Grace of a Wolf-Chapter 98: Caine: The Kids

CAINE

Something about these children sets my senses on edge.

I watch the kid closely as he speaks about the small sleeping forms in the alcove. His body language shifts constantly—defensive, protective, cautious. But it’s not his movements that catch my attention. It’s his scent.

A strange undertone clings to him. Sweet. Fruity. Similar to overripe strawberries, but not quite the same. It’s subtle beneath his normal teenage smell—sweat, hormones, and a hint of animal musk.

At first whiff, he smells like a wolf.

I take a deeper breath, letting my senses expand through the cave. The little one, Bun—she smells like prey at her baseline. Rabbit.

But different as they are, they all share the same signature of scent. Strangely, almost synthetically fruity.

Owen doesn’t carry it at all; he smells of summer and wind and something cleaner. Not human, though. Something else is there, but it’s not like theirs.

"What kind of danger surrounds these kids?" I keep my voice low, even though I already know Grace is around the corner, listening. She probably thinks she’s being quiet, but I can hear every shallow breath and the faint brush of her clothes against the wall. "Why is Owen the one saving them?"

He doesn’t answer right away, looking instead toward the sleeping children. Then he rubs at his head with a long sigh, pulling at a few strands as he thinks my question over.

"There’s something rotting in the bones of this place," he finally says. "But it’s not just here. Packs have been weakening for decades. Even prey shifters are struggling."

His jaw tightens as he meets my eye. "More kids like us are being born. Owen tries to get them out when he can, but he fails more than he succeeds."

I’ve observed unrest among the packs, but it’s always attributed to politics. Natural power struggles. Nothing like this.

"What’s an aberrant?"

The kid frowns. His eyes are too old for his face, his bearing too weary for his age. "Owen says we’re the world correcting itself. Spliced souls, carrying too much. Built to survive what’s coming. But we don’t shift right, so our packs don’t want us. Owen can’t fix it, but he can take us away. The people who want us... aren’t good people."

This isn’t rebellion. Nor is it political unrest. This is something ancient and invisible working under the skin of the world, something I should have sensed long before now. So why haven’t I?

"Even the Lycan King has never heard of this. It sounds like a fairy tale."

He glances away, blinking hard. "You’ve never hear about kids who die mysteriously? The weak ones. The sick ones. The ones nobody loves?"

I go quiet.

It isn’t as if I’ve never heard of cubs lost to illness, or accidents. Even unexplained causes. Troubling statistics exist in every population.

But they’ve never brought further inquiry.

Never connected dots which might have formed a more sinister picture.

What else have I missed?

Pups are the future of any pack, and they’ve gone unnoticed.

"I have now," I tell him quietly, once his gaze returns to mine. He’s tall, starting to fill out in his shoulders. Young still, but growing fast. In another year, he’ll look nothing like he does now. But he’s still a child at heart, his eyes red-rimmed and his cheek twitching with the force of holding back strong emotion.

He nods. Once, a jerky little movement of his head. But it’s enough to see he’s softening.

"Why is Grace here?" I probe, hesitant to push this kid much further. But he knows more, and I need to know everything if I want to keep them all safe. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

His response drops between us like a heavy stone. His words are so simple, and his facial expression shifts. Like he thinks it’s a silly question.

"Because she’s like us."

The certainty in his voice collides with everything I know as truth.

"She’s not an aberrant. She’s human." My voice comes out hard, a little too sharp. But he doesn’t flinch.

He raises an eyebrow instead. "Aberrants can be human, too."

Before I can question him further, Jack-Eye’s voice drops into my mind, the pack link opening without warning. It’s intrusive enough to wake Fenris, who’s sleeping deep inside.

You need to hear this.

The intensity behind his words brings a frown to my face, and the kid watches intently. I force my expression into impassivity; an adult should never scare children.

Well... sometimes.

But this is not one of those times.

They’re all dead. Every single one of them. Someone came around and killed them all in some sick magic ritual. Fiddleback is fucked, Caine. Rotten from the ground up. This is way beyond anything we’ve ever seen before.

It only takes a thought to force the link wider, bringing in sight. Scent.

There’s a rotten, putrid smell so vivid my tongue shrivels in my mouth, despite being a mental echo.

Who did it? I demand, even as hazy images filter through the link. Slow to manifest, but the impression is... devastating.

So many bodies. So much blood.

Lyre’s burning it now. She seems angry. I don’t think she’s in her right mind. The woman’s got power, Caine. More than even you. Better to keep her on our side—ah, shit, the wizard’s puking again. I’ll keep you updated.

The connection cuts as abruptly as it opened, leaving me disoriented, the cave spinning around me for a heartbeat.

"You okay?" the kid asks, reaching out with a hesitant hand.

"Caine? Are you all right?"

Footsteps shuffle against the stone floor, and Grace finally emerges from her hiding place, her blueberry scent hitting me hard. Breathing it in helps still the slight dizziness, smooths the ripples the kid stirred up in my chest. Her grass-green eyes are dark with worry, her fists clenched at her sides.

Ah. She probably wants to reach out. The visions must have affected me more than I thought, if these two can see how disoriented I am. If even Grace wants to try and stabilize me.

Thankfully, her hands remain at her sides. If I can’t even control my expression right now, I’m sure I won’t be able to control whatever transference bullshit happens when she touches me.

No touching, Fenris murmurs.

"I’m fine," I tell them both roughly, rolling my shoulders back until I’m straight again.

The kid doesn’t seem to care anymore, looking at Grace instead as he asks, "Is she asleep?"

"More importantly," I cut in, "Who are these people after you?"