Page 15 of Wolf Marked

Laith flushes, his shoulders hiking up an inch. “Sure thing.” He glances down at her arms, now practically blemish-free, confirming that word had got around about what happened. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks,” she says, knowing she’s repeating herself, but struggling to find words. Someone just sprayed mouthwash into their mouth two tables over the mint is particularly overpowering.

“Do you mind if I sit?” he asks softly.

Elara hesitates. There’s a sweetness about the guy that’s endearing. At the same, he asked her out and she turned him down so she wouldn’t lead him on. She doesn’t want to give mixed messages.

He lifts his hands, including the one with the coffee. “Just as friends. You look like you could use the distraction.”

Elara smiles. “You’re right.” She waves toward the seat across from her. “Please, join me.”

Laith folds his tall, lean self into the chair. “So, you’re doing a science major, too?”

She nods. “Just a general stream at the moment, until I decide what I want to specialize in. Genetics interests me the most.”

“Food technology, myself,” he says. “Probably nutrition.”

Elara angles her head, surprised, but also thinking it seems to fit, somehow. “Laith,” she says slowly. “That’s an unusual name.”

He grimaces. “My parents own a large health food chain. They like to think of themselves as alternative.”

“It’s a cool name. Far more memorable than something like Elara.”

Or Kade.

She mentally shakes herself that he’s crept into her thoughts again. She hasn’t seen him for a week and she’s still thinking of him.

“Maybe if I was cool, it would be fitting.” He ducks his head, picking at the edge of his takeaway cup. “But that’s not how anyone would describe me.”

Elara finds herself genuinely smiling. “I decided when I started college I’d define me.”

Laith’s gaze jolts to hers. “You did?”

She shrugs, not wanting to pretend she has this all figured out. “Seemed like a good opportunity. New start and all that.” She wrinkles her nose. “I’ll let you know how it’s going.”

She thought it was going well.

Now, she’s not so sure.

Laith grins. “Looking forward to it.”

Elara smiles back, glad she accepted his invitation to join her. Laith’s obviously one of the good ones.

A movement in the corner of her eye catches her attention and she glances past the few patrons inside and through the large windows at the front of the cafe. The courtyard has the usual number of students wandering past, some sitting on the grass or chairs, chatting. Nothing is out of the norm. Impossibly, her gaze sharpens even more, drawn to something across the other side.

Kade.

He’s standing at the mouth of an alley, watching her.

Elara shoots to her feet. “Will you excuse me for a second?”

“Sure—”

But Elara doesn’t hear the rest of what Laith says. She’s already out the cafe door, determined not to let Kade out of hersight. The guy is a modern-day Houdini with his disappearing acts.

She jogs across the courtyard, then the narrow street used largely for local traffic. Just as she suspects, Kade’s already walking away with long strides. Elara runs even faster, launching herself into the alley. She needs answers.

She stops the moment she enters, almost smiling at what she sees. The alley is a dead end, and Kade’s slowly turning around, his handsome features twisted with annoyance.

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