CHAPTER 9 – HIS HIDDEN SIDE

CHAPTER 9 – HIS HIDDEN SIDE
Sloane P.O.V.

My heart is thumping so fast that it’s going to jump out of my skin any moment. I am not sure if it is out of fear, or because of his handsome looks. I mean, he is a pig, but he is objectively good-looking and sexy, no one can deny that. And this close, so much so.
Somehow, I pep-talk myself into keeping my cool and not going all fainty-damsel on him. I grasp his hands gently in mine, and I remove them from my face, putting some distance between us.
“Axel, we already talked about this, I am not interested in being your Luna, so stop wasting your time on me.”
I try to keep my voice schooled and even, in the hope that he won’t take it too badly.
A frown appears on his forehead, meaning that he didn’t take it very well, and his following words confirm as much.
“I want you Sloane, and one way or another, I always get what I want.”
 Such an ass! And now I was starting to think that maybe he isn’t that bad.
“This time I think you will be disappointed,” I reply in a cold tone, not bothering to being polite to an arrogant dick.
He doesn’t comment further, just shrugs and gets out of the car, and I follow suit, before he can think of doing something patronizing such as opening my door for me.
I take a look at my surroundings; at a first glance this place appears to be a school in the middle of nowhere.
“Where are we?” 
“We are at the Glowing River Pack’s orphanage. I had it built a few years ago. We take in abandoned kids from any pack, we give them a place to stay, an education and the opportunity of a job.”
I’m left speechless for a second. He built an orphanage. Him? Axel the pig? 
I honestly never thought he had it in him. Maybe it is related to his mother abandoning him when he was so young, a way to avoid other kids suffering the same fate. It kind of makes sense, and it makes me see Axel in a new light. 
He’s showing me a side of him that I didn’t know existed, and it is a pleasant surprise, although it is not enough to change my overall opinion of him, for now.
We walk to the main gate, which is at least four meters high, made of steel bars, paired with the high wall that runs around the whole perimeter, it makes this place look like a fortress. I am starting to wonder why so much security is needed for an orphanage, it’s not usual for werewolves to try to kidnap kids, even for rogues. Is he afraid of the hunters? Or is this wall not meant to keep bad people out, so much as to keep its prisoners in?
“What with the high security?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light.
“You never know when an attack might occur, and I want to keep these kids safe at all costs,” he replies easily with a small smile.
I knew it, I am the paranoid one, I really need to stop watching all those thriller movies, they are messing with my head. 
The guards open the gate for us, and we slowly make our way onto the school grounds. The place is beautiful and huge. There’s a lot of green and trees, and fields to play soccer, basketball, tennis and baseball. There’s even a playground for the smaller ones, with slides, swings, a seesaw and a sand pit. Although, I can’t see any children playing around. Where’s everyone?
“If you are wondering where everyone is, they are waiting for us in the main hall,” Axel explains with a smile.
I nodded in acknowledgment, although inside I feel a little creeped out at his ability to read my thoughts; I need to be more careful at keeping my expressions in check. I can’t let him read me like an open book.
As soon as we enter the main building, I am met with perfectly straight rows of children, arranged by age. There’s at least one hundred of them, ranging from 2- to 16-year-olds. I’d never thought there were so many orphans among our packs. I mean, fights among packs or with rogues happen often and casualties are difficult to avoid, but I’ve never imagined so many kids were affected by it. It’s sad, and I think it is an issue that should be brought up to the next Alpha meeting. It’s not fair that the Glowing River Pack takes the burden of it all, we should all work together to give these children a better opportunity in life.
“Good afternoon, Alpha, good afternoon, Alpha Moore,” all the children chant together.
They are all so disciplined, not one child is talking out of line or fidgeting with his hands, it’s like they are perfect immobile dolls. It’s astonishing and terrifying both at the same time. 
Children in my pack are loud and naughty, but I like them that way, I mean, they are children, that’s the way they should be. With that, I am not saying that disciplined children are a bad thing, it just feels a little unnatural.
Axel nudges me to answer their welcome words, and I pull out my sweetest smile, to see if I can make them warm up to me a little.
“Hello, kids! I am Alpha Sloane, and I am really happy to be here with you today. I am the Alpha of the Moon Shine Pack, and you are all very welcome to come visit me anytime. I hope to get to know each one of you today, I am really looking forward to it.”
The children remain muted and expressionless, making me feel a little disheartened. I guess it will take more than a few empty words to gain their trust, which is understandable, I am confident I’ll be able to break through their cold façade. 
We spent the next hour walking through their classes, listening to snippets of the teachers’ lessons, and I must admit that I am just bored out of my mind. I have never been a good student, I preferred action to books, and I guess I haven’t changed. 
Axel must have picked up on my boredom, or maybe he was bored too, because next he takes me to the children’s playground, where the kindergarten aged kids are now playing.
Goddess, they are so cute!
It does not take long to make friends with them, and soon we run around together, playing games and laughing with each other.
The end of classes and the time for the children to retire for dinner comes just too soon, and it is time for us to take our leave.
I want to freshen up before we leave, all that running has made me hot and sweaty, so I make a stop to the female’s washroom on the first floor. I’m taking my sweet time when the door to the restroom suddenly opens and shuts in the blink of a heartbeat, and I nearly miss the young girl who’s entered like a small gust of wind. 
“Hi,” I say in welcome, smiling genuinely. 
She immediately shushes me with a finger pressed on her puckered lips, while her eyes dart back and forth, making sure that no one is watching us. When she’s sure that I’m not going to make any more noise, she hands me a folded piece of paper, gazing straight into my eyes, like she’s trying to convey how important this is for her, and then she flees out the door as fast as she’s entered.
A little perplexed, I opened the piece of paper, there are only two words written on it in capital letters:

HELP US.

Is this some kind of game? Although I can’t shake the feeling that something very wrong might be going on here. The little girl looked truly scared, and Axel owning an orphanage does sound kind of surreal.
What is he actually doing with all these kids?