Chapter Two
Cato made his way to Titus’s office. He wondered how much longer the leader of Luna Lodge would even have a space there. It seemed like everyday the military was taking over more and more. Luna Lodge was looking less like their chance at a home and more like just another military installation.
When he was feeling more cynical, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was becoming something worse: an armed prison camp.
The only up side of the whole situation was that the men stationed there seemed to be okay. Sure, they had a job to do, but most of them were friendly enough. None of them seemed to hate hybrids, or at least they didn’t openly show hostility.
That didn’t prove anything, though. The hybrids had been through this before. When Major Carter was stationed at the Lodge, he’d been a major supporter of the hybrids. That didn’t prevent some of his men from helping the Horatius Group attack the hybrids.
Hybrids had died because of traitorous human soldiers. No matter how nice they might act, he needed to keep that in mind. The only people who could really be trusted were other hybrids and their mates.
He bit back a growl. It seemed like those in the government were good at turning their backs on what happened and then sweeping it under the rug. The hybrids certainly hadn’t.
They took the humiliation and violence in stride because their leader ordered them to. They trusted him. If it weren’t for Titus, things could have gotten rough, and the world could have been given a true reason to fear hybrids.
As it was, most hybrids, regardless of their feelings were keeping things to themselves. Cato hoped everything would be okay, but he also suspected that eventually the military or government would push them too far. The hybrids needed to get out from under their thumb before that happened and more people on both sides died.
Cato nodded to Ava at the front desk and proceeded to knock on the door. It seemed silly as they knew in advance that he was there, but for some reason, it messed with human minds if they didn’t at least follow some social norms.
Not waiting for a response, he stepped inside. He wasn’t surprised to see Sol and Titus waiting for him. They each nodded a greeting.
“Thanks for stopping in,” Titus said.
Cato shrugged. Since the military insisted on guarding the fence and walls, there wasn’t much for him to do these days.
He couldn’t complain too much, as they were, by all measures, doing a good job, including keeping out protestors from town, but it felt wrong to be sitting on his hands when everything around them was falling apart.
Not like there was much of a choice at the moment. The hybrids were waiting for the next step, even if most of them had no idea of what that might be.
Many of the men guessed that their leaders were up to something. No one pressed for information. They all knew that sometimes the best strategy was not knowing, and no one wanted to let something slip to the military that might harm the hybrids.
Cato understood that. He’d felt and thought the same way. It wasn’t until a week ago that he had been brought in on just what that next step would be.
An underground bunker. Just thinking about it still blew his mind and pissed him off a little.
They were just going to take to living in tunnels under the ground like rats? The whole idea was off-putting to him.
They’d struggled, sweated, and bled to build Luna Lodge into something. They’d fought against the hatred and prejudice, fought to prove they deserved a place in the world.
Not only that, hybrids had died for Luna Lodge.
The bunker plan would be running away from everything they’d built and sacrificed for. It would be telling the world they had ceased to exist. Even though he’d follow his leader, it didn’t change the fact that this plan felt like giving up. Maybe even a little cowardly.
Running away wouldn’t solve anything. Their enemies would still be out there, waiting for them when they came back above ground.
The Horatius Group wasn’t about to let the hybrids continue to make a mockery of their former masters. There was no way the hybrids could wait them out.
It didn’t matter what he thought. He didn’t get a say in all this. He wasn’t leader, and even if he were, he didn’t really have a better solution.
For all their sacrifice, they did have to consider the future. They had children to worry about and more on the way.
Then there was the other problem with sealing themselves off: Vestals, the only possible mates for hybrids.
Although the men had been steadily finding Vestals and bonding with them, the vast majority of men still lacked a mate. If they’d fled and hid, the men without Vestals would stand little chance of finding one.
No more Vestals meant no future for their people, and most of the men being doomed to live out the rest of their lives without their other halves.
It was a double-edged sword. If the hybrids sought shelter, most would never meet their Vestals, but if they stayed as they were, they would have little means to protect their Vestals.
Not that he had Vestals on the brain. Or at least, that’s what he told himself. Cato wasn’t so sure that he needed a Vestal, but wasn’t so sure he didn’t.
It was hard not to wish for bonding after seeing his brothers so happy in love. And the longer he waited for the right time, the more certain he was that there might never be one.
He was a hybrid. Until the Horatius Group was destroyed, he had no way of guaranteeing that it would be safe to be around him.
He shook himself a little. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that. His lack of love life had little to do with why he was there.
Cato took the seat across from Titus. Sol walked over and leaned against the desk.
“What did you need?” Cato asked.
“Kyros and his bonded have sent word through Lucan,” Titus said quietly. “Things are progressing well with the building. Another few weeks, and they will be finished with the construction.”
Cato nodded.
“But in the meantime, we’ve got to continue to exist here without surprises,” Titus said. “Many of us are being watched closely. I need you to be our eyes and ears.”
Cato glanced between Sol and Titus. They all knew about the guards watching many of the higher-up hybrids. Ever since the teacher, Kyros’s Vestal, had left with him, things had only gotten more tense.
Colonel Hall was obsessed with the idea the hybrids were hiding something. Given that they were, they had to make sure they didn’t give her any reason to lock them down further.
“Lucan is still watching the townspeople after their attempt at turning Jasmine into a mindless drone like they are,” Sol said. “Things have been mostly quiet since then.”
Cato frowned. “That’s a good thing, right?”
Sol shrugged. “Hard to tell. They may have just gotten better at hiding their activity.”
That was true. They knew the townspeople were being mind-controlled by some sort of strange government signal. Even though the hybrids could disrupt it at short ranges temporarily, whoever controlled the signal seemed to be refining it.
At first, it was just weird behavior or extreme emotions. It’d grown recently. Now they could direct victims to do all sorts of things, including attack the Lodge, without the people even seeming to be totally aware of it.
Given all that, it wasn’t that crazy to think that their enemies might just change how they played the game to throw off the hybrids. The hybrid-hating Senator Woods was certainly smart enough to push for that sort of thing.
Titus nodded to Sol before returning his attention to Cato. “For now, we’ve closed off the tunnel under the shed.”
Cato frowned. “Isn’t that our best way out right now?”
Titus nodded and pressed his fingers together. “It was also their best way in, and they were the ones to make the hole.”
That didn’t make sense. Why would they want in? Whatever they were doing, they didn’t seem to want anyone to know. Unless the military was a part of it all.
“Do you think Hall is a part of this?” Cato asked.
Titus shrugged. “We don’t think so, but after what happened, it’s hard to rule out. That’s where you fit in. We need you to watch them. Figure out what their plan is.”
“I’m not really sure I can help much with that.”
After all, no one talked to him about much of anything. And he preferred it that way.
His friend Alair liked to say he was “friendly challenged.” Cato didn’t really see it as that way. Maybe if everyone stopped talking out of their asses, there wouldn’t be a problem.
Titus gave him a reassuring smile. “No, you are just the hybrid for the job.”
His smile and words didn’t reassure Cato.