Grace of a Wolf by Lenaleia

Chapter 3: Grace: Protector

Chapter 3: Grace: Protector

The wind steals every bit of the warmth the strange wolf had gathered, and I crouch behind a tree to block the worst of it.

A slinking shadow skulks forward, slowly coalescing out of the abstract darkness of the forest.

Andrew.

His lithe wolf body slinks forward, lips curled back in a snarl.

My mysterious protector tenses, fur bristling along its spine. Another low, menacing growl rumbles through its chest.

Andrew's head snaps back, releasing a bone-chilling howl that echoes through the forest. Answering calls rise from all directions. I know those sounds. The pack is coming.

Whoever my furry furnace is, he isn't known to the pack. Which means he's an intruder—which means...

The massive wolf at my side snarls, snapping its jaws at the air between itself and Andrew. A clear warning for him to keep his distance.

"Shit." My soft whisper is enough for my protector's ears to swivel in my direction, and I press myself against the tree trunk, hoping I don't get in its way. No, not it. Him, I think.

His identity might be a mystery, but he still kept me warm and safe, at least for the last few hours. I don't want him hurt.

whisper, "You need to go.

sound reverberates through my chest, a primal force that steals the breath from my lungs. Even Andrew, cocky and

last echoes fade, an eerie silence descends upon the

breaking, answering howls erupt from every direction. The predatory sounds have goosebumps erupting, as if

circling us with renewed aggression. His lips curl back, exposing gleaming fangs as he snarls. My protector responds in kind, hackles raised and muscles

isn't my fight, but I'm somehow caught in

me. Some signal I don't recognize has them both darting

across the forest floor. Andrew occasionally escapes the strange wolf's jaws, darting away a few steps with his tail tucked,

on the defense, even to someone like me, who's rarely

moment the tide turns. My protector's jaws close around Andrew's hind leg, and

still Rafe's best friend. Still someone I've grown up with for the

away. His yelps of pain fade into the distance as he flees, leaving behind tufts of

me, but only for a second. Reality slaps into me as my protector stands tall and arrogant,

of the pack is coming. I can hear them drawing closer,

with what almost looks like satisfaction. But there's no time for that now. He needs to leave, to get as far away from here as possible before

in a resounding smack that startles us both. "Go!" I

there's no time for regrets. "They're coming. All of them. You need to

intense, but this time I almost feel like prostrating myself to the ground and lifting my neck. Like

a presence to him