Grace of a Wolf

My shoulders ache from the tension I’ve been carrying, but I check the solar panel as the kids flop onto the couches in the living room, relieved by the cool, air-conditioned air.

"The battery’s low," I mutter, checking the display panel. The numbers flicker between 10% and 11% in a way that makes my stomach knot. Something’s still not right, even though the storm has passed and everything looks normal.

"I’ll start the generator," Caine says, already heading for the door.

"Thank you," I call after him, but he’s already gone.

When he returns, the roaring of the generator accompanies his re-entry.

The battery’s already gone back to 11% and is now steady, as if all the strange flickering never happened. Relief washes through me for all of three seconds before Caine launches into action.

"All of you, go wash up," he orders the kids, who groan from their positions on the couch. Bun looks around at each of them, then mimics the groan.

"We don’t have much water—"

"We’ll sponge-bathe," he corrects himself. "We need to conserve."

"I already washed my hands," Jer protests, but Caine gives him a Look.

The boy scurries into the bathroom, followed by Sara. Immediately, there’s a spat of squawking.

"Get out of my way!"

"Stop elbowing me, Jeridiot! Go stand in the shower!"

"But we aren’t even using it."

"So? At least your ugly face won’t be next to me."

Ron sighs and gets up, but Caine waves him down. "I’ve got it."

The older kid blinks and looks at me, and I shrug. The man’s in Daddy mode again; I have no explanation for him.

Caine wades into the fray of Jer and Sara’s constant squabbling. "Take turns. Jer, wash in the shower, just don’t keep the water on. Wet this washcloth with some soap and scrub yourself down..."

Sara squeezes out of the bathroom, her face a little white from being too close to Caine again, and jumps onto the couch beside Ron, whispering, "I think he’s fattening Jer up to eat him later."

Ron shakes his head and pats hers. "He’s not going to eat us. Get over it, already."

"He is," she hisses. "Didn’t you see how mad he was when he first came back?"

"He wasn’t mad. He was concerned. There’s a difference."

She grunts. "Concerned his dinner might have run away."

My lips quirk. "Sara—"

"Sara," Caine interrupts, popping his head out of the bathroom. "I’ll have you wait until Jer and Ron are done, since you’re a girl."

The color drains out of her face as Ron heads to the bathroom. "Yes, Sir."

Caine frowns. "You don’t have to call me ’sir’, Sara. Just Caine is acceptable."

"Right, Sir."

While the kids take their turns in the bathroom—Caine even brings them their backpacks so they can get dressed in something clean—I’m ushered into a couch to sit and relax.

Bun is dragged to the kitchen sink, where Caine wipes her down on the counter and she does her best to make music with various utensils and the countertop. She’s surprisingly well-behaved for the wipe-down.

By the time she’s done, Ron is back, and he takes Bun as Caine wipes down the counters. Then he goes around straightening cushions and folding the blanket on the daybed that Jer had disturbed with his bouncing earlier. He looks like some kind of deranged househusband, moving with military precision through domestic tasks.

Bun whines from her spot in Ron’s lap, making grabby hands at nothing in particular. Ron’s trying to work the TV to play one of her favorite cartoons.

"What’s wrong, sweetheart?" I move toward her, but Caine is there in an instant, scooping her up.

"She’s thirsty," he announces, as if he’s suddenly fluent in toddler. He grabs a sippy cup from the cabinet, fills it with water, and hands it to her without missing a beat.

Even Ron looks surprised, his eyebrows raised as he turns on some show about a blue dog.

Jer groans. "Not this again."

"Bun likes it, and we left her tablet behind. So either watch it or don’t." noveldrama

"Fine. But I want to choose what we watch when she goes to bed."

"You’ll be going to bed at the same time," the Lycan King says, not even glancing up to see the disappointment on his face.

"Aw, man..."

The older girl creeps out of the bathroom, trying to avoid Caine as she goes to squeeze onto the couch beside Ron.

Thankfully, between this couch, the loveseat, and the daybed, there are enough places for all of us to sit. Jer, for example, has sprawled all over the daybed Caine just finished fixing. The comforter’s already a mess as he rolls around in boredom.

"Sara," Caine says, and the girl freezes. "Come play a card game with me. I found one in the closet. Jer, you too."

"Ca ga?" Bun asks, shaking her sippy cup.

"You can play, too," he says seriously, taking her with him as he grabs a strange box out of the closet.

I squint at it. "I don’t think this is appropriate for a toddler."

He frowns at the box. "It says it’s for humanity. How bad can it be?"

"It’s probably not appropriate for me, either," Jer says, but he looks excited. "I’ve heard about this game. It’ll be fun."

Sara hesitates, glancing at me before reluctantly joining Caine at the dinette. Jer’s a lot more enthused, and Bun just wants to grab anything within reach, demolishing every card at her fingertips.

Caine reads through the instructions, then explains the rules to the children like he’s some sort of expert.

Jer suddenly slides out of the dinette and comes running at me. "Grace, come play with us! It’s more fun with more people!"

Before he can launch himself at me, Caine’s got him by the back of the shirt.

"Grace is tired," he says, redirecting Jer to the dinette. "Why don’t you help me with Bun’s hair after this? It’s all tangled."