Brother Wolf

Ch 20 Females

Mac grumbled, while the ancient freight elevator took us up the twenty-odd floors of the old tenement building. I couldn't blame him. The high-pitch creaking of the old machinery didn't inspire confidence.

I knew Mac's concerns about the building were legitimate. I hated bringing in even more people too soon, but the courts required the apartment building to be brought up to code. Maximus needed to fulfill his obligations as the newly established owner. The building was almost one hundred years old and had been ignored for the last twenty.

I glanced over the dead body at Stan-the-man and Doc, who were in charge of the gurney carrying the deceased old leader. The FBI man had been in a whispered argument with Mac and Lone Wolf before we joined them in the parking garage attached to the building.

My gaze returned to the teen beside me. Now and then, Maximus would look down at the body, one hand fingering the edges of the cloth covering his old leader. I still felt guilty over my part in the man's death. I wasn't sure I could fulfill everything Maximus needed in a guardian. I seriously considered some sort of adoption ceremony to help fill in for his violently deceased family. My worries fell away for a moment as we turned a corner. I stared in surprised amazement at the space before me.

The center was open for a few stories down. There were skylights above us, allowing for natural daylight to fill the space before us. It was almost like a concert hall, with balconies set along the edges. The difference between this setup and a concert hall was the position of the stage. The bottom was open to hold a crowd, not a stage. The grand, ballroom steps that branched off both ways in front of us funneled all eyes toward this elevated stage, where the leader would address his pack. The size of the space could accommodate a pack of hundreds.

The bowers Maximus had mentioned were easy to identify. Those balcony areas held extensive gardens. I could see where there were ornate patio arrangements. I smiled, looking at the hodge-podge mix of flowering plants Lone Wolf had brought in. What my old Auntie could do with this space! I didn't notice the frown that overtook me as thoughts of my grandfather's sister intruded on my consciousness, but Maximus did.

"Lord?"

"Who?" I asked teasingly, refocusing on the here and now.

He gave me a slight smile back. "Brother. Is everything alright?"

"I'm just thinking of those gardens, and the food you can raise here. That's assuming they aren't all filled with dead bodies; we don't want to grow food where you bury the dead. We'll have to see if we can find you a good gardener, someone who specializes in contained areas. You can preserve fresh herbs and vegetables to eat later."

Maximus's concerned look when I mentioned bringing in someone else had me worried about overwhelming the teen. "You're going to be in charge of many people. You'll need managers," I said, using what Maximus said about the groups an alpha depends on, "to be in charge of different areas. You'll have to trust them to do the job you hire them for."

"Hire?" he asked. "My pack can do the work. That is..."

I interrupted him before he dwelt on his pack having the option to leave him. "They don't have the skills. You need people who know what they're doing. They don't have to be pack members." I smiled reassuringly at the teen.

"I'm looking forward to seeing your community," Stan interjected.

"The place or the people? Both are interesting," Mac declared.

"The original owner set things up as a commune," I informed the men. "He didn't pay anyone wages but provided food and shelter in exchange for services, such as growing food, making clothes, or being a guard. It might work out better these days," I suggested to Maximus, "to offer a wage. That would prove to your pack that they have the freedom we spoke of."