The Wolfless Contract Luna (Grace and Ethan) novel Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: Secret Exposed**

**Grace’s Perspective**

My heart races, a relentless drumbeat against the confines of my ribs.

Ethan looms above me, his gaze piercing and heavy with intensity, as he braces himself on the edge of the bed. The air feels thick, charged with unspoken words, the question hanging between us like a dense fog.

“Why do you smell like you have a wolf?” he asks, his voice low and steady, yet laced with something I can’t quite place.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I reply, my words spilling out in a rush, betraying my panic.

His jaw flexes, the tension palpable. “Grace.”

I sit up abruptly, forcing him to retreat slightly. My hands tremble as I attempt to smooth down his shirt, a futile effort to regain some semblance of control. “I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ellen caught the scent. A wolf’s scent on you,” he clarifies, his tone careful yet firm. “Not mine. Not Damien’s faded mark. Something new.”

The room tilts around me, and my thoughts whirl. ‘He can smell it? But I—’

“I can’t shift,” I insist, desperation creeping into my voice. “You know that. There’s no wolf.”

“Then explain the scent,” he demands, his eyes narrowing.

I press my palms against my thighs, willing my body to stop shaking. The warmth that had enveloped me earlier has vanished, replaced by a chilling dread that spreads through my chest.

‘What if he thinks I’m lying? What if he decides to send me back?’

“Maybe,” I stammer, swallowing hard. “Maybe it was Alice? This afternoon, during lunch. She introduced me to her wolf and let me feel her presence.”

Ethan freezes, his body going rigid.

“What?” he asks, disbelief coloring his tone.

“Alice shifted for me in the garden,” I explain, my words tumbling out faster now. “Just her eyes—they changed, became her wolf’s eyes. She wanted to show me what it was like. Maybe her scent lingered?”

He studies me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, I see a flicker of something across his face—an emotion that vanishes before I can identify it.

“No,” he states flatly, his voice leaving no room for argument.

“How can you be so sure?” I challenge, my frustration bubbling to the surface.

His gaze locks onto mine, unwavering. “Because I’m the most powerful Alpha in this world. I can tell the difference between a she-wolf’s scent and something awakening inside you.”

His words strike me like a physical blow, reverberating through my very core. ‘Something awakening inside me.’

“That’s not possible,” I protest, my voice trembling. “I’ve been wolfless for seven years. Seven years, Ethan. Nothing is waking up.”

“Then why does Ellen smell it when we—” He pauses, raking a hand through his hair. “When we’re close like this.”

Heat floods my cheeks, and I can only stammer, “I don’t know.”

“Grace—”

“I really don’t know!” The words burst forth, raw and unfiltered. “Sometimes, when we’re together, when things get intense, I feel—I hear something. A voice, maybe. Or a presence. But it’s not real. It can’t be real because I don’t have a wolf.”

Silence stretches between us, heavy and suffocating.

Ethan’s expression softens, the tension in his shoulders easing. A flicker of something akin to satisfaction crosses his face.

“You hear her,” he states quietly, his tone almost reverent.

“I hear something. That doesn’t mean—”

“You hear your wolf when we’re intimate.” He leans closer, his scent enveloping me—pine, smoke, and something wild. “That’s what Ellen’s been sensing. Your wolf responding to mine.”

My breath hitches in my throat. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“It makes perfect sense.” His hand cups my cheek, his thumb brushing my skin with a featherlight touch. “Your wolf went dormant after trauma. But with the right trigger—the right connection—she could wake up.”

‘He sounds so sure. Too sure.’

“But just now, when you asked—” I search his face for answers. “I didn’t feel anything. I didn’t hear anything. If what you’re saying is true, shouldn’t I have felt her then too?”

His smile is slow, dangerous, like the calm before a storm. “Maybe she only comes out when you’re not thinking. When you’re just feeling.”

Heat pools low in my belly. “Ethan—”

“We should test it.” His voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper. “More often. See if we can draw her out completely.”

“Test it?” I push against his chest, incredulous. “That’s not—you can’t just—”

“Can’t what?” His lips hover tantalizingly close to mine. “Can’t kiss you? Can’t touch you? Can’t help you find what you thought was lost?”

My hands clench into fists around his shirt, caught in a tumult of emotions—wanting to pull him closer, yet yearning to push him away. “This is insane.”

“Maybe.” His breath brushes against my lips, tantalizing and electric. “But you felt it too. Don’t tell me you didn’t.”

I did. God help me, I did.

His mouth descends toward mine—

“No.” I turn my head, his lips grazing my cheek instead. “No, I promised Alice I’d meet her. She wants to show me somewhere special.”

Ethan pulls back, frustration flickering in his eyes. “When?”

“Soon. Now.” I slip out from beneath him, creating distance between us. “I need to go.”

“Grace—”

“I need to think.” My voice comes out sharper than I intended. “About all of this. About what you said. I can’t just—I need space.”

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