Veronica thought about the wording the woman used. “Excuse me. You said cults, not cult. Are you saying there is more than one here?”
Ms. Lewis snorted loudly. “Well, I guess they’re okay for a cult. The other one doesn’t do much. We mostly see the men that live there. Couple married to the local girls. Whole brood of them moved in at once.”
Veronica nodded. “But there’s nothing else that they’ve done to suggest they might be involved in targeting animals?”
Ms. Lewis shook her head. “No, I guess not, but I still don’t trust them. Something just ain’t right with them. Can’t put my finger on it, but I trust my gut, and it hasn’t been wrong longer than you’ve been alive, little girl.”
Veronica resisted a sigh. There it was. Rumors and gut instinct. That was the only thing she had to go on. This wasn’t the start of a promising science-based investigation into local predators.
She did her best to keep the disappointment off her face and nodded. “I’ll just look around and then be on my way. Thank you for your time.”
Quietly, she let herself out as the older woman stared at the pictures of Mr. Fluffy above the fireplace.
Cold air rushed around her as she stepped back outside, summoning a shiver. Veronica reached into her bag and pulled out a flashlight. Even with the bright moon and porch light overhead, it still wasn’t enough to see everything.
She combed over the whole area and paused as something caught her eye. A fresh footprint lay near the porch. A bare footprint that looked human, but it had to be one large SOB to leave a print like that.
She glanced around her, suddenly feeling far more uneasy than before. Maybe this case wasn’t about an animal after all. Or at least not the kind that walked on four legs.
Chapter Three
Jace sighed loudly into the darkness, peering around with his superior hybrid vision. That help, along with the fact that the moon was bright, allowed him to see almost as well as he could during the day.
Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he spun toward the source, ready for battle.
An owl on a tree branch stared back at him. It let out a few hoots before flapping away into the night sky.
He snickered. Hardly the deadly foe he expected, but he still wasn’t exactly having a great time. After all, it wasn’t just a leisurely trip through some snow anymore.
Rem had been less than thrilled to hear the news about the pond. Not that Jace expected him to, but the night’s mission was supposed to be a simple recovery job, not revealing that a dangerous enemy had escaped death.
Now, he was running around looking for a damn super-Glycon. Somehow he just never seemed to win. Unsurprisingly, Jace was the first choice to go and scour the woods near the pond.
From what Marcus had said, the Glycon, if you could even call it that, was a whole new breed. It combined extreme strength and ferocity with some actual measure of intelligence and cunning.
The Glycons they were used to dealing with were more cannon fodder than anything else. Sure, they were a threat to humans, but any half-way decent hybrid could cut through them like nothing.
This new type had already proven dangerous. Marcus was not a weak man, and he’d been evenly matched by the creature.
Not only that, but the Glycon had apparently somehow survived in freezing water for weeks from what they could tell. That kind of endurance was almost unbelievable.
Jace just didn’t know what to expect anymore. Since escaping the Group, they’d dealt with mysterious stones that could turn men into liquid, dream monsters, and now super-Glycons.
It didn’t help that if the Glycon wasn’t operating by itself, then it had likely gone to grab a few friends to go hybrid hunting.
The tracks had ended not far from the pond. He doubted the damn thing could fly, but there was enough wind and snow drifts that it might have just been they were covered.
Things were getting more dangerous with each passing month, and that was assuming these latest threats didn’t mean the Horatius Group was going to launch some sort of large-scale sneak attack against them.
Worrying about the big picture wasn’t really his problem. In the end, he was just a grunt with a mission. He’d let Rem and Magnus figure out how to handle the rest.
He had one task for now, not a simple task, but at least it was straight-forward. He had to help find the Glycon before it hurt anyone else.
Rem had mentioned establishing a more extensive search party, but he needed to discuss things with some of the other senior hybrids to get things figured out.
A huge group of hybrids wandering the woods might be noticed, and if the hybrids weren’t careful, they might make the people in town even more nervous than they already were and draw the wrong sort of attention. At the same time, the hybrids needed to make sure the Glycon didn’t claim another victim.
Snow crunched underneath his feet as Jace continued to hurry through the woods, looking for any sign of the enemy. He wasn’t supposed to engage the creature by himself if possible, but they needed at least to determine if it was still in the area.
He’d try to obey his orders, but he also wasn’t going to let the monster harm anyone if he was nearby.
A gust of wind blew some snow in his face. He let out another sigh.
He didn’t mind the cold and quiet, but chasing after a super-Glycon made the night far from relaxing. The truth was he was only on this mission because of a suggestion from Marcus.
Marcus liked to ride his ass in general, but things had only gotten worse since Christmas, or more specifically the Christmas party.
Jace wondered just how long Marcus planned on punishing him for daring to get a cookie at the Christmas party. If he had known the sort of trouble that was brewing from that one cookie, Jace would have skipped it and just had punch.
He didn’t have any designs on Marcus’s woman. He just wanted a cookie. She’d offered. Not just to him, but to everyone. Fucking Marcus.
He stopped in his tracks as something sweet drifted through the air, and he lifted his nose to catch the scent. Of all the things he’d expected to encounter in the woods at night, this scent was about last on the list.
He took a deep breath, some tension suffusing through him. Something about the smell called to him, which made him suspicious.
They knew so little about the new Glycon. Some sort of secret weapon wasn’t unbelievable.
Jace closed his eyes as the soft floral smell filled his lungs until he could almost taste it. Without even thinking, he inhaled again deeply before shaking his head.
Damn it. He needed to concentrate. If the Glycon surprised him, he wouldn’t escape unscathed, and then he’d have to go and admit to the others he’d let himself be distracted by a nice smell.
Still, the scent was so pleasant. Too damn pleasant. He found it hard to think about a Glycon with a smell like that seeping into his nose.
There was something in the woods with him. Something that smelled like it just stepped out of a flower shop.
Jace frowned, as his thoughts returned to the idea that it might be some sort of trap, or perhaps camouflage. Maybe the Glycon had learned another trick, a way of masking its normally putrid smell.
It didn’t matter. He had a job to do.
Whatever it was, he needed to find out. His feet moved as if they had a mind of their own. He leapt over a few large branches with ease with the silence that only one of his kind could achieve.
The wind changed directions, and he frowned. The scent was only growing softer as he moved.
“Shit,” he grumbled.
He was going to lose his prey if he didn’t pick up the pace. Whatever it was, at least they seemed to not be preparing to ambush him.
He burst forward, running with a speed he rarely used. He was no Magnus and could only maintain this speed in short bursts.
The smell grew stronger the farther he ran. Suddenly, it overwhelmed him. He’d reached the source.
He blinke
d, shocked at what was before him.
A small woman stood in the light of the moon, the branches of the forest bending around her as she stared at something on the ground illuminated by her flashlight.
He’d half-expected the Glycon to be there, not this woman. Who the hell was she? Some sort of spirit? Given all the weirdness they’d encountered since moving into the area, he couldn’t dismiss the idea out of hand.
Jace shifted from one leg to the other and found his cock half-hard.
He almost laughed. Whatever she was, it was clear what his body wanted to do to her. Maybe she was some sort of nymph that charmed men in the forest before eating them.
Unable to look away, Jace watched as she continued to stare down at the ground. Her shiny blond hair fell onto her shoulders from her pony tail. From his position, he could make out the soft curves of her body, and it only made the pressure in his pants increase.
He took in and let out several deep breaths. He didn’t even know her name and was near ready to have his way with her.
The sensation was incredible. He’d never felt such desire in his life.
Again, her smell drifted over to him, and Jace struggled to keep himself where he was. Damn, how he wanted her.
The truth struck him like a lightning bolt. His desire and the growing need burning inside him now made perfect sense.
She was his Vestal, his destined mate.
Chapter Four
A chill ran through Veronica as she stared down at the footprints in the snow. Not a damn thing about this situation made any sense.
She wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d encountered the tracks of something unusual for the area, like a wolf, but she’d never expected to spot bare human footprints in the deep snow.
This went well beyond just resisting a little chilly weather. Why would a person just walk around in the snow barefoot? She couldn’t see how they could avoid frostbite. And that didn’t even begin to answer what they wanted with someone’s cat.
The only comforting thing so far was what she hadn’t found: blood, a dead cat, or a dead person.
After all, she couldn’t ignore the fact that a human death had been associated with an animal recently in the area.
She bit her lip. Maybe it wasn’t an animal, but a human.
That fit some of the evidence, but didn’t quite make sense. The locals investigated the death after all. She didn’t look too much into it, but humans just didn’t inflict the kind of wounds the man had died from.
Of course, the man’s death also might not be related at all to the pet snatcher.
Maybe Ms. Lewis was right about it being some weird cult. It wouldn’t be the first time. She’d read tons of papers on people using animals in various rituals, even though she hadn’t personally run into it.
Most of the cases involved people and well-grounded cultural practices, and some involved people who were just plain crazy.
The last possibility worried her the most. A person walking around without shoes in this weather was, in her opinion, on the crazy side of things.
She realized she was possibly chasing after a huge, insane nut job who stole a woman’s cat for some sort of sick ritual. And though she had a tranquillizer gun locked up in a case back at her motel, the only thing she had on her right now was some pepper spray.
She wasn’t exactly close to the road, and bright moon or not, it was night and she was in the middle of the forest, which would be creepy enough even if she wasn’t on her little search mission.
“Huh?”
An unexpected sensation washed through her. If it was as if the forest around her stilled, and a low hum vibrated through her. It was an odd experience, but not wholly bad. Just strange.
Still, something about the sensation felt familiar. Like it had always been there, but she somehow didn’t notice it until that exact moment.
Veronica sat up and peered into the forest. She moved her gaze, scanning along the trees, but stopped when a form came into view. She shined her light in that direction and was surprised to see a man.
Her heart sped up, and although she knew she should be totally freaked out, that wasn’t why her heart had decided to beat faster.
He was beautiful. A perfect specimen of everything she would consider manly. Broad shoulders, a strong chin, and muscles that seemed to strain at every piece of fabric he was wearing.
Shit. She was looking for a huge guy, and suddenly a huge guy popped out of the forest. She didn’t want such a hottie to be a guy she had to report to the police.
Veronica swallowed and slowly looked down. He was wearing boots. There was no sign of Mr. Fluffy.
Whoever he was, he didn’t seem to be her mystery cultist, which was a good thing, given how he was practically making her drool.
“Holy hell,” she whispered.
His head snapped in her direction as if he’d just heard her. Her cheeks heated. Maybe her little statement had come out louder than she thought.
The man took a step in her direction, and her common sense finally kicked into gear. Just because he wasn’t the crazy cat thief didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. After all, he was creeping around in the dark in the middle of a snow-covered forest conveniently near her.
He didn’t even have a flashlight, which suggested he might have been trying to conceal his presence.
Veronica reached into her pocket and pulled out her pepper spray. She held it out in front of her, very much wanting him to see she wasn’t defenseless.
“Just stop right there,” she said with far more strength and bravery than she felt. In fact, she was fairly certain that if she had to run at that moment, she likely wouldn’t get very far. Her legs felt like they were filled more with jelly than muscles.
The man stopped, but lingered in the shadows. Yeah, nothing creepy at all about a man lurking in the dark.
Plus, the guy was huge. She wasn’t sure her little can of pepper spray would be enough to take him down.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” he asked.
Veronica frowned. “I could ask you the same,” she snapped back, now more annoyed than scared.
He gave a small laugh and held his hands up to show he wasn’t holding anything. Although he didn’t really need anything. There was no question he could overpower her if he really wanted.
Given his size, he could probably overpower a Marine, and she suspected he knew as much. Still, she appreciated the gesture, but she didn’t drop her pepper spray.
“You’re right,” he said, his voice a bit more even than before. “I was just out here looking for my… dog.”
Veronica stared at him suspiciously for a moment but decided that it was just as likely as her own story, especially considering the rising number of cases. A crazy barefoot cultist might not only be satisfied with a cat, and it’d make sense they might take more than one animal from the same area around the same time.
“Your dog?” She lowered the spray but kept it in her palm. “When did it go missing?”
The man moved a little closer, but she noticed he kept his distance, almost as if he was as nervous about her as she was about him. She still couldn’t even really see his eyes or make out his face with the distance and darkness.
That was just fine with her. She still wasn’t sure if she trusted him.
“A day or two ago?” he said.
“You don’t know?” She hated irresponsible pet owners.
He shook his head. “I live with a large family, so it’s really hard to be sure.”
Veronica narrowed her eyes. He must have been from the other group Ms. Lewis was talking about, the cult of men marrying local women. Whether or not they were bad people remained to be seen, but at minimum, the whole thing came off very suspicious.
“I’m involved with conservation work for the Department of Fish and Wildlife,” she said after a moment. Maybe a bit of authority might help clarify her position. “I’ve been sent to look into some of the recent events concerning animal at
tacks.”
“Is that right?” he said, a hint of curiosity in his voice. “And what does your department think?”
Annoyance raced through her. Something about the way the guy talked just seemed to be patronizing to her, like he knew a secret that she didn’t.
Suspicion flared in her. Just because he had boots on didn’t mean he wasn’t working with the other guy. Maybe the barefoot guy was their crazy cousin they let wander around and eat pets.
“It’s an ongoing investigation,” she said curtly.
The man nodded. “Well, hope whatever it is gets taken care of.”
Veronica narrowed her eyes. That was the sort of thing that someone said when they were planning on taking care of the problem themselves.
“Yes, I’ll be dealing with it,” she said firmly.
The man cleared his throat. “Right,” he said. “Well, I had better continue my search. Goodnight.”
She didn’t quite understand his deal. If this guy were involved with stealing animals, she’d expect him to be nervous that the government was looking into the disappearances.
But, at least judging by his voice, he didn’t seem to be that worried. She couldn’t be sure if that meant he was innocent or guilty and arrogant.
She watched as he moved back into the darkness with ease, as if it were the easiest thing in the world and he did it all the time. It was suspicious. The whole thing was.
“What’s its name?” she called out.
The man stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “Sorry?”
Her suspicion only grew. “The dog,” she said. “What’s your dog’s name? I’ll keep an eye out for it.”
“Marcus,” he said after several seconds of silence.
And then he was off.
Veronica watched him disappear into the forest and glanced back to the light of the house. There was something strange going on in Eagle Ridge, and she was going to figure out just what the hell it was.
Jace: #6 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas) Page 2
