Chapter 16

I looked at Grace in awe. I hadn’t expected her to be thinking about the effects of her mark the way I had been. I also hadn’t expected her to find a way to ask her questions without being able to speak or write. I was surprised by her ability to communicate with me, and whenever she was the one to initiate the conversation, it always caused a feeling that I couldn’t describe. I would love if she would just talk to me, but I would try and find ways to make communication easier for her. Maybe Alana could help teach her more words so she could read and write more effectively. If she was ever to be my Luna, she would need to know how to do those things.

I laid next to her, but didn’t touch her. I just soaked in her presence. I couldn’t believe she was worried about how her being marked might affect my rule. She was nothing like the other woman who I had brought home before. She had a sharpness and intelligence that I hadn’t expected.

I lost myself in my thoughts as I laid there. Sawyer had said while she was unconscious that she had signs that she did have a wolf. That had surprised me more than anything. She didn’t look like she had a wolf. She was so small and frail. But Sawyer was sure of it. He said that her wolf had definitely been bound at least once, but probably more likely had been bound twice. The idea of Grace’s wolf having been bound twice made me a little nauseous, but it did sort of make sense. To be bound at all, usually meant that someone was afraid of her power. Luna Kinsley had said that she was her sister, but why would Grace have those powers, and not Kinsley? Why bound one daughter and not the other? If they were afraid of her power and lineage then it made some sense of how she was treated, why they had abused her. It didn’t make it right, but it did sort of connect some of the dots. They must have feared her potential. And based on what I had seen, Luna Kinsley had everything to fear from her sister because Grace was a thousand times better than her.

"Grace?”

She looked up at me with those big eyes of hers, and I fought my wolf not to get lost in them. He was obsessed with her gentle eyes.

“I will do everything I can to get to the bottom of this. I won’t leave any stone unturned in my investigation. I will have. We will uncover whatever is going on here. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

She blinked at me in surprise but didn’t so much as show as flash a smile or respond in anyway. I could see the worry in her eyes that I wasn’t sure I could ease no matter what I said. Her old pack had really done a number on her, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to get her out of her head the way I wanted to.

My phone started ringing, pulling us out of whatever moment we were having.

“This is Alpha King Rhys,” I answered, removing myself from the bed, despite how comfortable I had just been.

“The witch, Sandra, you requested has arrived at the agreed upon diner just outside our border,” Leon’s deep voice came through the phone.

“Is the location secure?”

“Yes sir,” Leon responded gruffly.

“Copy.” I replied. “On my way.”

I hung up the phone and looked at Grace who was trying not to appear as though she was eavesdropping.

“I have to go,” I told her as I put my shoes back on. “But you keep resting, and I’ll be back later.”

She frowned but nodded. She almost looked a little lonely, and my heart twinged at that thought, but I didn’t really know how to fix it since she really didn’t communicate much.

As soon as I closed the bedroom door, and immediately spotted Sawyer standing at the counter in the kitchen area. Sometimes I regretted still sharing this floor with my brothers, but I was also grateful that Sawyer was always close by.

“You ready?” He asked as he looked up from his phone and saw me approaching.

“Yea.” I answered, pushing my nerves away. There was no room for them in this very important meeting. I put my mask up and my feelings were gone.

We walked in silence till we got to my car, but as soon as the car door closed, Sawyer started running his mouth.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, this is risky as hell. We have no idea if Sandra has any idea about bounding and unbounding wolves.”

“We’ve used Sandra before,” I pointed out.

“And it costs more than it was worth.” Sawyer grumbled. “You used an unreasonable amount of resources to find her, and you don’t even know if she can help. Don’t you think this is going a little overboard?”

“Grace deserves to have her wolf free.” I responded gruffly.

“You must really like her to go through all this trouble.”

“I’m done with this conversation, Sawyer. I don’t want to talk about Grace.”

“Then let's talk about what this is going to cost us. You know Sandra is nuts. And for what? I don’t think she will be willing to help us.”

“The cost is irrelevant. I will pay whatever she asks. But she will not be leaving without giving us some answers. One way or the other, we will be leaving here today with the information we need.” I growled.

Sawyer didn’t respond to that. We just let an uneasy silence fall over us as we drove and stared out the window. But I had to admit, I was having the same thoughts as him, but it didn’t matter. Grace deserved to have someone try for her. So, if Sandra could help, even point us in the right direction, then I was going to do whatever it took to help Grace. And if she couldn’t help, then I would find someone who could. But if anyone could, it was Sandra, so I was hoping that I was putting my money where my mouth was.