Cade Read Online Free Page B

normal. It would be so easy to do. Yet everything inside him violently rebelled against even the mere idea. He knocked the gears into reverse and turned the car around. There was a smaller road, a lane, which led to where Stephen lived. He didn’t stop to question his decision. Stephen was his best friend. He trusted him with his life. Smart and witty, he might like to put on a façade of nonchalance and sarcastic drollness, but no one could ever doubt his acute intelligence, or his great leadership qualities. As future head of the society, their people would follow him unquestioningly when his time came. And as crazy as Cade’s actions might seem to him right now, he knew that he could indubitably count on his friend’s help. 
    Stephen didn’t live far. Most Others lived in areas together. Stephen still lived with his parents and younger sisters. Cade took the route slowly and cautiously. It would be just his luck to drive straight into one of the Humans’ blockades and screw himself and the boy right over. Luckily, the way to Stephen’s was down the quiet lanes. It was dark. There were no streetlights to illuminate the way. The Humans hadn't come this way yet. The trees here still remained untouched and undamaged. But even with no Humans around, Cade kept his headlights low. He wasn’t about to risk alerting anyone to his presence.
    The day’s fog had settled all around like a ghostly mist. Moths fluttered from the darkness and raced one another to the lights of the car as they beamed weakly through the white veil. Cade glanced in the mirror.
    The boy was awake and staring right at Cade. His eyes were wide, piercing, his teeth bared. Cade’s heart lurched. “Shit,” he muttered. He knew full well the danger he had just found himself in. The hunger was awakening in the boy’s body, and that meant that the half-breed was very, very dangerous at the moment. His eyes had shifted, wild and bright, and his teeth were now that of his wolf ... Cade swallowed hard and slowly pulled the car to a stop, all the while making certain to maintain eye contact.
    He turned in his seat slowly, making sure not to make any sudden movements. His eyes locked with the boy’s, and the half-shifted child growled menacingly. His face contorted as he let out a guttural cry. His hand shot forward, fingers flexing as if they would break, and Cade ducked to the side to avoid razor-sharp claws.
    “Breathe,” Cade said quietly, frustrated that all he could do was try and talk the boy down from the craziness going on inside him. Grabbing him or trying to hold him down would only incense him further. “Listen to me and breathe.”
    The boy clawed at his face, gouging his skin until angry red lines marred the surface. Cade swore and fought the urge to grab his hands and stop him.  
    “Listen to my voice,” soothed Cade. “Listen to me. Breathe in,” Cade sucked in his breath, loud, but slow so that the boy could hear, “and out.” He exhaled in the same way. After a moment, the boy followed suit. Relief washed over Cade. “That’s right. That’s it. Keep doing that. Breathe.”
    A moment later, the boy’s head snapped back, and a sound that was neither Human nor Other rippled through the air, deep and feral. His claws dug into the upholstery of the seat in front of him and tore chunks away.
    “Shit,” Cade muttered. They didn’t have time for this. He closed his eyes and centred on his own wolf , calling to him from the depths of his mind. The wolf rested on the edge, like resting the car at biting point. Cade’s own teeth began to shift, but he didn’t let them out fully. His eyes changed, though, the wolf responding to Cade’s call.
    “Listen to me,” Cade rasped, his voice deeper now, a mixture of man and wolf . “Listen to me and calm .”
    The boy thrashed about in response, tortured sounds emanating from deep within. Cade’s hands shot out and his palms connected forcefully with the boy’s. The child froze at the