Chapter 37 - The cells

***Callums pov***

I helped organizing the removal of all the vampire bodies. I was thinking about ordering them burned but then I thought about everything I’ve read, and decided to load them up and dump them where they will be found. Perhaps some families can get some kind of closure in the return of their lost ones.
After sending the truck away I talked to my lead warrior Alex to get a report.
Six of us got badly injured and were taken to the clinic. He had sent out eight to scout the border, looking for tracks, to find out which way they went and what we can do to avoid them sneaking past us again.

“I heard a couple of them are in the cells, do you need me there?” He asked.
“No, go home to your mate, tell the others to do the same. I think everybody needs to be with their loved ones tonight.” I say, giving him a pat on the back. He nodded his head and took off, probably in great need of his mate's embrace.
Alex's mate Tina is pregnant and due to deliver in a couple of weeks, so this must be hard on him.
My thoughts goes to Hope. She is still sleeping, Cathy keeps me posted and Zandra has arrived to the clinic as well. Not only for Hope, she cares a lot for the wounded warriors so she will help out in any way she can.

The cells are located in the same area as the warriors apartment buildings. I dont have dungeons with dark moldy cells and iron bars. No, my cells are built to suit my treatment of my enemies but also pack members who need a time out.
Its a one-story house with a basement. All our buildings have large entrance doors, for obvious reasons, usually you want to wait to shift until you get indoors. This building is no different, dragging a mad wolf to a cell requires space. Inside there is a big room directly to the right, containing a kitchenette and a fridge, some armchairs, coffee table, dining table with accompanying chairs. A pool table and a dart board.
There is also a bathroom down the hall, and I am in desperate need of a clean up to wash the leeches nasty blood from my body so that’s my first stop.

After a quick shower I find Reece sitting in one of the armchairs, a beer bottle in his hand.
“Hey, are you hurt?” I ask looking at his bloody skin.
“Nah, I’m ok, just some bites and scratches and they are already healing. What about the rest?”
“A few at the clinic, they are in good hands”
“And Hope?”
“Still sleeping..Cathy and Zandra are with her” I answer, grabbing a beer for my self from the fridge.
“Is it just me or was something off with this fight? Reece looks bothered
“No, not just you, I was thinking the same earlier and the feeling still lingers”
We drink in silence for a few minutes.
“How many did we get?” I ask
“Three. Two of them newbies I think, but the third..”
“Yeah, I met one of them earlier” I say, taking a few sips from my bottle.
“So, how do you want to do this?”
“Lets go and say hi” I wink and put my empty bottle on the counter.

The cells for pack members are above ground, they are quite small to make shifting uncomfortable. They have a bed, a toilet bowl and a small basin. There is no windows, but if someone were to be locked up during the full moon we take them outside for an hour or two so they dont get moonstruck, we are not barbarians.

A spiral staircase leads down to the basement.
Reece hauls up his keychain and unlock the first door. Its big, heavy and armored, the type you would have in a bomb shelter. We step in to the long corridor where the cells are located. These cells are quiet different from the ones upstairs. The doors is one example of that. They are not as big and heavy as the first one but still armored and impenetrable.
He opens the first one and I step inside.
The bright light from the fluorescent tube in the ceiling reflects in the white tiles on the walls and the floor, giving the room a very cold feeling.
A young man sits shackled, to what reminds of a dentist chair but without the padding. He has a muzzle on, it allows him to talk but prevents him from biting.
He has a skinny physique, almost malnourished. The hair is greasy and hasn’t been cut in a while and the skin is pale. His bloodshot eyes follow me around the room. He reeks of fear.
I stop in front of him.
“Do you know who I am?” I asked him
“I do, you are a filthy mutt in a pack of filthy mutts” he answers in a cocky voice, trying to hide how scared he really is.
I chuckle and turn to Reece.
“Make sure to leave the light on” I say as I leave the cell.
In the next cell is a girl, maybe twenty years old and in the same condition as her male companion. I bet she was pretty at one time, when she had some flesh under her skin and color on her cheeks. She didn’t say anything, she went with the mute tactic instead of the cocky one, so once again I ordered Reece to keep the light on and left.
The arrangement in the third cell is identical, but the man in the chair is completely different. Just like the man I met earlier, this one has good physique, he is not as pale as the others and he is calm…too calm.
“You need to teach your kids some good manners” I start.
The man keeps quiet, observing me.
“Are you going to tell me why you crossed my border tonight?”
The man smirked behind the muzzle before actually answering
“Call it a fieldtest.. ”
“A fieldtest?”
“Sure...”
“I’m guessing to test your newlyturned, see how they stand against wolves?“
The man sits quiet
“You lost a lot of your people. Was it worth it?”
“There are always more people... ” he snickers
“So, that’s Ambrogio’s plan? To keep turning humans for field tests?”
The man flinched at the sound of his fathers name and it made me curious.
“I never had the pleasure to meet the man, but I really thought he was smarter than that. The father of vampires, sending newly turned kids to fight grown wolves, sound like a waste of time to me.” I see the man clench his fists.
“Unless this is not his plan? Maybe you kids take your own initiative to try to impress dear old daddy?”
“Shut the fuck up! You are not worthy to take his name in your disgusting mongrel mouth.” He went from arrogant to pissed in a second.
I chuckled, pleased with finding a trigger so soon.
“It must be tough though..knowing you will betray him..spill all his secrets.. and never be able to see him to beg for his forgivness..you will never see him again, you do understand that right?”
“Believe what you want..” he glared at me.
“Lets keep our guests environment bright and shiny” I said to Reece and then we left the room.

Back upstairs I grabbed a new beer and handed one to Reece as well.
“So, what’s next?” He asked.
“We’ll start with the new ones, they shouldn’t be that hard to break. But for now, we let them wait, stewing in their own juices, and we come back tomorrow night” I answer, finishing my beer and head for the door. Reece followed me, locking the up behind us.
“To the clinic?”
“To the clinic, I need to see my girl!”

When we walk up to the clinic, the sun begins to rise. A few nurses arrives at the same time, on their way to start their day. Jenny is one of them and I see a blush on her cheeks when she locks eyes with Reece.
“I'll see you inside” he sighs, slowing his steps, waiting for her.
“Please behave..” I chuckle and leave him on the front steps.

Before I go to Hope I stop at the nurses station and ask about the warriors brought in during the night. All of them had improved, wounds were healing and those with broken bones were plastered and needed a couple of days to to be fully restored. Kevin was awake but tired, his body was working hard to replace the blood he had lost.
“The hag is with him as we speak” The nurse told me.
“What room is he in?”
“He is in twenty four with Lucas and Leo”
“Thank you”
I knock on the door before walking in. When they see me they all sit up straight.
“Relax, you all need your rest to heal. I’m proud to be your Alpha, you did really good! ” I said and they all sunk back into their beds.
Lucas grimaced a little, he had three broken ribs, one of which had punctured his right lung.
Leo had a long dark red wound across his head. The nurse had told me his skull was almost cracked when he was brought in.
I walk over to Kevin.
“How do you feel?”
“I’m good Alpha, just a bit tired but I will be back on my feet in a couple of hours”
“Good..I want to talk to you later.”
“Is everything ok? Am I in trouble?”
“Absolutely not” I give him a assuring smile before I turned to Zandra.
She was sitting in a high armchair, watching me.
“Can I speak with you outside?” I asked her
She rose from the chair and followed me out.

“Thank you for being here” I start
“ Where else would I be? I’ve seen those boys grow up”
“I know..still, thank you..and thank you for sitting with Hope..”
She sighs, and I was waiting for her cane to hit me, I almost needed it.
“Dont be to hard on your self Callum.”
“ I hurt her..badly..”
“Yes, you did, and that’s the curse and blessing of being a werewolf..You are strong in both body and mind. You train hard so you can fight vampires several times more than you without casualties, but you also risk hurting the more fragile things around you.”
She takes my face in her hands and kiss me on the forehead and I close my eyes.
Her forgiveness was more important than I had realized.
“You better go see your girl now” She winks and turn back to the room we came from, a smile is playing on her lips.
Wait, does that mean what I think?..I start running down the hall.

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*Author Note:
Thank you for reading!
This is my first book and English is not my native language, so please leave a kind comment to point out mistakes.
Make sure to like the chapter if you enjoyed it!