Grace of a Wolf by Lenaleia

Chapter 137: Caine: Fraying

CAINE

The storm’s wandered off, calming the air. But not me.

My skin doesn’t fit. My muscles twitch with excess energy. I pace the narrow confines of Lyre’s camper like something caged, each circuit bringing me closer to Grace, then forcing myself away.

Fenris is still outside. The blessing of the Lycan King—to have my wolf as a distinct entity. Right now, it feels like a curse. Double the chaos, double the pressure building with nowhere to go.

You need to settle, Fenris growls through our bond. The pups can sense your distress. You’re leaking it out.

I ignore him. Grace had pushed me away earlier, hands firm against my chest, eyes wild with panic. Smart girl. I understand why—the logical part of my brain even agrees with her caution—but the primal core of me seethes with rejection.

Her scent fills the confined space. Blueberry muffins, warm and sweet. It used to calm me. Now it agitates, hooks into something dark and hungry, demanding satisfaction.

"Are you sure you’re okay?" Grace asks from behind me, her voice soft.

I close my eyes. "Fine."

But I’m not. And she knows it.

Grace leans over the dinette table, gazing out the window where the children are playing under Fenris’s watchful eye. The now-bright skies highlight her face, the cascade of her artificially golden hair. She is soft, human, and thankfully oblivious to the war raging inside me.

Something’s wrong

, Fenris says, agitation rushing his words. I feel out of control.

Me, too. Keep the kids outside, I snap. If they come in here... I don’t want to scare them again.

He huffs. Then, Don’t touch her.

"I know," I hiss. The words are anathema on my tongue, against every desire crashing through my body.

walk away. Can’t

Can’t stay.

together, I’m going to lose it too, Fenris warns. The

scent

Need, not peace.

palms, tensing my body against the

the sound light and musical. She turns to me, eyes bright with

I snap.

but it doesn’t matter, because her soft, perfect little body is finally flush against mine. Her breath hitches, her words lost as my mouth crashes

is brutal. Hungry. A mistake. But the second our

Blessed stillness.

bruise. But Grace just exhales against my mouth, her

find my hair. Her lips open under mine. She kisses me back, just as desperate, just as fucking gone under this damn temptation

her. Need all of her. To pin her, mark her, bury myself in her until the storm in

lips no longer as

A tremble under my palms. She tries to speak, to pull away, and

mouth moves over hers again, teeth grazing soft skin. My hands slip under her shirt, her bra, my fingers flicking over her nipple.

back with a gasp. "Caine! What the

Fenris howls, the sound sharp with alarm.

blink, my chest heaving. The world freezes around me. The pressure

jerk away, hands shaking. I’m an ass. I didn’t mean

at my reaction.

words trickle off. She did the same thing

had been uncontrollable, unstoppable. I’ve only felt that kind of all-consuming need once before in my life,

to dislodge the thought. For one disorienting moment, another face overlays Grace’s. Another beautiful blonde, with cold eyes and a

Grace asks, her anger softening to

and sudden, in my skull. I clutch my head, a growl escaping through clenched teeth.

scaring her, Fenris

kids," I