“It’s a good start,” Rebekah observed.
“It is, and it’s what the Maguires started with, nothing anyone can say we stole from them. That’s important if we are going to live peacefully among this group of he-bears.”
“Okay. What do we do first?”
“Clear the debris,” Maeve told them.
“By ourselves?” Clara asked.
“Afraid you might break a nail?” an Omega named Tristan asked her.
“No, but it’s a lot of work, and I’ve got other things to do,” she barked back.
“Like what? Spend half your night chasing Michael Keeley around like a lovesick puppy?”
“I do not chase him around,” Clara spat back, causing a few snickers and scoffs from around the table. She glared at the others as they tried to hide their amusement.
“We all have to pitch in. It’s going to be arduous work. We’ll hire some locals to help with the heavy lifting, but the more we do ourselves, the more money we hang on to for rebuilding.”
They finished up the meeting ironing out the details and then taking a field trip to the site to look over the place. Maeve could see the uncertainty on their faces when they saw what was left of the large compound and peered into the remaining castle walls at the twisted metal below.
“Are their bodies down there?” Rebekah whispered to her.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Oh, God. Are we going to have to remove them?”
“No. I can’t ask that of any of you. I’m thinking of leaving them there and just having it filled in. It’ll be easier that way, for all of us.”
“You don’t think some of them will want to retrieve their husbands and bury them properly?”
“Where are they going to bury them? It’s not like they can take them to a proper mortuary and bury them after what the dragons did to them. Honestly, from the looks of that metal, there is nothing but ash down there anyway. It’s better to just let them remain a part of the land.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but shouldn’t they get a say in it?”
“No. I’m the Omega of our clan, and this is one decision I’m making for everyone. There will be too much emotional baggage to get everyone to agree on it. I’ve already contacted someone to come in and do it first thing in the morning before anyone can object.”
“It won’t win you any favor with the other Omegas.”
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” Maeve said with a shrug.
The two of them stood looking over the section of the castle wall that was crumbled almost to the ground. What lay inside didn’t seem like it was even possible. The castle had been partially destroyed centuries ago, and only the outer walls had remained for years. Rather than attempting to rebuild it or the Maguires had merely salvaged and reinforced the large dungeon beneath it.
Now, that was ruined too. The tiled outdoor flooring that had been placed inside the interior of the walls was incinerated. The metal beams that supported it were twisted and melted onto one another like a sinister bowl of noodles, all twisted about one another.
Nearby, the steps that led down to the large door opening into the dungeon were blocked by metal that had burned through the heavy wooden door and pooled over the top in a black pond.
There was no way to even access what lay beneath now. Trying to dig it out would only risk bringing down more of the castle walls anyway. As much as she hated to leave them down there like it was some sort of tomb, it really wasn’t a viable option.
“What a mess,” Rebekah said, turning to walk away without another word.
Maeve stayed for another moment, contemplating the huge task ahead of her, and sucked in her breath, slowly exhaling as she joined the others over by the burned-out compound. It would be a much easier task. It could be bulldozed and the debris cleared away to make a clean slate for the rebuild.
“All right, I’ll be in touch with everyone next week,” she told the Omegas standing there, mostly looking disheartened. “I’ve got appointments with contractors to knock down the compound exterior and bring in several skips for us to throw the debris into. We’ll need everyone available to come out and help.”
“How many?” Clara asked.
“Like I said, everyone we can get. The more we have out here working, the quicker we’ll get it cleared and can start preparing the site for the build.”
“And the castle?” Clara said.
“I have someone filling it in,” she said, waiting for backlash, but none came.
In fact, no one even asked further questions about it or commented on her decision. She was guessing that they too knew it was futile to attempt to recover the men lost there. They all said their goodbyes and headed home.
Back at her place, Maeve sat down at the kitchen table with a glass of wine, a notepad, and her phone. She had a lot of work to do. She likely should have delegated some of it, but she’d feel better just making sure it was all done herself. By the time she decided to put it aside, it had gotten dark out.