Page 67 of Wulf's Pack
“That’s amazing,” Skylar says.
I can’t help but be impressed as well. A doctor and a scientist. “Couple of smarty-pants,” I tease. “But then, that’s a hawk thing, isn’t it? Intelligent and ambitious? You sure you want to stay with our little ragtag bunch?”
Neither of them hesitates to nod. “It feels right,” Isabella says.
Ben grows serious. “Everyone in your pack is looking for a fresh start, and we all have troubled pasts. It’s comforting to not be alone in that respect. Here, we’re not going to stick out because of our bad experiences. We’re not going to be coddled or pitied. We’re all in the same boat. I’ll bet the others feel similarly.”
I didn’t think about it like that, but it makes sense. I’ve been worried that I’ve got a whole pack full of traumatized shifters that will need a lot of support. But I hadn’t considered the best support for them all could be each other. And who better to help them all heal than an omega?
It’s Skylar who speaks up. “This pack has the potential to be something really special.”
We finish our breakfast, but when we try to take over the cleanup, Sophia chases us out of the kitchen. “You’ve got too much to do, Alpha,” she insists. “Audrey and I can manage here. You go check in with Elise and Matthew. They’ve been busy, and they’re excited to catch you up.”
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Downstairs, we’re met with a flurry of activity. The smell of wood, paint, and sheetrock fill the air along with a bit of dust. A small crew of human construction workers are scattered about doing various remodeling tasks. I’m not crazy about having strangers in the warehouse, but Bree is there overseeing everything, and I’m assuming Matthew would only hire people he trusted implicitly.
Bree glances our way and gives us a small smile. “Good morning, sir, Luna.”
“Morning.” I tug Skylar over to the construction zone that used to be my storage space. There are a couple of offices and a larger room that is being converted into the conference room I requested. Several people are installing what will be a long wall of windows that will look into the room from the main gym. It appears there’s not a whole lot left to do. I’m surprised to see things so far along. “They’ve been busy.”
Bree lifts her brows and nods. “The Kellers don’t mess around. They’re an efficient bunch. Not sure if they’re trying to prove their value, or if they’re just that happy to be part of a pack again, but they’re very hardworking and enthusiastic.” She whistles toward the conference room and calls out, “Hey, Matt!”
Matthew pokes his head out of the hole in the wall where the windows have yet to be installed. When he sees Skylar and me, his face lights up. “Oh, hi, Alpha, Luna!”
He disappears from the window and reappears in the doorway a second later. He trots over to us wearing a hardhat, toolbelt, and carrying a roll of papers. “Welcome back. How’d it go in Denver?”
I’m glad to see his smile and cheery disposition. Everyone was so worried when we left. “I’d call it a success,” I say. “We’ll have a full pack meeting soon to catch everyone up.” I nod toward the conference room. “Looks like that’s going well.”
“Yeah. It was a pretty easy project, and some of the guys from my crew were in between jobs.” He glances nervously toward the construction area and wrings his hands. “I hope it’s okay that I hired them. I’ve been working with them for years, and Carl vetted them before I brought them over. I wanted to get your approval, but you guys were on a plane, and I wanted to get started as quickly as possible. Carl thought it would be okay as long as they checked out.”
I give him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay. I trust Carl with our security. If you and he both vouched for them, then I’m glad you got the jump on things. The sooner we can get everything in order, the better.”
Matthew smiles in relief. “Thank you, sir. And everything has gone well so far. We’ll be finished with the upstairs by the end of the week.”
“The upstairs?”
He nods. “Did you know you have a basement in this place?”
“Yeah. Never used it. I’ve only been down there a couple times.”
“It’s huge,” Matthew says. “Almost as much square footage as this floor.” He holds up the papers in his hand, and I can see now that it’s a set of blueprints. “I had some ideas for using thespace that I thought you might be interested in. The drawings are rough, but if you want to move forward, we’ll get some real prints drawn up. I’ve got an architect friend who could help me draft a plan. You have time to take a look?”
Surprised, I nod. I glance at Skylar. She smiles back at me, and I can see pride shining in her eyes. She already feels a sense of ownership for our pack the same way I do. I give her a wink and say to Matthew, “Sure. Show us what you have in mind.”
Matthew beams us a bright grin and leads us to the offices beside the conference room. One of them is open. I take a quick peek inside. It’s a decent-size office with a window facing the main gym just like the conference room. It’s empty, hasn’t been painted yet, and still has a bare concrete floor, but the electrical is finished and the door and window are already installed.
Matthew walks over to the other office door, which is closed. He gives a quick knock, then steps inside. This office is a little larger than the other one and is in the same state of readiness, but it’s not empty. Preston and Elise have both set themselves up at small folding card tables. Preston is typing away at a laptop, and Elise is talking on the phone while sitting in front of a laptop of her own. There’s a small stack of metal folding chairs leaning against the wall.
Both look up when we enter and greet us with relaxed, happy smiles. Elise quickly ends her call. “Good morning, Alpha, Luna,” she greets. “Welcome back. Bree said everything went okay in Denver?”
I let go of Skylar’s hand to slip my arm around her waist and tuck her to my side. “Better than expected, thanks to Skylar.”
“It was nothing,” Skylar answers, but the way she says it, it’s obvious she knows it wasn’t really nothing.
Elise smiles, but it’s a little more subdued. “Thank you, Luna. We’re all grateful for what you did, especially with helping the new pack members. I can’t imagine…”
