Grace of a Wolf-Chapter 27: Grace: An Absurd Plan

"—the car would leave tonight, before midnight. Just a few miles east of the river crossing. Forest Springs is Ellie’s father’s territory, so you’d be safe there until—"

My fingers curl into the soft fabric of my recovered pillow, digging in until my knuckles turn white. Forest Springs Pack. The neighboring territory ruled by Ellie’s father.

I keep my face blank while Andrew continues explaining their supposed escape plan, but inside, my stomach twists into knots dense enough to sink through the floor. In the end, Ellie and Rafe want me to go to her father’s pack.

Silly me, to ever think Ellie and I could be on the same page for even a moment.

"Alpha Thornton will personally guarantee your protection," Andrew says, leaning forward with an earnestness that might be convincing if I didn’t know better. "It’s the perfect solution."

The room suddenly feels smaller, the walls closing in as Andrew’s voice drones on about routes and timing and security measures. Each word lands like another shovelful of dirt on my grave.

"—Rafe wanted to come himself, but he’s tied up with the transition meetings. The Lycans are demanding a lot from him as the new Alpha."

Of course they are. Convenient excuse.

I trace a loose thread on my bedsheet, keeping my gaze down so Andrew won’t see what’s in my eyes. This plan isn’t about keeping me safe. It’s about getting rid of me permanently. Ellie’s intent is to make sure I’m forever miserable.

If it was about my safety, they’d send me to Sterling City.

"—and once the Lycans leave, probably in a few weeks, Rafe will send for you and—"

A bitter laugh threatens to burst from my throat, but I swallow it down. The fantasy that Rafe would "send for me" after the Lycans leave might be the most ridiculous part of this whole charade. Ellie would sooner tear out her own heart than allow me back into Rafe’s orbit, even at the edges.

"Grace?" Andrew pauses, finally noticing my silence. "Are you listening?"

"It’s a lot to take in," Andrew says, mistaking my silence for consideration. "But we don’t have much time."

"Ellie’s put together a bag for you—clothes, some toiletries. Basic stuff to get you through the first few days until you’re settled."

Clothes picked by Ellie. I imagine scratchy fabrics, wrong sizes, colors meant to wash me out and make me look sickly. Little cruelties hidden in gestures of false kindness.

I stare at Andrew, something inside me finally snapping. The pretense of polite consideration evaporates, like water beneath the noon sun. "Do you actually believe any of this bullshit you’re spewing?"

My words are a brutal knife slicing through his plans. Andrew blinks, taken aback by my sudden shift from passive listener to open skeptic.

"What? Grace, this isn’t—"

"This isn’t what? A convenient way to get rid of me? To hand me over to people who would hate me even more than the ones here do?"

Andrew’s expression hardens. "Look, I wouldn’t be part of this if I thought you’d be in danger. I’m coming with you."

"Excuse me?"

"I’m going with you to Forest Springs. To make sure you’re treated well." He leans forward, earnestness radiating from him. "Rafe wants me to make sure you’re okay. He specifically asked me to accompany you. If she wanted to hurt you, why would she send me along?"

I tilt my head back, staring at the ceiling with a humorless laugh. I lift my injured wrist, the one Caine had so carefully bandaged.

"Did you know? Ellie’s the one who hurt this wrist this morning."

Andrew’s eyes widen slightly; I can see his expression out of the corner of my eye.

"She grabbed me in the hall and wouldn’t let go. Squeezed until I thought the bones would snap." My voice drops to an icy whisper as I finally meet his gaze. "She did this in front of the Lycan Beta. She didn’t care who saw."

I lean forward, forcing Andrew to maintain eye contact. "So tell me again why someone like Ellie—someone who was willing to physically harm me in front of witnesses—would suddenly be so concerned with helping me? The human ex-girlfriend of her mate?"

The question hangs in the air between us. Andrew shifts uncomfortably, his gaze dropping to my bandaged wrist. The certainty in his expression wavers.

"Maybe she..." he starts, then falters. His throat works as he swallows. "It’s still better than being prisoner to the Lycan King, isn’t it? You’ve seen it. He’s crazed for violence. He’ll kill you the moment he’s done with you."

My stomach twists. Yes, I know. It isn’t like I trust him, either. But it doesn’t mean I’m going to jump into a fire.

Andrew’s eyes suddenly narrow, and he takes an aggressive step forward. The shift in his attitude sends a shiver through my body. "It can’t be... Do you actually believe what he said? About you being ’his’?"

The memory of Caine’s voice echoes in my head—his furious declaration in front of the entire pack. The way Fenris had materialized beside him, as if summoned by his rage.

"No. Of course not."

But then I think about my strange meal with him and how he bandaged my wrist so tenderly. Heat creeps up my neck.

Andrew’s nostrils flare slightly. "If there’s something between you and the Lycan King that you’re not telling us..."

"There’s nothing," I snap. I don’t need more rumors. Everyone’s confused enough as it is.

"Then why are you hesitating?" Andrew presses. "If there’s nothing, why not come with me tonight? Get away from all this?"

I study his face, searching for answers. Does he really think he’s helping me? And why is he so damn stubborn about this? Andrew has never liked me.

"You didn’t answer my question," I say quietly. "Why would Ellie want to help me?"

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Rafe is concerned about you. He feels guilty. Ellie knows that, and she wants him focused on the transition, on becoming the Alpha the pack needs right now. As long as you’re around..."

"I’m a distraction," I finish for him.

"You’re a complication," he corrects. "And with the Lycans breathing down everyone’s necks, complications are dangerous."

"And if I refuse to go?" I ask, though I already know the answer.

Andrew’s expression turns grim. "Then we can’t protect you from whatever happens next. The Lycan King has claimed you as his, but nobody knows why. What if he’s just playing with his food?"

I’m not going to eat you, he’d said, like that was supposed to ease all my fears. The thought of it is laughable now.

My fingers trace the edge of the bandage Caine wrapped around my wrist. His touch had been surprisingly gentle for someone so feared, but he’s unstable. Strange. Unreadable.

I can’t stay here, but I’m not going to go along with Ellie’s plan.

"I’ll go, but not to Forest Springs. You need to take me to Sterling City."

Andrew’s brow furrows. "Sterling City? Why would you want to go there?"

"Because I’m human, Andrew. That’s where I should have been all along."

"The humans abandoned you," Andrew says, his voice hard. "We took you in."

A humorless laugh escapes me. "Really? Because the Lycan King seems to think differently. He practically accused Alpha of kidnapping me from human society."

"Alpha Brax would never—" Andrew’s face flushes red. "He wouldn’t kidnap a human child."

My hands drag roughly over my face as I groan in frustration. "Look, I don’t care what you believe. Sterling City is the only place I’m going, with or without your help."

He shifts his weight, uncertainty flickering across his features. The silence stretches between us until he finally speaks. "Fine. I’ll come with you to Sterling City."

What? No. "I don’t need you."

"Rafe asked me to keep you safe." Andrew’s jaw sets stubbornly. "I gave him my word."

I roll my eyes toward the ceiling. The man’s incapable of thinking for himself. It’s always about Rafe.

Having Andrew along will complicate things, but fighting him on this will only waste time I don’t have. "Fine."

Sterling City is big enough. Once we’re there, losing Andrew in a crowd shouldn’t be too difficult.

Andrew frowns at me, as if my quick agreement leaves him suspicious. Hopefully he gets over it. "Okay. Remember, the succession ceremony starts at midnight. Everyone will be focused on Rafe taking his place as Alpha and re-bonding the pack members. Every Lycan will be there—they have to witness the transfer of power."

I tilt my head. "What happens if they catch us?"

Andrew’s expression darkens. "We can’t get caught."

So, death. It’s what I thought, but it’s still unsettling to think about it. "Okay."

The weight of what we’re planning settles in my chest like lead. If the Lycan King finds out... The image of Alpha’s broken body flashes through my mind.

A strange part of me feels as if I’m betraying my family by escaping, but I shake it off. "You should go before someone notices you’ve been here too long."

Andrew nods, but hesitates at the door. "Grace... just be ready, okay? I’ll get here as soon as I can."

The door clicks shut behind him, leaving me alone with my thundering heart and a thousand doubts.