Nero: #2 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas)

by Madison Stevens

  Nyx took a few steps toward the direction of the noise they had heard previously.

  “We need info,” she said and moved into the night.

  They were silent as they moved. Nero was not quite sure what to say at that moment. He’d wanted her. And there was no question that she had wanted him as well.

  He shook the thoughts from his head as they drew closer to the sounds from before. Right now he needed to focus on the mission and making sure Nyx stayed safe.

  The tree line kept them hidden enough, but there was no chance to go in for a closer look. From their position, they could see a van. Two brown-robed men had the back doors open. Another sat in the front of the van. They waited quietly until there was some sort of movement.

  Single file, women poured from the back of the van, each clothed in a white robe. They walked calmly through the back door of the compound.

  He frowned at the odd euphoric look on the women’s faces.

  “What the fuck is wrong with them?” Nyx whispered.

  Nero shrugged.

  “New recruits?” he suggested.

  Nyx frowned at him and shook her head. “We’re missing something.”

  The men slammed the doors to the van closed. As soon as the doors were closed, the driver pulled out and veered sharply left.

  “Shit,” Nero mumbled.

  He wrapped his arms around Nyx, cradling her sides between his arms, and rolled to the side.

  The bright headlights flashed where they had just been as the driver made a wide turn and headed back the way he had come.

  Nero stayed like that for a moment, waiting for the door to the compound to close and some assurance they had not been caught.

  “We should follow them,” Nyx said from under him.

  He looked down at her. Her face had drained of all color, and he knew that despite his best effort, she was still in pain.

  “We should get back,” he said firmly.

  Nyx glared at him.

  “This is our chance to find out what the hell is going on,” she said and pushed hard against him. “Before they march in and melt us all.”

  Nero rolled off her and stood. He held out his hand to help her up, but Nyx swatted it and stood on her own.

  “We follow,” she said and marched off down the road.

  Again they walked in silence through the woods. This time he kept his hand close to his gun. Whatever was going on seemed to be all a part of some bigger plan by the Azilians group. The more they dug, the less Nero thought they would like what they found.

  The trail cut off abruptly, no trace of the van anywhere.

  He stared hard into the night. The van had to be somewhere.

  “Where did it go?” Nyx said.

  Nero continued to search, frustration building.

  An odd shadow caught his attention in the distance. It lay further out than he’d ever been before. Now wasn’t the time to mention it. If he said anything, Nyx wouldn’t let it rest. She’d try and investigate, and she’d get herself killed. He couldn’t allow that.

  He’d check it out later, when there wasn’t a risk to any but himself. If he could atone for his past, maybe one way would be by risking his own life to protect others.

  He turned back to her. “We should head back,” he said. “We need to get on the comms and let the others know.”

  She stared at him for a moment, her eyes searching around him for something but falling short.

  She flipped the switch to her ear piece. “Recon finished,” she said and stared at him. “Heading back now.”

  Her gaze stayed on him for a moment more before heading out.

  Nero sighed. The situation could have gone better.

  Chapter Six

  Nyx watched from her chair as the men filtered out of the meeting room. She’d stayed quiet as everyone talked about the new information provided by the recon mission. Nero mostly spoke for them and discussed what they’d seen, though he left out their momentary lapse in judgment.

  She frowned slightly as he rose and departed. Though he related the information about the van and the oddly happy women, he didn’t mention anything else after that. No. She’d seen the look on his face. There was more. The bastard was hiding something.

  When the last man had left the room, Rem looked at her and raised a brow. Her face must have made her thoughts obvious.

  “Problems?” he said.

  She stood and moved to the chair next to him.

  “I don’t trust him.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  Rem gave her a half smile, the kind that always seemed to be holding something back. She figured the only person that ever got the full truth from him was Jenna.

  Nyx took in a deep breath. She’d been thinking about it ever since they’d come back, and she just knew he wasn’t telling everything.

  “He saw something,” she said and shrugged, not quite sure how she should continue.

  Rem leaned in a little. “He saw something that he didn’t report? Other than the van and the women?”

  She nodded and then stopped. “Well, it seemed like that way.”

  Rem frowned at her. She resisted a grunt. She needed to make him understand.

  “When we were out there, it just felt like he knew something and didn’t want me to know. I know he saw something.”

  “And you didn’t?”

  “I tried. Maybe it’d moved by the time I looked. I don’t know. I just know that bastard is hiding something.”

  Rem leaned back and seemed to consider her words.

  “Did you ask him about it?” he said after a moment.

  “No,” she said, more stunned than anything.

  Nyx stared at him in surprise. It hadn’t really been the response she was expecting. Not that she thought like Marcus, but still, Nero was an outsider, and she didn’t really trust him and honestly didn’t understand why Rem seemed to trust him so much.

  “What good would it have done to ask him?” she said. “He’d just have lied.”

  “Maybe.” Rem rose and started toward the door. She followed.

  “If Nero wanted to hurt us, he could have already done it,” Rem said quietly, pausing as they reached the door. He looked over to her. “We’re not as secure here as the hybrids of Luna Lodge. We have fewer numbers, less defenses.” He gestured with his hand. “A lot of hybrids here aren’t as well-trained as those at the Lodge. We both know a surprise attack by the Group could decimate us. Why do you think he didn’t call the Group?”

  Heat assaulted her face as she remembered what Nero had said. He was there because of her. Nyx still wasn’t quite sure how to process that. Maybe it was bullshit. Maybe it was true. It also wasn’t like he couldn’t want her and still betray the rest of them.

  “I don’t know,” she mumbled to Rem, still not willing to give voice to the bold declaration. The last thing she needed was to give more ammunition to assholes like Marcus.

  Rem laughed. Somehow he knew. Always one freaking step ahead of all of them.

  She huffed loudly, ready to stomp out of the place but stopped when his hand landed on her shoulder.

  Nyx turned to stare directly at her leader. His face was as open and honest as she’d ever seen. No smirk, no jokes, no suspicion.

  “I trust him,” he said firmly. “We aren’t what the Horatius Group says we are. We’re more. We can all be better. There is more to Nero than they gave him credit for, just like there’s more than they believed for any of us.” He grinned. “Offer your trust. You may be surprised by the man you get back.”

  The words echoed in her head as she stepped outside.

  Trust? There were very few people she trusted, and he wanted her to just blindly believe in Nero, an outsider?

  “Think about it,” Rem said with a smile. “I think there’s a part of you that wants to.”

  Nyx opened her mouth to protest but stopped when Rem opened the door.

  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got chocolate cak
e waiting for me.” He frowned at her. “If I don’t get my slice tonight, she might give it all away.”

  She nearly laughed at his childish behavior but thought better of it. When it came to chocolate cake, Rem was nothing but serious.

  Nyx stood there as he walked into the darkness and toward his home. She wrapped her arms around her middle and winced at the pain. More meds were in order. Maybe some pills with the rest of her cake would be just the thing to wipe the evening from her mind.

  * * *

  Nyx sat on her couch just thinking as the pills worked their magic. She hated the way the heavy drugs dulled her senses, but the pain was worse.

  She looked at the wrap resting on the table. Nero had been right about the pressure. It had helped make movement not so bad. She’d had no issues in the woods. It wasn’t perfect, but it had been good enough to get around and let her still feel useful.

  Nyx sighed and set the empty container on the table. She dusted off the few chocolate crumbs that had found their way to her shirt and chuckled. The men would laugh at her up and down for wearing such a frilly outfit.

  The pale pink cotton tank and matching pants were everything she wasn’t. And yet she loved them. They made her feel like she could be dainty, reminded her for a brief while she was more than just some living tool to be used for recon and discarded.

  Rem’s words surfaced in her mind. We aren’t what the Horatius Group says we are.

  Was that really true?

  Her hand stilled against her shirt. The stubby nails on her hand stood out against the fabric. They were anything but dainty.

  Nyx shook her head. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t like she wanted any of that. Not really. It wouldn’t help them stay safe, and it wouldn’t help her keep the respect of her men.

  No, being dainty was the last thing she needed. The fantasy was fun for a moment, but in the end, they’d have to be exactly what the Group thought and more if they wanted to keep their freedom.

  She walked to her kitchen. After filling a glass with water, she stared out into the moonlight-bathed pale darkness outside. It was getting late and she’d be sorry if she stayed up any later. The meds only added to her fatigue.

  Movement in the distance along the tree line caught her eye. She squinted into the night, trying to make out what it was. The possibilities flicked through her mind: Azilian scouts, Glycons, maybe just some deer.

  The shadow slipped between two trees, and when it came out the other side, she could make out the large form. A combination of satisfaction and disappointment filled her.

  “Nero,” she whispered.

  As if he’d heard her, he stopped and looked toward her house. Nyx hunched over, hoping that he hadn’t seen her. She knew he’d been holding something back, and now his little night jog proved it.

  Her heart hammered in her throat as she waited for him to leave.

  Trust him? No way in hell. That man was up to something, and if Rem didn’t believe her before, she’d make sure he did after this. Evidence of Nemo’s traitorous nature would be all she needed. Waiting until he betrayed them was idiotic.

  She raced over to the door, grabbed her jacket from the hook and slipped on her sneakers. Wincing slightly, she opened the door. A little pain was worth exposing a traitor.

  Chapter Seven

  Nero made his way toward his destination, the air chilling him. The ground crunched from the frost on the ground. He was glad the snow had mostly moved on, but the bite in the air was just as harsh this time of night. Spring hadn’t fully taken the baton from winter.

  Animals rustled in the woods, likely frightened by his presence there after his absence for the past week, the return of a true predator. He’d come to know this part of the woods well as it had been his home the last few months prior to Remus taking him in. He’d not done much else other than watch Rem’s group, the unusual hybrids that the Horatius Group had put so much effort into keeping contained and controlled.

  When he was still with the Group, he’d barely seen any of the blue-eyed hybrids. He had always known there were more, but prior to their escape, he’d only encountered Magnus and Nyx.

  No one ever told him why the rest had been stashed away. He had always assumed they were dangerous. The question remained about what sort of threat they posed. They certainly weren’t as organized and well-trained as the Luna Lodge hybrids, and they lacked the brutality and strength of Glycons. The fact the Group might consider them dangerous made him think the blue-eyed hybrids had some hidden power to bring them all down. Although these hybrids were different, Nero saw nothing that indicated they had special powers.

  He scoffed at the thought. His laugh cut through the quiet night.

  These people weren’t some superior race. Despite what that crazy doctor had said, there was no way he believed they were being watched by the Atlantean Gods. It was ridiculous.

  Everything he’d seen could be explained. It was just some science crap. At the end of the day, the Horatius Group was using scientists and doctors in their research, not priests and rituals. The very idea that he’d been changed and deemed worthy seemed about as likely as him actually being worthy. The gods hadn’t cured him with magic, the Horatius Group doctor had with an injection.

  The shot may have granted him another chance but for how long? Living in the woods, hoping that the Group didn’t find them didn’t seem like much a life to him. And they now had the Azilians to worry about. These hybrids were kidding themselves if they thought it would end differently. The Horatius Group always seemed to find what they were looking for. They’d take back what was theirs.

  He should leave. Nero knew this. Knew that staying near these other hybrids was likely going to end with him back in the clutches of the Group, his freedom gone.

  Only one thing gave the thought pause.

  Nyx.

  A vision of her filled his head, her lips swollen from their kiss and her eyes clouded by surprise.

  He wouldn’t dare deny his draw to her, the aching need that ate at him daily. Now she knew about it too.

  Nyx was his siren.

  He gave a little chuckle and wondered what she’d think about being called that. She’d no problem kissing him earlier, had even seemed to want to go further. Nero could still taste her warm mouth over his and ached for its return.

  His cock stiffened, and he cursed. He’d spent the better part of two months rock hard for a woman repulsed by him most days.

  Confusion pushed out the irritation. They had kissed, not just a small kiss but the all-consuming sort. The kiss stoked the flames of his desire, like some sort of drug. He groaned and hoped for relief in his destination, anything to help ease the torture that she caused him. A little dip in the hot spring should help.

  Fortune had shined on him when it led him to this little piece of paradise. In truth, he had been looking for shelter from the freezing cold weather. The snow had fallen outside, and the bitter wind never seemed to let up. He had been a man without a home, left exposed to the elements.

  When he was still more beast than man, he’d never really noticed the cold. Or maybe he just never cared. Anything that didn’t benefit the Horatius Group didn’t ever seem to matter much to him, but he hadn’t been given much a choice in that matter. What was the point of worrying about things he couldn’t change?

  The night he found the spring, he’d only been hoping to get away from the cold for the night. When he spotted the cave entrance, he thought it was too good to be true, but the beckoning warmth from inside astounded him.

  He had heard that there were volcanic caves in the area, but the fact that this one was filled with water warmed by the heat of the magma below made his safe-haven more an unexpected oasis.

  The small entrance came into view through the darkness, and he sighed. Soon he’d be able to soak the troubles of the day away.

  * * *

  Nyx moved silently through the forest, making sure to keep her distance from the large hybrid. Normally, she didn’
t think she’d have the opportunity to sneak up on him like this. Nero always seemed to sense and see everything around him, but this time she knew he was lost in thought, likely planning for whatever it was that he was up to. Treachery was very distracting apparently.

  She stumbled slightly as she moved through the dense forest and cursed her dulled senses. If only she hadn’t taken those damn pills, she’d have a much easier time following him without risking getting caught.

  At least the painkillers had minimized the pain. She could barely feel her injury despite her quick movements.

  His scent lingered in the air, and she tried not to think about their kiss from earlier. Nero was trouble, and she was out to prove just that.

  From her position up the hill from him, she could see his massive form dip low and wondered if he’d spotted her. She pulled her gun from her jacket and waited, hardly daring to breathe in case he had. If she needed to run she would, hurt side and all.

  For all her confidence, she was recovering from an injury. Nero was not. She knew she couldn’t take him if he surprised her.

  She waited. The minutes passed in agonizing tension. When he didn’t resurface, she could only assume she had discovered the entrance to some secret Horatius Group lair.

  Nyx moved to the bottom of the hill. She’d just take a quick look and then report back to Rem. He’d have to listen to her after she came back with real proof. If Nero wasn’t a traitor, he had nothing to worry about. Then again, if he wasn’t a traitor, he wouldn’t be running off in the middle of the night to secret hidden bases.

  She carefully crawled through the hole. She expected to find stairs or a hidden door, something that would solidify her thoughts on Nero. Instead a dark passage illuminated by some light at the end confronted her.

  She frowned, not quite sure what to do next. If she came back to Rem with this, he’d likely laugh at her. This was not exactly rock-solid evidence of a Horatius Group plot.