Vitus: #9 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas)

by Madison Stevens

  The bell over the front door chimed loudly as it opened. She slapped a hand over her mouth as she gasped, her pulse pounding in her ears. She hadn’t thought to lock it in her hurry to find a hiding space. Her only thought had been to find some place that might shut out the horrible noises outside.

  Grace shook quietly as footsteps grew near. She could only hope it wasn’t the monster from before, and that somehow, despite being overmatched, Vitus had been the victor.

  From her position on the floor, she could see a pair shoes come into view. Did the monster wear shoes? She couldn’t remember, just that it’d had some sort of ragged and torn clothes, like an old jumpsuit or something. The shoes paused for a moment at the door and then hurried over to where she was at the desk.

  She let out the breath she was holding as Vitus knelt down to where she was. Grace threw herself into his arms. Blood was caked on his face and in his hair, and she could feel the jagged wounds in his back.

  “You’re hurt,” she said quietly but only leaned further into him. “You’re alive.”

  Vitus chuckled and pulled back to stare at her. “Maybe don’t be so surprised, and I’ll try not to be offended.”

  She stared into his brown eyes and frowned. Maybe she had dreamed the blue eyes all along. Maybe it had all been a dream.

  “Was… that real? That monster?”

  “All too damn real, I’m afraid.” Vitus shook his head. “But I’ll protect you, no matter what.”

  Whatever worry she had vanished as Vitus leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly against her own. This kiss wasn’t like the others they’d shared. There was a tenderness there that she hadn’t really expected.

  When he pulled back, Grace stared openly at his face. She watched as he glanced over his shoulder. The sirens now were nearly outside the door.

  “I’ll explain everything later,” he said quickly. “I promise, but I need to make sure the police aren’t involved. You understand why, right?”

  “They can’t take on that monster or the others.”

  Vitus nodded. “And even if they could, there’s worse things they could bring.”

  She whimpered.

  He gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. “I’ll explain everything later.”

  She heard the jingle of the front door and knew the police were making their way inside.

  “That thing? Did you kill it?”

  Vitus shook his head. “No, but it’s gone for now,” he said. “But they can’t know about him. They can’t know about me either. I’m trusting you with my secret.”

  Grace swallowed hard. She’d never had to keep a secret before. And she certainly never had to keep one like this.

  “I’ll do the talking,” he said softly.

  His hand came up and caressed the side of her face. She sighed and leaned into the warm palm.

  She nodded. There was something about Vitus it made her trust him. Nothing about the whole situation should make her feel that way, and yet she did.

  “Hands up! Get your damn hands off her!” a police officer shouted from the door, her gun out.

  Grace grumbled from her spot on the floor to place herself in view of the officer. “It’s not what you think. He’s protecting me,” she said quickly, pushing herself to her feet.

  The female officer at the door lowered her weapon. The expression under her large wide-brimmed hat made it clear the state trooper was one to take seriously. Likely the sheriff and deputies had known that whatever was happening was more than they could handle and called for reinforcements.

  Vitus held out his hand, and she slipped hers into it. They linked fingers as she stood quietly beside him, using his strength for her own.

  “You look like you just fought a bear,” another trooper said from the door. This one was a slightly older man and was clearly in charge as he stepped forward past the woman.

  Vitus nodded. “That’s exactly what happened.” He managed a grin. “But you should see him.”

  The older cop nodded. “A bear? Seriously?”

  Grace tried to keep her expression neutral, but it must’ve faltered for a moment as the female trooper eyed her suspiciously.

  “I was staying the night with my girlfriend and thought I’d grab a couple of logs off the pile outside,” Vitus said.

  The female trooper frowned slightly. “At three in the morning?”

  Grace could see her point. Most people went to bed with the fire still burning, but it wasn’t often they got up in the middle of the night to add more wood to the pile.

  Vitus gave a wolfish grin and glanced at Grace. Something about the way he stared at her made the heat spread across her cheeks. “Well, Officer…”

  “Monroe,” the woman said sharply.

  Vitus nodded. “Officer Monroe. I’m not so certain my girlfriend wants me sharing our nightly activity schedule.”

  A blush spread across the other woman’s face. Clearly his ruse had worked.

  The male trooper laughed loudly. “This is why I keep telling you that you should get a boyfriend,” he said to Officer Monroe.

  The woman frowned. Her face went bright red as she stared at the other man. “Sir…”

  The older man held up a hand and sighed. “Please go on,” he said to Vitus.

  “That’s when the bear attacked,” he said. “I was able to get my hands on a hatchet and get a few blows in, but not before he got my back. I scared him off, I guess, but there’s no way I took him down.”

  The older man nodded a few times and frowned after a moment. “Neighbor said they heard gunshots as well,” he said.

  Vitus nodded to where Grace stood next to him, his thumb now brushing back and forth against her hand, offering some comfort as they stood there.

  “I made my way back into the kitchen and got out my gun. There bear seemed pretty intent on getting in, even after the hatchet blows, so I went out the front door this time and fired a few shots, hoping to draw it away so Grace would have the chance to get to the store.”

  Officer Monroe stepped forward again, her piercing green eyes watching. It was clear to Grace that the woman wasn’t completely sold on their story.

  “Why didn’t you just wait inside the house?” Vitus chuckled loudly. “We all know a door isn’t much protection against a grizzly bear.”

  The older man nodded his head and tapped the woman on the arm. “He’s not wrong,” the trooper said. “You might not remember, but nearly seven years ago, a grizzly broke into a family home on the outskirts of town. Killed everyone there. They caught the damn thing a week later. Killed it as it was stalking another home. Once they get a taste for human flesh, they don’t tend to stop.”

  Grace could tell the younger woman wanted to say something in return, but it was clear her superior was willing to chalk it up exactly as they’d said. Although, Grace remembered the incident slightly differently than the trooper.

  Many people thought the bear was a cover-up for a murder suicide, and the grizzly had just taken advantage of the fresh meat.

  But now didn’t seem like the time to go against the trooper.

  “We’ll get the pictures for evidence, and might be contacting you in a few days,” the older man said. “I’m Officer Davidson. Tom Davidson. You just give us a call if you have any more trouble. For now, let’s let the paramedics take a look at you.”

  Grace nodded as she followed Vitus out through the store. Lights flashed everywhere as she stepped outside, and already she could see a few of her regulars watching to see what it gone on. Wasn’t often the state troopers paid her a visit.

  “Let’s look at that back,” a paramedic said to Vitus.

  He shook his head. “Her first,” he said. “She cut her foot on a piece of glass and was standing nearly barefoot out in the snow for too long.”

  The paramedic looked like he wanted to argue for a moment but decided against it because of the stern look Vitus was giving him.

  Quietly, Grace let the paramedics lead her over to the b
ack of the ambulance. Vitus stood some distance away, but his eyes were always on her, watching her to make sure she was safe.

  Chapter Ten

  Vitus paced the floor of his home, watching Grace sitting on the couch. She had said very little on the ride back to the hybrid compound and even less since their arrival.

  Instead, she quietly listened as his leader Rem and Grace’s sister Allison explained the truth about the compound and the men who lived there.

  “Hybrids,” Rem had said, “like those from Luna Lodge.”

  Vitus supposed it helped a bit that people already knew about the Luna Lodge hybrids given how much the news talked about them, but that didn’t stop her from glancing his way as they spoke.

  “But your people are different,” Grace said softly. “The ones on TV… the Luna Lodge hybrids have yellow eyes. Somehow I knew the brown eyes on Vitus were wrong, but blue isn’t yellow.”

  Rem nodded. “Our people are different, but we were still prisoners of the Horatius Group. We were able to escape the Group, but here, creatures of the Group found us.”

  “They followed you here?”

  “Not sure. I think it’s more they came here for something the leader of the Azilians had.”

  “The Azilians are also hybrids?”

  “No, they… are different.” Rem chuckled. The humor drained off his face. “Now, though, Glycons, which are like mutated hybrids are here and a threat not only to us but everyone in this town.”

  Grace shivered a little, and Vitus couldn’t help but clench his fist in anger.

  “That creature?” Grace asked. “The one that Vitus fought. He was a Glycon? He’s the threat?”

  Rem shook his head slowly and sighed. Vitus knew what their leader was thinking; that it was never just that simple.

  “Thrax is just a tool of the threat. A woman named Agatha is the real concern. She controls the Glycons and has the ability to make more like them.”

  “Who is Agatha?”

  “She used to work with the Group, but she’s a little more independent now.”

  Grace’s eyes widened as she stared at him and soaked in everything he’d said. “That… Thrax said I was his. What did he mean?”

  Anger washed through Vitus. He stomped forward, clenching his fists so tightly he drew some blood from his palms.

  “You are not his,” he said, his voice barely more than a growl.

  Grace’s soft hazel eyes looked up to him, and Vitus felt himself eased back slightly.

  “Thrax is another special case. He’s not quite a full Glycon,” Rem said. “In our world, there is one woman for every hybrid. We call them Vestals. You are a Vestal.”

  Vitus cleared this throat. “By the way, there was a woman cop at the store. Her scent… definitely a Vestal.”

  Rem arched a brow. “Interesting. All the more reason to get the Glycons under control.”

  Grace glanced at each of the people in the room, a curious expression on her face. Her gaze finally landed on Vitus. “But I’m not Thrax’s Vestal,” she said, and raised a brow. “Am I?”

  Vitus swallowed hard as Rem and Allison both stood from the couch. Rem dropped a paper packet on the table.

  Grace glanced down at them.

  “Herbs,” Rem said. “Just put them in tea. They will help you sleep without the nightmares.”

  “Even if they are from the Shadow Man?”

  Rem nodded, a grim look on his face.

  A low rumble vibrated in Vitus’s chest.

  “Erebus,” Rem said, “or the Shadow Man as you may know him, is not a being you want to have access to your dreams. He makes Thrax look like a puppy in comparison.”

  Rem’s words stabbed at Vitus’s heart. He didn’t want anyone, demigod or not, messing with his Vestal.

  Grace nodded. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Her sister quickly enveloped her in her arms.

  “I love you,” Allison whispered softly in her ear. “Stay was Vitus. He’ll keep you safe.” Allison looked over at Vitus, pinning him with her stare. “Won’t you?”

  Vitus nodded without hesitation. “With my life.”

  His answer seemed to satisfy Allison. She released Grace and headed for the door. Rem stepped out and closed the door behind him.

  An awkward silence stretched between the two remaining. Vitus had so many things he wanted to say, but finding where to start seemed almost impossible.

  “What am I to you?” Grace asked after a moment.

  Vitus made his way over to the couch and sat down next to the small woman. She moved closer to him, slipping her small body against his side.

  “I hardly know anything about you,” she said softly, “but everything in me says to trust you.” She looked up at him and stared into his eyes. “What is a Vestal? Really?”

  A lump formed in his throat. Describing a Vestal now seem like the hardest thing in the world.

  “You,” he said softly. “Everything that makes you who you are. That’s what my version of Vestal is.”

  “But what does that mean?”

  “I guess it depends on who you ask. There’s talk about gods and the like. But the simple version is a Vestal is a hybrid’s soulmate.”

  Grace nodded slowly, no surprise or worry on her face. It was as if she accepted everything he said without any doubts.

  Vitus leaned over and pressed a thumb along her cheek. He sighed when Grace leaned into his palm. It was as if everything had aligned.

  Grace sighed at the feeling of the warm palm against her face. She still wasn’t quite sure just what the hell had happened that day, but in his arms, she felt safe. And that’s all she cared about.

  “I thought Thrax might kill you,” she said softly. “I have all these emotions, and I’m just not sure what it means. I thought it was just a dream earlier. I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t.”

  Vitus leaned down and placed a soft kiss against her forehead. She wrapped her arms around him, making sure to avoid the deep scratches against his back.

  “This is real,” he said. “Right here, you and me. This is real.”

  She sighed against his chest and leaned back to stare up at his blue eyes. “I saw you in a dream,” she said. “I saw your blue eyes in the dream.”

  A small smile spread across his face. “And what exactly were we doing in that dream, Grace?”

  Heat seeped across her face as she looked away from him. She was certain he knew exactly what they had been doing in her dream, but there was no way she could say that out loud. Not yet anyway, even if she did wonder if the reality would match the dream.

  Vitus placed his finger against her chin and turned her until she stared back over at him. He leaned down slowly and placed his lips against hers in a soft kiss.

  His lips moved against hers as they tasted one another. She felt his tongue tease the seam of her mouth and opened to him, as if she’d done it a million times before and it was the most natural thing in the world.

  The fact was his kiss felt familiar to her now. It was something she knew and wanted. Their tongues met, and lightning shot through her body.

  After only a moment, Vitus pulled back from her. He stared down at her, his eyes blazing bright blue. She could see the hunger that waited for her there, and something about it both excited and scared her.

  “I’m not going to push you,” he said softly. “You must know how much I want you. And I think you want me too, but I’ll wait. I’ll wait until you’re ready for me.”

  Grace searched his face her any sort of irritation. Anything at all that might indicate his words didn’t match his true feelings, but she only found the sincerity of his words there.

  Vitus nodded to the door just off the living room. “You can take the bed,” he said. “I’ll take the couch.” Grace opened her mouth not sure what she was going to say but stopped as he went on. “You’re safe here with me,” he said. “I won’t let him hurt you. And I’m not the only hybrid here.”

  Before she knew wh
at she was doing, Grace leaned forward and placed a soft kiss against his lips. It was nothing like what they’d shared before, just a small, soft kiss. She pulled back.

  “Come to bed with me,” she said.

  Vitus frowned. “I don’t think—”

  Grace shook her head. “Just sleep,” she said. “I feel safest in your arms.”

  She glanced away from him as heat spread through her neck and face. She never been this bold with anyone before, but then she never had a reason to be.

  Vestal. Soulmate. It seemed wild. Too wild to believe, but then again so did hybrids stronger and faster than normal men and monsters like the Glycons. Let alone Erebus.

  No, she could feel the truth of her attraction to Vitus. She was his Vestal. She had no doubt of that.

  Vitus pulled away from Grace, and for a moment, the pain of rejection lanced through her. Maybe she did feel more for him than he felt for her. Maybe she’d been wrong about what being a Vestal meant.

  She stood up and slowly made her way into the bedroom, unable to look at him.

  After a moment he came into the room holding a glass. “Drink this before bed.” He handed it to her.

  Grace wrinkled her nose at the smell of the herbs and quickly swallowed the drink down.

  A moment later he tossed her a t-shirt from his dresser and turned his back to her. She watched in awe as he pulled her shirt off. Bandages covered the gashes on his back. From her position, she could just make out the bruises on his side.

  In this light, Grace could see just how badly Thrax had hurt Vitus.

  She quickly stripped off her bloodied robe and still damp nightgown. The t-shirt was warm and dry as she slid it on. It felt good to be in dry material again.

  She glanced up and found Vitus standing in only his boxer briefs, the outline of his lower half clearly visible. A small smirk came to his face as she blushed and glanced to the side.

  “You’re not going to make this easy for me,” he said with a sigh.

  It wasn’t until she heard the dip of the bed and rustle of covers that she looked over and found him now lying in bed.