Chapter Four
Vitus made his way back over to the grocery store. Alec waited for him there outside the front door. The quiet, younger man leaned against his car, his arms crossed and staring off into the wilderness behind the grocery store.
He didn't know much about the younger man. Although none of them knew much about one another outside of their time with the Horatius Group. Some might have been with the Group for years, others decades. The Group hadn’t just robbed them of their freedom, but also their memories.
None of them knew what their lives had been like prior to their hybrid lives and their cryogenic sleep. But Vitus liked Alec well enough. He didn't seem to have as much experience as some of the others, but with their camp on alert, that meant that they all needed to be out keeping guard.
A surprise attack by Glycons could easily lead to more dead bodies, and even if Agatha had gone rogue, she could also still get the Group’s attention. One crazed woman and her Glycons they could deal with, but not the entire Horatius Group.
"Trouble?" Alec asked. “You weren’t clear in your text message.”
Vitus shook his head as he reached inside the car. He pulled out his contacts and scanned the street around them. Most honest townspeople made sure to be indoors by nightfall. Even if they hadn't been following the news, they could almost feel the oppressiveness in the air, the hungry warning that deadly predators lurked on the edge of town.
Glycons, Thrax, Agatha. So many threats lurking so near people who led simple and honest lives. The mere thought of it nearly choked Vitus. They needed to end the threat, both for the safety of the hybrids and that of Eagle Ridge.
"I thought I heard a noise," Vitus said. "Then she slipped closing up."
Alec nodded, satisfied with the answer. Vitus was glad to not have to answer any questions about his Vestal. Everyone seemed to have an opinion on how he should approach Grace. Hell, if it'd been him, he certainly would've had an opinion as well. A woman, especially a Vestal, being hunted by some twisted hybrid/Glycon mix seemed like something they should talk about.
Vitus knew that Grace’s sister Allison wanted him to be direct with Grace and, if necessary, force her to live at the hybrid compound. She was adamant that they would be able to keep her safe there.
He grunted to himself. Likely, the mayor was right, but Vitus doubted Grace would be willing to come so easily. Just because she was shy and quiet didn’t mean she had no backbone. He’d seen it in her interactions, could sense it just by being around her.
She was an independent woman and someone who seemed to like the quiet of her life. As it was, he was already pressing the boundaries on these things. He knew she was uncomfortable with her touching his foot earlier, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave the hurt woman without making sure she was helped first.
“Rem said you could head in," Alec said behind him. "Joran is in the surrounding woods. Nothing has come up so far. You know how it is. Hard to tell anymore since the bastards are all over.”
Vitus shook his head and turned around. "I'm on duty tonight," he said firmly.
The younger man looked like he wanted to say something but kept his mouth shut. Vitus knew his actions were concerning to his comrades, but he had to be with Grace.
Every fiber of his being said he needed to protect what was his. Not like some piece of property, but like she was the only thing that really mattered. And to Vitus, she was. His Vestal, his soulmate.
Alec nodded after a moment and clapped him on the shoulder, his short blond hair making him look almost boyish for a moment. Vitus wondered when the younger man had been turned. He seemed so very young at times but still wise beyond his years.
"I’ll let Joran know,” Alec said. “You taking position at the house?"
Vitus nodded as he glanced down the road. "The closer to her, the better. Thrax is damn fast.”
Alex followed his eyes and then turned to stare at him. "You think they’ll really come for her?" he asked. "It's been so quiet. Maybe they moved on."
“If they’d moved on, it wouldn’t stink so much of Glycon. No, those bastards are out there, just waiting for their chance.”
Alec nodded slowly.
Vitus turned to look out into the woods once again. The whole town was surrounded by trees, which was a draw to the hybrids, but now it seemed like the enemy was taking advantage of that to stalk and circle them just outside of the sonic barrier.
"It doesn’t matter in the end,” Vitus said. “Agatha might leave, as well as the Glycons, but Thrax is a different story. The call of the Vestal is a hard one to walk away from, and if he’s convinced Grace should be his, there’s nothing that’s going to pull him away.”
Vitus never thought of himself as someone looking for love. Maybe someone to spend time with to ease the loneliness that sometimes came with being a hybrid, but the whole Vestal thing seemed like a weird, foreign concept even as more of the hybrids around them found Vestals and paired up. That all changed when he stepped into the grocery store. Instantly, he could smell Grace and knew they were meant for one another, his other half that he’d always been missing.
"We'll stop him," Alec said. "He won't even get close to her."
Vitus turned and smiled at the younger man. They all knew that fighting Thrax was going to be their biggest challenge in the short-term, but Agatha having the blue stone meant so much more. The stone had the power to take the life energy of people and even destroy them.
It was a danger they couldn't even fathom. Still, Vitus liked Alec’s optimism. He gave Vitus hope in a way he didn't know he needed.
"Call if you need to," Vitus said.
Alec nodded, and Vitus turned back toward Grace’s house. He sprinted with ease, now not hindered by the woman standing beside him. He hated being far from her now. His heart ached the longer he stayed away. Vitus knew that it was the beast trying to break free of the control, aching to fill his needs.
He stopped outside the back of the house and watched in the distance as Grace moved from room to room, flicking the lights off as she did so. He glanced down at his watch. Eleven. Later than she normally went to bed.
A small smile played on his lips. He could only hope that he was a factor in her late bedtime. Grace was not an easy woman to deter from her strict schedule. He took this is a victory either way.
When finally she reached her bedroom, he watched as the light stayed on for a moment before flicking off. A low sort of growl filled him, and he stamped down the beast as it made itself known.
"One day at a time," Vitus grumbled to himself.
With her light off, stillness settled around him. Vitus quietly made his way over to the side of the house and listened to the steady breathing inside, his keen hearing able to make it out.
Something about listening to her sleep settled him. The soft and steady intake of her breath was soothing to his soul. Just hearing her breathe was enough to comfort him.
She was safe, and he was there to make sure it stayed that way.