Chapter 39

~Grace~

I must have blacked out because I don’t remember how I got on the floor. I opened my eyes groggily, realizing I was looking up at Alex’s concerned face.

I scrunched my brows together, remembering the last thing I could–Alex in his lycan form jumping straight at me. It frightened me so much I fainted.

But now, here he was, no longer shifted.

How long was I out? What happened?

I looked down at myself, searching for wounds or trying to feel any pain–had he actually attacked me?

“You’re really something else,” Alex breathed, looking down at me with fondness.

I looked at him with confusion. Had I done something?

I noticed Enzo leaning against the wall, looking at me with affection as well. What? What had I done?

“I don’t understand what’s going on here,” I said, looking between the two. “Last I remember, you were jumping right at me.”

Alex laughed. “Yes, I’m sorry about that. In my… feral state, it seems I still recognized you.”

I tilted my head, not following. “Then why did you leap at me?”

He sighed, as if not sure how to form his words. “I didn’t really have control, not yet. I was trying to protect you.”

I stared up at him. Protect me? “You nearly scared me to death!”

He shifted, a little uncomfortably. Something in his face told me that he wasn’t proud of his actions.

I suddenly felt bad. Alex had no control over himself, and he was probably horribly guilty for what had happened… Imagine if he hadn’t recognized me and simply chose to attack me. Nobody, not even himself, could stop him.

I fell quiet, and the room carried a weight of foreboding with that knowledge.

But something didn’t quite add up yet.

“How did you shift back? What happened then?” I asked.

Alex looked back down at me, his expression warm. “You… soothed me.”

I did?

He must have read my confused expression, because he continued to explain. “When I looked at you, it wasn’t like I just recognized you, it was like… you calmed my mind and brought me back to my senses.”

Wow, really? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Good, I suppose, that I could calm him down in his feral state. But would it work every time or just this time?

I wasn’t sure what I really even did, so it wasn't like I could prepare to do the same thing next time something like that happened.

“I… don’t really know what to say,” I told him, a little awkward.

He smiled slightly.”Nobody has been able to do that before, Grace. There’s something about you that, in your very soul, people can see that you are a kind woman, selfless beyond need. Maybe my wolf just sensed that.”

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. I don’t think Alex had ever said something so kind, so genuine to me before, and it felt so special and rare that I had to hold back tears.

Alex looked at me with a look of deep affection, suddenly pulling me into a tight embrace.

I hugged him back, breathing in his scent deeply. There was something different about this hug. The way he held me, the stiffness in his shoulders, his uneven breathing… He was emotional.

I just wasn’t sure about what. But that didn’t matter. I squeezed him tightly, running my hands through his hair.

Maybe I didn’t need to understand right now, I only needed to comfort him.

From the wall, Enzo stood up straight. I looked at him with a soft expression, and he gave me a nod, understanding the moment. He quietly slipped out of the room. I wasn't sure Alex even noticed.

“Alex? I’m here for you,” I whisper quietly into his ear. He hugged me tighter, his entire body tense.

I was really worried, but I felt too nervous to ask what was wrong. I didn’t want to invade his privacy. If he wanted to tell me, he would.

We stayed like that for a long time, just holding each other in our arms, sitting on his bedroom floor. It was a nice moment.

Finally, Alex spoke up, his voice quiet and uncertain, as if not sure he wanted to speak these words out loud.

“I was so scared I’d hurt you,” he breathed, running his hand down through my hair.

I sighed, smiling slightly. Oh, that’s what this was all about.

I felt warm, knowing how much he cared for me. It was nice that he was bothered by the incident; it was good to know that he truly didn’t want to see me get hurt.

But I could understand his pain. I imagined that I couldn’t control myself when I shifted, and I killed or injured a person I cared for very much when I didn’t have control… It was devastating.

I suddenly pulled him in tighter with new understanding. I could only imagine how he felt, but I knew he was hurting.

In the end, I was fine, and he was, too. We were both scared, but it was over, now.

“It’s okay, you’re okay. We’re here, now,” I whispered, rubbing his back gently.

He stayed still for a moment before finally pulling away.

There was a dark, passionate look in his eyes as he held me by my shoulders, looking me over.

“What perfume are you wearing?”

What? I stared at him in confusion.

“I’m not wearing any perfume.” I really wasn’t. Maybe he was smelling the shampoo in my hair or something?

Besides, what did that matter right now? I thought we were having a moment.

Alex lowered his brows. “You’re not?”

I shook my head again, not sure why he was being so persistent about this.

Suddenly, he stood up. “Will you be alright here?” He asked, and I continued watching him with confusion. What was all this about?

“Yes, what’s going on?”

He gave me a quick look, but was already headed for his bedroom door.

“I just need to check on a few things.”

~Alex’s POV~

That smell. It smelled so strong and sweet, like it penetrated my very senses. It was intoxicating, I loved it. I couldn’t get enough of it.

But if she really wasn’t wearing perfume, that could only mean one thing.

Grace was my mate.

She had to be. It all lined up, the way she could soothe my feral state, the fact that I could recognize her even when feral, the scent.

But, how could this be? A werewolf as my mate? None of this made sense, something wasn’t adding up.

I hadn’t asked her about her family before, and I didn’t know much about her past. Maybe something was hiding there for me to discover, something that would connect all of these pieces.

I would look into her past and find out where she came from, how she got to where she is now.

Apprehensively, I sped up my walking speed. If there was something in there I didn’t want to see…

But I had to know. It didn’t matter what was in the past.

I would find out who Grace Windsong really was.