off the wall, staring at his twin in disbelieving disgust. "Have you completely lost your mind?! Where is your damn self-respect?!"

Oracle didn’t even blink. He didn’t offer Oril a single glance. He remained motionless, waiting for my permission to move, to speak, to exist.

Torin ignored Oril outburst entirely, taking another eager step closer to me, his hands held out in a placating, desperate gesture. "Lorali, please, talk to me. I know you’re angry with me, but I can explain everything. I...I..."

"It was a mistake." I finished the sentence for him, completely unamused.

"That’s not it. I... I love you and I am sorry for what I did to you. I was a different person back then."

"And I am a different person now." I turned my cold gaze back to Oril, who was still staring at me like I stole the world from him.

"I’ll be taking your brother upstairs now," I said, my heels clicking against the floor as I turned toward the stairs suite corridor. "Do try not to destroy the rest of the furniture while I’m resting."

"Lorali, wait—" Torin called out softly, stepping forward. Desperate Prick.

I didn’t look back. I didn’t need to. I continued walking, Torin wasn’t worth anymore of my attention.