Chapter Two
The truck rumbled to a stop in front of the office building. Atticus grumbled as Vitus jabbed him in the ribs a couple of times before climbing out of the truck on the other side.
"I wonder if Ginger is going to be there," Vitus said, and grinned at him.
Atticus rolled his eyes at the nickname and stepped out of the vehicle. They all knew what Celine was to him. After all, they could all smell it.
Hell, he felt what she was ever time they were near her, but none of them had time to worry about that at the moment. Any day now the Horatius Group could step in and take everything they had worked so hard for.
They’d run into Agatha, a woman who had worked for the Group, and she’d brought Glycons. Even though it was unclear what connections she maintained with the Group, her mere presence massively increased the chance of their enemy finding them.
That reality chilled Atticus to his very core.
He’d thought about running, just packing his shit and vanishing in the night. If the Group caught up with them, it would all be over. They’d be prisoners and lab rats, if they were even allowed to be conscious. He wasn’t going back. He couldn’t go back.
But Atticus didn’t leave. The thought of bailing on the people he now thought of as family seemed like the ultimate betrayal.
He still didn’t get why their fearless leader Rem didn’t get them the fuck out of there. It seemed like the best option. They’d picked Eagle Ridge to be a safe place away from trouble or attention and between the Azilian cult and the new threat, it was obvious that wasn’t the case.
Atticus glanced toward the building. Celine’s scent was already calling to him, and he knew why they couldn’t leave. Why he couldn’t leave.
Someone had to protect her. Keep her safe from the horrors that lurked in the woods.
“I’m sure Ginger will be happy to see you,” Vitus said.
"Her name isn’t Ginger, and you know it," Atticus said, and frowned at the other hybrid.
Vitus laughed loudly. Normally, Atticus didn’t care that much, but the other man’s teasing nature was grinding on his last nerve today.
"I'm sure she’d let you call her Ginger," Vitus said as they opened the front door to the large building.
Rows of offices lined the building, mostly those of attorneys and a few judges.
"I don't want to call her anything," Atticus snapped. “We have a job to do, and that’s exactly what we need to be doing here. Not telling jokes.”
Vitus grunted and smirked.
Each time Atticus saw her was worse. Not just the poking by Vitus but the aching need inside him. The growing knowledge that she was his Vestal. The one woman designed by the gods, just for him. Even if he didn’t buy into the Atlantean crap, it didn’t change the fact that he wanted her. Not just lust, but primal desire. Primal need.
In different circumstances, Atticus couldn't say what he might've done. Maybe he would've asked her out. Maybe they would have dated like any normal couple. Maybe they would've gotten married and had children. Lived a happy life.
No matter what, it all seemed like some sort of pipe dream or sick joke left to torture him. This wasn't the world that he lived in. In his world, men and women were held captive. They were slaves to people who had no problem treating them as such.
His people had broken free of the bonds that shackled them, but he wasn't certain they would ever actually be free of the horrors they had faced. Agatha returning with her new super-Glycons was just another indication of that future being threatened.
Again, the thought of the Group returning settled over him.
The fear was real to him. More real than anything else going on. Likely more real than any of the others might expect.
No one talked about the Great Freeze. They’d been cryogenically frozen at different times, different places. No one talked about what they remembered of the days before. Likely because no one really remembered the days before the freeze.
Atticus did. Not all, but just enough.
It wasn't much. It wasn't like he knew exactly what he was or who he had been. But he did remember something. Snippets of time that he couldn't quite place. Cold steel tables and eyes staring down at him.
Often Atticus would sit and think about the faces. Their features were never quite visible, but it didn't really matter. They were all the enemy in the end. The only thing he had really known was fighting the enemy.
Quintus opened the door to the front office. Vitus followed closely behind him, with Atticus taking up the rear.
Every day it was the same. They came in and went over all the reports from outside of town. Anything that would give some indication on Agatha’s location.
Allison had been the one to suggest using her office because reports were already being collected there. They used the animal-repelling devices as a cover so they might speak freely and gain access to information about anything that might've happened overnight.
Of course, the only downside for Atticus was having to pass Celine on his way to the office. He breathed in deeply and frowned as coffee masked her sweet floral scent. The pungent odor permeated the air around them and filled him with anything but the desire he had been craving.
Atticus glanced over to where she sat in her chair. There was a warm smile on her face as she nodded toward the door.
"Allison is waiting for you," she said softly.
Something irritated him about the way he could never look into her eyes. Atticus knew he shouldn't care because it made no sense for him to care. He didn't have the privilege of caring. And yet he did.
The men moved into the office. His eyes lingered on Celine for a moment.
Something was wrong with her. He thought it for the last few days and couldn't quite put his finger on whatever it was, but something was not right with his Vestal.
No, no, no. He couldn’t think of her that way. She was just a woman.
A new sort of worry crept into his belly. Something he wasn't really used to. Worry for another person over something he had no control over.
Sure, Atticus cared about the other men and women he lived around, but the Horatius Group had taught him one thing: survival meant focusing on yourself above all. It was how he had made it through this far.
Atticus shook off the unnerving thoughts and stepped into the office, closing the door behind him.
The other men leaned over the desk where Allison had placed the map.
Red X’s littered the surrounding areas outside of the range where they had placed the animal-repelling sonic devices. They watched as she added several more X’s to the outer ring.
"These are all animals found by rangers, conservation workers, or hunters," Allison said.
Quintus grunted. "The hunting field is growing.”
Although the hybrids had taken out several during their fight at the old mill, there were still a number of Glycons out there, including Thrax, the new super-Glycon Agatha was using against them.
They still didn’t know what she was up to, but whatever it was, it didn’t bode well for anyone in the area.
They continued to stare at the map. There was no telling where the enemy was hiding. Agatha was crazy but smart, the deadliest combination in their world.
"We’ll send men to this area today," Quintus said.
He drew a circle on the small area of the map that was free of most red marks.
"We’re more likely to run into them where they haven't hunted then where they have," Quintus said.
Atticus had to agree. The movements were methodical, and there they stood a chance of finding something.
"My place tonight?" Quintus said to Allison after folding the map again.
Atticus and Vitus exchanged a look before slipping out of the office and into the waiting room. It was a new thing to either of them to have their boss being so very much in love openly. That was the power of the Vestal-hybrid bond.
Vitus nodded to the door. "Going to head over to the store and grab a few things.”
Atticus opened his mouth to say he would follow, but Vitus grinned widely at him.
"Just stay here, and let Quintus know I'll be right back." He winked.
And just like that he was out the door and gone. Atticus could have wrapped his hands around the other man’s neck at times.
Atticus glanced over to where Celine sat at her desk. Her head drooped slightly as she tapped away at the computer. He frowned.
He didn't like to see her like this, with dark circles under her eyes. She looked as if she hadn't slept for quite some time.
The door to the office opened and unsurprisingly, Quintus and Allison stepped out looking a bit more rumpled than they had a few moments ago.
"So, um, I'll see you tonight," Allison squeaked out.
Quintus grunted in reply and headed toward the door.
Atticus followed behind him but paused just before stepping outside. He turned to stare directly at Celine, her eyes meeting his. Normally, he tried to avoid looking at her, but today he just couldn’t help himself.
"Take care of yourself," he said softly.
Before she could respond, he was out the door following Quintus to the truck.
Vitus leaned casually against the vehicle, a smug grin on his face.
Atticus frowned. "I thought you were going to the store," he said as he climbed into the truck.
Vitus shrugged. "Changed my mind.”
Atticus glared out the window. The asshole was trying to push something that could never happen. Still, him just talking to Celine had made Vitus beyond happy, which only put Atticus in an even fouler mood.
"Prick,” he grumbled, and continued to stare out the window, trying not to think of the pretty strawberry-blond headed woman he’d left behind.