She breathed hard as the words rushed out of her. Her anger blinded her. Never had she been so angry in all her life. Not after all the shit her mother had pulled or anything else. The mere mention of her unborn child triggered something in her that rocked her to the core.
The man smiled and tilted his head forward a little. “It doesn’t matter,” he whispered. “The godsons are here. Get the stone and run little one. Run.”
Hope gasped. Shrieks and growls sounded outside. The godsons. This man was a godson, and his friends had come to save him. Even the hybrids feared the monsters.
The shrieks receded to the edge of her mind as something else called out to her. A soft hum. The stone was calling to her. Hope couldn’t exactly explain why or how, but the stone wanted her. It was like it knew danger was coming, and she would help. It didn’t matter if she understood everything going on. She knew the godsons couldn’t get their hands on it, no matter the cost.
Hope turned away from the prisoner and raced through the side door off the room. It led to a small office with a couch, desk, and few chairs. Over in the corner closet, a blue light started shining from a locked cabinet, nestled in a row of other plain metal cabinets. She grabbed the door handle and tugged a few times. Strangely, the lock clicked open after her third attempt.
A glow suffused the entire cabinet, coming from a metal box on a shelf in the back, tucked behind several other unmarked boxes. She grabbed the box and tried to open the lid, but it wouldn’t budge. It was locked.
The hum grew louder, and the next time she tugged on the lid, it opened with ease as if the stone itself unlocked the box and wanted to be found. The stone sat inside, the purest blue she’d ever seen, blinding but not painful.
Hope reached in and gently picked up the stone. Its power radiated through her, and she could see why so many people wanted to get their hands on it. Used in the wrong way, she could see how it might led to actions with heavy consequences.
A noise at the front of the meeting house drew her from her thoughts. Hope jammed the stone into her jacket pocket. She needed to get out of there before the godson told his friend where she was.
As quietly as she could, Hope lifted the window in the office and checked outside. It was quiet on that side. She wasn’t nearly as familiar with the path back home from this direction, but maybe the less direct route to the Azilian compound was the best path. It would give her time to figure out just what she was going to do in the end. She still needed to find Alec, too.
Hope climbed up over the side and carefully lowered herself over the edge. She dropped to the ground and glanced around. There was no one around to notice her, but she needed to move. The godsons could have already set their buddy free and might be on her any moment.
Fear driving her, Hope raced into the woods, pushing herself to run as quietly but quickly as she could manage. She ran until her lungs hurt and her legs burned, but even then continued to run. Her escape didn’t end until she collapsed from exhaustion, landing on her hands on knees, taking deep, ragged breaths, listening and praying that she had managed to get away.
Chapter Thirteen
Alec had confirmed the last few remaining hybrids were transferred to the Azilian compound when he got a call from Rem and headed toward the gate. The prisoner hadn’t been lying. Agatha and the godsons had stalked through town, and Rem and the hybrids present decided it’d be suicide to engage them there. Fortunately, the invaders hadn’t gone after any of the townsfolk, but there was no chance the ones who stayed hadn’t seen the army marching through town. The sheriff had fielded a few calls and told everyone to stay inside and out of sight. That would at least buy everyone time. Just something else for the hybrids to deal with when this was all over. If they made it that far.
Rem and Nero emerged from the forest and headed toward the gate. Alec approached them, Sergius following close behind.
Nero shook his head. “They’ve overrun our land now. They must have already gotten the stone. It was gone when we got back there. It was strange. It’s like they knew exactly where it was. No evidence they tossed the rooms, and the locks weren’t jimmied or anything. Everything was just open.”
“Maybe they’re good at picking locks,” Alec muttered. “It’d just be another godson advantage.” He growled. Without the stone, their victory chances plummeted.
“The stone isn’t everything,” Rem said. “We’ve beaten plenty of enemies without it. Plus, the stone is unpredictable. I don’t trust a weapon that might turn on me.”
Alec opened his mouth to respond but stopped as the wind shifted his direction. He sniffed at the air. His head snapped to the side. He’d know that smell anywhere. “Hope.”
“What?” Rem asked.
What the hell was she doing outside of the compound?
Without a word, Alec sprinted toward the scent. It led toward the hybrids’ land. If she was outside the Azilian compound, Hope was in serious danger. The godsons were moving into position, and the last thing he wanted was his woman to be smack dab in the center of all that shit. He couldn’t fight that kind of enemy and protect her at the same time. Rem, Nero, and Sergius rushed after him.
Alec pumped his legs harder. The wretched smell of the godsons filled the air around him the closer he moved toward the hybrids’ cabins. The farther he ran, the greater his panic built. Nothing could happen to her. He wasn’t sure he could handle it. Not after everything he’d been through. Hope was his chance at happiness after so long. He needed her.
A sound to his left brought him to a halt. He spun, biting back a growl. Hope leaned against a tree in a clearing, her eyes closed, her breathing shallow. The sun just barely crested over the horizon.
Alec leaned over and placed a hand across her forehead. She was burning up. Her eyes blinked open at his touch.
“Alec,” she said weakly. “I—” She groaned, and her eyes closed again.
“Shhh.” He lifted her into his arms. “I’m going to take you home.”
When Alec turned, he found the other hybrids standing behind him. Rem’s eyes were fixed on Hope, his mouth pressed in a firm line.
“Put her down,” Nero said, his voice a near growl.
Alec instinctively pulled her closer to his body. His arms tightened around her. A deep growl bubbled up.
“She’s with me.” Alec narrowed his eyes on Nero. “Hope is sick, and I’m taking her home.”
Sergius stepped forward. The hulking man was intimidating to be certain, but the look on his face was one of pity.
He shook his head. “Alec, she has the stone. She’s sick because of the stone.”
Alec looked down at the pale woman in his arms. The pallor of her skin had worsened in the short time since he’d found her. He gritted his teeth when he spotted the glow coming from her pocket. He reached in and pulled out the stone.
Why? Why would she have the stone? The question must have been written on his face.
“Anassa,” Rem muttered. “She’s wanted it ever since we got it. It was only a matter of time before she pulled something like this.”
Alec’s heart sank. Anassa had set all this up. She had sent Hope to steal the stone for her. What was worse was that Hope had done just that. She was supposed to be his Vestal, his fated mate. Did it mean nothing? Had he been wrong the entire time?
Hope’s eyes fluttered open. “Alec…”
“Did you steal the stone for her?” He glared at her. “Is that all this was?” He held the stone in front of her face.
Tears formed in her eyes, but he ignored them.
“It’s not what you think,” she said weakly.
Alec huffed loudly and averted his eyes. He couldn’t even stand to look at her. How could he? All he could see was the life they might have shared, but now could never have. Love without trust meant nothing.
“Please,” she said quietly. “Alec, please.”
A loud roar ripped through the air, followed by shrieks. Several godsons burst from the trees into the clearin
g. One launched himself right at Alec, and the hybrid barely had time to duck with Hope in his arms before the godson landed on the ground next to him.
“Found you,” the monster rumbled.
Rem pointed his rifle, but a godson knocked it out of his hand. He slammed a foot into one of the beasts, sending him sprawling. Sergius threw a wide hook that knocked another down. Nero charged into another. The godsons might be stronger than the hybrids, but that didn’t mean the latter were weak.
Hope recognized the godson who had landed next to her. It was the same one she’d found chained, the one who had told her to escape. Fear mixed with confusion. He’d told her to run only to chase her down once again. She didn’t understand why.
“You got the stone for me,” he said quietly, with a chuckle. “It called to you, made it easy for you. It wanted to be found by you.”
Hope frowned. That’s what he wanted. For her to get the stone? He’d used her.
She looked over at Alec. Anger was written all over his face. There was no chance they could make it out of this. His friends were busy fighting the other new arrivals. There was no one to help them.
The world around her spun slightly as Alec and the godson stood and squared off. She was unwell, the worst she’d ever felt in all her life. But still Hope knew she needed to do something before the best thing that ever happened to her was killed.
Hope’s gaze fixed on the stone in Alec’s hand. A low intense hum thrummed through her body. The stone was telling her something. She wasn’t totally sure what it was trying to tell her, but she needed to figure it out quickly. If the godson was right and the stone wanted her to find it, then that had to mean something. But how did he even know?
The godson sneered at Alec. “You fight for the wrong things.”
Alec snorted. “And what exactly are your idea of the right things?”
The hulking mutant Glycon moved forward until he was standing so close Hope could feel the heat from his body. “You are more than these humans. They should know your might. They should fear your strength. Instead you hide like scared prey. Pathetic. Killing you is an act of mercy.”
“I’m not going to go down so easily,” Alec snarled.
“Can you win against me while protecting your woman?”
Alec growled. The godson growled back.
Hope shivered. They didn’t want to just defeat the hybrids. The godsons wanted domination. That shouldn’t be possible, but if they got their hands on the stone, there was no telling what they might be able to accomplish.
The blue stone started to hum loudly. Before she’d even thought about it, Hope wrapped her hand around the stone and Alec’s hand. She placed her other hand on the godson.
Bright blue light enveloped them. A blinding heat shot through her body, and her mind cleared. Alec, the stone, the godson. The two men stopped moving. They were connected, and for one brief moment, she saw right into their very essence. She gasped.
Alec was love and light. Warm and open. When she turned to the godson, he was nothing but darkness and hatred. A glimpse of a world suffocating under the cloak of darkness entered her mind.
“No,” she whispered.
It couldn’t happen. She wouldn’t let it happen. This was not the future she wanted for her child. She would do anything within her power to keep her safe. Hope opened her eyes and stared at the godson. He watched her, a curious look in his red eyes.
“I told you before,” she said, her worlds echoing almost as if she were in a tunnel, “that if you threatened my child, it would be the last thing you do.”
His face contorted to rage, and for a moment it seemed like he was going to rip her from Alec.
Hope pressed against Alec and started to chant the only thing she could think. “Protect her. Please protect our child.”
The hum grew louder. The stone turned from blue to white in their hands. The bright light forced her to close her eyes. Her whole body shook as she tried to keep hold of the stone, continuing her chant until she couldn’t any longer. The godsons shrieked in pain. Their chorus of agony filled the air until it stopped, and they collapsed to the ground, twitching.
Hope’s hand slipped away from the stone, and she groaned as Alec dropped to his knees with her in his arms. She had never felt so heavy in her whole life. It was like her whole body was lead. She opened her eyes slightly to look up to Alec, who crouched near the ground with her still in his arms.
“I didn’t want to,” she said quietly. “I didn’t want to betray you.”
Alec leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead. “I know.”
Her eyes fluttered a few times, and she fell asleep.
Chapter Fourteen
Alec could hardly contain himself. Hope was pregnant with their child. This made his world complete. To have her and their child by his side, Alec would do anything.
He understood everything now. He’d seen it all through their connection, seen everything there ever was to see about Hope and who she was. Everything they had shared had been real, not a trick. She loved him. There might not have been words behind it, but he knew the feeling. It echoed within his own heart.
She was his Vestal, his soul mate, but it wasn’t just the hybrid-Vestal connection they shared, which he knew went well beyond just mere compatibility. This was more. There was a bond between them. One that had been brewing since the very first moment they met, and he felt down to his very soul she was the only thing that could make him whole again. He had no doubt of that.
Alec looked down at her. The color was still drained from her face, and she shivered every now and again in his arms, drained by the power of what she’d just done. Even he felt the effects of it, despite his incredible strength.
“We need to get her back to the compound.” Alec stood, his legs a little wobbly.
He still held the stone between their hands. He gently pulled it away and slid it into his shirt pocket.
“Are you sure we can trust her?” Nero said, the doubt thick in his words. He looked skeptically at Alec and the godsons on the ground.
Hope had weakened herself to save them all. There was no question in Alec’s mind on how much he trusted her.
“Yes,” he said.
It was all the answer he was going to give at the moment. If the men couldn’t trust her, they could sure as hell trust him, and that was going to have to be good enough.
“What about these guys?” Sergius knelt to check the pulse of one of the godsons. All of them lay motionless on the ground.
“She took them all out with ease,” Rem marveled. He shook his head in disbelief.
It was hard enough to take down the one they had captured, but for one small woman to take down several seemed impossible. They’d witnessed the power of the stone before, but that didn’t make the latest manifestation any less impressive.
“Never mind.” Sergius stood and turned to Rem. He grunted. “They’re dead.”
Maybe Alec should have been surprised, but he wasn’t. Relief filled him. The dead godsons were a few less the hybrids would have to defeat later. The godsons had made their choice, and they had paid for it with their lives. If Hope hadn’t stopped them, there would be dead hybrids and a dead Vestal in the clearing instead.
“I need to get her someplace safe,” Alec said, and strolled out of the woods toward the Azilian compound. He didn’t have time to worry about what she’d been able to do to the godsons. At that moment, she was unwell and exposed. If another group attacked, she wouldn’t be able to save them.
Rem nodded and headed after him. Nero and Sergius fell into formation on either side of him.
Alec moved in silence, occasionally staring down at the motionless woman in his arms. He could only hope she was okay and that their child hadn’t suffered anything from the stone. The blue light had been bad enough, but the white light was even more intense in a different way. He still wasn’t quite sure just what had happened.
There had been a different feeling und
er the white light, but it’d had been something far less ominous. It was like being surrounded by a cloud. At some point, Alec would need to voice all of this to the other men, but for now, he needed to sort things out himself first.
Alec growled as they emerged from the trees outside the Azilian compound. He almost wished there were more godsons there instead of what he was seeing.
Azilian men in brown robes had positioned themselves in rows just outside the gate. They all held pistols. It was likely every brother in the cult. Anassa stood in the middle, her white robe standing out, a gun in her hand pointed at Jenna’s swollen belly. The small woman looked more pissed than scared.
“That’s far enough,” Anassa called out.
Rem snorted. “I want to say I’m surprised, but that’d be a lie. I’m just pissed now. Sending Hope to steal the stone was one thing, but this? You’ve gone too far.”
Hope placed a hand against Alec’s chest, and he looked down at her. She was awake but still clearly not feeling well. Still, it would be better if she could stand on her own if she needed to make a quick getaway so they could fight. He placed her on the ground gently.
“I really didn’t want to have to do this,” Anassa said. “Hope was supposed to keep it simple for me, but she let her emotions overwhelm her.”
“You mean I was supposed to lie and steal the stone?” Hope said, her voice still weak.
Alec glanced over to Rem, whose face kept twitching. The normally cool and collected leader looked like he was five seconds from ripping every Azilian’s head off. If only the gun hadn’t been pointed at his mate.
“Why don’t you tell us what it is you’re really trying to do here?” Rem shouted. “Because I don’t think it’s just about helping Vestals and hybrids make sweet, loving matches. We joined forces with you because it was our best bet against our enemies.”
Alec: #11 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas) Page 7