Chapter Seven
Joran paced the tight confines of the cell. Every instinct in him told him to go find Nicole. It was the most primal and basic feeling he had, to protect his Vestal, the woman specifically designed to make up the other half of his soul.
The hybrid let out a low growl. Going to her wasn’t an option. Even if it were, it wasn’t like he could explain anything. To her, what they’d just shared was nothing more than a dream, and at the moment, that was likely the best thing for her. She shouldn’t be worrying about something she couldn’t do anything about.
Or was it the best thing? Joran couldn’t really make up his mind. It was clear that Erebus was after her, but he couldn’t know why.
He sighed. The situation had gone from complicated to fucked up, and it was clear that his time of keeping his distance was coming to an end. Part of him liked that, but the other part of him wouldn’t stop worrying because of the reasons.
No matter what, the hybrid would have to handle the situation delicately. His Vestal being connected to the Sheriff’s Department could mean trouble for his people. He was certain that Nicole wouldn’t mean to cause them harm, but the fact was, she was in a position to. Her arresting him was a prime example of that.
“You okay there, son?”
Joran was surprised when the older man stepped around the corner. It had been so quiet and he had been in such deep thought that he hadn’t even heard the sheriff coming.
“I’ve been better,” Joran said with a small smile.
The older man stared back at him. Joran had seen Frank around town. Nearly everyone knew the sheriff. His wife had passed on from cancer a few years back, and he’d done what any man in his situation would do, thrown himself into his job. He wasn’t totally alone, as he lived with his grown daughter not far from the station, but her presence wasn’t enough to stop the pain of his loss.
Frank was well liked, and from what Joran had heard, he was fair. No one had a negative thing to say about the man and that spoke a lot to his character.
“I’d imagine,” Frank said. “Seems like your brother has been calling up here trying to get you out. Even had our mayor on the phone.” He chuckled.
The sheriff shook his head and ran a hand through the salt and pepper on top of his head.
“Damn near had Ed in a panic,” the sheriff continued. He glanced over toward the direction of the front desk and frowned. “Not that it takes much to get that boy in a panic.”
Joran felt a tug on the corners of his mouth but said nothing.
“So Nicole said in her report that you’d been jogging last night?” the sheriff asked.
The hybrid nodded as Frank stared at him.
The sheriff arched a brow. “Big coincidence you being out there right at that moment.”
Joran could feel the man’s penetrating gaze and knew the sheriff was no idiot. A too obvious of a lie would only cause more trouble.
“It’s a small town,” the hybrid offered.
Frank stared at him a moment longer before nodding. “That it is.” He stepped forward with a set of keys and unlocked the door. “I’ve just got a bit of paperwork for you unfortunately. Seems like this was just a big misunderstanding.” The sheriff held Joran’s gaze for just a moment longer than necessary.
A threat, maybe, the hybrid couldn’t be sure.
“Seems so,” Joran said.
Frank nodded over to an office in the back and headed that direction. “Looks like we were lucky to have you around last night. Otherwise Nicole might have had an extra hole thanks to Ed.”
Joran grunted and tried to hold back a growl. Just thinking about the incident only made his anger flare up, and it wouldn’t do any of them any good if the sheriff saw his glowing blue eyes. The hybrid hadn’t thought he’d need contacts in the middle of the night and on the edge of town. Nicole seeing his eyes was one thing, but it just wouldn’t be safe for everyone to know. It was too much of a risk to his people.
They stepped into the office, and Frank sat a stack of papers in front of him.
“Sorry, son. Can’t take a shit here without documentation for the state.” The sheriff shrugged.
Joran might have laughed if he weren’t so busy frowning at the paper.
“You can sit in here until your brother gets here,” Frank said. “I’ve got a damn wall to patch.”
The sheriff left, mumbling several things about Ed as Joran turned the first page of the paperwork.
* * *
“Didn’t I warn you she had a gun?” Alec grinned as Joran stepped outside of the station.
His friend leaned casually against the car as Magnus finished filling out the paperwork inside.
Joran rolled his eyes. He knew the other hybrid couldn’t resist an opportunity to give him a hard time. Likely everyone back at the compound was snickering about his current situation. It wasn’t often a Vestal locked up her mate. Not exactly a great first impression.
“Prison looks good on you man,” Alec said, and laughed. “Chicks love a tough guy.”
“It’s jail, you prick, and I’m pretty sure locking up a guy doesn’t mean a woman likes a man.”
Alec snorted and glanced over as a car pulled into the lot.
Not just any car though. It was Nicole’s
Joran’s heart beat wildly in his chest. He had known she’d gotten out of the dream safely, but he still couldn’t help but worry about his Vestal, whether she thought he was a criminal or not.
She stepped out of the car wearing her crisp khaki outfit and froze. A small blush tinted her cheeks. “Frank let you go?”
Joran nodded as she stepped over to where he was. He had to look down because she was that much shorter than him. “Hello, Deputy Monroe. I hope you slept well last night.”
Nicole glanced over to Alec. The color drained from her face as she looked back to Joran.
“I slept fine,” she mumbled.
Joran glared over at Alec. There was no way the other hybrid could know what lurked in her dreams.
“Everyone has nightmares,” he said quietly.
Her gaze flipped to his. He managed not to wince at his mistake.
“How did you—” Nicole began.
“That’s it,” Magnus said, stepping out of the building. “Let’s roll.”
Joran slid to Nicole’s side. He could still feel her eyes on him.
“Have a good day, Nicole,” he said quietly.
Her eyes narrowed. The sight of it made his heart skip a beat. This wasn’t over, and despite it all, he was excited to finally get to see her more.
The moment they stepped into the truck and pulled away, Joran turned to the two men.
“Erebus showed up last night.”
Dark looks settled on the faces of the other hybrids. As if it weren’t enough they were dealing with the crazed Agatha and whatever was happening under her blue dome, now they pretty much had the devil knocking at the door.
“We need to tell Rem and the team leads,” Magnus said.
Joran always liked the second-in-command. Magnus was a methodical man like himself and always worked to keep the group on track. There was a lot to respect about that.
He gave a short nod.
Magnus pulled out his phone to make a call.
* * *
The ride wasn’t long, and soon Joran was following Magnus to the large meeting house back at the compound. These days it seemed like they were in that room more than their own homes. There had been so much to do to prepare for whatever Agatha might be planning.
It wasn’t a long wait before several of the team leaders started to find their way into the great room.
Joran looked around at his brother hybrids. Despite their superhuman ways, the men around him looked worn. It had been a hard month. Each of them had worked to their limit, and it was starting to show all around them. Whatever they asked of their teams, they put in double that.
Deep down, Joran worried what news of Erebus might do to them, but there was no choice. They all needed to know what lurked around the corner. If not for themselves, then for their women.
The men turned as Rem entered the room, their unusual leader who had always known just what to do, a man who’d risked his life and subjected himself to torturous experimentation for them.
“Joran.” Rem nodded to his second-in-command.
The leader’s brilliant green eyes found Joran’s own bright blue. The green eyes were a product of the merging of two types of hybrid. Rem was more powerful than any of them, and Joran wondered just how much their leader had to hold back.
“Glad to see jail hasn’t hardened you,” Rem said with a small taunting smile. “I hope you can adjust to life on the outside.”
Joran knew it was coming. Likely he’d never live it down.
“So I hear Erebus is back,” Rem said.
The other hybrid nodded. “He came into my shared dream with Nicole.”
Several of the men around him murmured to themselves. He glanced around and could see the worry on their faces. A few of the men had faced Erebus and knew the danger. Their Vestals would be their greatest concern.
“He wanted Nicole,” Joran continued, “but I made her wake up.”
Rem nodded and ran a hand over his stubbled face before sighing. “Anassa said he would be back,” he mumbled almost to himself. “We shouldn’t be surprised.”
Joran’s stomach soured at the strange woman’s name. She was the leader of a cult that worshiped the Atlanteans, the race Joran and his people were supposed to be descended from, but that didn’t seem to translate into as much respect as some people might expect.
Most times he tried not to think about it. The idea was almost too farfetched, despite all the things that were happening around them. There were so many holes in their past. It was hard to say anything with certainty.
In the end, though, Anassa had been right about things so far. He wasn’t sure Rem actually trusted the woman, but he certainly wasn’t going to ignore her warnings. In a war, you took useful intelligence regardless of the source.
“We’ll keep our focus on Agatha for the moment,” Rem said to the other men. “Erebus is a threat, but it doesn’t seem like he’s able to fully manifest himself.”
Yet.
Several of the men glanced around to one another. They all knew that it was only a matter of time before they faced Erebus during their waking hours.
“There’s more,” Joran said. All gazes shifted over to him. “Last night something happened. I’m not quite sure what, but something tried to attack Nicole on the road.”
Rem frowned. “What?”
Joran shook his head. “When I showed up, the whole area was covered in frost, and I saw something coming at her. I only had a moment to react before pulling her to the ground.”
“Glycons?” Magnus asked.
Joran shrugged. “Not that I could smell, but we still don’t know anything about these new ones.”
He watched as Rem listened and thought for a moment. If the Glycons were out, it meant they had managed to move around without being seen, which was never a good thing.
“I’ll alert Anassa, but for now, we continue with the move to the Azilian compound and preparations on the tunnel.”
“I still hate that fucking plan,” Nero growled.
“Nero,” Nyx warned from beside him. Being both Vestal and hybrid made her unusual in their group.
Several others huffed their agreement. It had been a much-debated topic. The move to the Azilian compound wasn’t loved by all, but from what Joran could see, there wasn’t really much choice, not with all the threats they faced.
Rem sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he’d aged ten years recently. “I know,” he said quietly. “It’s not the option I would have picked, and hopefully it won’t be something we won’t have to go through with.” He opened his bright green eyes and stared down the men standing around him. “To be clear, I hope we never have to use that option, but I’d much rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.”
Joran swallowed. Rem was right. They needed to survive. Home was where their people were.
“We follow the fucking plan,” Magnus growled, staring down each man until he was certain they would comply. It was the sign of a good second-in-command. He trusted the person in charge and would follow through with the orders given.
“Fine, we follow the plan,” Nero said after a moment, and glanced over to the woman beside him.
Rem clapped him on the arm. “It’s really the best back-up option. Just remember, I will always do what’s best for the group.”
Nero nodded as his fingers laced with Nyx’s. That was something Joran could understand. That need to protect his Vestal so deeply seated that it was hard to see much else.
The meeting over, several of the men made their way out the door. Rem placed a hand on Joran’s arm and motioned for them to move to the couch. Magnus and Alec stepped out into the morning with the other men.
Rem frowned. “We can’t hold back much longer with Nicole.”
Joran knew he should have expected this, and yet the words still left him feeling shocked.
“It’s getting too dangerous,” Rem said. “If she falls asleep, and you aren’t there to help her, there’s just no telling what Erebus will do with her.”
They’d discussed this before. No one knew what Erebus needed the Vestals for, only that he’d been targeting them. Anassa suspected that they were needed to help open the door to the physical plane of existence, but a Vestal’s power couldn’t be fully unlocked until she was one with her mate.
Joran shrugged. “Especially after her arresting me, and the sheriff and the other cops seeing me, I can’t exactly just go and drag her back here.”
Rem gave a sly smile. “If only it were that easy.”
Joran couldn’t stop the twitch of his lips. More than once he’d felt the more caveman side of himself itching to do just that.
Rem smiled. “Then do something else.”
“What?”
“Talk to her.”
Joran frowned. He didn’t think that was going to be so easy.
“You have to try,” Rem said. “We don’t have a lot of options.”
Joran hated the idea, but Rem was right. She was in danger as she was. If he weren’t careful, she could easily end up right in the hands of Erebus, and he wasn’t so sure he would be able to bring her back.
She was his Vestal. Even if she were suspicious of him, on some level she had to be drawn to him.
He needed to make her see him for who he really was, and he suspected he would have that opportunity sooner rather than later.