Shifters Pen

10

Everyone knew we were intended mates, and sharing a cell. The full moon was coming up in just a few days. Her pregnancy scent was detectable if you stood close enough to her, but half the prison already suspected that she was pregnant. She was tired, and turned funny colors at certain scents. And she was not eating right, at all. I had already pounded a few men into their place around her. She would not heal them until they submitted either. Rumors were flying.
  Finally, one of the vampires stopped at our table. “Okay, so I have a bet going with a friend of mine. Can I smell your hand? Just smell.”
  This was beyond rude, and I was about to just rip his head off, but Lucy was feeling too sick and tired to care. She held up her hand. He sniffed. Then sniffed again. “That is not what a coyote smells like,” he said.
  She glared at him, “Does it, by any chance smell like a pregnant woman?”
  The cafeteria came to a standstill. All eyes were on the vampire. “Uh, uhm, yeah. It does.”
  She nodded, “Then your sense of smell still works. Piss off. I’m on break.” Her head sank back down to the table, her tray of hardly eaten food pushed away.
  Conversation broke out. Being closer to the werewolves I heard alot about ‘Luna is pregnant’, ‘you’d think alpha could keep it in his pants’, ‘what dumbshits to get pregnant in here’. I knew she could hear it too when she started feeling bad.
  I slammed my fists on the table and stood, glaring at my pack. They all met my eyes immediately, and could see I was furious. “Is this the way you treat mated females in your pack who are expecting a cub? If you can't spare a compliment then shut the fuck up.”
  Her skinwalker mentor stood, and approached her, “You should know that I was a shaman for 15 years before becoming a skinwalker. I delivered all 4 of my children, and plenty of others.”
  “Why can’t I eat Frank?” She was relieved.
  “Too much grease. It will ease up around the 2nd trimester. Try to eat fresh ingredients to see what works for you.” He sighed sadly, “I went without frybread and mutton stew right along with her.”
  “I'm going to starve.” She was so sad. I was certain she'd start crying any second now.
  I rubbed her back, “Just order fresh fruits and vegetables. You have the order book for the kitchen.”
  She chewed on her lip, “But then I have to get a case of everything. And it would eat into the meat budget.”
  Kevin shrugged, “So we have pasta one night. I'm cool with that Luna. How about you guys?” Men were nodding down the table.
  She smiled, and nodded. “O-okay.”
  Frank nodded, “Congratulations. This place is odd. We all are. There has not been a female skinwalker ever. You will be looked after by your clan. You are not Dine’, but you are a skinwalker.”
  I eyed the other 6 skinwalkers. They were nodding in agreement at this. Shamen. Medicine men. They were healers before they became skinwalkers. I wondered how that happened. How did they go from being healers to becoming evil?
  I met the old man’s eyes. “Thank you.” A father of 4.
  Joe Branson was next. He couldn’t commit any of the other Lycans, but he was an army all by himself. “Hey, you are gonna be alright. I got your back. Congrats you two. You need anything, just ask.”
  That left the wendigo, hexenwolves, and vampires. None approached. None congratulated. None were thinking pleasant thoughts about my mate.
  She thanked her friend. The bell rang. Lunch was over. Then the green light flashed, followed by orange.
  “Shit! Hurry, to the cell!” We had just over a minute to get there. The entire cafeteria was trying to pour through the doors to get to their cells faster. A few transformed to move faster. The skinwalkers turned into birds, and flew past everyone. The wendigo turned into deer and other fast animals. The hexenwolves turned into wolves and raced out. That just left werewolves, vampires, and lycans. Oh, it was hell! We were pushing and shoving. If the doors upstairs closed before we got there we would die. I suddenly regretted giving my old cell away. It was only one flight of stairs up, and 5 cells down.
  There were so many men who were still ahead of us. Would we even get out of the cafeteria in time? There was shouting to hurry and get out of the way. Kevin grabbed the back of my jumpsuit. I had a hold on Lucy. His cell was on the 2nd floor. Closer. We would follow him.
  We made it through the doors and started up the stairs. The lights were orange. How long had they been orange? We crammed into Kevin’s cell with his cell mate, and two other vampires. Ten seconds later the doors closed.
  There were screams. My heart lurched. How many of those screams were my men?