Grace of a Wolf by Lenaleia

Chapter 49: Grace: Did You Kill Andrew?

What the hell does smelling like coconuts have to do with anything? I blink at Caine, genuinely confused by the bizarre shift in conversation.

Caine’s jaw tightens as his nostrils flare again. He breathes in deeply, looking almost offended by my smell.

"It’s lotion, okay?" Something about the intensity of his stare makes me want to fill the silence, but I have nothing particularly nice to say. Instead, I mumble, "Not that it’s any of your business what I put on my body."

His eyes darken at my words, and I immediately regret my phrasing. It’s stupid to antagonize someone when you don’t want them to kill you, but it’s hard not to get a little uppity when they act so damn strange.

I shift in my seat, tapping my fingers against the table as I gather my courage. "Look, I don’t think you have any legal right to hold me as a prisoner."

It’s something I’ve been thinking about for some time, going around in circles in my head. Trying to sound confident, even as my heart threatens to burst through my ribcage, I add, "I was a minor when I was taken to the Blue Mountain Pack, and I haven’t done anything illegal."

"I need to investigate," Caine says simply. No other explanation. No details. Just those four words, like it’s all he needs to say and I should just go along with it.

"Investigate what?" My voice rises despite my effort to stay calm. "We know I’m human. Alpha Brax brought me here. I was a minor, so it isn’t like I had much choice. What else is there to look into?"

Caine stiffens, his shoulders squaring. "There are things I need to look into," he mumbles, still without a real explanation. "Your involvement..."

When he trails off, I assume he’s going to finish his thought. But he doesn’t. It’s like he’s trying to make up excuses or something.

"My involvement in what? Dating Rafe? It’s over now."

He shifts his weight, looking strangely uncertain. It’s almost hard to reconcile the Caine in front of me with the Lycan King I met in the forest. For one, he’s still kneeling in front of me, like he’s trying to serve me instead of keep me prisoner. For two, he’s just so... soft. Almost approachable, even.

"I still need to determine—"

"Dude." Lyre’s voice interrupts his words as she enunciates clearly, "Back. Off."

Caine’s head whips toward her, all pretense of gentleness evaporating. A low growl rumbles from his chest, like a reminder of how threatening he can be.

against his shoulder as she slides into the booth beside me. Her hip

looming over us with his outrageous

forward, her catlike eyes narrowed. "So let me get this straight. You’re detaining a

"This doesn’t

a dangerous purr. "Since you’re

patters. She’s defending me. It’s the sweetest moment I’ve

threatening anyone,"

then?" She tilts

with something dangerous. "She was found in

I pipe up, emboldened

connected to

to Lyre. She’s heard me mention him, though I haven’t exactly explained anything. "My ex-boyfriend. He ditched me as soon

smoothly, as if I didn’t interrupt with my clarification. "It sounds as if Grace was raised by wolves, but isn’t one

side, his ears pressed flat against his head. The sound is startlingly human in its distress, and he

at Fenris’s muzzle. "I’m not here to detain her," he says, as if he hadn’t just tried to argue about

taking on a formal cadence. "Grace is a legal adult in the eyes of human society. She has the right to go where

flick to mine, then back to

has me,"

His lip curls in a faint

dislikes the overbearing

between them crackles with tension. Fenris, on the other hand, seems irritated with Caine, nipping at his thigh when he keeps getting batted away from his hip. Finally, he flops onto his

the table to see his eyes blinking at me. Another few inches and he’s finally close enough to plop his head into my lap

no less intense. "I’m here to help her get settled into human

a convenient way of saying you don’t actually have a valid

responsibility

this bizarre puzzle suddenly registers, and I

you kill