Chapter 94: Grace
I curled up into the chair in Rhys’ office begging it to give me some comfort. I wanted to rip my own arm off for refusing to shift back to my normal self, but I knew that would only worry Rhys more, and he seemed to be in nearly as bad of a state as I was. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t force myself to meet his eyes. All I could do was stare at him and Caleb’s shoes. A part of me knew that Caleb shouldn’t be here, but honestly, I was too damn tired to care anymore about literally anything.
“Why isn’t her arm shifting back?” I heard Leon ask from his spot at the door that he was guarding.
“I would say it’s probably because it was a traumatic shift. She’s still technically bound, right?” Caleb asked.
Rhys answered yes, but I wanted to know how and why he knew so much about me. It didn’t make any sense. Most of this had come up after he had been banished... How did he know so much about me?
“Why are you here?” I asked through my silent tears interrupting whatever they had been saying about me.
Caleb ran a nervous hand through his hair and down his face. He was blurry to me because of my tears, but I also knew who he was. He had hurt Rhys deeply with his betrayal. He had hurt Leon’s family. But now, he was here, and different than he had been before.
“That’s a long story,” He answered, looking nervously between Rhys and me.
“We have time.” Rhys answered through gritted teeth as he glared at his brother.
“I think the best way to explain it is for me to show you.”
The man before me seemed totally different. The old Caleb oozed confidence. He would have had some story that made it look like he did nothing wrong and somehow everything that had happened to him was someone else’s fault. He would have lazily and cockily explained whatever delusions he had and wouldn’t have cared if anyone believed him. Even though I had spent very little time with the guy, I knew this would have been an accurate description. But standing before us was someone who didn’t have a lick of confidence. There was something desperate in his need for us to understand.
“How are you going to do that?” Rhys frowned.
He inched closer to me, but if Caleb noticed, he didn’t show it, and I tried not to acknowledge it either.
“Give me 5 minutes, and I have to go get something.” Caleb stated, but he looked hesitant.
To my surprise, Rhys gestured for him to go but nodded to Leon to follow him. I looked at Rhys unsure of what game he was playing. Why did he want to be alone with me? I had killed a man. I had ripped his freaking heart out and pushed him off of a building. I was terrible. I was why they had come. I was the reason all those people were dead, not just my brother. I was a monster.
“Grace?” Rhys knelt in front of me, his hand caressing my face.
I looked away from him. I couldn’t meet his eyes. I already knew whatever horrible things he was thinking, I was already thinking about myself. I couldn’t handle the disgust and rejection I knew I would find in his eyes.
“Look at me,” He quietly demanded. He grabbed my jaw slightly and forced me to look at him.
I didn’t expect to see the warmth that he met me with.
“Breathe,” He said. “I know you’re scared right now but breathe. I’m here now. You’re safe. Our alliances have started to arrive, they will also help keep you safe, Grace.”
“I don’t deserve to be kept safe.” I whispered, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall once again.
“Gracie, whatever happened, it’s not your fault.” He said gently his voice so sincere.
I didn’t say anything. He didn’t understand yet. It was my fault. It was a 100% my fault. But he would once he started talking to people.
“Can I guess what happened?” He asked.
I nodded, sure that he wasn’t going to guess.
“My guess is that Ethan used the pack hunt to his advantage. He then killed all my guards and then lured you into a false sense of security. You followed him thinking you could trust him, and you ‘hid’ on the roof. However, you then realized that he was lying to you and was my guess bringing you back to Adrian and Kinsley, and you killed him for his betrayal.”
I looked at him with wide eyes. I hadn’t expected him to guess so on point.
“They’re all dead because of me,” I whispered.
“No. They’re all dead because of Ethan and Adrian. You were just a product of circumstance, sadly. But don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I will stand by you in this, and everything that comes after. We will figure this out, together.”
“I can’t shift back.” I confided tiredly.
“Just breathe.” Rhys soothed. “You are human, Gracie. And not a monster. You are safe right now. It’s okay to just let go.”
I closed my eyes and tried to just breathe. I was okay. I wasn’t in a pack that hated me. I was with someone who actually seemed to care even when the world didn’t seem to. I was okay. Ethan couldn’t harm me anymore.
I felt the tingles on my arm, but I didn’t lose my focus. I was human. I was okay. I was safe.
When I opened my eyes, my arm was back to normal. There was no more fur or claws, and it was its normal size. I was me again, and I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Rhys grabbed a small towel from the closet and tried to get as much of the blood that he could off of me without water or scrubbing too hard. It didn’t really do much, but I appreciated the effort.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I felt myself stiffen for a moment wondering if we were going to be attacked again. I didn’t think I’d be able to handle anything else of that magnitude.
“Come in,” Rhys answered.
Caleb nervously popped his head in before opening the door more and stepping in.
However, instead of Leon following him in, a little girl entered the room, her hand in his. And all I could think was, what the fuck was going on?
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