Chapter 21: Grace
I ducked away from the window and sat next to the bed on the floor. I didn’t want to see anymore. What the heck did I just witness? That was nuts. Was there only one? Were there more coming? Was it coming to take me away? The silence scared me more than the commotion. The silence gave my head the opportunity to run wild with worst case scenarios. I just couldn’t seem to wrap my head around what had just happened, and my body was shaking with anxiety that I just couldn’t shake.
I sat on the floor for I don’t know how long until a knock on the door startled me. I stood up as quickly as my body would allow me, and I grabbed the lamp that stood next to the bedside table. I didn’t know where to position myself in the room. I felt like I shouldn’t be in front of the window, but I also didn’t want to be trapped in a corner, and the bed was in the middle of the room which also felt like a hinderance. There were no safe options that I could figure out. And this creature would probably be able to smell me no matter where I was. I couldn’t seem to calm my racing heart to think clearly.
“Grace, it’s me.” The Alpha King called out when I didn’t answer after his first few knocks.
I moved hesitantly toward the door and opened it with shaking hands. The Alpha King stood in front of me in all his glory. He was shirtless, and I couldn’t help but once again notice his bulging muscles. He was perfect. The Moon Goddess must have really worked hard on him. Even now, with his hair disheveled and covered in splattered blood, he looked like a little slice of heaven instead of the intimidating Alpha King I knew he could be.
We both stared at each other for a long moment before he said, “The danger has passed. You’re safe now. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
I nodded hesitantly, making room for him to walk into the room if he wanted. I wondered if he was the large black wolf I had seen some minutes ago. I tried to ignore the question though and shifted my thoughts to the things that really mattered.
I grabbed my chalkboard and began to draw the creature and a question mark.
Alpha King Rhys looked at my chalkboard and frowned as he entered my room. “What was that creature? That’s what you asking?” He asked a little incredulously, which I didn’t quite understand.
“I’m going to go take a shower, and then we can talk about it.” He said after a moment.
I nodded, and sat in the chair in the corner, still holding the lamp as he disappeared into the bathroom. I knew the lamp probably wouldn’t do me much good, but it made me feel more secure, especially with the Alpha King not in the room with me, even though he was right through the bathroom door if I needed him.
Alpha King Rhys came out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist, and I soaked in his now clean appearance which was just as handsome as the guy who came in disheveled from a fight. The way the water glistened on his skin made my heart skip a beat. The worst part was that he seemed to know exactly what he was doing to me. The little smirk on his face said it all as he disappeared into the closet.
When he came out of the closet he had on sweats and a hoodie. Almost as if to say, you saw it but can’t have it in a teasing banter type of way. I regretted having noticed his looks in the first place. It had been an unnecessary distraction from what was going on. There had been a freaking monster in our backyard just 20 minutes ago.
I flashed my chalkboard at Rhys again, demanding my question to be answered this time.
He looked at me in surprise at my ferocity, but responded, “I have absolutely no idea what that thing was, Grace. I have come across a lot of shifters and weird creatures in my day, and none have ever looked even remotely similar to that thing. I have a team currently scouring our library right now, and several people in other packs that I trust also searching for any hint of what the creature was. But it attacked my pack, it had to die.”
“Scared?” I wrote on the chalkboard asking how he felt.
He looked shocked that I would ask him, and I felt uncomfortable again, wishing I hadn’t asked anything.
“I wouldn’t say scared.” He admitted finally. “But I also would be lying if I said it didn’t put me on edge. I’m worried about the pack's safety. Your safety. How it got so far into our territory without anyone noticing. There are too many things I don’t have answers for right now, and I can’t ease the pack’s worries about anything.”
I could see how much it pained him to not have answers, and I felt the same anxiety about not having them as well. But I also knew I was with the most victorious, vicious Alpha there was. He didn’t get his crown without some blood on his hands, so I also had all the confidence in the world he would figure it out before it was too late.
I got lost in my thoughts for a minute, but when I looked up, he was staring at me with that slight smirk I was growing accustomed to.
I drew a question mark on my board and looked at him, wondering why he was staring at me the way he was.
“That lamp,” There was a trace of laughter in his voice. “Is not going to protect you from literally anything.”
I felt my heat rise to my cheeks. I hadn’t even realized I was still holding it. I quickly put it down, back in the space it belonged, and tried not to die of embarrassment.
“Don’t worry, Gracie,” He said, the nickname making my heart flutter. “I will train you. We will make you a tough warrior out of you yet. You’ll never have to fear others again.” He promised. “I will train you myself.”