Chapter 131: Grace
Wait what? What did she mean if my mother was werewolf that I couldn’t be Lycan? My whole life I had been told that my mother was nothing special. She was just a whore who had taken advantage of my father. It was why Kinsley had hated me. My mother had taken away her chance to have the perfect family. My mother had destroyed so many lives by going after the Alpha. A part of me hated her... A part of my just wanted to know why she had done it. I mean, in the end it had killed her. Did she find it worth it in the end? Did she resent me? Did she hate me too like everyone else?
“Breathe.” Rhys whispered, resting his head on mine.
He had come after me. I hadn’t expected him to come after me. I thought he would just cut his losses. And maybe if I had gotten farther away, he might have, but he came after me. He knew I had killed my stepmother. He knew I wasn’t a good person. And he chose me anyways, time and time again.
“Aren’t they creating Lycans?” Rhys asked, redirecting my attention back to the conversation at hand.
“Well, yea,” Maizie answered uneasily. “But did Grace go through that process? They only started that aspect of the program recently. They also hated her. So, I’m not sure why they would purposefully give her powers then.”
“I never had a wolf or Lycan.” I answered. “I found out I was bound when I came here.”
“How long were you bound?” Maizie asked, her face softening in sympathy.
“My whole life, I think.” I answered. I knew I had had these conversations with Rhys and Sawyer before, but I forgot that Maizie didn’t know everything.
She frowned slightly. “Well, that’s sad,” She answered in the way only a teenager could. “But I do think that means you most likely were born and not created. Being created is a process that you remember. You can ask Michael about it, but he doesn’t like to talk about it.”
“I mean, the witch said you were Lycan and that you shifted as a baby,” Rhys reminded me.
“You shifted as a baby?” Maizie’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s wicked cool. And probably why you were bound if you were that powerful, that young. Still doesn’t make sense why you’re a Lycan though.”
“Maybe Alpha genes are different?” I offered.
“Maybe...” Maizie answered, but didn’t seem convinced.
“But isn’t Kinsley a werewolf?” Rhys asked with a frown. “If it was just a matter of genes, then I would think it would have affected her too, but it didn’t.”
“Kinsley is just a werewolf?” Maizie questioned.
“Well, that’s what rumor has told us,” Rhys responded.
“That’s also impossible,” Maizie’s frown deepened. “Both of her parents are Lycan. It doesn’t make sense. So, either we are wrong about something, or Alpha Andrew, Luna Ava, and Mistress Louanne, were hiding something.”
I buried my head into Rhys’ chest. Why the hell was this all so complicated? Why couldn’t I have been from a normal pack with no secrets? Why at 21 years old did I have to find out that everything I thought I knew was wrong? Did I even care? I never even knew my mother, so what does it matter that her story doesn’t add up? Why did anything matter?”
“Well, on that note, we should be going, I’m going to see if Maizie and Michael know anything else that we should be looking into?” Sawyer said, reminding me that he was there even though he really hadn’t contributed to the conversation at all.
Maizie seemed to have forgotten he was there too because the look Maizie gave him was one of confusion and like hell you will.
He gently place his hand on her arm, but she shrugged him off.
“Grace,” She started, her voice a little desperate. “I didn’t mean to accuse you of killing Luna Ava. I should have known there was more to the store. Especially after everything I have been through. Are we good? Cuz if we’re not, I’m not leaving.”
Despite how I was feeling, a small smile tugged at my lips. It was nice to know someone who wasn’t Rhys, related to Rhys or working for Rhys to care so much.
“We’re good,” I confirmed, nodding my head at her.
She smiled and lifted her hand in a small wave as she turned back to the thundering falls, which was surprisingly quiet in here. “Cool, I’ll see you at dinner then?”
I nodded my confirmation, and Sawyer pulled her gently out of the cave with a look of something that I couldn’t quite place that looked to be something between anger and worry.
I turned back into Rhys, resting my forehead on his chest. I wasn’t ready to go back to society. I wasn’t ready to go back and face anyone after my meltdown. Only Alana and Maizie had seen it, but still. It was embarrassing, and I definitely wasn’t ready for whatever lecture I was going to get from Rhys.
“If you’re going to yell at me, just do it.” I mumbled.
I felt Rhys chest rumble slightly as he took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself.
“I’m not going to yell.” He said after a long moment. “At least, I’m trying not to.”
“Okay...”
He took a step back from me, and I immediately missed his warmth as he ran his hand through his hair. He then took a small step closer and cupped my face so I was forced to look at him.
“Where were you going to go?” He asked, his voice on the verge of desperation.
“I don’t know.” I whispered. “I panicked. I thought that things were going to change to be how they were at my old pack when people thought that I had killed the Luna... I didn’t want to go through that again... I can’t go through that again, Rhys. So, I did the only thing I could think of and ran...”