Free Breed of Havoc (The Breed Chronicles #3) by Lanie Jordan Page A

to repeat the process.
    “Step away from the glass. Now.” Her tone was calm but hard.
    I didn’t need told twice, so I moved away. The demon’s attack became even more frantic, like it realized its prey was getting away and it couldn’t let it happen.
    “Come back into the observation room,” she called out.
    I backed away. We learned in class to never turn our back on a demon if we had a choice. I had a choice now, and indestructible or not, I didn’t trust the glass—or the demon—so I kept my eyes on it the whole time. And as I watched, a blur of something shot out of the ceiling and hit the demon in its shoulder. The demon didn’t notice or care, just kept attacking the glass with all its force.
    Safely back in the observation room, I saw something else hit the demon. Its movements became slower, jerkier, until it crumpled against the glass.
    “Tranqs?” I asked, turning back to Dr. Cherry.
    Her eyes were unreadable but she nodded. “Yes. It’s too agitated. The tranq is for its safety as much as ours.”
    On the ground, the demon lay unmoving, eyes wide and fixed on me. When I listened closely, I could hear it letting out a continuous low growl. It might’ve been down, but it wasn’t out.
    I shook my head at the demon, glanced at the doctor and Linc. I smiled, though it was far from a happy smile. “So.” Shoving my hands into my pockets, I rocked back on my heels. “I’m betting that was an adverse reaction.”
    Linc made a face, held up two fingers spaced half an inch apart. “Just a little one.”
    “What was that demon?”
    “As of right now, it’s an unnamed hybrid that was recently discovered in northern Florida.” She paused. “We’re still researching its DNA, trying to learn more about it. One thing we do know, that we have discovered, is that you both share vampire DNA.”
    “Why do you sound surprised by that? We already know I have vampire DNA.”
    “Yes, but that demon isn’t a vampire hybrid, at least not like the other vampire hybrids. It has the vampire DNA, but it’s dormant, so to speak. Because of that, I was sure it wouldn’t react any differently to you than it would anyone else.” She glanced at the demon as two people came out to carry it away. “Apparently, I was wrong.”
    I frowned. “How can it have vampire DNA if it’s not a vampire hybrid?”
    “That’s something we’re still trying to figure out. It’s something you and the demon have in common.”
    I opened my mouth to respond, but then closed it when I realized I had nothing nice to say. Being compared to a demon didn’t sit well with me.
    “The vampire that attacked you last year, do you recall if it went after you specifically or if you were the easier target?”
    “I don’t remember.” I remembered Felecia standing in front of me and me seeing the vampire behind her and telling her to move, but I didn’t remember much after that. Except pain. A world of pain.
    “That’s fine. A vampire is on my list to bring out today, so we’ll see.”
    I nodded and shoved my hands in my pockets. “What about the other three demons you brought out? Do we share DNA?”
    “Well, the Sharphynx doesn’t. I can’t be sure if its reaction to you was entirely from memory, but if I had to guess, I’d say it was. We’ll need to test it again with a different one, obviously. The second demon I had brought out—the Leecher—shares DNA with you, though it, along with the third demon—the Webber—didn’t have any reaction to you. At least nothing out of the ordinary.”
    I nodded. “Well, at least we can rule out two demons, right?”
    “And add another,” was Linc’s comment.
    “I think it’s still too early to say. I’ll want to check with other demons of the same species before I make any concrete judgments.”
    Linc frowned. “But the second one didn’t react to her. Only the last one did.”
    “True, yes. But it could be just a mix of certain DNA that causes a reaction—be it good or bad.