Grace of a Wolf by Lenaleia

Chapter 66: Caine: Strange (I)

CAINE

The Fiddleback Pack is unusual, settling most of their central pack territory in the middle of a human city.

There are rows of cookie-cutter homes, differentiated only by paint color. Manicured lawns, where even the trees look trained. White fences.

The back of my neck itches, and I resist the urge to scratch at it. "How do your wolves stand this?"

Marsh glances at me from behind the wheel, his expression placid. "Stand what, High Alpha?"

"This." I gesture at the subdivision sprawling around us. "Boxed in like sheep. No room to breathe."

A yard the size of a postage stamp comes into view, a plastic swing set crammed into one corner. The thought of a pup confined to such a space makes Fenris bristle.

"We’re used to it." Marsh shrugs, turning down another identical street. "Most of us were born here."

"That’s worse."

Fenris growls agreement in my head.

"Why live among humans like this? Most packs claim territory where their wolves can run free."

Marsh’s fingers tap against the steering wheel. "Numbers, mostly. Our pack isn’t large enough to maintain extensive territory. The subdivision houses all of us. Seventy-four wolves total."

Seventy-four. Barely enough for a functional pack hierarchy. My pack numbers over a thousand.

"And the humans don’t care?"

"We’ve adapted." Marsh’s voice carries a hint of pride. "Integration gives us options our ancestors never had. Jobs. Education. Resources. The humans think we’re just another community association with strict property rules."

The car slows as we pass a human woman pushing a stroller. She waves, and Marsh returns the gesture with practiced ease.

"And if one of you shifts accidentally?"

"Hasn’t happened in fifteen years. Our control is exceptional."

I observe his profile. Though young—perhaps twenty-five at most—he carries himself with the confidence of someone comfortable in his environment. No strain of keeping his wolf leashed. No yearning for wilderness.

"Is that why your pack uses these unusual titles? Deputy Marshal?"

Marsh’s eyebrows lift. "Oh, Deputy Marshal?" A smile touches the corner of his mouth. "It’s because we’ve taken on as law enforcement around here. We keep it clean."

Wolves policing humans while suppressing their

ten years ago. Most of

houses growing larger but no less uniform. There’s no presence outside. No children in the yards. No one walking in the streets. It’s too silent, too devoid of

preparing a

humans trust you

for everybody. Crime

imagine. Few criminals would survive crossing paths with even the weakest of their

to those

shifts in

pack link to my beta, I ask, What is the situation with

reach back immediately. Surprisingly luxurious for such a

And the pack?

little rough around the edges,

should have children running underfoot, testing boundaries, learning their place in

Something isn’t

my King. His mental

Enough.

connection as Marsh pulls into a curved driveway before the largest house yet. Stone facade, three-car garage. Several cars are parked

residence," Marsh announces. "And the pack gathering

"No communal den?"

he says simply, shutting off the engine. "The basement level connects to several neighboring homes through tunnels. For full moons and

indeed." I keep

clearly taking my observation as approval.

step from the car, the air carries no forest scents, no wild game, no earthy undertones that

couldn’t smell them, I’d assume only humans lived in

me. I

High Alpha." Marsh gestures toward a set

I glance back at the perfect rows of houses stretching into the distance. A human

skirting hard around the edges of pack law. Humans aren’t allowed in pack territory. But moving the

hardwood and the shiny chrome fixtures overhead, it

My teeth grind together.

is waiting in the great

My

pack members in graduation gowns, police uniforms, and wedding attire. Every image

living this way, they’ve been operating in that dangerous territory between pack

should visit more of these rural packs.

his face weathered but unremarkable. Alpha scent, but diluted.