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Howls drifted after me as I darted into a bright oval.
They should have been relieving to hear. So, why did they terrify me?
And why did it feel good to escape them?
Chapter 3 - Xavier
Nothing like a good night’s sleep to get me in the mood for bodybuilding. Granted, the circumstances under which Raven asked for my help were more in the realm ofbuildingbuilding, but I could always draw on my area of expertise to guide me through the general labor of carpentry.
“You know, when Raven mentioned us constructing a building,” I started as I walked with Leo up the winding dirt path, “I figured she meant starting from scratch.”
Leo paused with his hand encompassed by mine. “That’s tall.”
My kid was right. But that was a matter of perspective for him. To me, the building looked much like any other downtown gymnasium or YMCA. One square block of brick, wide glass windows, double glass doors, and what appeared to be an emergency exit on the right side of the building. An empty sign hung from above the tattered awning.
“Well, it certainly could use some work,” I told my son. “What do you think, champ?”
“It’s big.”
I chortled. “At least the hard part is over.”
“What should we do?”
“That’s a good question, bud. I suppose we ought to see what the inside looks like.” I scrubbed the back of my head. “No guts, no glory.”
Leo made a disgusted face. “Ew, guts.”
The sight gave me a full-bellied laugh. Nobody could make me laugh like my own flesh and blood, my mother included. Now that she was safely recovering from her spell—as reported by Etta this morning via text—I felt better about answering the call from my alpha.
Which was essentially to build a gym for the pack.
Leo stepped toward the doors and inspected them. He turned to me with a curious expression and pointed at the awning. “Rust.”
I joined him under the awning and followed his lead. “Yep, that’s right, bud.”
“You’ll need to be careful replacing it.” He scrunched up his features again. “Tet-nas.”
“Tetanus,” I repeated for him. “Yes, you’re right, Leo. That can be a serious infection if someone gets hurt.”
Leo stood up on his toes to reach the handle of the door. He pointed to the metal. “This seems fine.”
He pulled it open, the hinges creaking violently and echoing through the main lobby. Inside was more like a vault than a building. The brick continued through the lobby, leading off on either side to separate hallways. Linoleum tile counted every step toward a crummy outline of what I assumed was a welcome desk.
I checked my phone, reading off the information Raven had sent earlier. Before the Mom updates. Before the crisis in my heart about potentially running into an Amazonian grump. “Raven said this place used to be a school until they integrated their classroom into the rec center. After that, it was a casualty hospital during a war.”
“Fascinating,” Leo commented as he observed the metal plaques marking the right hallway—what would lead to the east wing. “Do you think it’s haunted?”
“I doubt it, kiddo. I don’t feel anything in here.”
His eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
More full-bellied laughter. “You watch too many ghost-hunting shows.”
“I need to know things.”
“I know. That’s what I love about you.”
I tousled his hair and then looked down the dim hallway, noticing the panels crumbling out of the ceiling, the litter mess, the water damage to the tiles.
