Chapter Sixty-Two
I've decided to go for a walk today. I've been thinking about work at the clothes store.
I still only do weekend shifts and Axe wants me to quit.
He doesn't want me to overwork myself. But then staying home can get boring especially when Axe is in the gym or office.
I'm debating whether working is worth it.
It's not about the money anymore since Axe looks after me.
But it's more just socialising with humans.
It's strangely satisfying watching humans go about their days, clueless to the fact werewolves walk among them.
I can't imagine how simple their lives are, not having to live their life according to a mate and not having to shift into a savage creature often.
In the distance is a park where a few kids are playing, so I go over and sit on the bench.
The only bench that has an available space is next to a woman I haven't seen before.
She is staring off at the kids playing in the park.
I pull out my phone and just enjoy the breeze and the innocence of children laughing.
“Which one's yours?” I ask the woman.
“None of them,” she says.
I frown. I want to ask her why she's at a park staring at children when none of them are hers but I don't want to snoop.
“I'm not a creep if that's what you're thinking. I want to have kids and my asshole mate keeps telling me not yet.” She rolls her eyes.
“Oh, maybe he's not ready,” I suggest.
“No, he keeps saying he's busy with work and it's pissing me off.”
“Isn't a baby more important than work?” I involuntarily grab my stomach.
“Tell him that. He's at your house often, talking to the alpha,” she states.
“Who's your mate?” I question.
“Jay,” she answers. “Jayceon,” she corrects.
“Oh,” I murmur, not knowing what to say to that. It's quiet between us for a while.
“Guess I'll go sit at home alone like I always do,” she sounds... disappointed or maybe resentful towards Jayceon. She gets up and walks away before I can reply.
As she leaves, I think about what Jayceon told me.
The prisoners are pissing him off and making it hard for the guards.
If he's in such an unsafe situation, it makes sense why he's putting off having kids.
He runs a prison so his fatherly instincts may be non-existent.
Maybe I should talk to Axe about hiring someone to help lighten Jayceon's load.
But that might piss off Jayceon. I should talk to him first. As the luna, this is my business, right?
I walk to the prison and go inside. Jayceon is sitting behind the desk with paperwork covering it. He looks up when he sees me.
“What are you doing here?” Jayceon frowns.
“I want to talk to you.”
“About what?” He looks back down at his work.
“How would you feel if Axe hired someone else to help with prison work?” I ask, and his head shoots up, his eyes blazing.
“Where is this coming from? I'm a great warden.”
“I wanted to talk to you before suggesting this to Axe.”
“Get out of my business.”
“You're the one telling me to step up and be the luna, so that's what I'm doing,” I say, and he glares at me.
“The luna has no business in prison issues.”
“Maybe you should worry about your relationship issues instead of the prison,” I mutter.
“Excuse me? You don't know anything about my relationship.”
“I know your mate is upset.”
Jayceon stares at me with a frown.
“Did she actually come to you to complain? What did she say?” He sounds exasperated.
“She didn't come to me. I ran into her... and she just seems sad that you're not at home with her. So I thought if you get help at the prison, it will give you more free time so you don't have to be at the prison so much,” I explain.
“She's unbelievable.” He rolls his eyes.
“You're being an asshole,” I say.
He stands up, folds his arms over his chest and glares down at me.
I can admit Jayceon is a lot scarier than Axe.
Axe is more muscular but Jayceon has an overwhelming hostile aura that'll make anyone cower back.
With such a powerful, fear inducing alpha and such a stiff, aggressive prison warden, I'm glad we have a refined and wholesome beta to keep the balance.
“What was that?” Jayceon asks as the veins in his biceps bulge.
“Your mate wants to spend time with you and you're acting like she's in the wrong. Why can't you see that?” I tell him.
“How about you help me out with the prisoners then?”
“I'm not hurting Joel by telling him I'm pregnant.” I frown.
“What about just walking through the prison with me? He'll catch your scent and maybe that'll make him realise what he lost.”
“Whatever,” I say.
Jayceon unlocks the door and I follow him through.
The more I get to know Jayceon, the more I realise what a pushy pompous asshole he is.
Not even Axe likes hanging out with him.
So maybe he should start paying attention to the one who does, his mate.
Maybe this really isn't my business. But I don't think there's anything wrong with just suggesting help at the prison to give Jayceon some free time.
I don't understand why Jayceon would even want to spend most of his time at a prison.
We go through the cells we saw last time with the prisoners from Manson's time. Then we go through where I remember Mitchell was. There's a lump under a blanket, which I'm guessing is him. He doesn’t move when we walk past, though. We go into the next section.
“Why didn't Mitchell say anything when we walked past?” I question.
“I beat the shit out of him, remember. At least one of the prisoners is quiet now,” Jayceon says.
“How are Ember and Hannah?”
“They're pissing me off even more than the guys. At least when the guys act out, I can be violent. I definitely have to get one of the female soldiers in here to give those two a flogging.”
“So you're not allowed to punish the girls?” I ask.
But then I imagine Jayceon in a room with Ember or Hannah and beating the shit out of them. Definitely more humane for a female soldier to deal with them.
“I doubt Axe would approve of that, knowing my history with punishments,” Jayceon says.
When we get to the door that Jayceon wouldn't let me through last time, I get nervous.
Joel is beyond that door. He's been locked up for six months.
I don't know how that has affected him. Jayceon opens the door and we walk through.
There are many hallways through this part of the building.
He stops in front of a white door that has a little window in it, a covered slip, which would be for food, and an intricate-looking lock system.
“He's in there.”
I step closer to the door and look through the window seeing a white room. There's a toilet in the corner, a sink and a bed built into the wall. Joel is lying on the bed in a heap. I can't see his face.
“It's so small,” I gasp.
I didn't think it would be like this.