Chapter Ten
The wind swirled around outside of the cave. Atticus woke with a start, not certain what had woken him, but ready to take action all the same. The experiences with the local Glycons had taught the hybrids that the creatures could show great cunning, so he couldn’t assume that an attacker would announce himself with a screech.
Atticus stilled, listening to the noises outside the cave. The wind howled, and the rain continued to beat down heavily, but their cover kept them from getting wet.
It had been a good choice for them to get somewhere dry. The last thing they needed was to catch some sort of illness while stranded in the middle of the forest.
Atticus stretched his sore muscles. It had been a long day of travel. He was glad they had put some distance between them and Thrax, but he wasn't so certain that would be the end of it.
The Glycon was driven. More so than he'd ever seen in such a creature. If the other hybrids didn't find Atticus and Celine, things weren’t going to look so good for them, especially if Thrax brought reinforcements.
There was only so long they could hide before they were eventually found and having fought him once, Atticus wasn’t sure if he could win.
Whatever they had done to make Thrax what he was, it was clear that the Group had engineered him to beat the hybrids. Maybe as a sort of failsafe. It was hard to tell. For all the questions Celine had, the hybrids still didn’t understand much about their own situation.
If they were to believe all this gods nonsense, then why would the Horatius Group need something to take out the hybrids? Especially if they were supposed to be demigods in their eyes? He’d never understand the Group, no matter how hard he tried.
Instead Atticus focused on devising some sort of escape plan. Not having his phone meant that he wasn't able to keep in contact with his people. There was no way of knowing what was happening back at the Azilian compound.
He had faith that his people would come out ahead, and he also knew that Rem would work to minimize anyone getting hurt.
Atticus chuckled. For all he knew, Thrax and the rest of the Glycons had been killed, and he’d fled with Celine for no good reason.
Eventually they would need to make their way back to the hybrids, and all he could do was hope for the best when they returned.
Glancing around, Atticus was surprised to find Celine had moved closer to where he lay on the floor. She shivered slightly in her sleep, her arms wound tightly around her body.
Quietly, he lifted himself and moved over to the fire. The flames were slowly dwindling out. He added two more logs and stoked it with the stick. It was the least he could do after what she had been through.
"Please," Celine called out quietly.
Atticus turned, expecting the woman to be staring at him but instead found her still fast asleep, her brow wrinkled in worry.
The wind whipped hard against the little cave, swirling around outside between the trees and howling to the night through the branches.
Atticus nodded to himself satisfied. Heavy winds and rains would make it harder to track them. The elements served as a useful ally against the Glycons, at least for the night.
He watched Celine as she tossed and turned in her sleep.
"Stay away," she cried out. "Please, you can't."
A branch from their makeshift wall flew off into the darkness. Atticus went over to help secure what they had left of the branches. He pulled hard and tucked the large branches inside the opening. All the while, the wind tugged and pulled on the other side.
When Atticus turned around, he found Celine crying in her sleep. Tears slid down her soft cheeks. It was more than he could bear.
Atticus made his way over to where she lay and shook her shoulders slightly. "Celine," he said softly.
With a gasping breath, Celine sat bolt upright, her eyes wild with fear. She grasped on to Atticus, gripping him with surprising strength.
"He's coming," she said wildly. "He's getting stronger."
Atticus sighed. It was no surprise she was having nightmares given that she was being hunted in the woods like some sort of animal. Of course she had been thinking about Thrax in her nightmare.
The hybrid tried to soothe her by rubbing her back and whispering calming words to her. She leaned her head against his chest as he pulled them both against the wall of the cave.
Atticus ran his hands through her soft strawberry blonde hair. Silky threads passed easily through his fingers, and he wondered how after moving all day she could still look so good.
After a moment Celine sat up, her hand still on his chest, and stared into his eyes.
"I thought the nightmares were over," she said softly. She shook her head and placed the hand that was on his chest to her forehead. "It always seemed so real," she said, and looked back into his eyes. "But it can't be, can it? The nightmare can't be real."
Atticus shrugged. He had seen some strange things in his time. Several of the Vestals were wracked by nightmares. It was hard to say. All he could do was deal with the enemy in front of him.
"Do you think it's real?" Atticus asked.
Celine placed her head back against his chest and breathed in deeply. The shaking in her body started to subside.
"That strange woman Anassa said they were real," she said. "She said the Shadow Man was trying to come through. She said his name was Erebus.”
His heart picked up a bit. Shadow Man? It wasn't something he'd ever heard before although he knew Jade had dealt with some sort of shadowy figure. They still weren't sure what exactly it was, but he supposed it could be the same.
"You'll stay with me won’t you?" Celine asked softly. She pulled back slightly to stare up at him, her soft green eyes pinning him. "In your arms I feel safe," she said. "I feel like nothing can get me here."
His arm tightened around her. Nothing would get to her. He would make damn sure of that, no matter what it took.
"You're safe with me," Atticus said gruffly.
He glanced down at the woman in his arms. Her eyes were now holding something different than before. The fear had vanished completely.
"How do you feel about me?" Celine asked.
Atticus glanced away. Feelings weren’t something he was good at talking about. Hell, he couldn’t think of a hybrid that did have an easy time with it besides Vitus, and he still had a world of secrets he never talked about.
"You are my Vestal," he said simply, as if that said everything.
Celine placed her small hand on his chin and pulled him to where he was looking back at her again. "But how do you feel about me?"
Atticus struggled with the question. Telling her how he felt made him vulnerable. A position he wasn't used to being in. But he wanted to tell her. He wanted to scream it from the rooftops. How she was his and he would kill anyone that even thought about messing with her.
"I like you," Celine said simply. “I have for a while, and I always looked forward to you coming into the mayor’s office.” His eyes widened with surprise. Celine shrugged. "We may die out here, and I just thought I should say it once.”
His chest tightened at her words. They were something he never wanted to hear her say again.
"You aren't going to die," Atticus said gruffly. "I won't let you die."
A soft laugh came from her. Something he hadn’t expected at all. “You won’t let me die?”
Atticus snorted. “No.”
A smile played on her lips. His eyes couldn’t help but fix on the luscious lips in front of him.
Celine’s face was free of the glasses she still held. She looked like the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
He wasn't certain who moved first, if she met him or he met her, but their mouths crashed together as their passion burned.
Atticus leaned into the kiss, taking her down onto the coat she laid out as a makeshift bed. Her sweet body pressed to his as he settled in over her.
His hands skimmed over her sides. The soft lines there only made him wish they were lying in a bed naked.
Atticus let his hands slide along the sides of her breasts. Little puffs of air filled the air as he slid them over to the front of her shirt, taking the time to palm the weight of them through her blouse. Just the feel of her made him so hard.
He kissed her hard now, slipping his tongue into her mouth the same way he’d like to slip into her body.
A burning need filled him. He was desperate to touch her in all the ways he’d dreamed.
Atticus slid his hand under her blouse and pulled down the fabric of her bra. Her nipples were already firm against his hand.
He continued to kiss her as he rolled the hard buds between his fingers, applying just enough pressure to make her moan against his mouth.
Her hips thrust up against his hardened cock, and he growled his excitement. Celine drove him to the very edge of reason.
He pulled his hand away from her glorious breasts and skimmed down the soft planes of her stomach until he reached the waist of her pants. Atticus pulled back to stare into her eyes as he slipped beneath the band and into her panties.
Moisture pooled between her thighs. The sweet slickness coated her in all the ways that made his hard cock throb to be inside her.
Atticus ran his finger through her folds, sliding her wetness over her tender nub as she bucked her thighs into the air. He moved his finger faster, slipping into her depths as he rubbed her center.
Celine gripped his arm. The sounds of their hard breathing filled the cave.
"More, Atticus," she moaned. "I need more."
He slipped two fingers into her now, fucking her with his hand as he rolled her clit with his thumb.
Her inner walls quivered around his fingers, and he knew she was close now. He fucked her even faster still, waiting for the release that he had imagined a thousand times.
"Yes," she whispered. “Oh yes.”
Celine reached up and slipped her hand under his shirt, her palms coming into full contact with his now blazing tattoo. She came hard around his fingers.
He couldn't quite explain what happened next, but they had felt it before, the connection they had shared when she touched his tattoo the last time.
It was a sort of deep connection that reached in and laid his inner most thoughts bare to her.
Damn it. It was too much. It was too fast.
They were being hunted by Thrax, and he was more worried about being able to slip his dick in her rather than finding a way out of this shit. He was supposed to be thinking up an escape plan.
Atticus pulled away from her, not able to stare down at the woman he had just finished pleasuring. He was afraid that if he did, he might lose all his resolve.
"I need to secure the perimeter," Atticus said gruffly.
"Atticus," Celine called out to him as he stood to walk to the opening of the cave.
He glanced back without looking her in the face. He wasn’t strong enough.
"Get some sleep," Atticus said. "I'll be back soon."
He stepped out into the cool, wet night air, glad for the sting of the rain to help clear his head and cool his passionate thirst.
This wasn’t the time to forget the danger. He needed to put just how amazing Celine had looked when she came out of his mind and focus on a solution.
With one last glance at the cave, Atticus moved away from the temptation inside.