Grace of a Wolf by Lenaleia

Chapter 4: Grace: A Sudden Change

"Grace."

Alpha's commanding voice has my head snapping up before my brain is even functioning. I must have fallen asleep.

A threadbare blanket falls to the floor as I sit up; someone covered me when I fell asleep on the couch. Several adult wolves had swarmed the clearing only minutes after my protector fled, and—thankfully—were not a part of the sexual haze of the Mate Hunt, but established and mated adults who quickly dragged me home, like a recalcitrant child.

What were you doing? they all asked me in exasperation, like I wanted to be there.

No one listened when I tried to explain what happened.

"Alpha," I greet my adoptive father, clearing my throat when my voice croaks. "I'm sorry. I must have fallen asleep."

He waves one massive hand, scrutinizing me with a frown. "Tell me what happened."

Alpha's piercing gaze bores into me, and I can't shake the feeling something's off. His usual stoic demeanor has morphed into something unsettling. I swallow hard, my throat dry as sandpaper.

"I woke up in the middle of the forest during the Mate Hunt. My clothes were gone. I don't know how I got there."

He's shockingly unaffected by the words coming out of his mouth, looking more impatient than anything. "What else?"

"It wasn't safe, so I ran. I was trying to get home, but got lost. A strange wolf found me and kept me warm when I got lost. Andrew found us a while later and they both fought, and the wolf ran away."

With each word, Alpha's frown deepens, etching harsh lines across his face. The air grows thick, oppressive, making it hard for me to breathe. Oxygen makes it into my lungs with shallow, open-mouth breaths as his aura presses down on me.

I'm dizzy. And confused.

used his aura on me before. He says humans are too weak to stand

like he's stealing the air from around me.

hiding anything from me,

me shudder. He doesn't sound like my adoptive father. He sounds... angry. "What

jaw clenching. "Are you hiding a

"I... what? I'm human. How could I possibly hide a shift?"

is the stern but caring father figure I've known all these years. In his place stands a

My voice quivers, barely

closer, looming over me.

"No! No, I

shoots out, his fingers digging into my jaw. A strangled gasp escapes my lips as he pulls me forward. His

"Shift. Now."

me, an invisible force threatening to crush my bones. My lungs struggle

wheeze.

"Shift!"

creeping at the edges. I want to obey, to do anything to make this stop, but

"Alpha, please—"

biting into my flesh.

tilts and spins. My legs give out, but Alpha's grip keeps me upright. Spots dance across my vision as he shakes me, each command more forceful than

airborne. My back slams against the floor, driving what little air remains from my lungs. I lay there, boneless, gasping like a fish out of water. The crushing weight of Alpha's presence lifts, allowing me to

me, his face a mask of disgust and contempt. The replacement father I've

voice filters through the ringing in

the fog, clear and devastating. "We wasted these years. She's truly just a