Right now, though, they had Kiara to think about, which meant continuing to work Maeve’s abilities.
“Hey,” she said, pulling away from him and rising to her feet. “Don’t mean to be rude, but we’ve got some things to do, besides figuring out how to rescue Kiara. I’m going to shower first, then check in with Alfonso and generally get a feel for what’s going on out there. I’d like you to come with. I have a bunch of shifters who want to meet you as well, and this might be the right time. Afterward, we can continue the training then maybe head over to Kiara’s cell. How does this sound?”
He smiled. Very industrious. “Like the right order of things.” He rubbed his stomach. “Any chance of another steak?”
Her lips broke into a smile. “Hell, yeah. I’m starved, too. Battling bad guys and having hot sex with a wolf will do that to a woman.”
~ ~ ~
A half hour later, Maeve sat across from Braden and watched him cut into a two-inch slice of blood-rare steak. She knew wolves liked their meat just barely seared on each side. Braden was no different.
She worked on a salad this time with grilled chicken on top, some pineapple, a slew of tomatoes and raspberry dressing. Though full of tables, benches and a few chairs, the dining room was empty except for them. They were between the hours the regular meals were served, though Maeve could smell an Italian feast coming for later.
The French doors to the hall opened and seven of her most powerful shifters strolled in. They were generally a muscled bunch anyway. But en masse, her heart quavered. Wolves tended to wear their hair long, which appealed to Maeve. It gave them a wild look.
This pack was currently part of the construction crew working on the new apartment complex. At different times, they’d helped with her Graveyard rescue efforts as well.
Normally, they greeted her. This time, each had his gaze fixed on Braden.
Maeve stood up, though she wasn’t even sure why. But the moment felt important in a wolf way.
She wasn’t surprised when Braden did the same. Rounding the table, she moved to stand next to him.
He didn’t exactly tower over the men. Most of them, including Braden, were six-five or almost there.
The other thing she noticed was that the wolves were tense. Braden as well.
The lead wolf, Greg, had been with her the longest and led the construction crew. He had long blond hair and dark eyes. He jerked his thumb toward the rest of the men. “We’d heard you’d been pulled from the Graveyard, like the rest of us. Just wanted to meet you. I’m Greg Jones.”
Braden nodded slowly. “I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Maeve and will do everything I can to repay that debt. Nothing else is more important to me right now.”
This seemed to her like an odd speech to make. But by the end of it, she could feel the tension ease from the room. Again, she didn’t understand the why of it.
Maeve glanced from Braden to the wolves, then back. She finally realized they were paying homage to him as an alpha. As she settled into the moment and focused on the men, each of their ranks in the pack became oddly clear to her. Greg, for instance was a beta wolf. She’d heard about basic wolf culture and a well-defined pecking order. But now she was seeing it in real-life.
Braden made eye-contact with each wolf. “What packs are you with and how did you end up in the Graveyard?”
For any normal initial meeting, these questions would have been considered rude. But it made sense in terms of wolf-pack mentality. Nothing was hidden in pack life. In that way, Savage was the opposite of Elegance. Everything could be hidden or disguised or spelled in her territory.
Each wolf told his story in a few matter-of-fact sentences. Maeve, of course, already knew what had happened to each of them. Part of the recovery process for her rescues as well as for herself was to interview each victim before he or she left the emergency room. She had an entire facility to protect and just because someone was left to rot in no-man’s-land didn’t mean the rescue was a good, worthy person.
Only twice in all these months had she been in danger from a bad-guy rescue. But it had taught her to be careful when dealing with those left to die in the Graveyard. She’d had Alfonso toss both of those vile men straight onto the streets before they could do harm to her facility. Some people, human or alter, would never have good intentions toward their fellow kind. One of those two had almost strangled her to death.
So, she knew her people well and relied on her trusted staff to alert her to any potential problems with those residing under her roof.
The stories ran the usual course among the shifters. The majority had been caught by cartel members, beat, shot or sliced-up then thrown into the Graveyard. Two of the men had been attacked by rogue packs that formed and unformed every so often in Savage. With new wolves arriving every day, transitioning to a pack wasn’t a simple thing.
“Why haven’t you gone back to Savage?” Braden’s question was simple enough as he addressed the group.
When all the wolves shifted their gaze toward Maeve, Braden turned toward her as well. “They’ve pledged themselves to you.”
“Sort of. More like, to the Landing. They’ve all helped out and not just with construction. When Alfonso isn’t available, I often take one or two of them to the Graveyard with me.”
Braden switched to telepathy. It’s more than that. But I’ll discuss it with you later.
Maeve knew enough not to press him, though she wanted to. She was curious as to what he meant.
He reverted his attention to the wolves. He even smiled. “I hope I’ve passed muster.”