Chapter 63

~Grace~

“You have to confront him!” I told Alex, pacing the small floor of the medical room.

Alex sighed, his brow furrowed. I could tell he was frustrated.

“Grace… is reuniting with you not enough?”

I let out a short hiss of air. Why was he being difficult about this? This didn’t just affect him, this was about my parents, too!

If I were to find out the truth about what happened to my parents, we had to ask Liam.

He had to know about this. Which meant that he had been lying to me all along. Or at least his mother was, and she had to have known my identity if my parents were in her pack.

I growled, running my hands through my hair. I was still soaked from being outside in the pouring rain.

Then, I stopped.

What was I so worked up about? Alex was here with me, now. Things would be all right.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath to ground myself.

“I’m glad you’re here, Alex,” I said, my voice much softer. “How did you get here, anyway? Why were you in the water?”

Alex chuckled, closing his eyes.

“Ah, I was hoping you wouldn’t ask. It’s… a little embarrassing.”

I looked at him quizzically, and his face darkened.

“I’d… actually rather not talk about it. Let’s just say I swam, alright?”

I opened my mouth to argue, but there was this pain in his eyes that made me stop. Whatever happened to him to get here… it seemed serious.

I’d ask about it later, if it ever got brought up again.

A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts, and the door opened slowly to reveal the doctor, who grinned at us.

“Excuse me, I didn't mean to interrupt… but I just wanted to inform you that the storm has stopped.”

I smiled. It was about time. It felt like it went on for hours.

The doctor continued. “And… there is a boat ready at your convenience.”

I blinked, confused. “A boat?”

The doctor’s eyes flicked between Alex and I. “Yes, a boat. I believe the Lycan King requested it.”

Before I could stutter out a reply, Alex spoke up.

“It’s for us, Grace. I wanted to get you out of here as soon as possible.”

For a moment, I felt an urgent denial–that I had to stay here, but then I remembered that I really didn’t. I came here with Christopher and I didn’t really want to spend any more time with him than I had to.

The boat’s activities were nice and it took my mind off of things for a while, but now that I no longer needed to distract myself, there really wasn’t anything tying me here anymore.

“Alright,” I agreed.

I’ll admit, it felt good to be back on land again. It wasn’t awful being on a boat, but I felt far more comfortable on solid ground.

Alex looked especially relieved. I desperately wanted to know what happened before he got out to me on the cruise ship, how he got out into the ocean and ended up half-drowned in the water, but I kept my mouth shut for now.

Something else was bothering me more.

Ever since Alex told me the story of his clan, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Was it really true?

Whatever the case was, it was clear to me that Liam needed to be confronted.

Why had he never said anything about this before? Or his mom, for that matter?

Did that mean that Liam was part Lycan? Was his dad Liam’s dad? Would that make him my half brother-in-law?

Ugh.

My head started to hurt.

I was getting focused on the wrong things. I wanted to know what really happened to my parents. I know what Alex told me, but-

I just couldn’t believe it. Not yet, not without evidence.

It’s not that I distrusted Alex, it’s just that… there was something strange about this whole situation. It’s odd that I never heard anything about it from Liam or his mother.

I didn’t even know Liam’s mother knew my parents to begin with.

I signed.

The only way to shed light on this was to question Liam, and I’d do it whether or not Alex would come with me. I just figured he’d be interested, since it involves his past, too.

We tramped through thick brush and trees. It seemed that Alex had gotten dropped off out here, and we had no signal to call for a ride back.

I didn’t mind walking with him, anyway. I was just glad we were together again, and things didn’t feel awkward.

However, I did feel awful for not believing Alex in the first place. If I only had placed a little more faith in him, and let him explain himself, then none of this would have happened.

I wondered if Christopher was missing me about now. He might have figured I was still doing various activities on the ship, but soon enough, he’d figure out I was no longer on the boat.

I felt a little bad that I ditched him without saying anything. Not that I should, he was absolute scum and he deserved no pity, but he had been really nice to me on the ship.

I shook my head.

Whatever. That didn’t matter right now, anyway.

“When we get back, we need to plan a meeting with Liam,” I said.

I heard Alex sigh.

“Why are you so hung up on that?”

I shot him a glare. Why did it always feel like he was discrediting me when I brought this up? He was the one who came up with this idea in the first place! He gave me the idea!

“Because I want to know more about what happened to my parents,” I told him honestly, exasperated.

He sighed. “That’s it?”

“What do you mean, ‘that’s it?’ Don’t you know my parents are important to me? I figured yours were, too.”

I winced as soon as the words left my mouth. I knew that I had taken it too far.

Alex was silent.

The sound of crunching leaves and twigs filled the air, and the trees swayed in the wind. It was still so cold out here.

I left all of my luggage on the boat, as all of it was just things Chirstopher gave to me, anyway.

I just wished I had some dry clothes to change into.

I shivered.

“Alex, I’m sorry, I shouldn't have said that,” I said quietly.

“It’s fine. Maybe you’re right. I haven’t been that proactive in seeking vengeance for my family. I’ve just… found something I’ve cared about more,” he spoke.

I looked at him curiously.

Alex smiled. “Grace, it’s you. I don’t want to seek revenge anymore when I have you.”

Oh.

I felt myself blush, and I tucked my hair behind my ear.

A rush of wind blew past me, making me shiver again. The sky was dark.

Suddenly, a soft hissing noise filled the air, and I stopped to see what it was. After a moment, I was pelted with rain droplets. I realized the noise came from the steady stream of rain hitting the leaves above.

I put my hands over my head. Ugh, not again! I was already cold and wet, I had just started to dry off!

Alex grabbed my hand.

“Let’s find somewhere to stay for the night,” he shouted through the rain, squinting as water fell over his eyes.

I blushed and nodded. I missed sleeping in his arms.