Matenapped

Chapter Twenty-Six.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jem

After about an hour, an officer came to take me to the nurse.

She was a tall, skinny woman with a tight bun and glasses. She poked and prodded me.

"You're fine," she finally said. "Fractured nose, a few cuts and bruises. I'll set your nose for you, it should heal in a few days."

"Thanks," I said, relieved. "I thought it was broken."

"No, but the girl you fought's was," she said, giving me a rude look. "So was her arm."

"I broke her arm?" I repeated dumbly. Damn, who knew I was so strong?

"No," the nurse said rudely, aligning my nose and bandaging it. "The girl who threw her across the room broke her arm. You broke her nose, judging by your bruised knuckles."

"Oh," I said. Duh.

"You're all set," she said.

"Can I get anything for the pain?" I asked, tenderly touching my nose.

"Sorry, we don't give out medication unless it's absolutely necessary," she snapped.

Jeez, what crawled up her ass and died? I grumbled to myself.

Jem?

I started, surprised. The nurse gave me a weird look.

Michel? I said.

You called? he said, sounding confused.

No I didn't-- I glanced down at my hands and suddenly realized the nurse had taken off my handcuffs while checking me up.

Oh, I thought, chuckling. Sorry. It was an accident.

Okay, he said slowly. Everything okay?

Yup, I said. And I'm about to get my cuffs put on again so the connection is going to--

"Back to solitary," the cop said, slapping the handcuffs onto my waiting wrists.

I sighed. "Don't you ever get tired of hauling me around?"

"More than you know," he muttered, shaking his head.

***

I had no conception of time in solitary.

There were no windows in the room. The only time any light came in at all was when someone opened the food slot and slid a tray in.

Minutes felt like hours. For all I knew, days could have passed.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, someone opened the door again.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," I sighed, greeting the same officer than had been carting me around for the last few days.

He was stone-faced as usual. "Time for lunch."

My face lit up. "Outside? As in, I'm done with solitary?"

"Let's go," he muttered gruffly.

"Hell yes!" I cheered quietly as he grabbed me and shoved me to my feet. We made our way out of the dark hall into a more familiar one.

We were turning the corner towards the cafeteria when I suddenly heard shouting.

The shouting got louder, mingling with the sound of thudding footsteps. Lots of footsteps. It sounded like a stampede was coming at me.

The officer loosened his grip on me. "What in the hell?" he muttered.

His radio suddenly burst into loud static. "All units stay on lookout, three inmates loose, headed into C Sector, Hallway 1!!"

His eyes widened. "Fuck, we need to get out of here."

We hadn't even turned around before a huge orange blur came barreling towards us. The officer was knocked to the ground and kicked aside like a doll.

I looked up to see three huge women towering above me. They were literally growling, like dogs. (They weren't wolves, thought. I could tell just by looking at them.)

They were just really, really big...angry...terrifying...humans.

I gulped.

The air was suddenly knocked out of me. I doubled over, clutching my stomach and gasping for breath.

Pain needled throughout as my hair was yanked backwards sharply. I looked into three murderous looking faces.

And then everything went black.

***

Michel

My lawyer, Anthony, had been gone less than an hour when he called me.

I picked up on the first ring.

"Yes?"

He cleared his throat. "Alpha, there's been an...accident."

My heart leapt into my throat. "What type of accident?"

He sounded anxious. "A few inmates got loose and attacked Jem. I don't know the extent of her injuries, but they were too serious to treat here. She's being taken to the nearest hospital right now."

I didn't hear anything after. The phone fell from my hands and I grabbed the keys to my Bentley. I knew I couldn't very well Shift and walk naked into the hospital.

"Cynthia, you're coming with me," I growled.

Richard appeared as if by magic, his eyes narrowed. "Where are you taking her?"

I glared at him. "Jem is in the hospital. I'm taking Cynthia because I thought she'd want to see a familiar face. Any other questions?"

Cynthia kissed Richard quickly on the cheek and brushed past me, gently prying the keys from my hand.

"All due respect, Alpha, but maybe it's better if I drive. Your condition isn't the safest right now," she said.

I clenched my jaw. "Can we just fucking leave already?"

We sped out of the driveway so quickly there were tire marks left on the asphalt. We made it to the hospital, not fast enough in my opinion.

I jumped out of the car, not waiting for Cynthia and bolting into the main lobby.

"Where is Jem Wilson?" I demanded.

The receptionist looked terrified. I was radiating anger, using my Alpha voice unintentionally.

"I-I don't believe we have a J-Jem here," she said shakily.

I was gripping the counter so hard I felt the wood begin cracking under my pressure. "What the fuck do you mean you don't have a Jem?!"

Cynthia suddenly appeared by my side, finally having caught up. She tapped my hand, making me look down and realize I was about to break the desk.

"What he means is, is there a James that was just brought in from Riverdale County Prison?" she asked sweetly.

The receptionist nodded vigorously. "D-down the hall. Room 112."

I was down the hall so fast the human eye wouldn't have been able to detect it.

There was a large guard standing in front of a closed door.

"Let me in," I growled.

He was big, but I was bigger. His tough guy demeanor shrunk a little as he took in my build, my height.

"S-sorry, no one in or out," he said, still trying to sound harsh.

"I don't have the fucking time for this," I growled. I grabbed him by his shirt collar and threw him aside. He crashed into a trolley full of bedpans and scrubs.

I threw open the door.

Inside was Jem, asleep on the bed.

Beside her was Derek.