Grace of a Wolf by Lenaleia

Chapter 46: Caine: Inane Argument

CAINE

The warlock is an annoying companion on a long drive, but his ability to track the girl’s presence is little short of miraculous.

"I’m telling you," Jack-Eye says, gesturing wildly in the cramped backseat at Thom, "a woolly mammoth would absolutely destroy an elephant in combat. Thicker fur, larger tusks—built for the ice age, man."

Thom shakes his head. His glasses slip down his nose, and he pushes them back with trembling fingers. "Elephants have superior intelligence and agility. African bull elephants can weigh up to seven tons and reach nearly thirteen feet. Your mammoth would be too slow."

"Too slow? Are we forgetting they hunted in packs?" Jack-Eye counters.

This conversation has lasted at least the last thirty miles. It started, oddly enough, with a conversation about chickens.

"We’re discussing a one-on-one arena battle," Thom says, voice steady despite his physical weakness. "Not a pack hunt."

Their absurdity grates on my nerves, and I clutch the steering wheel harder. "How much longer?" I ask, interrupting their inane debate without guilt.

"Three point seven miles, still in the same location," Thom answers, not missing a beat.

"Even without the pack there—"

"This entire discussion is idiotic," I say through gritted teeth. "Woolly mammoths are extinct."

Fenris’s voice is a low grumble. They’re just trying to pass the time. Not everyone broods in silence like you.

I don’t brood. I contemplate.

of contemplating how to approach the girl doesn’t

almost a whisper of premonition telling me I’m close. The distance between us has

about now?" I

as thirty seconds ago, Your Majesty. The girl

"And the interference?"

"Still present."

wheel. "Is she in danger?" I’ve asked this a hundred times,

malevolent, but it’s impossible

forward, grabbing onto my headrest. "What do you think,

growl. "Your hypothetical fight between extinct creatures and modern elephants is

car. I feel a slight pang of regret—not for silencing them, but for revealing how tightly wound I am. A king

Fenris chides. Admit

silence doesn’t last. Not with my beta in this car. Why did I bring him

to face Thom. "Your tracking. Is it by scent, like

Everything that exists

brow furrows. "Like mana? In those,

ether, chi, prana." Thom’s hands flutter as he explains, then fall back to his lap, trembling. "But it all boils

another puzzle piece I don’t yet

so clearly. We lose

"It

His eyes are sunken, rimmed with dark circles. Hours ago, when

week to recover from today’s work." His hands tremble more violently as he shoves his glasses up his nose again. "The spell consumes my own

bad for Thom, but I can’t pretend to feel anything for his suffering. The warlock is a

You should care more,