Chapter Five
Magnus leaned back and wiped the sweat from his brow. Despite the cooler temperatures at their new home, digging the ditches to bury the cabling was hot work. There were still so many things that needed to be done, but this was the first on the list.
His mind drifted back to the pretty blond he’d seen in the window. She’d stared back at him like he was the only person there. Something about her look set him on fire, and as much as he didn’t really want to think about or admit it, she was a Vestal. Someone meant for his kind. In this case, someone specifically meant for him.
They weren’t sure how or even why it was that way, but the Vestals were the key somehow, maybe even the key to them all.
It was hard to tell though. For every step forward they took in discovering their past, more questions arose, the answers mocking them with little satisfaction. Gods? What did that even mean?
Perhaps the Horatius Group was filled with nothing but deluded fanatics in the end. Having more information didn’t mean they had all the information.
Pulling his shirt off, Magnus stared at the bright blue tattoo that stretched along his chest and arm. Seemingly in no real pattern, it coiled and raced across his dark skin.
It had to mean something. They all knew it. When Rem had been injected with the God liquid, he changed. A blue tattoo spread along his body, making him more like them. And yet still different. His people had blue eyes to match their tattoos, and the Luna men had amber eyes, but Rem had always been the same. Right from the start he’d had his vibrant green eyes and had kept them through the change.
Magnus scoffed a little.
Change.
They knew the tattoos had to mean something, but what good did it do if no one knew? At least they knew they were different from the Luna hybrids, and that increased the chance that there was some different path they could pursue for information.
The Luna men were created to see and smell like a pack. They were a trained army ready for battle. His group was different. More like hunters, they moved silently. And they were fast. None of them ever really tested how fast because it sometimes was more than their body could handle.
It baffled him really. The Horatius Group and whatever had preceded them had spent all this time making them, keeping them, and even freezing them.
It was unsettling. They’d never just let them go. And there was no way Agatha was going to let things rest after she’d had her whole operation taken from her. If she didn’t bring them back, he was sure the Group would make sure she saw a fitting end.
The wind shifted slightly, and he frowned. Although his sense of smell might not be as strong as that of a Luna hybrid, it was better than a human’s. And something was in the woods.
Magnus breathed in deeply, and his frown only deepened. It was strange, the scent. Familiar but still not. The more he breathed in, the more agitated he became. There was something to the scent. Something that was, just, unnatural. It set the hairs on the back of his neck on end.
A twig snapped.
He turned his head toward the sound, just to his left.
He froze.
Lara stood motionless.
She didn’t even know how it happened. For the last twenty minutes she’d been wandering through the woods, hoping to find some sort of life. Then she saw it. One light twinkled in the distance. A beacon in the dark. The only thing she knew is that she was fairly far away from the Azilian compound. Not even thinking about what she was walking to, Lara moved.
When she’d gotten close enough, she spotted him, the gorgeous man from town. His sweat-covered shirt clung to his body as he heaved the heavy shovel into the ground and kicked out dirt. Her pulse had spiked. Who dug a hole in the middle of the night? There was only one reason she could come up with, and the thought sent a chill down her spine. Maybe he was working with the Azilians, and the hole was meant for her.
But still she didn’t move.
It was stupid. She knew it was, but for the first time ever, shit was happening in their little hicksburg, and there was no way in hell she wasn’t going to have the inside scoop. If she wanted to find the hidden truth, she was going to have to deal with a little risk.
She pulled out her camera and watched as he laid the shovel on the ground and climbed out of the hole. In one swift motion, his shirt came off. Bright blue tattoos stood out against his dark skin. They were beautiful. Never before had she seen ink so vibrant. Uninhibited by conventional norms, she stared unabashedly at them. Her eyes wandered down his solid frame. She definitely liked what she was seeing.
Something tingled inside, and she frowned. The man might be preparing to bury a body. It was not the time to get hot and bothered, regardless of his physique.
He frowned, and the space between them shifted a little. She watched in awe as the tattoos started to glow. She couldn’t recall ever seeing something like that outside of a movie.
Without thinking, she stepped forward.
And there she was, staring at him. His face showed surprise at her appearance.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I got lost,” she fumbled and took a step back.
He followed a step forward, the frown from before crept back.
“Lost,” he repeated.
She knew how it sounded, and truth be told, she was spying on him, but still, it really wasn’t that way.
“I was at the Azilian compound,” she said and pointed in the direction she thought she came.
A frown creased his face.
“By invitation?”
She nibbled her lip. What was she supposed to say? If she admitted she was sneaking around, it would give up her position and her chance at ferreting out information.
Not letting herself think on it, Lara took several more steps away. He followed again.
“Why don’t you just come with me?” he said calmly.
Her heart leapt into her throat. She couldn’t. This was the part in the story where the follow-up reporter would say they found a shoe somewhere but never heard from the woman again. She didn’t want to be the lead in someone else's story. Over her dead body… but not literally.
Something rumbled from behind her. The sound was unnatural, and she felt the hairs on her arms stand up at the noise.
“Shit,” the man mumbled.
A hand roughly grabbed her shoulder, and she screamed. Not stopping to think, Lara ran.
“Wait,” the man shouted.
She didn’t stop. How could she? The heavy footsteps of whatever pursued her was hot on her trail. Was it the guy from the truck? She wasn’t sure, and wondered why he wasn’t just shooting her if it was him.
Lara looked back and saw two glowing blue eyes. Definitely not the guy from the truck. The scream that bubbled in her throat died as she suddenly fell. Her gaze remained fixed on the glowing orbs of the monster beside her.
She caught movement just behind her attacker. She blinked as she realized it was the gorgeous man, his eyes glowing the same eerie blue, but somehow they were warm. They called to her. Lara reached out to him, but it was too late.
Pain shot through her head, and then she was out.