Free Blood Secrets-Valorian 1 by Vivi Anna Page A

was figuring out how to explain to Jace that he was moving Eve, a human, ahead of him on the case.
    He could explain the politics to the lycan, but he knew that Jace couldn’t care less. All Caine’s fiercest team member wanted was to follow the clues. By nature, Jace was a tracker, born and bred to follow his nose. Now Caine was going to put a barrier in front of him.
    It wasn’t going to be pleasant. Jace wasn’t the most even-tempered person Caine knew.
    He could be volatile in certain circumstances, and those circumstances had now appeared.
    He picked up the phone and punched in Jace’s beeper number. No time like the present to engage in deadly combat with a one-hundred-and-ninety-pound lycan.
    Within minutes, Jace appeared at the open door. “Hey, Chief, what’s up?”
    “Shut the door and take a seat.”
    Jace lifted a brow while he swung the door closed. “Uh-oh, what did I do now?” He stalked over to the chair and flopped down into it.
    Caine leaned on his desk and looked at his investigator, unsure how to proceed. Jace had a level of unpredictability that Caine didn’t like. It was probably the only reason Caine hadn’t promoted him to a level three investigator. This was going to be the case that Caine would’ve evaluated to give him that promotion.
    Jace smirked. “That bad, eh?”
    “I have to place Eve on lead.”
    Springing forward in his seat, Jace growled, “Excuse me? I don’t think I heard you right.”
    “I’m sorry. The baron gave me no choice in the matter.”
    Jace exploded out of his chair and prowled the room. “I can’t believe this. An NOP
    comes into our lab and takes our case. What else does she want, our souls?”

    Anger swelled over Caine. He didn’t like the way Jace spoke about Eve. He understood the lycan’s animosity toward humans. Out of them all, Jace had suffered the most, despite his claims otherwise. However, his seething hatred toward Eve made Caine want to jump out of his seat and defend her. It was irrational, but the feeling was present nonetheless.
    “Jace, I understand your resentment. I feel it, too, but I would ask that you refrain from using that word in referring to Eve. She has done you no wrong, and is only here to help.”
    Stopping in his tracks, Jace glowered down at Caine. “Eve is only here to help,” he echoed. “What is the matter with you, Valorian? Are you attracted to her or something?
    You want to nail her, is that it?”
    Before Jace even had time to blink, Caine was out of his chair and looming down at him.
    The urge to wrap his hand around Jace’s neck surged through him violently, like a rabid fever. He had to clench his hands into fists to stop from reaching for Jace.
    “This is exactly why I won’t promote you, Jace. You are irrational and hotheaded. That may help you gain status in your pack, but the only thing it does here, in my lab, is create unnecessary tension and conflict.”
    Caine could taste the lycan’s fury. It was thick and cloying, almost overpowering. But he didn’t back down. He couldn’t, not when confrontation was the only thing the stubborn lycan understood. In this lab, Caine was the alpha male.
    Finally, after several tense minutes, Jace took a step back and dropped his gaze, indicating Caine’s superiority. “I won’t work under her.”
    “Understood.” Caine nodded. “And I didn’t expect you to, either. This is my lab, and I run the show. She’s just going to be the star attraction for a while, like a circus act, okay?”
    After a few moments, Jace’s anger abated and he slowly unclenched the fists at his sides.
    He nodded, indicating his agreement.
    Sighing with relief, Caine stepped back and sat on the edge of his desk. “Why don’t you take a few hours? Go home, get some rest, eat and come back refreshed.”
    “Is that an order?” Jace asked, his usual humor alight in his eyes.
    “Make it a strong suggestion.”
    “All right, Chief.” He turned and reached for the door. Turning the