Grace of a Wolf by Lenaleia

Chapter 42: Grace: Lyre’s Strange Behavior

When Lyre slides into the chair across from me, I lose track of the strange cat. It disappears as if it was never there at all.

"White?" Lyre asks between bites, completely unconcerned as I tell her about a bizarre cat only I can see.

"Yeah."

"Don’t worry, it’s harmless."

Andrew’s out there now; I watch through the window as he sniffs the air, turning to shrug his shoulders at me through the glass. He must not smell anything.

Having a stalker is annoying, but hey, if he wants to brave the strange and mysterious for me, I’m not going to complain. If I have to suffer through his constant unwanted presence, I may as well get something out of it.

I nibble at a French fry, enjoying its salty potato goodness as I watch her eat. "What do you mean by ’harmless’?"

Lyre shrugs, her slitted eyes narrowing slightly as she takes another monstrous bite of her burger. Ketchup dots the corner of her mouth. "Exactly what the word means."

She’s already halfway through her meal, and she’s only been sitting here for a minute. My stomach growls in response, my appetite suddenly returning now that Lyre’s here.

The burger’s greasy and generic, but for some reason its flavor rivals the food the pack offers. Freedom is the best seasoning.

"Our plans are going to be messed up, though," she muses between chews, staring out the window. Andrew paces a few more times, nostrils flaring, before he heads back to the entrance, presumably to come back here.

"What do you mean?" Mustard gloops out the side of my burger, and I wipe at it with a napkin. It isn’t that I dislike mustard, but too much of it is just... well, too much.

"It means what I said." Her tone borders on patronizing, as if I’m asking a stupid question.

I blink, waiting for elaboration that doesn’t come.

"Well, that’s why it’s always best to expect the unexpected." Lyre’s voice comes out languid, lazy almost. She stretches in her chair, leaning back as she finishes the last quarter of her food. "We won’t go far tonight. I’d rather have a comfortable place to stay."

with another bite of burger. Who am I to argue or complain? Lyre’s a free spirit, willingly bringing me along at her own expense. If she’s being a little weird, well, she was weird from the moment we met, so it isn’t really that strange when I

uncomfortable, exactly. Just... weird. At least on my end. Lyre seems perfectly content to exist

before I’m even halfway through mine. While I continue to eat, she plucks fries from the container between us, scrolling through her phone with greasy

huffs. "Damn it. If I’d known we were

I feel responsible for this inconvenience, even though

up. "Why are you

blink at her. "I don’t know. It

tongue. "Stop apologizing when there’s nothing to apologize for. It

cheeks burn; it isn’t like I’d ever considered myself strong, but being looked down on is never a

squints at me, her unusual eyes calculating. Then comes another sigh, deeper than the last, as if the weight of the entire world rests squarely on her shoulders. She shakes her head again. "You

I say automatically, used to

have to be

want me to lift

course not." Lyre points her finger at me. "Don’t think I don’t know you’re doing this on purpose. Be strong of mind, Grace. Don’t lower your head for just anyone. You’re a

blink. Her strange behavior aside, the lines she’s spouting now

the table with a clatter. She scratches at her head with both hands, completely mussing her rainbow-colored

she says, sounding utterly

up, glowering at me with her unsettling slitted eyes. "If you appear weak, then

her for a long moment, my burger forgotten in my hands. "Did you major in saying things without

hazard." She grimaces. "Just

me, a scowl etched into his

from me. Her hair looks like a rainbow exploded on her head, especially now that she’s messed it up, and looks

ask, trying to understand our

to Andrew for a split second before returning to me. "Yes. There’s a little place about twenty

very far," Andrew observes, straightening in

We ignore him.