Chapter Fifty-One
Axe left early this morning to go to the neighbouring pack to discuss a treaty with the alpha and to visit Carson.
He will be back tomorrow so I have the house to myself for the night.
I'm still deciding what I should do. Dash will be staying the night at Ryleigh's so I can't hang out with him.
Amelia is going to celebrate tonight with her sugar daddy.
Exams finished yesterday and she's thrilled.
We have a couple weeks off until graduation and exam results, then school is officially finished.
So school is pretty much done and I can finally begin my life.
I've spent the day relaxing, just watching tv.
There's not much to do since Axe isn't here.
It's got me thinking how boring staying at home will be since I don't have school anymore.
Unless I do pack work and be a more social luna, which I don't really want, I should work more to keep me busy.
What can I do now that Axe is gone? Besides trying out recipes, I don't really have any hobbies.
Going for a run sounds good but I don't like running alone.
Axe and I go for runs every few days late at night.
Even though I'm under Axe's protection, I'm not going to risk running alone.
Just because Axe marked me doesn't mean the pack likes me.
That's my main problem with being luna. How can I rule a pack who hates me?
When the tv channel just turns into aimless shows with more advertisements than tv, I turn it off and head outside.
I decide to go for a walk. The sun has nearly set but there's still a bit of lightness outside.
I walk through the streets just taking in everything around me.
There are a few pack members walking around but none of them say anything to me.
They all look to be doing their own thing.
When I hear music getting louder, I follow the sound and stop outside the pack house.
The music is loud, people are drinking at the front and flashing lights are going off inside the house.
They're clearly having a party, most likely celebrating the end of school.
I keep walking past the pack house. That is so not the place I want to be.
It gets quieter the further I walk away from it.
It's dark out now so I should head back home.
But instead I find myself nearing the edge of the residential area.
When I see the large, grey gloomy building that sits right at the forest where the trees start, curiosity gets the best of me.
This is the pack prison. I get the nerve to go in.
I don't know why but I'm curious as to what it looks like in there.
What is it like? Is it as bad as I imagine?
As soon as I walk in there's just one little room with a desk.
To the side is a huge metal door that seems to have endless locks.
Jayceon is sitting behind the desk but he looks straight up when I walk in.
“Elora, what are you doing here?” he questions.
“I was going for a walk and got curious,” I answer.
“Curiosity isn't a good thing to have in a prison,” he says.
I can't help but stare at the metal door.
All the people who've wronged me are behind it.
I kind of want to see the way they're living now.
Is Joel behind it as well? Is solitary in the prison or is he in another place altogether?
Why am I thinking about Joel? Wherever he is, it shouldn't bother me.
But when I think of solitary I think of a small white room, one that would drive you mad.
Does he even get to shift and get some space to let his wolf out?
I know regular prisoners get outside time but I think solitary is different.
“Can I go in?” I gesture to the door.
“Do you want to see someone specifically or have a tour?” Jayceon frowns.
“I think I just want to have a picture in mind instead of what my imagination is creating,” I state.
“Fine.” Jayceon sighs. “I'll give you a tour but you stay by my side.” Jayceon stands up and unlocks the metal door, which takes at least a minute.
Jayceon and I walk through the door but it's just a dark narrow hallway. I expected cells. We come to another door which he uses his huge set of keys to unlock.
“How can't people break through these doors?” I ask, confused.
“They're silver,” Jayceon says.
“Oh.”
Jayceon and I walk through another door where there's an office lounge type room.
There are a few guys sitting around which must be the guards.
They look up but don't say anything. Jayceon and I then go through another locked door.
Now I see cells. But they're empty. It's dark in here, only small white lights every few metres in the hallway where we are walking.
“Are there other prisoners here, besides the ones Axe locked up?” I ask.
“There aren't any rogues in here if that's what you're asking. But yeah, there are a few old guys in here from Manson's reign.”
“What did they do?” I dare to ask.
“Nothing,” a voice speaks up and I notice a middle-aged man in a cell to the left.
I look at him. He looks well enough, given he's in prison.
He's sitting on a small bed leaning his back against the cement wall.
It's a sizeable cell, enough room for him to shift and walk a few steps.
There's a toilet to the back of the cell, a sink, a shelf with books on it, a bedside table with a lamp and iPad on it and even a mini fridge which I frown at.
It seems like a normal bedroom except for the darkness and steel bars.
“The iPad and mini fridge?” I whisper to Jayceon.
“We sometimes give the prisoners things they request for if they're good. He wasn't a violent offender so we've granted him benefits,” Jayceon says as we continue on down the hall. I notice another guy in a cell but he doesn't have as many things as the other guy had in his cell.
“What did they do?” I ask again, wondering why the man said 'nothing' when I asked.
“The man with the iPad legit didn't do anything bad. He fooled around with Manson's mate years ago while they were together and Manson sentenced him,” Jayceon says.
“Life imprisonment?” I frown. That's bizarre, just for fooling around with someone's mate.
“Yeah, it's sad,” Jayceon confirms. My eyes are wide at that news. “But then again if I found out my mate was cheating, I'd have killed the man.”
After that news I wonder about Manson and Mandy.
She is always quite timid. I've never seen her without him with her.
She cheated on Manson. Does Axe know? He's the alpha.
He'd have to know. Is that why Manson is such an asshole?
How long ago did she cheat? Was the guy locked up a rogue?
Is that why Manson hates rogues? If he was a pack member, why would he risk sleeping with the alpha's wife?
I'm snapped out of my thoughts when Jayceon opens another door.
This room is just a room with multiple doors which I find out leads to the showers and a recreational room.
Jayceon doesn't show me those areas, though.
Instead we go through another metal door.
This is another room filled with cells, most of them are empty.
We pass by a cell which has Mitchell in it.
He looks up at me, glaring, his eyes dark, looking like he hasn't gotten sleep.
“You bitch,” he seethes, standing up from his bed. His cell is pretty empty, clearly no benefits except a toilet, bed and sink. Jayceon grabs my arm and pulls me against his side as Mitchell nears the steel bars. “Because of you, I can't be with my mate.”
“Are you upset you can't be with Ember or that you're no longer sleeping with Hannah? Or are you pissed you can't beat the shit out of a girl anymore?” I list off sadistically.
The last isn't exactly right on point. He usually would be the one to hold me while his two whores did the dirty work but he has thrown in some hits before.
“Fuck you,” he growls.
“Enough, deadbeat,” Jayceon orders, tugging on my arm to keep leading me through the room.
“Why can't I at least be locked up with my mate?” Mitchell clenches the bars.
“Wow.” Jayceon cackles, turning to him. “How stupid are you? You really think we'd lock a man and woman up together.” Jayceon rolls his eyes and pulls me along.
After being pulled into another room, I see multiple doors. Another metal one, one that clearly leads outside and two others.
“This is the end of the tour,” Jayceon says.
“There's still another door.” I point to the door that's clearly hiding something.
“That just dives deeper into the prison, solitary and stuff.”
“Solitary? Is Joel in there?” I ask.
“You're not seeing him.” Jayceon frowns deeply.
“I-I don't want to,” I stammer.
“I get it, Elora. He's your mate so a part of you will always have a soft spot for him. But you have to resist it, now that you're mated to another man,” Jayceon says.
“I know,” I mutter.
“Mates are hard. It always feels like you owe them something, when you don't.”
“Sounds like you're speaking from experience,” I say.
“I was in charge of the prison long before I met my mate. Yet she has begged me to give up this job because she thinks I'll get hurt. I shouldn't have to give up my job because she has her own fears. She should trust that I have the power to take care of myself.”
“It sounds like she's just worried,” I tell him.
“That's her problem, though. This is my job and I'm perfect at it. I don't need her crying bullshit when I come home with scars all over me from prison problems.”
“Oh, how old are you? Are you married?”
“I'm thirty-four and yes I'm married. That's what annoys me the most. We're wedded adults and she's being immature to be this insecure about my 'safety'.” Jayceon uses his fingers in the air quotes gesture for the word safety.
“I think you're being too macho. She clearly just cares about your well-being,” I tell him.
This conversation reminds me of the letter my dad gave me for my birthday.
When he said as a patroller he had to be tough and guarded, which is why he didn't know how to raise his daughter.
Jayceon is similar. Jayceon is being too fierce as a warden to understand his mate is just concerned.
Maybe it's a male wolf thing, the aggressiveness that comes with their mentality.
“Do you worry about Axe when he leaves the house?” Jayceon raises his eyebrows.
“Well, no. I mean its Axe. He's an alpha. He's unstoppable,” I say.
“Exactly. You believe he's capable. My mate doesn't think that way about me which she should.”
“Oh.”
“Let's get out of here,” he demands. I look to the door I know Joel is somewhere behind one last time. “You don't need to see him,” he says each word slowly and powerfully.
“I know.” I turn and follow Jayceon back out to the front of the prison.
“Come on, I'll walk you home.”
“I'm fine to walk home,” I say.
“No. Axe's place is on the other side of the residential area. He would kill me if something happened to you. Now quit arguing.”
I get more of a demanding persona from Jayceon than I do from Axe.
We walk back in silence, then he leaves.
I look at Dash's house but it's in darkness so he must be at his mate's.
After having a shower, I stop at Axe's room.
Should I sleep in here without Axe? There's a calmness in here.
Maybe because I know this room belongs to Axe.
I get in the bed, lie down then turn on the tv.
Being alone in the house is kind of lonely.
But living alone is what I had planned after high school.
I'm glad I met Axe. I use my phone to call him.
“Hello,” he answers.
“Hi, how are things there?” I ask.
“Good, I made a treaty with the alpha. I spent some time with Carson. Now I'm just in bed. What have you been up to?” Axe tells me.
“I was hanging with Jayceon, now I'm at home.”
“You were hanging with Jayceon? I don't buy that for a minute,” Axe says in disbelief.
“Why not?”
“Jayceon isn't exactly a chill guy.”
“Yeah, I got that,” I say.
“I'm surprised you could keep a conversation with him.”
“Yeah, he's more commanding than you.”
“Not sure if I should be insulted by that,” Axe murmurs.
“No, it's a good thing. I'm glad you treat me like I'm independent and don't boss me around. It's hot seeing you ordering around at meetings but...”
“You think I'm hot when I'm demanding?” I can hear the smirk in his voice.
“When you're demanding others. It's intimidating when you do it to me.”
“I could do a lot of things to you,” he says seductively.
“Well... you'll be back tomorrow.” I bite my lip, thinking of what he's going to do to me.