Rejected Mates

Chapter 15

Nancy chatted at Melinda through the rest of their meal, and then the two of them returned back to the gymnasium for their next assignments. Nancy was sent back to the cafeteria to help with cleaning in the kitchen and Carol took Melinda to the main house where they began the process of cleaning more bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping.

For their lunch break, Nancy and Melinda took their breaks together again and returned to their same seats in the cafeteria, where they'd eaten breakfast several hours prior.

"So is every day like this?" Melinda asked, feeling like the future was looking pretty bleak. She didn't mind the cleaning per se, but she wasn't looking forward to the monotony of wake up, clean, eat, clean, eat, clean spend a few hours of free time before bed, and then start everything all over again.

"Well, it's pretty much like life on the outside, I guess," Nancy commented. "Get up, go to work, have a few hours to yourself, and then the next day do the same."

"I suppose," Melinda begrudgingly agreed. "So what else is there to do here? I mean, like once I'm done with work for the day, what am I supposed to do?"

"What do you want to do?" Nancy asked. "If you were back home, where you came from, what would you do after work?"

"Sit around at home," Melinda replied sheepishly.

"I'd suggest you check out the territory," Nancy replied with a nod. "When was the last time you shifted? Amd had a good long run through the forest?"

"It's been a long time," Melinda replied. Adam's pack territory was on the edge of town, and pack members could go out behind the building and take off into the woods for miles. Melinda had loved going for runs when she was younger, back with the Day Break Pack, but she hadn't run as much when she joined the West Hills Pack.

"Want to go today, after work?" Nancy asked between bitefuls of food. "I'll show you around. There's a lake at the bottom of the hill, and we've got miles and miles of trees, streams, and countryside to see."

"That would be really great, thank you," Melinda agreed with a smile.

After lunch, Melinda and Nancy went their separate ways again to finish their shifts and then met up back at the gymnasium.

"Come on, there's a changing booth at the tree line," Nancy said as she led Melinda across the grass and away from the buildings. Most packs, especially those situated on rural land had changing booths scattered throughout their properties so that anyone could undress in privacy and leave the clothes to come back to. Likewise, there were routinely several articles of clean clothes stored in all of the changing booths, in case someone needed to shift into human form and they weren't near the pack house.

Nancy and Melinda shifted and began their tour of the territory. Nancy showed Melinda several beautiful spots that Melinda made a note of, with a plan to return. It was beautiful and peaceful. Melinda felt freer here, surrounded by strangers and with an uncertain future, than she had felt since she was a young child. She couldn't explain why, but something about this pack made her feel more welcome and more at home than she could remember feeling before.

After a refreshing swim in the creek, Nancy suggested they begin their return trek, so they would get back in time to shower before dinner. Melinda agreed although she would have loved to have stayed out there all night. She was disappointed that there was a curfew because she thought it would be really wonderful to get to spend the night out there under the stars.

Melinda was a few minutes late to dinner, but quickly found Nancy and joined her at the table. For the earlier meals in the day, Nancy and Melinda had kept to themselves, but at the dinner table, Nancy was joined by several others. One of the others was a woman named Lexi, who Melinda recognized as also being on the morning cleaning crew, and the rest were men. They were all chatting happily when Melinda found her seat next to Nancy.

"Everyone, this is Mel," Nancy introduced her. "Mel, this is everyone," she said with a wave of her hand that swept around the group. Everyone offered a greeting and introduced themselves in turn. It was a pleasant evening, even if it felt very superficial. Almost like everyone had a secret, and everyone knew that everyone had a secret, but nobody talked about their secrets because it didn't matter since everyone had one. Melinda wasn't sure if she liked that or not, but she appreciated that nobody made a big deal about her being there or being a new transfer, and nobody asked her what happened and why she was sent there.

Everyone was just finishing their meals, taking their dishes to the wash tables, and cleaning up after themselves when Kira approached Melinda.

"How'd it go today?" she asked.

"I guess it was fine," Melinda replied, not really sure what kind of an answer Kira was looking for.

"Do you have a few minutes?" Kira asked. "I'd like to see you in my office for a few minutes if you're free."

"Yeah, sure," Melinda replied. "I'll see you later, Nancy," she said to her new friend before following Kira. They left the cafeteria and Melinda followed Kira toward the pack house. They went in through the large glass doors, and then down a hallway. It was in the opposite direction of the side that Melinda had cleaned earlier that day, so she hadn't been into this side of the building yet. There seemed to be several offices along the hallway, and Kira led Melinda into the third one on the right.

"Please, have a seat," Kira indicated a chair that faced a desk, and then Kira went around and sat at the desk and began to type at the computer on the desk.

"Okay, do you happen to have your banking information on you?" Kira asked. "Direct deposit is much easier than paper checks."

"What do you mean?" Melinda asked in complete confusion.

"So you can get paid?" Kira responded.

"I'm getting paid?" Melinda asked in surprise.

"I swear," Kira said with an exasperated sigh. "Colt can be such a ditz. He always forgets to mention that during orientation. Yes, you're not a slave here, Mel. We're a civilized pack, and we pay a fair wage for the work that everyone does here. It won't ever be quite like the life you left behind, but we really try to make things as normal as we can. There are different rules, to make sure everyone is safe, simply because not everyone wants to make it work here, but it really doesn't have to feel like a prison if you're willing to make an effort."

To say she was shocked would have been an understatement. Twenty-four hours ago, Melinda thought her life was about to end, and that she was being sent off to something akin to a CIA black-site, never to enjoy the freedoms of normal life again. And yet here she was, in a wooded paradise, away from the alpha who had taken advantage of her, and suddenly aware that the ache in her heart that had haunted her for years was barely noticeable at this point. She almost felt happy.