Page 21 of Claimed By the Alpha Pack

“But, I’m human…” Her tone is broken as she still searches my face for the answers to the universe. I’m the broken one and probably the worst one to be saddled with this delicate subject.

Glancing over at my brothers, they look just as concerned as I feel at the moment. Slowly, I raise my hand and slide it up the side of Grace’s neck to rest on her cheek. “Do I feel human to you?” The low rumble deep in my chest of my wolf draws her full attention to me.

“Yes.” Her eyes lock on my lips briefly, then up to my eyes.

Gradually I allow my wolf’s eye color to eclipse the human color. She watches the change and tilts her head, studying me. “Am I still me?” Rubbing my thumb over her cheek, I’m hoping my direct approach benefits me.

Biting her bottom lip, she nods as her shaky hand rises and touches my cheek. “Yes, you’re still you.” The scent of fear is slowly dissipating as she touches me.

“Can I show you my wolf? You can say no. Don’t feel like you have to say yes.” This is going to make or break the entire thing for us. Gods, I hope I don’t fuck this up or my brothers will skin me alive.

“Yes? I mean, if you really want to. You seem reluctant, like I am to say yes.” Her eyes dart to Barrett and my brothers, then back to me. “This feels huge … Like world changing big.” She winces slightly.

Grace has no clue how hard she just hit the nail on the head with that. This step is huge, bigger than huge. For a human mate to accept our wolf is almost as important as accepting our bite. Grace stands up and then I follow her. We step down off the porch and into the backyard. I’ve never been shy, but this moment is one of the biggest moments I’ve ever experienced.

Looking back at Grace, she leans against the tree, and Barrett takes her hand. Elinor comes to stand next to Grace on the other side. I bend down and untie my boots and kick them off and pull my socks off next. The cool earth under my feet is comforting. Quickly, I pull my shirt off over my head and hear the gasp from Grace. My body is littered with scars and various wounds. I know it’s probably shocking to her.

Lithe fingers ghost over my flesh and I feel Grace’s fingers move over the dozens of wounds that litter my back. My back tattoo covers most of the wounds, camouflaging them from sight. She steps in front of me and looks up. Her eyes betray nothing that’s happening under the surface. Her scent doesn’t betray her emotions either, which puts me at a disadvantage. Gently, her hands ghost over my abdomen and down to the belt that’s holding my pants up. Her eyes don’t leave mine as I feel her tug at the belt and pull it free. This has to be the single most erotic moment of my life.

The backs of her knuckles brush my lower stomach as she goes for the button on my jeans. My senses are on high alert, paying attention to every blink and change in her breathing. Her heart is beating slowly and steadily. Perhaps I have the same calming effect on her that she does me. The sound of the zipper lowering is loud compared to how silent the woods are. It’s as if time has stopped just for us. My pants fall and Grace’s eyes don’t leave mine. She doesn’t even attempt to look down. Her nostrils flair slightly and her pupils dilate as she stares up at me.

“Let him out.” She says as she backs up. It’s now that she takes me in fully and double blinks. Compared to my brothers, I didn’t get the short end of the stick when it came to cocks.

The shift comes over me easily. It feels like water washing over my body to me. Thousands of shifts later and the old ripping, tearing, and popping is a welcome feeling now. It’s almost peaceful. Shaking out my fur, I close my eyes, staying still knowing how much the yellow gold of wolven eyes has freaked Grace out in the past. “Take my hand, Gracie. I’ll go with you.” I hear Barrett coaxing Grace to move with him.

My heart sinks a little, thinking that my mate fears the other side of me. “I’m okay, Barrett, just a little shocked. It was amazing to watch.” The next thing I know, I feel her fingers threading through my fur around my neck. “Open your eyes Wolfie I want to see you.”

She seriously called me Wolfie. Griffin is laughing and I’m fighting my urge to growl at him. Opening my eyes, I find my mate and her daughter standing much closer than I was expecting. Ashina is reaching for me, so I step forward slowly and press my nose into her hand. Hysterical baby giggles fill the air as she pats my muzzle. Gracie is watching her daughter’s interaction with me and I see the baby’s eyes shift golden. Her pup is damn close to surfacing. “Griff, we don’t have long before the baby daddy can sense his daughter.” No sooner I say the words through the bond does Griffin move.

“Baby girl, can you turn your daughter towards me, please?” Grace complies immediately and Griffin shakes his head. “It’s not much longer before she will shift for the first time.”

“That’s a good thing, right? I mean, it’s good for a pup to shift, isn’t it?” Grace’s brows furrow as she looks between all of us.

“Not in this case.” Conrad answers.

“Her father will be able to sense where she is and track her here.” Barrett’s dejected tone makes my heart break..

“No. No. No. No … He can’t find us…” Grace looks around, panicked, and then down at me. “What are we going to do? What can we do?” Her eyes jump between everyone gathered, hoping for an answer.

Shifting back to my human form, I pull my pants on quickly. “We move you into the Alpha house and protect you and the baby there.” For once, I use my tone and everyone stops and listens. Nodding slowly, Griffin agrees with my decision.

“I don’t enjoy doing this, baby girl, but for yours and your daughter’s safety, you need to have one of us with you at all times.” Griffin tries to take on a softer approach, but I can already see Grace getting ready to rail against him.

This is going to be an interesting courtship.

Chapter 15

Grace

~It can’t rain all the time - Jane Silberry~

Everything I thought was real is a lie. Shifters are real, my daughter is one, and apparently fated mates are a thing. My mind feels like it’s going to explode. My daughter’s eyes flicker between human blue and wolf gold. Listening to the brothers and Grams talk about needing to keep Ashina and me safe is making my head hurt. Passing my daughter off to Ethan, I pace the living room the moment Conrad leaves to go pack up my things at my place.

“Gracie, we need you to ride with Griffin with your daughter. It will be safer for the two of you in the truck.” I glance over at Griffin and then back over at Barrett. I’m honestly not convinced that he’s thrilled about sharing the truck with me.

Griffin dips his head in my direction, then heads out the door to his truck. Glancing at Barrett, then over at Ethan, I reluctantly head out the front door to find Griffin pacing by the truck. “I’m sorry I took so long.” My voice betrays my fear over what’s coming.

Griffin freezes in his tracks and closes the distance between us and cages me in his arms. He presses my back to the grill of his truck as he lowers his face to be within inches of my face. “I would die before I would ever let anything harm you or Ashina.” He drives forward, using his body to hold me against the truck as he leans down and kisses me. My nerve endings are alive, every inch of me feels electric.

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