The Alpha Queen's Mate (Book 5 of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 52

Mason opened the door to the shack and pushed Noelle outside. Bright light blinded her and she blinked several times, trying to adjust to the sunlight. The heat hit her, warming her skin, and taking off the chill she'd been experiencing her entire captivity.

Mason pushed her forward and she stumbled a bit, and he grabbed her to keep her from falling. "Not very graceful, are you?"

"It's bright."

"Sucks to not have your wolf," he commented.

She really disliked him. After a bit, her eyes finally adjusted and she looked around. He was leading her down a path. The ground was sand, she noticed.

They came up on the back of the pack house, and Noelle swallowed, becoming increasingly aware that she was still naked. She could feel eyes on her and wondered if anyone was really watching her or it was just her imagination.

Mason led her up to a back door, and pushed it open, then led her inside. The smell of baking bread caught her attention and made her stomach growl. She immediately felt even more homesick.

He led her into a huge kitchen where several women were working, baking bread and cooking a meal. They all stopped when they became aware of Mason's presence, their heads bowed.

Noelle looked them all over. At least they were all dressed in simple dresses. They all smelled of rogue though, and fear. She wondered what they had all experienced to make them so afraid.

"This is the kitchen. Those chosen for this task are here most of the day, cooking meals and baking. They're responsible for feeding the men and the rest of the women. They keep the kitchen and dining room clean." Mason said. He pulled her out of the room and they left the house.

He took her across the back yard towards a building. Two men stood outside the door, and she didn't miss the way they both completely avoided looking at her.

One of them opened the door for Mason and he pushed her inside. It was a huge laundry room with several industrial sized washers and dryers. Several women were busy sorting and folding laundry, though they immediately stopped when Mason walked in.

They were dressed like the women in the kitchen and Noelle found herself a bit envious that they all had clothes while she was being paraded around naked. But it was overly warm in the room, and she could tell after being inside for hours on end, it would become miserable.

"These women do all of the pack's laundry. It's dropped off every morning and they wash, dry, iron, and so on. All day long."

He turned and walked back outside. This had to be the strangest tour she had ever been on. She didn't really understand the purpose of it, but it was almost as though Mason had decided to make her his Luna and he was just showing her around the pack that he was proud of. Except that she was naked, and her body tied up in such a way that she was on display.

He took her across the yard to another large building, though he didn't enter it. "This is where the nursery is located. There are women here that take care of the pups and rear them. Once one of the women get pregnant, they're moved into the pack house to live until they give birth. They're allowed two months with their offspring until they have to go back to work and their pups come here."

"You separate the mothers from their pups?" Noelle asked him, staring up at the building.

"They have to work, and produce more pups. That's their job. They're lucky they get two months," Mason growled.

Two months to form a bond with a pup, only to have that pup ripped cruelly away. How absolutely sadistic could Mason be? The longer this went on, the more she hated him.