Chapter 202: Grace
The picnic was in full swing by the time we arrived. Maizie and Michael walked in with us, and their faces were so cute as all three kids watched everything in awe. Alana had come during the mission to set everything up with one of her friends, which I was grateful for. There were blankets laid out all over the field for people to sit on, as well as a couple of picnic tables that had been found. There were folding tables with cute plaid table clothes for everyone to put food on, and it was already almost full. The parking lot was also almost full already which I found to be amazing.
“Tell me there’s ice cream.” Michael said in awe.
“There is definitely ice cream.” I laughed. “We had to get a special freezer thing to keep it cold.”
“This is the best day ever!” He exclaimed, the tension that had been weighing on him earlier long gone.
“You are too easy.” Maizie teased as we made our way through the crowd. “All it takes is ice cream? You’d be lured away in every kidnapping story ever.”
“And there’s pizza?!” He exclaimed, ignoring her comment, and suddenly he was gone, racing off toward the food as if it would disappear if he didn’t get any right this second.
“Wait for me! You can’t just leave me!” Maizie called out, a split second before taking off after him.
“Jack!” Sammy squealed from Rhys’ arms.
He immediately put her down, and she took off running toward her friend.
“And then they were two,” Rhys muttered with a little chuckle.
“Don’t go too far!” I called after her, ignoring his comment.
“Don’t worry, love,” Rhys said gently. “The pack will look after her.”
“I always worry about them.” I admitted.
“I know.” Rhys kissed my temple. “It’s what makes you amazing. Now come on, let me introduce you to some people.”
I nodded and let him lead me toward a group of what looked like well-off werewolves to start, but we made our way around to as many groups as we could. This was an opportunity for me to really get to know the pack. It was incredibly overwhelming, but it was also very needed. Most of the people we chatted with were really nice. Some were older, some had kids who had told them about me, and some were just curious. Rhys had done this sort of thing years ago on the regular. He had learned it was good for pack morale, but with each bride-to-be it had gotten harder and harder to do. Almost everyone was glad to be doing these things again, but I caught some girls around my age giving me jealous and nasty looks. It was obvious that I would have to be careful around them, but I wasn’t here to make any more enemies. I had enough of them. I was here to make sure the pack felt loved and appreciated even in these hard times.
I was over at the food table getting a plate of food, when movement caught my eye near the tree line.
“Hi! You must be Grace!” A woman who looked to be about my age approached drawing my attention back to the moment. I could tell by the way she had said my name that she was not one of the good ones. She had been shooting me dirty looks all evening.
“Yes, and you are?” I asked politely, even though I didn’t really care to entertain her.
“My name is Luna.” She answered. “As in I will be the next Luna of the Alpha pack.”
A small chuckle escaped my lips. “You sound very sure of that.” I answered, unsure of what else I was supposed to say.
“He’ll get bored of you eventually,” She replied, looking down at her nails as if this conversation bored her, even though she was the one who started it. “And he’ll send you right back where you came from.”
“Sounds good,” I answered, brushing her off, no longer listening to a word she was spewing. There was a familiar figure disappearing into the tree line, and whatever the reason was, I knew it couldn’t be good. “If you’ll excuse me.”
I pushed past her, and rushed toward where I had just seen Michael disappear to. My heart was pounding, and my head was jumping to all sorts of conclusions.
Voices caught my attention before I saw them, and I stopped.
“Sammy, what are you doing in here?!” Michael demanded, but there was also relief in his voice. He must have seen her sneak in, and in a panic went after her.
“What do you mean? We were playing hide and seek, and the woods are a great place to hide!” She asked innocently.
“The woods aren’t safe, Sammy. You’ll have to find another place to hide.”
Sammy whined but complied.
“Where do you think you’re both going?” Another voice demanded, and my blood ran cold.
Both Sammy and Michael froze before Michael shoved Sammy behind him.
“Dad.” Michael bit out, but his fear was palpable.
“Come on, don’t keep me waiting. We’re leaving. You’re coming with me for that dirty little trick you played on me earlier.”
“No.” Michael shook his head, but his voice shook in fear. “I didn’t do anything.”
The man took a step closer and raised his arm against his own son. I jumped out of my spot and put myself between Michael and his father. His hand hitting my face instead.
“Grace!” Michael screamed, as my head turned with the slap.
I ignored him. My ears were ringing, and my heart was pounding, but these were my kids. They were my responsibility, and there was no way hell this man was ever going to touch them again.
“Come on, Sammy,” The man tried to lure the little girl.
“I remember you...” Sammy said, taking a step back. “You’re a bad man.”
“I guess we’ll be doing this the hard way,” The man smirked, and started to shift.
“Michael, get Sammy the hell out of here and go find Rhys.” I said through gritted teeth.
“What about you?” He asked.
“Go.”
The man now in Lycan form lunged for Michael as he grabbed Sammy and took off running, but I dove in front of him, knocking him off balance, clinging to his legs. He kicked me off of himself like I was nothing. And I groaned in pain.
But then that little voice in my head came back... The one I wasn’t sure if it was me or something else, but all I heard was, “It’s time to play.”
And my body immediately began to shift for the first time. Fully this time. No more partial. My bones stretched and cracked all in a matter of seconds. Hair grew out in all directions. My body snapped and cracked into something new entirely, but it felt like me. I was no longer an ant in comparison of the Lycan. Fear showed on his face for a brief moment, and then we were ripping at each other, knowing that no one was coming to save either one of us.
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