Page 56 of High Stakes and Soulmates
Casimir just smiles and pulls his phone out. “You better do good or I will finish what we started two hundred years ago.”
“You’re just going to eat me because you gave me two seconds to look at the course!” Ezio cries as he takes the leash. Casimir already has the camera recording and Julian is prancing as much as Gustov was. Despite acting like he wanted nothing to do with this, he isthrilled.
“Where do I stop? What do I do? Do I take the leash off? What do I do with it?” Ezio mutters as he removes the leash. Ezio takes one step and Julian takes off. He flies over two jumps and scales up a ramp while Ezio runs around flailing his arms, often going in the wrong direction.
“He looks so foolish out there,” Casimir says with much glee as Julian whips through the tunnel so fast that when he comes out the other side, Ezio’s in his way. He nearly throws Ezio to the ground, which causes Casimir to cackle wildly.
Julian takes on the weave poles with such precision that I can’t help but wonder if he studied up on this before the event. And to everyone’s amazement, he finishes the course in record time with very minimal help from Ezio, who is still staggering around. I’m not even sure he’s aware the course has been finished.
Julian prances up to the gate where he comes eye to eye with a man staring at him.
Julian stares back then slowly looks over at Casimir. If a wolf’s face could express horror… he’d be depicting pure horror at this moment.
“Funny how none of us realized the judge was a werewolf,” Yorick says while he snickers.
Casimir freezes when the judge turns to him and gives him a “You know better” look.
Ezio and Julian quickly exit the area, looking like toddlers who’ve been disciplined, as I laugh. And Julian doesn’t even come our way, just scurries toward the bathroom with Casimir coolly walking after him—like if he looks sexy and prestigious, the werewolf who is still staring disapprovingly at them will back off.
“I take it they got disqualified as well,” I comment as I watch them return. Julian grabs my arm.
“Oh my god, we have to leave. He’s the alpha of a nearby pack and I have literally just pranced around like a dog,” Julian says. “My father is going to kill me. He’s already called me six times.Six times.”
“I wonder if sending the video to him will make him feel better?” Casimir asks. “He should be proud of how fast you were!”
“In what world would thathelp?” Julian asks.
“This is my favorite part,” Casimir says as he shows us all a still of Julian tripping Ezio.
It apparently doesn’t help Julian. “I can never show my face in the werewolf community again. That’s all there is to it,” he decides. “I need to change my look, my job… I’ll need to find a new identity.”
“I think you’re being rather dramatic. He loved it,” Casimir says, looking over at the judge still staring at us. “And if he didn’t, I will simply throw him out of my territory with enough force he’ll never be able to return. Fun, huh?”
“So fun,” Julian mumbles as he rushes us out.
“The real question is… what were you even doing out there, Ezio?” I ask.
“Do you know how hard it is to chase a wolf while trying not to run faster than what’s humanly possible? I was trying to throw in the hand motions I saw the others doing. Fuck if I knew what was happening.”
Julian whips around to face us. “What’s happening is that we’re never going to a dog show again. Let’s go back to our rooms and pretend none of this ever happened.”
“I don’t know. I enjoyed it,” I say with a grin. “I’m going to admit… I was pretty skeptical. I really thought that maybe this was a bit ridiculous… but it wasthrilling.”
“Thrilling, alright,” Julian mutters.
Ezio catches my arm and I glance over at him.
“Yeah?” I ask when he pulls me back from the others without saying anything.
“Uh… just uh… wondering… what you’re doing tonight? Or am I not allowed to wonder?”
“You can wonder,” I say. “I do have plans. You know Donovan? They were talking about him the other day.”
“No, I don’t.”
“He owns a club about an hour from here. But he also deals with a lot of other vampires and was talking to a few about what happened to my family. I was going to drop by there tonight.”
“Alone?” he asks, and I hesitate. I mean… it would be fine to tell him my brother is alive, right? It’s not like he’d blab it to someone who would put Joaquin at risk. But I can’t tell him here. Who knows who else might overhear.
