Chapter Seventeen
For such a large man, Grace was surprised with how gentle Thrax was with her. The whole time he was running through the woods, the giant Glycon didn’t let one thing hurt her. She might have felt some sympathy for the creature if he hadn’t kidnapped her and she wasn’t so worried about what would happen once they reached the place he intended on taking her.
Grace swallowed. She knew Thrax wanted her for his own. Just what that meant, she still wasn’t sure, and most definitely did not want to find out. She could only hope and pray that Vitus was coming to save her.
They ran for what felt like ages. Her body grew sore from being held for so long.
The world around them was starting to wake up, even if the animals were strangely silent. Frightened, she assumed, by Thrax. The sun hadn’t yet crested over the horizon, but she knew it would happen any time now.
She wondered what happened when the sun came up. It wasn’t something they had talked about, but it seemed the Glycons were more active at night. Although that might have been because they could cloak themselves in darkness. If they had some sort of vampire-like allergy to the sun, she doubted Thrax would risk traveling so close to dawn.
When they passed a silo in the distance she knew very well, Grace gasped.
They were near Taylor’s ranch. The one she managed with her father and new boyfriend.
Often she’d bought meat from them, but it had been years since she’d personally been out that way. Mainly it was old farms that had long since been abandoned. Many of the people looking for a better chance looked for work elsewhere. Eagle Ridge life wasn’t for everyone.
Grace furrowed her brow. Taylor’s new man was from Rem’s group, which meant he was probably a hybrid. Her vague hope of rescue strengthened.
Just over the hill, they rounded a bend. The snow there was compacted into the ground. As if many feet had run over the land making it so.
When Grace looked up, she noticed the trees in the surrounding forest. All her life she’d lived in the area, and never had she seen nearly all the vegetation dead in such a way, as if all its life had been sucked clean out of it.
Her stomach churned at the sight, and her hope began to fade. They’d already moved quickly and surprisingly far away from Taylor’s ranch.
Something about the area reminded her of her dreams with the Shadow Man and running through a black forest.
This was the black forest. Death. This was the hellscape from her nightmares, and there was nothing about this place that bode well for any of them.
Thrax pushed into the heavy doors of a barn. The thick metal doors helped animals last the long winters. At least when the barn held animals.
As the doors closed behind them, Grace blinked in the darkness, her eyes had been still trying to adjust to the brightening dawn.
Slowly her sight started to come back to her as Thrax carried her through the barn. Each stall was holding something, but she couldn’t quite make it out at first. Slowly things started to come into focus, just some shapes. Ones that seemed oddly familiar.
Something nearby started to shake in the stall. She could make out the blue glow from inside and the shape of a man. The man convulsed a few times, and Thrax paused to check, moving closer to the stall.
There she could see the man more clearly. A man as large as Thrax was strapped to a chair. His eyes were closed, but she felt sure that if they were to open, she would see the same blood red eyes. Connected to his arms were two IVs with a thick glowing blue liquid being pumped in. It was like nothing she’d ever seen.
No. That wasn’t right. Grace frowned. There was something unsettlingly familiar about the color. It looked oddly similar to the color she’d seen in the eyes of Vitus and the other hybrids.
A shiver ran over her, and Thrax held her closer.
She found the move oddly comforting from the man she’d feared up to this point. Maybe there was something human still left inside him after all.
The man in the chair stopped moving, and Thrax stepped away from the stall. Again, he started moving past the stalls. She glanced around the room and wondered just how many of them there were. If just one Thrax was hard for them to take down, what could a whole army do?
The idea made her sick to her stomach. No matter what happened, she had to make sure Vitus knew and that his men had time to prepare for what was to come. Someone who knew what was going on had to stop this craziness.
They stopped at the end of the walkway, and Thrax opened the door. Warmth seeped from inside, and Grace sighed at the feeling. Despite being held, there was nothing warm about Thrax. It was like being held by a statue.
Plus, she hadn’t planned to be outside nearly as long as she was. Her poor sockless toes were nearly frozen, and her fingers about the same.
Grace began flexing the feeling back into them as they filled with pins and needles.
Thrax gently sat her on the couch and placed a warm blanket over her body. She watched him from where she sat and wondered what sort of man he had been before he was changed. A good man? An evil man?
She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d chosen to be turned into what he was, but given everything she’d heard on the news about the Luna Lodge hybrids and what she’d learned from the Eagle Ridge hybrids, she doubted it.
Grace knew that everyone had a story, and she would venture a guess that the Glycons were no different. She doubted they were ever given the remotest choice on being turned into a monster. Even if someone had told them they’d get speed and strength, she just couldn’t see many willing to give up their humanity for it.
Thrax quietly stepped over to the sink and filled a glass there with water. He brought it over to where she was and thrust it into her hands.
She nodded and took the glass. Being thirsty wasn’t going to help her be rescued, so she saw no reason to refuse him.
He eyed her until she placed the cup to her lips and took a small drink. He nodded his approval.
“You will be my mate,” Thrax said after a moment.
It struck her as almost funny for a moment, like a toddler declaring what role she would play.
“I can’t be your mate,” she said to him.
He frowned and snorted. “You will be my mate,” he repeated.
“I’m sorry, but I already have a mate,” she said, hoping that there was some hope of reasoning with Thrax.
A low, deep growl filled the room.
“Him,” Thrax said.
For the first time, Grace noticed the stump where his hand had been. Since he’d carried her with that arm, she’d never even noticed. Although she knew just what had happened.
Thrax let out a snarl, and she jumped at the sound. His face contorted in rage, and she wondered if she’d pushed him too far.
“I kill him,” Thrax rumbled. “You be mate.”
Her throat ran dry at his words. “No,” she whispered.
Thrax frowned and stomped toward the door, clearly not willing to hear anything else she might have to say.
“Please,” she said as she scrambled to stand from the couch. “You can’t. I love him.”
But he was already out the door, the lock firmly latched into place.
Grace fell back on the couch. Large tears rolled down her face. Not only had she gotten herself captured, but she’d just sealed the deadly fate of the man she loved.