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."

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,

Lyre seems perfectly content to exist in her own bubble of certainty

finishes her burger long before I’m even halfway through mine. While I continue to eat,

she explains without looking up. Her brightly colored nails click against the screen as she huffs. "Damn it. If I’d known we were going to camp properly tonight, I wouldn’t have bothered dumping the

a reflexive response. Somehow, I feel responsible for this inconvenience, even though camping tonight is

head snaps up. "Why are you

dangles in midair as I blink at her. "I don’t know. It just... felt

and clicks her tongue. "Stop apologizing when there’s nothing to

I’d ever considered myself strong, but being

comes another sigh, deeper than the last, as if the weight of the entire world rests squarely on her shoulders.

say automatically, used

to be strong. Just

"You want me

doing this on purpose. Be strong of mind, Grace. Don’t lower

she’s spouting now belong on some sort of

table with a clatter. She scratches at her head with both

know," she says,

with her unsettling slitted eyes. "If

my burger forgotten in my hands. "Did you major in saying things without any context whatsoever?

hazard." She grimaces. "Just hurry up

slides into the chair beside me, a scowl etched into his face.

bite of my burger, chewing slowly as I study the strange woman across from me. Her hair looks like a rainbow exploded on her head, especially now

ask, trying to

flick over to Andrew for a split second before returning to me. "Yes. There’s a little place about twenty minutes from here. Nothing fancy,

Andrew observes, straightening in his

We ignore him.