“You’d damn straight better find out,” Barlow snapped.

Cade’s eyes narrowed. “What do you think I’ve been doing?”

“Not confiding in me, obviously.”

“You weren’t here,” Cade ground out. “Or if you were, you weren’t answering your door.”

“Why didn’t you walk right in? It’s always open.”

“After the two of you were doing your mating dance in the center square, then making out in the front window? I draw the line at walking in on that.”

At least their plan had worked. Everyone thought they’d been horizontal bopping all night.

Except for the rogue. Who’d somehow known they’d be in Awanitok.

“One problem at a time,” she murmured.

Cade and Julian ignored her. They were too busy staring into each other’s eyes like alpha wolves ready to fight.

“Hey!” She grabbed their shoulders. They both jerked away and snarled at her. She let them go, holding her hands up in surrender. “We all want the same thing.” She pointed to the petri dish. “An explanation for that.”

Julian rubbed a hand over his face. He seemed so tired. Cade went back to the table and pulled out two more clean glass dishes.

“I got to thinking that I’d never compared anyone’s blood before I compared yours. And that maybe this reaction was common.” He lifted one shoulder. “Maybe it has to do with the fact that Julian made us all.”

“That would make sense,” Alex agreed.

“You’d think.” Cade went to the refrigerator and brought back several more test tubes filled with blood. He dropped the blood of someone named Barclay into the right dish and Julian’s into the left.

Nothing happened.

“Faet!” Julian said without any real heat.

“Yeah,” Alex agreed.

Cade looked at them both and lifted a brow before he reached for two more dishes and shoved the others out of the way. He dropped the blood of another werewolf onto the right and the blood from a completely different test tube than Julian’s into the left.

The one on the left boogied through the air and splashed on top of the quivering drop on the right, turning the two separate droplets into a puddle of one. Cade lifted the two mystery donors and turned the labels front and center.

“I thought you’d want to talk to them yourself,” he said.

“You thought right,” Julian agreed.

Chapter 23

Julian didn’t wait for Alex to join him. He knew that she would. Cade came along, too. Julian didn’t try to stop him.

They made their way to the EAT Café. The place was already packed with customers.

“You,” he pointed to Rose. “And you.” He pointed to Joe. “Come with me.”

Julian tramped up the steps that led to the apartment over the café, going through the unlocked door in front of Alex and Cade. The three of them waited in silence for Rose and Joe to turn over the register and grill to their employees, then join them.

They appeared scared witless. Julian had been a little harsh. Before Alex had shown up he never would have noticed.

“Sit,” he ordered.

Alex made an impatient noise to accompany the scowl she aimed in his direction. “Don’t worry,” she said to the older couple. “He won’t bite you. Again.”

Tags: Lori Handeland Nightcreature Paranormal
Source: readsnovelonline.net