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

know. She’s with

I

Yes.

the kids are still bleeding? Perhaps all of

check on her burns 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.

a glance for me to see they’re already healing. Within

more

living room," I order all three of them, spreading the towel at my feet to soak

them move, and I look up

between us, and all three

follow behind, leaving the towel on the floor. "Tell

three exchange glances. Ron

waiting out the storm. Then Bun..." He pauses, choosing his words carefully. "She started shifting. But

"Wrong how?"

whispers. "Not like animal-black.

"That’s not

interrupts, his small face pinched with fear. "We saw it. She went all weird and growly and then—" he gestures at Ron’s chest "—she did

more carefully. Deep puncture marks, claw rakes across the sternum. Defensive wounds on the arms. It looks like an adult attack, not something a toddler could inflict, shifted or

something trigger her?

"Just the storm. We were playing hide and

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

Ron snaps. "She just

shifter. Something else is at work here. She fought

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 sporting would require significant

happened

Ron hesitates. "No."

in his tone indicates there’s more he isn’t

"Explain."

different. But never

do you

back of his neck with a sigh. "Jer and Sara only have a few forms they can shift

in a silent bid for him to

Bun and

still

sudden whoosh. He grimaces. "More than no limit. I could shift into a dragon if you really wanted me to. Or a griffin. Anything I can imagine. I can even change

it, Fenris says as I stare blankly at this large child. She was not forming into any recognizable

serious or just trying to sound impressive. Dragons? The sheer ridiculousness of it almost distracts me

Caine.

and Ron flinches.