Grace of a Wolf (by Lenaleia) novel Chapter 156

156 Lyre: Assigned Missions

LYRE

Thankfully, Grace seems to have a natural affinity for arcana manipulation. It might seem as if it would be natural with her being an Anchor, but… surprisingly, it isn’t always.

1 frown at my phone. No Plausibility warnings yet–which is suspicious in itself. My screen glows with a stomach–sinking alert.

It isn’t like I didn’t know it was coming, but still…

[ASSIGNED MISSION: Neutralize detected agent of Chaos in Region 23–BETA.]

The alert is region–wide, meaning Owen’s probably got the same message burning a hole in his pocket. At least he’s competent.

“What’s this?” Grace is staring at her own phone with a frown. When she sees me looking at her, she turns the screen toward me. “What does this mean, Lyre? It’s from

that app.”

The familiar interface of the Divinity App glows back at me. And a mission.

But this one is different.

[ASSIGNED MISSION: Investigate disturbance in Region 20–L. Locate and secure compromised artifacts. Report findings.]

Region 20–L. Blue Mountain territory. Grace’s old pack, and the same place she was running from.

“Let me see that.” I snatch the phone, scanning for details. Grace is nowhere near ready for field assignments. She’s barely grasped the barest concept of her own power, for fuck’s sake.

Then my eyes land on the bottom of the screen.

[Temporary Guardianship Assigned By: Reaper Caeriel]

“That son of a bitch!” The words explode from me before I can stop them.

150 Lyre: Assigned Missions

The camper shudders violently, dishes rattling in the cupboards. A few books tumble from their shelf. Grace yelps as her coffee cup slides across the table, grabbing it just before it tips over the edge.

“Earthquake? Do we even get earthquakes here?!”

I force my breathing to slow, pushing my rage back into the box where I keep all my other inconvenient emotions. “No. Not an earthquake.”

That overdressed, obsessive bastard. Caeriel knows exactly what he’s doing. Assigning guardianship of an untrained Anchor without consultation? Sending her back to the place she just escaped?!

He’s trying to corner me, force my hand. And the worst part is I can’t follow her there -I’m bound by my own mission parameters.

Fuck!

Before I can explain anything to Grace, the door’s yanked open. Caine fills the doorframe, wild–eyed and bristling with protective fury.

“What the hell was that?” he demands, eyes darting between us. “Grace, are you-”

No. No wolves in this conversation.

With a sharp gesture, I send a blast of concentrated air that catches him square in the chest, propelling him backward out the door. Another flick of my wrist slams it shut, and I engage every magical lock I’ve built into this camper.

2

The banging starts immediately. “Lyre! Open this goddamn door!”

I turn to Grace, who looks torn between shock and wanting to let him in. “Listen to me very carefully.” I keep my voice deadly serious, and she jerks her eyes away from the door to meet mine. “Caine cannot know about the app. Not now, not ever.”

“But why-”

“He won’t even be able to see it. The interface is perception–filtered. If you start talking about missions and divinities, he’ll think you’ve lost your mind.” I lean closer. “And if you push it, if you try to force him to see what he can’t, the system will auto–correct the plausibility breach.”

Grace’s eyebrows draw together. “What does that mean?”

156 Lyre Assigned Missions

“It means reality will shift to maintain coherence. And those shifts are rarely gentle. The banging on the door grows more insistent. “I don’t like telling you to keep secrets, especially from him. But this is beyond either of us.”

The weight of what I’m asking settles on her face. She nods slowly, reluctantly, as Caine continues his assault on my door.

“What is this mission, then? What am I supposed to do?” Grace asks, her voice steadier than I would have expected from someone who just had a mini–meltdown over learning she could control gods.

A sour taste fills my mouth as I mutter, “You need to go back to your old pack. To Blue Mountain.” The words feel like betrayal coming from my lips, and I don’t like it. “Find out what’s been compromised there.”

“Go back? There?!” Her voice goes up into a half–shriek; I can’t blame her.

I clench my jaw. “And I can’t go with you. I’m pinned here by my own assignment. Different regions.”

If I get it done quickly….

But Chaos is such a fucking pain in the ass. There’s no way I’m going to find his agent on the first try.

Damn it.

“But I don’t–I can’t-” Grace stammers, panic rising in her eyes. “They don’t want me there. And I don’t know what I’m looking for or how to-”

“You’ll figure it out. The app will help.” I run a hand through my hair with a grimace. This is not how I expected today to go. I was hoping to grab the Sleeping Beauty of a wizard and force him to track our prey down.

What was even the point of filling him with arcana if this stupid fucking mission is in the way?

This is exactly why I tried to stay away from this damn app and its headaches.

“Fuck Chaos right in his cosmic eye socket. If that pretentious divinity hadn’t made direct contact with you, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

The noise at the door grows more threatening. I hear Fenris’s deep, warning growl join

Caine’s demands. The kids are shouting, too, and Grace doesn’t like it. Her hands keep fluttering over the table as she looks at the door.

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