Chapter 3 

Grace

Grace was only half-relieved when she made it to her adopted mother’s front door in Black Diamond without incident. The small house at the edge of Black Diamond, nestled into the trees that grew around the base of the nearest mountain, almost looked lonely compared to the apartment buildings and townhouses she had been used to renting for so long.

Driving through town was the least of her worries; the real trouble would come if anyone saw her unpacking the car. That was only one reason she had arrived as early in the day as possible. Werewolves had a habit of being night owls, and the fewer eyes around, the better.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how glad I am to have you home at last!” Brenda exclaimed after she opened the front door and dragged Grace and Blake into the kitchen of the three-bedroom townhouse.

Brenda embraced Grace for what might have been a few seconds or even an eternity. Grace hugged her back, inhaling the familiar scents of home. For several seconds, she allowed herself some peace.

Then, she pulled back and encouraged her son forward with a hand on his dark head. “Blakey, come and say hello to your grandma.”

Shy and reserved, Blake dipped his head and averted his gaze even as Brenda took him into her arms.

“I’ve made peanut butter cookies,” Brenda told him, and Blake raised his head, his eyes lighting up. “I remembered they were your favorite.”

“You… you remembered?” Blake stammered, looking shocked.

“It may have been a few years since last I saw you, boy,” Brenda said in an almost scolding tone as she ruffled his dark hair—so much like his father’s that it made Grace gulp whenever she thought about it. She added, “But I’ll never forget anything about you. I also made steak and kidney for dinner.”

Grace’s stomach growled at that. She felt like she hadn’t eaten well in weeks.

Brenda looked up as though she had heard and cocked her head. “You look famished, Grace. You’re far too thin.”

“I could have put on twenty pounds, and you’d still say that, Mom,” Grace pointed out, crossing her arms. In truth, she was thinner than when her mom had last seen her. She hadn’t exactly been taking care of herself very well these last few years. Most of her energy had gone into making sure that Blake was cared for with a roof over his head.

“Sit, and I’ll plate up some food for you both,” Brenda said, gesturing at the breakfast bar. Grace remembered that breakfast bar all too well. It was the place she’d sat every evening to do her homework, the place she’d shared meals with her family, and the place she’d sat with her headphones, trying to ignore her biggest tormentor.

That was over ten years ago, she scolded herself firmly, even as she said to her mother, “I should unpack the car first.”

“Don’t you worry about that right now,” Brenda argued, shaking her head. She grasped Grace by her arms and practically forced her onto the stool beside Blake. “You’ve had a long drive. We can sort it later.”

“I’d rather…” Grace started to protest, but before she could finish, the front door opened.

Grace glared at her mother, who shrugged as though she had no idea who had just entered the house. Grace’s senses were so near human, it took her several moments to identify the person, but she knew that her mother probably knew who was coming before she and Blake set foot on the porch.

“Where’s my little sister at?” Austin called out, and Grace’s scowl deepened.

“Don’t you look at me like that, young lady,” Brenda scolded. “I didn’t know he was coming.”

Grace cursed her mother for her open-door policy, turning just in time to be welcomed by Austin’s arms. They wrapped around her so tightly, she felt like he was trying to suffocate her. He lifted her off her feet and gave another good squeeze.

“I’ve missed you, kid,” he told Grace as he dropped her back on her feet, ruffling her strawberry-blond hair just as their mother had done to Blake. “It’s been too long.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Grace responded dryly. She ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it, scowling at her brother for messing it up in the first place.

“Funnily enough, our new alpha has been asking after you today,” Austin said with a cock to his head and a smirk plastered on his face. At his words, Grace’s skin crawled with confusion and fear.

“New alpha?” she inquired, glancing between her mother and brother. What exactly had she missed?

The sadness that glazed Brenda’s eyes made Grace’s heart clench. “You’ve been away from the hollow for a long time, dear. A lot has changed.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Grace asked, looking between them again.

Austin shrugged. “You left.”

Grace bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t exactly argue with that. When she had left, she hadn’t just left the hollow. She had also left the pack.

“Who…who is the new alpha?” Grace asked, daring to utter the question.

Deep down, she already knew the answer. Her throat constricted, and her heart raced. She felt like she was waiting an eternity for the answer, though it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds.

“Caspian, of course,” Austin stated, a proud smile spreading across his face. He straightened up, puffed out his chest, and added, “And I made beta.”

If not for the fact that Grace was so hung up on the first part of his answer, she might have rolled her eyes. Of course Caspian had made Austin his beta. Caspian and Austin were practically inseparable.

“I never should have come back,” Grace grumbled, her body stiffening. She shoved her hand in the pocket of her leather jacket and grabbed her car keys. “Maybe we should just find somewhere else to stay.”

Austin laid a hand on her shoulder and gripped it tight, though Grace wasn’t sure she felt reassured. “Would you quit being so uptight?” he said.

Grace scowled back at him and pursed her lips. “Would you quit being so arrogant?”

“Never!” Austin vowed.

“Well, then!” she countered.

“Would the two of you quit your bickering? I feel like I’ve gone back ten years!” Brenda argued, causing the two of them to blush and become silent once more.

“We should go,” Grace repeated. She moved to guide Blake off the stool, but before she could reach him, Austin stepped in front of her.

“Just because Caspian used to tease you when we were kids doesn’t mean you won’t be welcome now,” he told her, his gaze meeting hers without so much as a flicker.

Grace desperately wanted to believe her brother, but her gut told her differently. Just being in the same town as Caspian made her uneasy. Not to mention that she now had Blake to think about.

She opened her mouth to protest again, but Austin reached out and gripped Blake’s shoulder, pulling him into an embrace that lifted him nearly right off the stool. “At least stay a few days,” he said to Grace. “My nephew and I have some catching up to do.”

Though almost every instinct was telling her to run for her own sake, she knew that Blake didn’t have any more time. He needed to be in Black Diamond, whether she liked it or not. And though she had denied it to herself for so long, deep down, she thought that she needed to be there too. 

Though she hated how she needed it, it was growing harder and harder to deny the fact. For too long now she had been telling herself that she could go it alone. She was tired. She needed to rest, and Black Diamond might be the only place she could do that. Even if he was there.

Reluctantly, she sighed. “Fine, but on one condition.”

Austin and Brenda looked at each other before they asked in unison, “What?”

“You both have to promise you won’t go blabbing to everyone that we’re here,” Grace said, staring them down so hard that she imagined her threat was palpable.

The two sighed and nodded. Though that did little to reduce Grace’s anxiety, it was something. All she had to do now was get through a few days in the hollow and pray that time with the pack would be enough to help her son.

That, and avoid Caspian McCloud at all costs.