JARED'S POV
It had been two days since my operation, and to say that things were going well was an understatement. I was frustrated with myself that I hadn't done it sooner.
Although my legs were gone, I felt freer than I had ever been. Anna had been right by my side when I had awoken, and despite feeling a little woozy and nauseous, I was fine. I found myself getting up within a few hours, not enjoying lazing around in bed. It made me feel trapped.
Pumped full of pain medication, I strapped my legs on and took my first few steps, having to clutch onto Anna and Doctor Oliver so I didn't fall. It was a hell of an adjustment, and I did have to stop and sit down to lower my blood pressure multiple times. I had expected it to be a breeze, and although for the most part it was, I was still getting the hang of walking.
Anna was beyond supportive, wanting to do everything for me even though I had told her that I wanted to be independent. She still babied me though, and deep down, I actually enjoyed it. She had been spending a lot of her time preparing herself for her new job, and her and Gia had even gone online to order some new work worthy clothing as they called them.
I couldn't wait to see her in them, although I didn't have the heart to tell her that the dress code was the same as her old school- smart casual.
"You're looking good, man," Dean said with a smile as he made his way into the living area, Anna having let him in. Everyone wanted to come and see me since I wasn't allowed to walk too long on my legs right now so as not to induce any swelling. I could hack about five minutes or so before I began to ache.
"I'm feeling good," I chuckled, shaking his hand. "I'll be up and about in no time. Doctor Oliver wants me to take it slow for the moment though."
"I gather we'll see you at our training sessions then?" Dean teased, wiggling his eyebrows and laughing. "It'll be good to have you there with the warriors. Oh, and Anna, I heard you got a new job."
Anna blushed, looking uncomfortable whenever somebody brought up the achievement. She was excited for it, but I didn't like the way she downplayed it for everyone else. It was a big deal and it should be celebrated.
"Yes, I still need to give them my starting date, but I'm looking forward to it." Anna beamed. "Um, I need to finish up making dinner, so I'll just be in the kitchen."
I watched as Anna disappeared, and Dean settled down on the couch next to me, glancing back at the hallway, lowering his tone. Anna's human hearing wasn't going to pick it up. "Dylan asked me to ask you about Amelia and Anna's Father while I was here. They're still in our holding cells away from the pack, but we need a decision soon, Jared. We can't keep them there forever."
I sighed, running my hand down my face. "Anna hasn't mentioned anything about it, and I don't want to be the one to bring it up. She's just getting ready for this new job and I know she's concerned about me. I don't want to stress her out anymore."
Dean hummed. "I get it, but apparently Amelia is getting antsy. She's determined to break out of there and she's already assaulted two guards. They're using drugs to keep her weak, but the whole premise of it seems borderline barbarous. I understand that she and Anna's Father did us wrong, but the guards want both of them gone. They're complaining about what they're having to put up with."
I nodded. It wasn't fair on the guards to be given the task of drugging Amelia and ensuring she didn't escape when they had been given no end date for the job. As far as they were concerned, this was going to be their task for the rest of their career. It sounded exhausting, especially since I knew what a handful Amelia could be. She didn't give up. Clearly.
"I'll sort it," I breathed. "I'll speak to Anna at dinner."
Dean frowned, shaking his head. "It sucks. I know it does, but we need to know whether you want us to discard of them or hand them over to another pack that is willing to take them as prisoners. Dylan doesn't want to do that though since we have no control over what that pack does to them. They could release them."
Some packs welcomed prisoners with open arms, feeding off the power it gave them to keep them locked in cells. We weren't like that though. We didn't enjoy having anyone on our premises that we didn't trust. The idea of torturing and keeping people longer than necessary wasn't our style.
We weren't against killing people, but we did it quickly and didn't drag it out like some packs did. Werewolves were seen as monsters sometimes, and we didn't want to encourage that narrative.
"Yeah, that's not really an option unless we hand them over to a pack we know for sure will keep them under lock and key," I muttered, zipping my mouth shut when I heard Anna's footsteps, her head poking around the doorframe.
"Dinner is ready. Dean, are you staying for some?"
"Oh, I'm good Anna, thanks though," Dean said, smiling and hopping to his feet. "I'm glad you're getting on well, Jared. I'll see you guys later."
He disappeared out of the front door, and I pushed myself to my feet, moving my new legs slowly as I made my way into the kitchen. Anna watched my every move, ensuring I didn't fall, but I had got so much better at walking short distances with them now. It felt and looked almost normal, ignoring the fact that sometimes I almost lost my balance, but Doctor Oliver had told me that that would disappear with time. I was just getting my bearings.
"That was nice of Dean to come over and check on you," Anna said as she began eating, and I hummed in response, feeling slightly nervous. She gazed at me, furrowing her brows. "Jared, are you okay?"
I cleared my throat. "Dean told me that they are having issues with Amelia. The guards want her and your Father gone. It's too much work for them and we don't enjoy handling things with too much violence here."
Anna stopped chewing, moving her food around on her plate as she took a deep breath. "I've been meaning to speak to you about it, but I didn't want to while you were still healing. I think I want to know where they are and what you're planning on doing with them."
Anna was taking this better than I thought. I was surprised that she actually wanted to know the location of them. I hadn't believed she was ready.
"Right, so they're being kept in our off campus cells. They're about a forty five minute drive from here. We are keeping Amelia weak by drugging her so she can't shift and hurt anyone, but apparently she's already assaulted two guards and is causing quite a stir. We need a make a decision on what we are going to do with the both of them."
"So you haven't made up your mind yet then?" Anna asked.
I shook my head, taking a swig of my drink to try and make the conversation a little more casual. "No, I wanted to get your opinion on it. At the end of the day, you Father is involved and I wouldn't want to make a decision for you."
"He's not my Father," Anna mumbled. "I refuse to even call him that now. I don't want him as my blood anymore. What are the options we have?"
I nodded, leaning under the table to place my hand on her knee comfortingly. "That's fine, so some packs take prisoners off other packs because they enjoy...um..."
"Hurting them?" Anna finished for me, gulping.
I nodded.
She shook her head. "I don't think I want that. Even though they hurt me, I don't want them to spend the rest of their lives being tortured. Death would seem kinder than that, and that's saying something."
I smiled sadly. "So what do you want us to do with them? Do you want to hear the other option?"
Anna ran her hand through her dark hair, clicking her tongue. She already knew what the other option was. "How long do I have to decide? I don't want to be the reason they are killed. I would feel like an assistance to murder."
I hummed. I didn't want to put that on Anna. If she wanted them dead, she wasn't going to tell me.
"If I can assure you that they won't be tortured, can I make the decision for you?" I questioned.
She sighed. "Yes, please."
"Okay." I nodded, continuing to eat my food, watching as Anna did the same, seeming to have lost her appetite though. I pulled my phone from my pocket, clicking on Dylan's name and typing out my message, reading through it a few times before pressing send.
Dylan, it's Jared. The decision has been made. Kill them.
•••
What do you think of the decision?
Read the completed book early on my patreon!
patreon.com/Loveme105
The link can also be found in my bio!
Please vote if you enjoyed!