Page 74 of Broken Souls

“Are there other prisoners here, besides the ones Axe locked up?” I ask.

“There aren't any rogues in here if that's what you're asking. But yeah, there are a few old guys in here from Manson's reign.”

“What did they do?” I dare to ask.

“Nothing,” a voice speaks up and I notice a middle-aged man in a cell to the left.

I look at him. He looks well enough, given he's in prison. He's sitting on a small bed leaning his back against the cement wall. It's a sizeable cell, enough room for him to shift and walk a few steps. There's a toilet to the back of the cell, a sink, a shelf with books on it, a bedside table with a lamp and iPad on it and even a mini fridge which I frown at. It seems like a normal bedroom except for the darkness and steel bars.

“The iPad and mini fridge?” I whisper to Jayceon.

“We sometimes give the prisoners things they request for if they're good. He wasn't a violent offender so we've granted him benefits,” Jayceon says as we continue on down the hall. I notice another guy in a cell but he doesn't have as many things as the other guy had in his cell.

“What did they do?” I ask again, wondering why the man said 'nothing' when I asked.

“The man with the iPad legit didn't do anything bad. He fooled around with Manson's mate years ago while they were together and Manson sentenced him,” Jayceon says.

“Life imprisonment?” I frown. That's bizarre, just for fooling around with someone's mate.

“Yeah, it's sad,” Jayceon confirms. My eyes are wide at that news. “But then again if I found out my mate was cheating, I'd have killed the man.”

After that news I wonder about Manson and Mandy. She is always quite timid. I've never seen her without him with her. She cheated on Manson. Does Axe know? He's the alpha. He'd have to know. Is that why Manson is such an asshole? How long ago did she cheat? Was the guy locked up a rogue? Is that why Manson hates rogues? If he was a pack member, why would he risk sleeping with the alpha's wife?

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when Jayceon opens another door.

This room is just a room with multiple doors which I find out leads to the showers and a recreational room. Jayceon doesn't show me those areas, though. Instead we go through another metal door. This is another room filled with cells, most of them are empty. We pass by a cell which has Mitchell in it. He looks up at me, glaring, his eyes dark, looking like he hasn't gotten sleep.

“You bitch,” he seethes, standing up from his bed. His cell is pretty empty, clearly no benefits except a toilet, bed and sink. Jayceon grabs my arm and pulls me against his side as Mitchell nears the steel bars. “Because of you, I can't be with my mate.”

“Are you upset you can't be with Ember or that you're no longer sleeping with Hannah? Or are you pissed you can't beat the shit out of a girl anymore?” I list off sadistically.

The last isn't exactly right on point. He usually would be the one to hold me while his two whores did the dirty work but he has thrown in some hits before.

“Fuck you,” he growls.

“Enough, deadbeat,” Jayceon orders, tugging on my arm to keep leading me through the room.

“Why can't I at least be locked up with my mate?” Mitchell clenches the bars.

“Wow.” Jayceon cackles, turning to him. “How stupid are you? You really think we'd lock a man and woman up together.” Jayceon rolls his eyes and pulls me along.

After being pulled into another room, I see multiple doors. Another metal one, one that clearly leads outside and two others.

“This is the end of the tour,” Jayceon says.

“There's still another door.” I point to the door that's clearly hiding something.

“That just dives deeper into the prison, solitary and stuff.”

“Solitary? Is Joel in there?” I ask.

“You're not seeing him.” Jayceon frowns deeply.

“I-I don't want to,” I stammer.

“I get it, Elora. He's your mate so a part of you will always have a soft spot for him. But you have to resist it, now that you're mated to another man,” Jayceon says.

“I know,” I mutter.