Grace of a Wolf by Lenaleia

Chapter 124: Caine: No Limits

CAINE

The truck’s tires skid through mud as I slam to a halt beside the camper. I don’t bother turning it off—just fling the door open and launch myself into the rain.

Every heartbeat is louder than the last, drumming insistently through my veins as I wrench the camper door open. The entire thing rocks as I storm inside, halting only when I see three kids standing in front of me, eyes wide and smelling of fresh panic.

I scared them.

Idiot, Fenris mutters, like he wasn’t the one to send me the get back here as fast as you can message less than ten minutes ago.

Ron, shirtless and bleeding, stares blankly as he holds a towel to one of his wounds.

"What happened?" The question rips from my throat even though I already know. Fenris told me—Bun lost control. Granted, the worthless lump of fur and fang was short on detail and ignored me when I demanded more, saying he was a too busy to explain.

Ron immediately stiffens, shoving the bloody cloth behind his back. "Nothing."

His jaw sets, defiant despite standing half a foot shorter than me and looking like he went three rounds with a mountain lion. The kid has balls. He doesn’t want me upset with the baby.

He has no idea I already know.

"Bun’s asleep," he adds, dropping his to a whisper. "Be quiet."

And if you wake her, I’ll bite you myself, Fenris murmurs.

Oh, now he talks.

I was busy.

There’s a deep, visceral urge to snarl aloud at my own damn wolf, but I throttle it back. Ron already thinks I’m glaring at him, not privy to the conversation in my head.

I force my shoulders to relax and close the door softly behind me, shutting out the storm’s howl. Water drips from my clothes onto the floor, pooling around my boots.

Should probably turn off the truck, too.

A small gasp comes from the only girl of the trio. What’s her name again? She avoids me for the most part, but I’d been under the impression she was getting better about it. Apparently not.

"You’re getting everything wet," she whispers, something close to horror in her voice.

Before I can respond, she bolts toward the back bathroom and returns with a faded blue towel, which she hurls at my feet like she’s afraid to come within arm’s reach.

You’d think I was the monster in this scenario, and not the toddler who carved up two of her packmates.

Fenris growls. Take care of the pups while Grace sleeps.

to the towel. "Grace is asleep

says, "I don’t know. She’s

course, I wasn’t talking to

Yes.

when the kids are still bleeding? Perhaps all of this stress

through me, but I force myself to assess the situation. Three sets of wary eyes track my every move. Jer’s small face has a few scratches on it, though they’re already mostly healed. The girl... Sara. Right. She’s unharmed, though her eyes are glued to the puddle at

me to see they’re already healing. Within an hour, he shouldn’t be

more than stressed. They’re

three of them, spreading the towel at my feet

I look up with

out and cracks between us, and all three scramble to obey. Even the

leaving the towel on the floor. "Tell me exactly what

exchange glances. Ron speaks

He pauses, choosing his words carefully. "She started shifting. But not

"Wrong how?"

"Not

"That’s not

pinched with fear. "We saw it. She went all weird and growly and then—" he gestures at Ron’s chest

across the sternum. Defensive wounds on the arms.

trigger her? Something that

her head. "Just the storm. We

we weren’t," the younger boy corrects her. "We were playing hide and seek before, but then

snaps. "She

cub aggression, Fenris admits. Even for an unstable shifter. Something else is at work here. She

over the centuries. Young cubs getting their first claws, adolescents struggling through moon-cycles, even adults driven to frenzy in battle rage. But a toddler generating this kind of violence? The damage Ron’s

this happened

Ron hesitates. "No."

his tone indicates there’s more

"Explain."

different.

do you mean,

with a sigh. "Jer and Sara only have

a brow in a

and I are

so?" My voice is still

no limit. I could shift into a dragon if you really wanted me to. Or a

at this large child. She was not forming into any recognizable creature,

the kid, trying to gauge whether he’s serious or just trying to sound impressive. Dragons? The sheer ridiculousness of

Caine.

Ron flinches. "Not you,