Rejected Mates

Chapter 14

Melinda gave herself half an hour to get ready in the morning. She needed to take a shower, but she wasn't planning to put on any make-up or anything, so she just needed time to get dressed and walk across the lawn to the gymnasium where she was supposed to meet the crew leader for work.

She was in the shower when she felt the alpha in her head via the mind-link.

You didn't attend dinner last night he said to her.

Kira said it wasn't mandatory Melinda replied defiantly. She didn't know why, but she felt like challenging the alpha. She told herself it was because the last alpha had taken advantage of her, and she didn't want to allow herself into a position like that again, but she didn't really believe that to be the truth.

Jared was a little concerned about the new female transfer. The majority of rejects sent to him were men. They were simple for Jared to deal with. Predictable and straightforward. Some were guiltier than others, and many were genuinely terrible men, who ended up staying locked away. But there were also plenty who appreciated and took full advantage of their second chance at life, with an alpha who was more focused on building trust than he was exerting his dominance.

Over the past few years, Jared had done well with his assignment from The Werewolf Council and continued to exceed their expectations. His pack had become a healthy community, made up of people who were willing to work together to live peacefully. But every time a woman was brought to the pack, it made Jared nervous. Women could be so difficult for him to find the right balance with. He relied heavily on Kira to help with the women, but he also felt he needed to treat them like everyone else and maintain the same level of authority he used with the men.

It irritated Jared that the new arrival, Mel, hadn't gone to dinner. He knew that Kira had been hospitable with her, and shown every possible cordiality. The male transfers from the day hadn't been allowed to attend dinner, as they were still being kept separate, and likely would be until Jared was convinced that they wouldn't pose a threat to anyone else in the pack. It felt like a slap in the face, that Mel didn't attend, and Jared felt like he needed to ensure that she knew she wasn't on vacation, and that she would be required to pull her own weight within the pack.

Keep an eye on the new transfer and let me know how she does today, Jared informed Carol, the crew leader assigned to oversee Melinda's work.

Yes, sir. I see her coming into the gymnasium now, Carol communicated back to the alpha.

"Hello, Mel," Carol greeted stiffly. Melinda could already tell that Carol wasn't going to be as friendly as Kira had been.

"Good morning, Ma'am," Melinda replied.

There were three other women who gathered around Carol, and they offered hellos and greetings to Melinda when she joined the group.

"Ok, here's the schedule for this morning, ladies you all know what's expected of you, Mel I'll stay with you today and show you the ropes. But keep in mind, everyone contributes and there's no slacking off."

Carol handed her clipboard to the woman on her right, and after glancing through it, she passed it along to the next woman until they all had a chance to look it over.

"You're starting in the bathrooms," Carol said to Melinda. "This way," and she led Melinda toward the gymnasium locker rooms.

Melinda sighed as she took the cleaning items handed to her, and began cleaning the list of spaces that had been assigned to her. She scrubbed toilets, floors, and showers. She couldn't believe it had only been two hours when Carol informed her that it was time for her breakfast break, and directed her toward the cafeteria.

"Go with Nancy, she'll show you where to go," instructed Carol.

"Hi Nancy," Melinda said awkwardly. They hadn't really been introduced, but Nancy had been there in the morning and had been completing her own cleaning assignments through the morning.

"Hi, Mel, welcome to the pack," she said with a smile. "It's really not so bad, once you get the hang of things."

"Do we ever get to leave?" Melinda asked, not sure how much time they would have to chat, and having thought of several questions she was hoping to get answers for.

"Oh yeah," Nancy said with a reassuring smile. "You get out what you put into this place."

"Meaning what, exactly?" Melinda asked her.

"I've been here about two years," Nancy said as they entered the cafeteria that was loud and bustling. It was mostly men, as Melinda had anticipated, but they all seemed friendly and normal. She wasn't quite sure why that struck her as strange, but based on the two that had been transferred in with her, she had assumed that everyone would be different. More like prisoners, angry and scary. Instead, it felt like walking into the school cafeteria on the college campus. Everyone seemed cheerful and lighthearted, almost even carefree.

"When I first arrived, I was pissed," Nancy continued, pulling Melinda out of her musings. "I didn't feel like I belonged here and I fought everyone. I spent more time in the cells than any other female transfer," she said, with just a hint of pride.

"So what changed?" Melinda asked.

"I got tired of fighting," Nancy said. "Everyone kept telling me that I just had to decide whether or not I wanted to spend the rest of my life in the cells, and that I'd realistically be happier outside of them."

"And?" Melinda urged Nancy to go on. They were walking through the food line, and receiving portions of food that smelled good and looked better than anything Melinda had ever been able to prepare for herself.

"And, they were right," Nancy said. "I've got the job with the cleaning crew, which can be gross, for sure, but it's a job. I love having the morning shift because my afternoons are free for me to do whatever I want. I'm actually taking a few online art classes right now."

"They allow that?" Melinda asked.

"They encourage it," Nancy replied.

"And you get to leave?" Melinda asked again.

"Yeah, but I'm still on supervised leave. That's something you have to earn. Think of it like a field trip. We're on a schedule, and there are chaperones, but we still get to get out and about, go shopping, and whatever."

Nancy and Melinda sat down to eat and continued their conversation.

"What about your family?" Melinda asked. She had thought about trying to call her parents but had no idea what she would tell them. She wasn't even sure if her cell phone would work here.

"They don't want anything to do with me," Nancy said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Melinda said. "I didn't mean to pry."

"Don't worry about it, everyone here has a past," Nancy prattled on. "Some of us talk about it freely, some don't. But we've all got baggage, and we all know it. So, it just is what it is."

"Everything feels so..." Melidna paused a moment, trying to find a word to fit what she was thinking. "Surreal, I guess. Like it's just some weird fake illusion. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, totally! Nancy replied. "Like total Stepford Wives or something, and everyone's been reprogrammed or something?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Melinda nodded in agreement.

"I thought the exact same thing. It's part of why I was so determined to put up a fight when I first got here."

"So everyone's still in control of themselves?" Melinda asked, not sure how else to articulate what she was trying to ask. "They're not drugging us, or putting something in the water to make everyone compliant?"

"No, pretty sure that's not happening," Nancy said with a smile. "There are way too many guys in the holding cells for that to be a thing. If they had the capability to reprogram us, those guys would have been the first to get dosed."