Grace of a Wolf (by Lenaleia) novel Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Grace: Domesticity

A soft scuffling sound pulls me from sleep. I blink against the dimness, my eyes adjusting to the cave’s weak morning light.

It’s the same as its evening light, just whatever’s being given by the stringed lights across the walls. It just feels darker because waking should feel bright and sunny, not dim and… well, cave-like.

Sara’s crawled from her little nest to the edge of the alcove, peering out to the main part of the cave. She slept with her hair in braids, and they’re a mess, half-fallen off her head with large strands of hair floating in every which direction.

“Owen?” she whispers, too loud to be an actual whisper.

“He’s not here.” Jer sits by his rumpled blankets, knees pulled tight to his chest. He seems very vacant for a kid full of energy. Yesterday, he couldn’t stop talking; today, he’s… monotone.

I try to sit up but discover I’m pinned. Bun’s tiny body is wrapped koala-style around my torso, her face buried so deeply into my neck I can barely even feel her warm breath puffing against my skin. It’s just there.

Both chubby hands are limp with the relaxation of deep sleep.

How do I get out of this situation?

“Bun,” I whisper, gently stroking her back. “I need to get up.”

She makes a sleepy noise of protest and burrows deeper, her tiny arms tightening with surprising strength.

“Come on, Bun-Bun. Breakfast time.”

“Nooooo,” she mumbles, clinging tighter. Her little fingers dig in like claws.

A shadow falls across us, and I look up to see Caine standing over me, his expression unreadable in the half-light.

“I’ll take her,” he offers, reaching down.

Bun’s head snaps up, suddenly fully awake. Her eyes widen at the sight of Caine’s outstretched hands. The growl emanating from her throat sounds like absolutely nothing a toddler should make—it’s pure animal warning. She actually slaps his hand away, then presses her face back against my collarbone.

His eyebrows shoot up, but the corner of his mouth quirks. “Well, then.”

He’s taking it in stride. He seems to have a soft spot for kids.

“Sorry,” I mutter, struggling to sit up while keeping Bun balanced. How do moms do this? “She’s… attached.”

From across the room, Ron’s scowling. Even without really looking at him, I can feel it. I’m not sure how long he’s been awake. “She used to come to me first,” he mutters, just loud enough for me to hear. The hurt in his voice is barely disguised beneath teenage indifference.

But instead of dwelling on it, his attention shifts to the others. He stands up, stretching his long limbs, and moves toward Jer with practiced efficiency.

“Up,” he says, not unkindly. “Sitting like that gets you nowhere.”

The younger boy doesn’t budge.

Ron sighs and crouches beside him. “Three seconds before I carry you to breakfast. One, two…”

“I’m up.” Jer stands with a sigh.

Sara’s still peering around the corner, knees to chest, and Ron heads over to ruffle her hair. “Come on. Owen will be back later.”

“He should be back already,” she argues, though there’s no heat in her voice. “He’s always back by morning.”

“Well, he’s not. Let’s eat some breakfast. Brush your hair first; you look like you stuck your finger in a light socket.”

Through some strange magic of being the eldest of the children—siblings, basically—Ron gets them all up, moving, and in the main living area, sitting in a semi-circle for breakfast. Sara’s got a plastic brush and, after multiple light swipes over her hair, she somehow looks worse than before.

“Give me that,” the teenager says, snatching the brush out of her hand. “You didn’t even take them out of their braids.”

She yawns. “Sorry. Owen always does my hair.”

It’s obvious Ron’s never done this before, as he struggles to get the black elastic bands out of her hair. The girl yelps every so often as his fingers comb through tangles trying to undo her braids, but she seems to be doing better under his care than before, no longer obsessively staring and waiting for Owen to walk through the door.

I don’t know how to do this. These aren’t my kids. I have exactly zero experience with children; I don’t know what they eat, if they have routines, or how to read their cues. I don’t know how to comfort them without Owen here.

The panic rises in my throat, sharp and sudden. I didn’t sign up for four kids overnight. I’m barely holding my own life together. And yet I’m taking on the responsibility of a toddler somehow, one who won’t stop clinging to me despite me having no idea what to do or even where her clean diapers are stored. Ron’s been the one to get them all.

And if I take Bun, I can’t leave the others behind. So they’re all mine now, but Ron is only a few years younger than me, and I have no idea how I’m supposed to teach a girl how to brush her hair. How did my mom teach me? I can’t even remember not knowing.

Caine clears his throat, pulling me from my spiral. He’s moved to the kitchenette, standing in front of the open refrigerator with a perplexed expression.

“Why are there twelve pounds of carrots?” he asks, staring into its depths.

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