Grace of a Wolf by Lenaleia

Chapter 35: Grace: Blonde

My hair is blonde, and it’s weird.

For whatever reason, I hear Caine’s voice in my head. "Your hair is brown," he’d said. A mere observation, not even a compliment, but for a second I mourn my generic brown hair.

"The toner helped with the brassiness, but it still isn’t perfect." Lyre runs her fingers through my hair with a soft click of her tongue. "Virgin hair is so nice to work with. It’s so soft even after lightening."

Andrew scratches at his cheek, his eyes darting everywhere except my face. "It, uh, looks pretty good."

"Thanks," I mutter, uncomfortable with his awkwardness. His crush doesn’t seem completely gone if he can’t meet my eyes over a simple compliment.

My attention drifts back to the mirror on the camper’s bathroom wall.

A stranger stares back at me. The blonde frames my face differently, catching light where shadows used to be. I twist a strand between my fingers, still damp and smelling of chemicals. My reflection looks alien.

I can’t stop touching it, running my fingers through the strands, flipping it side to side. The weight feels different. Everything feels different.

Lyre said it would be lighter after it dries, but something about solar power and batteries means she can’t run her hair dryer.

"So?" She leans against the doorframe, eyes bright with anticipation. "Do you like it?"

"I honestly don’t know." My hand drops from my hair. "But I definitely would’ve botched it without your help."

She waves a hand about airily. "It isn’t really that hard to do. Just need the right products and a bit of patience."

We shuffle out of the cramped bathroom and into the dinette—a small table with bench seating crammed against her kitchen counter. I slide in first, pressing myself against the wall to make room for Andrew. The space between us and the counter can’t be more than ten inches.

"Sorry it’s tight." Lyre squeezes past to grab three glasses. "Always harder to move around when the slides are in."

gesture toward the back half of

of the RV that extend outward." Lyre sets down the glasses and pours water from a filtered pitcher. "They give you more living space inside. But when they’re extended, I hang over into neighboring parking spaces, so I don’t do it unless I have to. When I’m renting a space it’s fine, but parking lots are a different

each a glass of water. "Actually, Grace, we should probably get going. We’ve stayed

fiddle with the glass, not answering Andrew. He’s right about the time, but I’m oddly reluctant

of an hour, yet there’s something about her—something free and untethered, calling to the part of me that’s been controlled

with me, you know." Lyre’s voice breaks

my heart suddenly thumping faster in my

tomorrow. I’ve got a friend there with some land and full hook-ups, so I can stay a while if I want to." She traces a pattern on

it’s really far from here, putting a massive amount of distance between me

not," Andrew says, glancing at me. His voice

This is why I didn’t want

doesn’t seem particularly offended. "Just offering." She shrugs, the gesture

plans. And we don’t

"The offer stands though. Especially if those plans aren’t

my mouth, not even sure what I’m going to say, when Andrew’s hand presses

should

wasn’t here, I know I’d take her up on the

like I’m obligated to follow along with their ridiculous plan of bringing me back to the Blue Mountain Pack. In fact, I never planned on playing long with their plan

wet hair. Something

I tell Lyre, my voice louder than I meant for it to be. "To

second, I feel weightless, like I’ve jumped off a cliff and haven’t started falling yet. It’s even better than when I tried to escape the first time; it feels as if I can reach out and touch the light at the end of my dark and twisted tunnel of

sloshes over the rim of

her expression remains neutral as

serious," Andrew hisses at me,