Page 77 of Grace of a Wolf 2


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Caine goes still. It's not a good sign, but I'm determined to stand my ground.

It isn't like I'm trying to break up with him. I'm not even trying to create distance. All I'm asking for is boundaries. Building a relationship the right way. Starting from scratch.

Not relying on a bond.

Rafe's already shown me the bond isn't everything. If it was, he wouldn't go behind Ellie's back to come back to me.

The kind of relationship I want isn't one where I spend my life worried my partner's only with me because he's required to be. I want an equal partnership. And—most of all—I don't want to be powerless.

Caine's the Lycan King. He can order anyone to do anything. If I become his mate…

There's a lot to unpack. I don't know if he's going to want me to take on any responsibilities; I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't. But these are all conversations we need to have at some point,beforeI decide to join him and his pack.

Right?

"You chose me," he says, each word delivered with absolute certainty. "You want to be with me."

The conviction in his voice makes my breath catch. It's not a question, not even a statement seeking confirmation. It's a foregone conclusion in his mind. A fact as immutable as gravity.

"I am drawn to you," I say softly, carefully. It feels like walking through a minefield, and I'm worried he's going to take my words the wrong way. "But I don't know if our future is feasible yet."

Chapter thirty-six

Grace: Choice

His face—ah, his face. It's like watching a fortress wall crack in real time. Something vulnerable and raw flashes behind those storm-gray eyes before his expression hardens again. My words have genuinely blindsided him.

"Feasible," he echoes. He looks as if he's hearing the word for the first time.

I shift again. Both buttcheeks have lost feeling, but I still don't want to interrupt Bun's sleep. "Yeah. You know—long-term. Values. Morals. Views of the future."

"You're questioning whether to accept the mate bond." His voice drops an octave, rougher around the edges. Not threatening, but definitely unsettled.

"No. I've accepted it—"

"Have you?"

"I'm notdenyingit. I'm just asking formore. This isn't just about some mystical connection, Caine. It's about two people with separate lives figuring out if they're compatible."

His laugh is short and harsh. "Compatibility is irrelevant. The bond doesn't make mistakes."

"Maybe not for shifters," I counter. "But I'm human. And humans don't typically commit our entire futures to someone we've known for less than a week."

Bun stirs against me, her tiny nose scrunching up before settling back down. I lower my voice further.

"I want to get to know you," I continue. "The real you—not just the Lycan King or the guy who can make my body feel things I didn't know were possible. Not as the man who killed people I've known for years. I want to know Caine so well I can judge what you're thinking just by the way the skin wrinkles at the corner of your eyes, or how your lips curve up or down. If we don't have that, is it really a relationship at all?"

Caine rubs a hand over his face, frustration radiating from him. "You speak as if we're strangers deciding whether to date."

I mean—aren't we?

It's hard to understand why he thinks we're not.

"Aren't we?" I ask quietly. "Besides you being possessive and lethal, what do I really know about you?"

His gaze shifts to Bun, then back to me. "I've been trying to picture it," he admits, and the vulnerability in his tone catches me off-guard. "You, with me. Children. A home."

I bite my lip. "I haven't."