Unclaimed

Chapter Four

After my shower, I decided to keep wearing Alpha Grady's shirt because it smelled like him and he was the one of very few people who had provided me comfort since being marked. I traded my sports bra for something prettier and my leggings for jeans. I leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, trying to stop my mind from racing.

The thought of being a rogue wolf had never been scary to me before, but when it became a real option, it scared me shitless. I blamed at least a little of the fear on how different this pack was. My subconscious had screamed that this place seemed like a place I might prefer to call my home, and I was nowhere near ready to leave it. I could make new friends, and if Alpha Grady actually found someone who could take away my mark, maybe my own family.

I shifted to get more comfortable while I yawned, and then I was asleep.

**

I woke slowly, disoriented again. This time I knew where I was, but I had no idea what time it was. I checked my clock and saw that it was twelve thirty. I cursed myself as I jumped up and slipped on shoes to run to Alpha Grady's house. He had told me to make sure I was back for lunch, but didn't tell me when. Just before I opened the door to his house, I calmed my breathing so he wouldn't know I had run.

I swung open the door, closing it quietly behind me, and peered into the kitchen. Crap, I must be late. Alpha Grady already sat at the island.  I squeezed in beside him and sat where I had the night before. I put my hand on his arm to draw his attention. I knew I needed him to look at me. "I'm sorry if I'm late," I said when his eyes turned to mine. "I fell asleep."

His eyes turned down to my shirt, then back to my eyes. "You're still wearing my shirt."

"Yeah, I fell asleep in it and then I didn't have time to change it." I dropped my hand back into my lap.

An amused grin spread over his face. "But you changed your other clothes."

Suppressing an eye roll, I blushed at the floor. "I just decided to keep it on." When my cheeks cooled, I looked back up and noticed Alpha Grady was still watching me.

Grandma Alpha stepped in, then, and grinned at the two of us. She pulled a baking dish from the oven, and sat it on the counter. When the aroma reached my nose, I slumped against my chair. "I hope you like casseroles, Miss Charli. I make a lot of them."

"It smells amazing," I mumbled, practically drooling. After we ate, Alpha Grady took my hand and pulled me to his office. Instead of sitting at his desk, he sat next to me on the couch.

"So, I've been in touch with some of our eldest members, to see if they might have any knowledge of this happening before," he said, holding my gaze. "Unfortunately, it seems like this is rarer than I'd imagined. They said what you already told me, that cutting it off is the only way they know, but that it's dangerous. If he's dead, it shouldn't be much of a risk, but they said if he's alive, disentangling your soul from his could be too much for your body."

I acknowledged him silently with a head bob. As expected, he was going to get the same information I'd already gotten.

"I'd like to take you to meet with a witch later today, to see if she has any insight." His eyes searched mine for a response.

"Okay."

His hand slipped under mine in my lap. "Are you alright?" My heart rate picked up, and I watched his face change as he noticed. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

I shook my head. "No, the opposite. You make me more comfortable. That's why I kept your shirt-" I sucked air through my teeth as I realized what I'd been saying, but Alpha Grady laughed instead.