Chapter three for my self made prompt, Prompt. Word: Growl. Enjoy!


Growl

As soon as they entered the bookstore, Grace could tell something was off. The normally peaceful setting was disturbed by sounds that were very out of place. Loud whispers and high pitched giggling filled up the small space, and grated on Graces nerves. Looking around Sam, who was standing in front of her, she saw them. Three girls her age stood between the shelves, laughing obnoxiously at some book they had found. Instantly, Grace disliked them.

When they heard the door close, the girls looked up. Two looked away, unconcerned, but one locked her gaze on Sam. Grace's eyes narrowed. The girl was tall and slim. Her shiny brown hair went to her mid back, and her bangs cut across her face. She was dressed to impress, though who she was impressing here, Grace didn't know. Her low cut jeans and tight fitting, dangerously low top showed off her figure. Grace wondered how she didn't freeze to death. What irked her he most though, was the way she was looking at Sam. Her pretty, almond shaped eyes were locked on his lanky frame, though Grace noted, somewhat thankfully, that he was not aware of this. There was something calculating in her gaze, and her mouth was set in a determined smirk. Everything about this girl set off little alarm bells in Grace's head.

Sam started to make his way to the back of the store, where the stairway to their little hideaway was located, and Grace trailed after him slowly, keeping an eye on the group of girls. The one who had been staring at Sam, Doe Eyes, as Grace christened her, turned back to her friends. It was obvious that she was the leader. When she spoke, the other girls practically stood at attention, drinking in her every word. Grace rolled her eyes. The more she watched this girl, the more she disliked her. With a flip of her hair, Doe Eyes left her friends and started to walk towards the back of the store. Something tickled the back of Grace's mind, but she pushed it aside, not wanting to jump to conclusions. She was probably just looking for the bathroom so she could fix her makeup.

While Grace had been watching the girl, Sam had gotten a few steps in front of her. They were coming up to a break in the bookshelves. On the other side of the shelf to her right, Grace saw Doe Eyes. She was at the end of her row, watching Sam through a crack in the novels with a glint in her eye. She grabbed a book without looking at it and opened it in her hands. Pretending to read it, she stepped out from behind the bookcase and started walking.

Grace saw all this, and understood what was happening. Doe Eyes and Sam were on a collision course, and not by accident. She felt something well up in the back of her throat as she tried to fry the girl with her glare. Some primal instinct told her that this girl was not to come in any sort of contact with Sam. He was with her.

Quickening her pace, Grace reached them just as Doe Eyes ran straight into Sam. She heard the high-pitched 'oomph' sound the girl made as she pretended to be caught unawares. She saw the manicured hand come up to rest lightly on his arm, and she saw that perfect little mouth open and start to speak.

Poor Sam had been taken totally by surprise, and was confused when Grace pushed her way roughly between him and the girl. One second everything had been normal, and the next, he was getting bumped, pushed and shoved all around. A little disoriented, he stumbled back a step and turned to Grace for an explanation.

"Wha-" He was cut off before he finished his sentence by a strange rumbling sound. It sounded almost like growling, except just a little more high pitch... Sam's eyes widened. Spluttering, he stepped closer to Grace and placed his hand on her shoulder. It couldn't be...

"Grace, are you...?"

There it was, he could feel it under his hand. The slight tremors emanating from the center of her chest, bubbling up through her body and forcing their way out of her throat. She seemed completely unaware of the fact.

Shaking Sam's hand off her shoulder, she took a threatening step forward, sticking her face right in front of the startled girl.

"Listen up," She spit out, her voice laced with more venom than Sam had thought her capable of.

"Sam is with me. So you-" she growled, poking viciously at the girl's chest, "Can back the hell off."

Sam's eyes widened.

Inching even closed to the now very confused girl, she whispered, "He's mine."

She pulled back abruptly, taking a few backwards steps, forcing a speechless Sam further away from Doe Eyes, who muttered something unintelligible and scurried back to the friends she had left hiding in the aisles.

Grace watched her retreating back with a defensive glint in her eye, her body tense, though by now the growling had stopped. When she was sure Doe Eyes was gone for good, she turned to a flabbergasted Sam.

"You-! I-! She-! What, was that?" he managed to splutter out.

Grace ducked her head and shielded her face with her hair, a blush staining her cheeks. What had come over her? In hindsight, she could see that nothing would have happened. She trusted Sam enough to know that he wouldn't just run off with some girl. Why had she reacted like that? Now she felt like everybody in the world had just witnessed her little display of...

What, exactly?

Protectiveness? Possessiveness? She blushed harder. Most likely the latter. But, growling? Come on. That was so not her. Hell, the normal her probably would have just stood by and watched the scene play out. But whenever she thought of that girls hands all over Sam, she just wanted to go over and rip her arms off. Even thinking about it was making the hairs on the back of her neck raise, and all her muscles tense. She had to force herself not to drop into a defensive crouch. What the hell was wrong with her? She was acting like a territorial animal, defending what was hers.

While Grace had been taking her time sorting through her thoughts, Sam waited for an answer, and had a few thoughts of his own. That was the strangest thing. Grace had come flying out of nowhere when that girl had walked into him. He felt sorry for the poor girl. Grace sure knew how to be intimidating, which he never would have thought possible. Who would have thought that Grace of all people would be so... So... What? Defensive? No, that wasn't quite right. More like... Territorial.

Sam inhaled sharply. That was it, wasn't it? Grace had been defending her territory. Almost like a...

Wolf.

Grace's head snapped up, flinging her hair away from her face as she stared at Sam, her eyes wide, and he knew she had come to the same conclusion he had.

A huge grin split across his face.

"I told you so."


AN: Alright, here we go, finally got the next chapter up! Sorry it took me forever, I kind of... coughforgotaboutitcough. Hem hem. Anyway, again, this chapter was for the prompt growl, and in case you didn't get it, refers to the speculations about Grace overcoming the wolf bite when she was trapped in the car. Please message me if you find any mistakes in grammar. Reviews are greatly appreciated!