Page 62 of Grace of a Wolf 2
I blink.
"Honey, I'm home." Lyre's rainbow hair catches what little light filters into the cave as she saunters in like she's arriving at her own dinner party instead of a hidden shifter hideout. She waves at me with casual flippancy, cat eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
Behind her, the massive form of Jack-Eye ducks through the entrance, his red hair tied back, expression as bewildered as I feel.
"Lyre?" I ask in disbelief. "How did—"
"We followed the pizza boy," she says with a shrug. "Oldest trick in the book. You okay?"
Owen flinches when she speaks, practically jumping backward. The pizza boxes wobble dangerously in his grip, and Sara shrieks.
"Put those down before you drop them," Lyre commands, and Owen instantly complies, like he's been shocked.
Jack-Eye edges away from Lyre, pressing himself against the cave wall and maintaining at least ten feet of distance between them. His eyes never leave her, tracking her every movement like she might explode at any moment. The Beta of the Lycan Pack—a man who commands respect from alphas—looks like he's sharing space with a live grenade.
I blink again.
Am I hallucinating? I must be hallucinating. Maybe Bun ran into my head while she was flying around, and now I'm unconscious.
"Everything's fine," Owen says to the now-silent children. "They are Grace's… friends."
Ron, ever the observant one, narrows his eyes. "Are they?"
Sara grabs a box of pizza with a frown and takes five or six steps back, as if she's afraid Lyre's going to snatch it out of her hands. "Are they going to eat, too?"
Bun reaches out with a shriek. "Pah! PAH!"
But Lyre, unfazed, strolls over to the stack of pizza boxes now on the floor and flips open the top one. "Pepperoni. Basic, but acceptable."
The toddler twists, smacking my face with her chubby hands.
Nope. I'm not unconscious.
"Ron, can you…"
"Got her." The older boy plucks the toddler out of my arms. "Jer, go get her chair so she can eat."
Jer's hand pauses a millimeter from a slice of pizza, and he groans. "Fiiiiine."
"You okay, Grace?" Jack-Eye asks, without moving closer. His eyes flick from Lyre to me and back again. "Caine's on his way. He should be here soon."
Oh, dear.
Sara's concern about being eaten suddenly sounds legitimate. "Ah," I mumble, not sure what to say, but already worried about Bun. And the kids. And even Owen, who technically kidnapped me, though he seems to have had a good reason for it.
"She's fine," Lyre says, grabbing a slice of pizza. Sara's eyes follow her every move with a frown.
I can see her look at Ron and mouth,I don't think he got enough pizza.
My lips twitch.
Owen herds the children toward the food, his movements stiff. "Everyone grab some pizza and eat in the other room."
The kids, sensing the gravity in his tone, gather slices and retreat without argument. Even Bun allows herself to be guided away by Ron, who looks back at us with suspicion as they disappear around the corner.
Jer, on the other hand, sighs loudly when he has to turn around with the chair he just brought in, grumbling about how they could have told him before he got it.
With the children gone, I turn to Jack-Eye, who stands unnaturally still, his gaze fixed on a point just past Lyre's left shoulder. His entire posture screams discomfort.
