Rejected Mates

Chapter13

"Hello, Mel," the woman said in a cheerful greeting. "My name is Kira, and I oversee all of the staff here at the pack."

As she spoke, the woman opened the locked door, allowing Melinda to exit the cell. There were no guards, no shackles, and no show of force.

"Hello," Melinda said in softly, following behind Kira who headed back toward the far doorway.

"I'm going to show you around, give you a quick tour, and then I'll let you get settled," Kira spoke kindly to Melinda, almost as if she were moving into a campus dorm and was being shown around by the resident advisor.

Kira led Melina through the doorway, and down a hallway, speaking as they walked.

"Down that hallway, we have the cell blocks," she chatted casually as if she had been directing Melinda toward a rec room. "They're all reinforced, bars have silver, and plenty of guards," Kira went on. "We're all about second chances here, but we also don't want to take any unnecessary risks."

"Is that where the other two were taken?" Melinda asked, her curiosity outweighing her trepidation at the entire situation.

"Yes," Kira replied. "The alpha wants to spend a little more time with each of them before he decides on the next steps for their rehab. That's usually how it goes, most of our transfers can be pretty nasty to begin with, but most of them come around."

"What if they don't?" Melinda asked with a shudder.

"Then they get to stay locked up. Everyone is really in charge of their own fate here," she continued. "You decide whether you want to contribute and be part of the pack society or not. As long as you're not breaking any rules, life here can be pretty good."

Kira then led Melinda out into a vast courtyard. From the outside, it appeared to be a fortress, a prison that would confine all who entered. From inside, it was like a fresh oasis. There was a fountain in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by soft grass. Across the lawn was a large building they were walking toward, which could be nothing other than the pack house.

They entered through two large glass doors and continued to walk through a large foyer-like space, that had curved staircases on both sides, leading to multiple upper floors.

"The alpha and beta live here, in the main house. Alpha's in the North wing, and Beta is in the South. The rest of us are out here in the dorms," she said, as she held open another door that led to the outside.

Once outside, Melinda could see that there were two huge dormitories, essentially like apartment complexes, one on each side of another lawn that extended several hundred yards. In the few seconds, it took for Kira and Melinda to reach the closer of the two dorms, Melinda was able to see that there appeared to be a lake or pond further off in the distance, a large rose garden at the far end of the dorm they were approaching, and another large building further down past the other dorm.

"This is the women's dorm, and that's the men's," Kira said, indicating the other drom as that of the men's. "That building down there is the cafeteria and the gymnasium."

The women entered the dorm and approached an elevator. Kira pressed the button to signal the elevator and continued to speak.

"Rule number one, no fraternization with other wolves," Kira said firmly. "Alpha is very strict on that rule. He's pretty traditional when it comes to the mate bond, and doesn't want anyone crossing that line while under his care."

Melinda could feel the flush in her cheeks at that statement and wondered how much Kira knew about why Melinda had been sent to be there.

"Women live in this building, men in the other, and neither are permitted into the other. No exceptions," Kira continued as they stepped into the elevator. "Rule number two, no fighting. Obviously, there are a lot of strong personalities here, and there are disagreements from time to time, but the line is pretty much-drawing blood or breaking bones. Don't hurt anyone, and you'll be fine."

"Here we are," Kira said, pulling out a set of keys as they exited the elevator and approached a door on the second floor. Kira unlocked the door and stood aside allowing Melinda to enter first. The room was plain but clean. It was like a small studio apartment. There was a bed, a small sofa, and a kitchen with full-sized appliances. Everything looked new and untouched. It was boring, but nothing like the prison cell that Melinda had dreaded since she had first heard about being sent away from the West Hills Pack.

"Here is your key," Kira said, moving on from the ring she held in her hand. "Dinner is at six, so you've only got about ten minutes. It's in the cafeteria, that building over there," she said as she pointed out the window in the direction of the building past the men's dorm.

"Meals aren't required, you don't have to come if you don't want to, but it's highly encouraged. We do have a curfew and that's at 11 PM. Anyone found outside the dorms after that gets in trouble. Don't get in trouble."

"Last thing," Kira spoke again, her hand on the doorknob as she prepared to leave. "You've been assigned to the cleaning crew, and you'll be on the morning shift. You'll start at 6 AM, and get a break for breakfast at around 8 AM. That will be up to your crew leader, as everyone rotates to eat. Then you'll keep working until your lunch break sometime around noon, and then your shift will end at 2 PM."

"Do you have any questions before I go?" Kira asked her hand on the doorknob.

"Where do I go to report for the cleaning crew?" Melinda asked, feeling incredibly overwhelmed. She was sure she'd have a million other questions about life in her new pack, but her mind was mostly blank.

"You'll meet up with the crew leader in the gymnasium, that's on the other side of the cafeteria. She'll give you your instructions then and get you started."

"Umm, okay," Melinda said, fidgeting with the key in her hand.

"See you at dinner," Kira said cheerfully before closing the door to Melinda's new home.

Melinda dropped her backpack onto the floor and started to cry. She felt lost, confused, and completely alone. She had been on her own at the West Hills Pack, but that was different. It was a new chapter, life in the city, and a chance to make her own way. While things were nearly as bleak as she had originally feared and she wasn't in an actual prison, she felt like a prisoner. She had been forced out of two packs, made to leave behind everything she knew, and she was completely alone.

Melinda sat on the floor, leaning up against the sofa. She cried in ugly full-body sobs until she dropped over onto the floor where she eventually fell asleep. She woke up several hours later, long past when she was supposed to have gone to dinner, and climbed into bed. She had the foresight to set an alarm but fell asleep quickly, and was unconscious to the world until the alarm roused her from her stupor.