Now, though her eardrums rang from it. Or at maybe they always had been and she just realized it. She couldn’t be sure.
Someone shuffled past her, and she turned to see what was going on. Two of the men from the café moved to stand behind her, and having them there only freaked her out more. The entire thing was like out of some horrific nightmare.
She clung to the faint hope that she might just be dreaming, and she’d wake up any minute, but the pain in her head felt all too real.
The girl from the café wheeled a cart over in front of her, her expression as blank as ever. A large needle rested on the top.
“No,” Jasmine said and struggled against her bonds. If she felt this bad from whatever they’d done to her before, this injection would probably be the end of her mind.
She had to escape, and she had to do it now.
Two sets of hands clamped down on her shoulders. Their fingers bit into her soft skin. She cried out in pain.
“We’ll help you,” the girl from the cafe said. “We’ll help you see the truth.” Her emotionless voice and glazed look didn’t calm Jasmine’s fears. “We’ll show you.” She picked up the syringe.
Jasmine did the only thing she could do: scream.
* * *
Kyros was nearly to the mill when a piercing scream ripped through the air. His heart thundered at the sound.
“Jasmine!”
He sped toward the door, and two of the townsfolk came into view. If he charged in now, they might be able to later identify him. For all he knew, the military was even in on it. Rescuing Jasmine could cost him his cover.
That thought troubled him for about a second.
Fuck the cover and fuck the town, the military, and anyone who dared get between him and Jasmine.
His woman was in trouble, and he would do what he needed to get to her, regardless of the cost. He’d show them what a hybrid could do.
Surprise struck him as the men pulled out guns and fired them at him. Their movements still much slower than his, he jerked to the side, easily able to dodge out of their line of fire.
He almost snorted. The mind-controlled army wouldn’t do the government much good if these men were the best it could produce. He rushed forward.
With ease, he grabbed the gun from one man and elbowed him in the face. With a crunch, the man dropped like a rock. He might later be nursing a broken nose, but he was still alive, though out cold.
The other guard was a bigger man. He squeezed off another shot, but Kyros pushed his arm up at the last second, sending the bullet into the air.
A second later, he yanked the gun from the man’s hand with one hand and slammed his other fist into the man’s stomach.
The man let out a grunt and stumbled to the ground. He took a few steps and then stumbled to the ground. Another punch to the head knocked the man, along with a few of his teeth, out.
“Jasmine!” Kyros shouted.
“Here!”
Her voice sounded strained, as if she was in pain. He let out a growl. The only reason he wasn’t gutting the enemies was the risk to Luna Lodge.
He darted inside the mill. He spotted large speakers, but he didn’t hear anything from them.
Several more men and women stood there waiting for him, each carrying their own gun.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he groaned.
He took in a deep breath and focused on not getting himself killed or letting them shoot one another in the process. He couldn’t help but wish he was dealing with Glycons or Horatius Group soldiers that he wouldn’t have to hold back against.
He jumped and kicked the hand of the man closest to him. His gun went sailing across the room. Not ideal, but it was better than being shot point blank.
Having taken out one, he jumped to the side as the others fired at where he used to be. Still too damn slow. He’d have to let Titus know about the limitations of the mind control in battle.
When he jumped, he was able to grab the next two closest people and knock their heads together. They slumped to the floor, and he sighed knowing that was two less to worry about.
Two women and one man remained, and once again he needed to dodge.
Kyros leapt onto the crate next to him and jumped again in quick secession. This time, his huge body allowed him to knock all three to the ground with a loud thud. It wasn’t a perfect takedown, but it was better than leaving a bunch of dead humans.
Not letting himself stop, Kyros raced through the mill until he reached the back. He froze in his tracks.
There, seated in the middle of the area, sat Jasmine bound in rope and held by two men. A small woman loomed over her with a needle in hand.
“No!” he roared.
The two men holding Jasmine and the small woman turned to stare at him.
He could feel his inner animal aching to be let loose. His woman was threatened and in pain.
He struggled to maintain control. Struggled not to kill all the humans.
“Kyros?” Jasmine sobbed.
All control snapped at her words, and he charged toward the two men who had dared touch his woman.
With more strength than he even knew he had, Kyros picked up the men and tossed them across the room. They landed with a thud against the metal wall and fell unconscious to the floor.
He then turned toward the woman who held the needle to Jasmine’s neck.
His hand reached out and gripped her wrist with force.
She struggled to finish her job, and the more she fought, the more his animal hungered for vengeance.
He growled. His hand reached out and gripped her neck, and for a moment, he wasn’t so certain that he wouldn’t squeeze the life out of her.
Two tears trickled down her pale face.
Just like the others she was mind controlled, but she was still in there somewhere, forced to watch as her body did things her mind didn’t agree with.
“Do it,” she whispered. “Free me.”
He shook his head. This wasn’t right, and it certainly wasn’t vengeance. None of the people there had chosen this. If he was going to seek justice, it was going to be for the people who had caused this whole mess.
These people had threatened his woman, but they were just as much victims. Fucking government, fucking Horatius Group. He didn’t know whom he should blame, but they’d pay.
Still, he couldn’t just let her go. She might try to inject him or Jasmine.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly. He grabbed her neck for a moment to cut off her circulation. A moment later, she dropped to the ground. She’d live, though not free from the mind control.
With things mostly handled, Kyros turned back to Jasmine.
Tears streamed down his face as he pulled apart the ropes binding her.
“You came,” she whispered as he picked her up.
Kyros stared down at the beautiful woman in his arms. “I will always come for you.”
He raced with her from the building before anything else happened.
Chapter Seventeen
Jasmine hissed as Kyros cleaned the abrasions on her wrists. The rope used to tie her up had left more than a few small marks on her.
He knelt on the floor as she sat on his bed. The throbbing remained in her head, but had grown weaker, the effects of whatever drugs they’d given her at the café wearing off.
It helped that she couldn’t hear whatever it was they were pumping out of the speakers. From what Kyros had said, he couldn’t hear it, so the drugs must have had primed her for it.
Still, even in her drugged state, she hadn’t missed the spectacle of Kyros fighting through a building full of armed men and women to save her. She also couldn’t help but notice it seemed like he’d done his best not to kill anyone. After all, he could have easily shown up and shot everyone in the building.
Saving his woman and avoiding unnecessary death. He was like a superhero.
Still, his face remained tense and dark. She wasn’t exactly sure what he was thinki
ng, but knew it likely wasn’t anything good. Maybe he just needed a reminder of how the situation was a win.
“I’m safe,” she said softly and placed a hand against his cheek. “It’s all over now. You saved me.”
Kyros stared up at her with his amber eyes, and she could see the pain reflected there. It tore at her heart.
“But I didn’t keep you safe,” he said softly. “If I’d just been a minute later, they would have made you into one of them.”
Jasmine pulled her hands from his and wrapped her arms around his head, pulling him in for a gentle hug.
“There’s no way you could have known what would happen,” she said. “And the important thing is that you did come. Like I said, I’m safe, and I have you to thank for that.”
Her fingers sifted through his hair as he rested his cheek against her breast. She felt him heave a great sigh and knew the weight of the world was still on his shoulders.
“I let you go when I knew there was danger out there,” he said and wrapped his arms around her middle. “I should have never let you do that.”
His arms tightened after a moment, and then she felt him tense all over.
“I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to you,” he said. “You hold my heart. I’d be lost without you.”
She stilled. Even her breathing seemed to slow. “What?”
Kyros shifted back to stare at her. His beautiful eyes were full of something she’d never really seen in a man before. She knew that now for certain.
True love.
He pulled away and stood before her. He began to pace back and forth.
“You need to understand that you aren’t just some woman,” he said and ran a hand through his dark hair. “You’re a Vestal. My Vestal.”
He stopped to look at her, but she didn’t understand what he was getting at. It was something the younger boys had mentioned, but she still wasn’t quite sure what it meant to the people at Luna Lodge.
“Hybrids are different,” he said, continuing on. “We have a special Vestal who is destined to be the one for us, our bonded, our mate. It’s like we’re designed for them, and they’re designed for us.”
She frowned. “Like fate?”
“Call it whatever you want. It doesn’t change what it is.” He paused to stare at her. After a moment, he nodded and then dropped to his knees. “I know this sounds crazy, but I need you.”
It was crazy. Super-crazy.
He picked up her fingers and kissed them gently. “Since the first moment I saw you, I knew we belonged together.”
Jasmine sat there stunned, not really sure what she should say.
She’d felt the pull as well. The unexplained draw to him was so strong it was almost like a hunger. She’d done things she’d never think to risk just to be with him. She knew that above all else, she needed him as much as he said he needed her.
Whatever it was, she couldn’t explain it, and she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to. Loving him felt right. It felt real. It felt more real than anything she’d ever felt in her life.
“I love you.” Kyros sighed. “I know I might not be what you expected for a hus—”
Jasmine leaned forward and sealed his lips with her own, pressing her tongue into his mouth as she did so.
Kyros opened to her. A low groan came from the back of his throat.
When she pulled away, she smiled at him.
“I love you too,” she whispered.
He was on her then, pulling at her clothes until the two of them were naked in the bed. His eyes glowed brightly, and a low rumble escaped his chest. The sound made every part of her tingle.
Jasmine sighed as his heavy weight settled over her.
“I want you,” Kyros growled.
“Then take me.”
This time his face was close to hers as he entered her wet center. She let out a loud gasp.
Her arms wrapped around him as she pulled him down until their bodies were flush with one another. His hard body pressed against her softness. She loved the feel of her nipples as they rubbed against him, and she loved the feel of his thick cock inside her.
Kyros leaned in and kissed her again once he was fully inside her. He pressed so deeply he bumped against her cervix.
She shivered with need at the feel of him there so deep inside of her. He filled her in such a way that she knew she’d never want to know another man.
“I want all of you,” he said quietly. “Always.”
Kyros pressed his lips to the outside of her ear and then ran his tongue along the line. Jasmine arched her neck to the side, allowing him all the access he wanted.
He ran a hand along the inside of her arm until their hands were linked on the pillow beside her head. Again, he did the same with the other side, making sure they were linked in as many ways as he could.
She moaned loudly when he pulled out slowly and pressed back fully inside her. His thick shaft filled her all the way with each move.
The haze of pleasure clouded her mind as he pushed in and out of her. Something more potent bubbled up to fuse with it: happiness.
Never in her life had she felt more connected to another person. Loved in so many ways. The slow way he made love to her made her think about all the times things had been over with men before they had even started, how other men didn’t even seem to care that she felt anything.
She could tell it’d never be that way with Kyros. He always made sure that she was right there with him, drawing out her orgasms until her toes curled from the strength. She could tell he was always fighting himself for control to make sure her pleasure came first.
His hips thrust with long strokes inside her. His coarse hairs slid against her sensitive nub, rubbing in just the right way that made her insides flutter.
She shook as he fucked her. The slow pace was both maddening and amazing all at once. Jasmine now truly understood the pleasure and pain of sex. How something could be both and amazing.
He drew out a slow climax from her, bringing her to the edge over and over, but never sending her quite all the way.
By the end, they both shivered with each movement. She could feel her juices running down her ass.
Kyros leaned down and kissed her again. This time he kept kissing her as his more force aided his movements. With their hands and mouth locked, he slammed hard into her several times before she pulled away from his mouth to cry out from the intensity of her orgasm. She could feel him as he grew inside her. His thick cock twitched as he came inside.
When they both finished, she wrapped her legs around his middle, keeping him deep inside her until they were both nearly asleep.
Kyros rolled over and pulled her head against his chest.
She sighed and listened to the steady beat of his heart.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Jasmine turned her head and placed a soft kiss against the steady beat.
“Always,” she whispered.
Chapter Eighteen
They moved through the tunnel hand in hand. As much as Kyros didn’t want to let Jasmine go, he knew it would be for the best. It was bad enough she’d been gone all day, especially since she wasn’t even coming back in her car, but staying gone would just lead to trouble and more questions from the military.
His fingers rubbed along hers. It was hard not to feel anxious leaving her when they had just shared something so deep. Everything in him said to hold her and never let her go. He was already half inclined to follow that voice, consequences be damned.
They stopped under the shed, and he helped boost her up, then lifted himself.
She pulled out her flashlight, but he shook his head. With his eyesight, there really was no need.
With ease they passed through the grounds of the Lodge. The area seemed unusually quiet for the night, and he didn’t like it one bit.
Something was going on, and he didn’t like when he didn’t know what that something was. Given that he’d just busted up their little mill operati
on, maybe the government or whoever controlled the townspeople had made their big move.
It wasn’t until they neared the women’s dorm that he understood. Every light was on in the place, like a candle in the darkness. The front door was open.
He spotted the outlines of people passing various windows, but the drawn curtains concealed their identity. He still had a pretty good idea of who they might be.
“What’s going on?” Jasmine whispered in his ear.
Kyros turned to her. “Nothing good.”
They kept to the forest line, but it was still enough for him to see inside the living room, the only room not covered by blinds or shutters. Titus stood in the middle of it all as soldiers ransacked the place, Colonel Hall glaring at him.
“I’m not a fool, Titus,” she said. “I know you had something to do with this,” she shouted.
Titus raised a brow. “Do you? Right now I just see someone ripping up a place for no good reason.”
She huffed loudly. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. You’re up to something, and it would just be better if you came clean now. I might consider leniency then.”
She poked a finger into the leader’s chest, and Kyros felt the animal in him flare up.
Titus gave a small shake of his head and held his hand out as if to stop him.
Of course he had sensed him there.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you,” Titus said. “I’m unaware what has happened to Ms. Moore. Maybe life at the Lodge was just too much for her. I know I wouldn’t want to live at a place where the military is breathing down your neck.” He smirked.
Colonel Hall gave him a look like she wanted to let off a string of curse words but didn’t.
“Ma’am, there’s nothing here,” a small female soldier said to her.
The colonel’s frown only deepened. “I don’t know what the hell happened here, but I’m going to find out. Just you wait.” She stomped toward the door then stopped. “I’m watching you, Titus. You won’t be able to take a shit without my knowing.”
Kyros: #12 (Luna Lodge) Page 9
