Sergius: #4 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas)

by Stevens,Madison

  Jade shook her head. “You can’t love me,” she said softly. “You don’t even know me. Not really.”

  Sergius pulled her hard against him and wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. He pressed his face into her neck and breathed in her sweet scent.

  “I will always love you,” he said near her ear. “You can run, but I will follow you. I will always be there for you. Even if you don’t want me anymore.”

  Jade sobbed against him as she wrapped her arms around his middle and held on to him.

  “I want you,” she cried. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  Sergius pulled back to look down at her wet, streaked face. He kissed the lines and then leaned back to look at her again.

  “Then don’t leave,” he said as he cupped her cheek.

  Jade leaned forward and placed her head against his chest and breathed in deeply.

  “I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” she said. “It’s too much too soon.”

  Sergius ran a hand through her soft black hair. “Ready for what?”

  Jade took in another deep breath. “Ready for a child.”

  Sergius stilled. A child? He pulled her away from him to stare down at her. Jade looked up at him, her eyes red rimmed.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  He blinked for several seconds, stunned. Pregnant. He hadn’t even thought about the chance of a child. The thought of having one made his heart soar.

  Sergius looked down at her and pressed his lips hard against her mouth. He ran his hand along her back and eventually came around to touch her stomach. He pulled back and looked down at her.

  “I am so happy,” he said softly to her. “You and this child make me so happy, happier than I ever dreamed I could ever be.”

  He leaned down to kiss her once again. Sergius kissed her hard and slipped his tongue deep into her mouth. Jade moaned against him.

  Sergius pulled back and looked down at the bed. He pushed her bag onto the floor and laid her on the bed.

  “I need to be inside you,” he growled.

  He was surprised with his own need. His adrenaline was already pumping from the worry that she might leave him and then finding out that they were going to have a child.

  Everything primal in him told him that he needed to remind her that she was his and he was hers. To show her what that meant. He’d do it the best way he knew how.

  Sergius flipped her over and quickly pulled down her pants. With her ass hanging over the edge of the bad with her feet planted on the floor, she looked so fucking amazing. Ready for him.

  Sergius unzipped his pants and pulled out his long, hard length. He swiped the head along her wet center and moaned at the feel of her.

  Jade looked behind her. “I need you, too.”

  Sergius could feel himself slipping into the beast, the instinct overwhelming him, the lust for her too strong for him to fight.

  In one swift thrust, he buried himself deep inside her. She moaned loudly as he shifted his hips and gripped onto her waist.

  His hips hammered against her, pulling her back with each time he thrust. She cried out as he hammered into her, meeting each thrust with her own.

  Sergius slid his hand up her shirt and grabbed her breasts. He tweaked her nipples through her bra. The sheer fabric rubbed against her sensitive buds. He was rewarded by a loud moan.

  He sniffed the air. She was already so wet for him. He could also hear their juices make noises as he thrust inside her. The sound only excited him more.

  “I’m not going to last long, baby,” he grunted.

  Jade moaned loudly. “I’m already close.”

  His balls tightened, and his cock swelled inside of her. He pinched her nipples. Her insides shivered around him, her muscles squeezing him as she came around him.

  Sergius thrust deep inside her and came hard. His own orgasm crashed through him, making him weak in the knees and slightly fuzzy in the head.

  After he was spent, he pulled out and lay on the bed. Jade collapsed next to him and rolled over to place her head on his chest.

  She sighed softly. “Maybe I should try to run away more often.” She grinned up at him.

  Sergius laughed. She would certainly keep him on his toes, that was for sure.

  He kissed the top of her head. “Maybe I should make sure you’re so exhausted you can’t run.”

  This time Jade was the one that laughed. “I think I could live with that.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sergius woke up suddenly from a deep sleep. Something felt wrong. Very, very wrong.

  The room around him was quiet and still. The only thing he could hear outside was the chirp and buzz of insects. He reached out an arm to the other side of the bed. Jade was gone.

  Had she just gone to the bathroom? The sheets were cold and empty. It felt like they had been for some time.

  He jumped out of bed and pulled back on the jeans he had worn earlier. Had she decided to leave despite everything he’d said?

  It didn’t make any sense. They’d talked it over, and he’d made his feelings clear. She responded well, or so he’d thought.

  It seemed like they’d overcome so much and that he finally had her to where she felt wanted and safe, even with the mysteries of her visions and the creature still hanging over them.

  Now she was out there on her own. He had to find her. She was his other half, and without her he was nothing.

  He bit back a growl. He had to protect her, maybe even from herself. He cursed her parents and the Azilians for making her mistrust other people.

  She needed to realize she could trust him. She had a place now, a people, a bonded.

  It didn’t matter. She couldn’t have gotten far. He might not be as fast as Magnus, but he still was a hybrid.

  Sergius scrambled around the room looking for his clothes. He grabbed his shoes. He stopped when he saw her small shoes sitting on the floor beside the bed.

  She had left but didn’t take her shoes? It didn’t make sense. Beside the shoes lay the bag she had been packing the day before, still on the ground where he’d thrown it last night.

  His stomach knotted, and his heart pounded. She wasn’t going to run off to start a new life with no clothes and shoes. This was starting to not look like his woman running away because of emotional turmoil.

  “Jade?” he called out.

  No one called back. The house was as silent as ever. He hadn’t expected a response, as there was no way she’d be able to move around without him hearing. But still he had to call out. To make sure.

  His heart now hammered in his chest as fear gripped him. They’d seen nothing of the monster from that night, but maybe it had made an appearance. He wasn’t so sure he could even hear something like that.

  Had she had another dream? Maybe that thing had her somewhere and was doing to her what it did to the chickens.

  His stomach lurched again. No. She had to be all right.

  Sergius breathed in deeply. Her sweet scent lingered in the air, and not the smell of blood. If he could smell her, it meant she hadn’t left long ago and could still be close by.

  No matter what, he had to find her before anything happened and definitely before that thing got to her. He could do it. He had to do it.

  Sergius sprinted outside, ignoring the cold air that hit his bare chest. Shoes and pants were good enough. Right now all he knew was that he had to find her. He had to save her.

  * * *

  The air was cold out, the chill of the autumn air biting into her. Jade could feel it even though she couldn’t seem to make herself turn around and go back to the house to get warm.

  She placed one foot in front of the other, step after step, even though she didn’t want to. She felt the movement, knew she wasn’t in a dream, but it didn’t seem to matter. Her mind didn’t seem to be able to control her body.

  Something was out there in the woods calling to her. The evil force was calling to her mind, controlling h
er body with its dark, harsh words. She felt like she vaguely recognized them, but still couldn’t place the language. It sounded both familiar and utterly foreign at the same time.

  She tried to cry out, to let someone know that with each step she moved closer to the malevolent force in the woods. But nothing worked.

  Instead, she was trapped in her own body, unable to make herself turn away. Something or someone was controlling her like a puppet, and she didn’t think this would end well.

  Fear seeped through her, fear for herself and the unborn child that lay in her stomach. Fear even for Sergius.

  It was unfair. They’d finally found happiness. Is that why it had waited? Was it some sort of sick game to come after her when she’d finally let her guard down and stopped worrying?

  The creature whispered in her head again. Again, the language was one she was sure she’d never heard but somehow seemed to know all the same.

  “The baby… yes, the baby. You will become the vessel of my rebirth. You should be overjoyed to be accorded this honor.”

  Jade didn’t want to be a vessel. Not for that monster. She tried to cry out again, but nothing came out.

  She tried to fight back the sound in her head, block it out, or interfere with it. She screamed as loud as she could in her mind, and the evil monster laughed at her despair. It knew exactly what it was doing and loved the torment going on inside of her.

  “You can’t fight me, woman. Stop resisting and give it to the joy of being my vessel.”

  An actual screech from the monster reached her ears. It wasn’t just a mental assault. She was close now, and she knew she wasn’t in a vision or a dream. The creature was forcing her to deliver herself in the real world.

  Another scream and screech followed as she closed. Concentrating very hard on her right foot, she willed her body to make it stop. Her right foot paused for a moment, and she stumbled to the ground.

  She had fought it. A small victory, at last. This puppet wanted to cut its strings.

  This time the monster screamed in her head. The high-pitched screech echoed inside her skull, and for a moment, she thought her head might split open from the pain. She clutched her head, tears running down her cheeks.

  The sound ceased, and she shivered on the ground as she tried to make the splitting pain go away. The pain ebbed, but she felt her body rising against her will.

  She was again moving forward under the creature’s control. She’d tried her best, tried to fight the creature, but his will was stronger than hers.

  Tears flowed down her cheeks.

  * * *

  Sergius could smell her. He didn’t know if it was because she was pregnant or because she was his, but her scent was easy to pick out among all the others in the area. He sniffed a few more times. He was definitely on the right track.

  He raced into the woods, listening to the little sounds around him as he made his way through. He patted his pockets for a phone. Damn. He’d forgotten to bring one in his haste. He had no way of letting Rem know what was going on.

  It didn’t matter. He couldn’t risk going back. Every second that ticked by meant a chance that Jade would be killed.

  He growled and refused to accept the possibility she already had.

  Something screeched off in the distance. Something inhuman. He tensed. He definitely couldn’t go back now. The noise also suggested he was close to his enemy.

  He didn’t recognize the screech. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a Glycon.

  He ran faster now. With the confirmation that the danger was real and close, he had to get to her before that monster did.

  With ease, he raced between the trees, his eyesight allowing him to see as if it were day. He might not be some strange monster from a dream, but he wasn’t exactly human either.

  He spotted someone just ahead.

  Jade’s pale skin stood out in the dark, illuminated by the moon.

  Sergius sprinted faster than he’d ever gone before. His legs ached, but he had to get to her. The monster was closer now. Its screech echoed through the hills and trees around them. He couldn’t tell just how close it was but knew it was close enough to hurt her.

  It didn’t matter though as long as he got to Jade.

  He wrapped his arms around her body when he reached her, glad to hold her in his arms again.

  “Jade, oh my God, Jade.”

  The words spilled out of him as he checked her over for injuries.

  Jade struggled in his arms, and he had to fight to keep her where they were.

  “What are you—” he said.

  Sergius stared into her eyes. They were glazed over, as if she wasn’t in her own body. He growled. No. Just no.

  The sight reminded him too much of the mind-controlled women in the Azilian compound. Something with controlling her, and he’d bet anything that it was the monster.

  He tried to pick her up, but she scratched at him wildly and looked off into the distance.

  Sergius placed his hand on her cheeks and held her forehead to his.

  “Come back to me, baby. Come back to me.” Sergius placed a soft kiss on her mouth.

  She tried to push him away but sighed after a moment and kissed him back.

  When he pulled back, Jade slumped in his arms, and he caught her just before she fell to the ground. She blinked at him several times, and tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

  The kiss of gotten through. She was back with him, and that was all he needed.

  She lifted a shaky hand and pointed into the woods. “Too late. He’s already here.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sergius growled as black smoke filled the area surrounding them. As good as his eyesight was, he couldn’t pierce through the thick black smoke, and he knew the monster was stalking them under the cloak of this strange camouflage.

  He sniffed. The same odd scent they’d smelled on Dea surrounded them now as well. Whatever it was, it didn’t smell like anything he’d ever encountered before. It certainly wasn’t a Glycon, not that he expected it to be given the strange smoke trick it was pulling.

  The creature screamed to the right of him from the hidden depths of the smoke. Another quick movement followed, and then a shriek sounded from behind him.

  Fast. The thing was maybe faster than Magnus.

  As unnerving as it was, the more noise it made, the better he’d be able to track it. It’s desire to scare him would work to his advantage. The monster’s arrogance would help him protect his woman, even if it was faster than him.

  Sergius followed the creature as it circled around them, ensuring he was between himself between and the woman he loved. No matter what, that creature would not touch his woman or his unborn child.

  He growled. It should have stayed in the world of dreams. In the real world, he could protect her. In the real world, he could tear its fucking head off for daring to threaten his Vestal.

  Two bright blue eyes shined from the smoke. A grim satisfaction overtook him. It wasn’t some ghost or spirit, it was some sort of hybrid, just like him. If it was a hybrid, then it could be killed.

  It was even hiding in smoke instead of just attacking him. That suggested it was afraid.

  This wasn’t an immortal beast of nightmares. This creature was just another flesh and blood monster like a Glycon. He let out a loud growl of challenge.

  “What are you waiting for?” he shouted at the monster. “I’m right fucking here. If you want her, you’ll have to go through me. If you’re not too scared, then let’s do this.”

  The blue eyes grew brighter. Then, it looked for a moment as if the thing had narrowed his eyes at him. The monster let out another loud shriek as a smaller plume of smoke rushed past him.

  He spun and spotted a blur in the corner of his eyes. Something slammed into his body, sending him spiraling away from Jade. He grunted as he smashed into the ground.

  Sergius hopped to his feet and quickly placed himself again between Jade and the monster. He winced and looked down at
his side. The bastard had clawed him, leaving a long gash open along his ribs. The blood flowed down his bare side.

  Fuck the creature. It was going to take a lot more than that to finish him. If it wanted him to stop, it’d have to kill him, and if it wasn’t going to do that, he’d kill it first.

  He’d rip it apart piece by piece if had to.

  Another screech came, this time from behind him. He turned just as it passed him, another shadow in the corner of his eye. Sharp claws scraped across his back. The flesh there tore with ease. He hissed.

  Ignoring the pain, Sergius slammed his fist to the side of the monster as it passed. A satisfying crunch followed. His enemy shrieked and disappeared back into the smoke. He still hadn’t managed to actually directly look at his opponent.

  He took in ragged, short breaths. He wouldn’t cry out. There was no way in hell he was going to give his enemy the satisfaction. Though the wound on his back hurt more than he wanted to admit, he landed a damn blow on the bastard. He could win this fight.

  “So you are mortal,” Sergius shouted to the monster. “If you can be hit, you can be killed. And I’m going to kill you, you son of a bitch, for hurting my people and for going after my Vestal.” He roared.

  He froze at the loud, booming laughter coming from the smoke around them. The sound surrounded them. A chill rippled down his spine.

  The damn thing was laughing at him. He growled over the possibility that it’d let him hit it.

  This time the monster didn’t scream when it came out. It launched itself for him face first, and for a moment, he thought he’d seen the actual creature. But as soon as it moved, he couldn’t be certain what it was that he had seen.

  It was as if he was made to forget exactly what it looked like. The only thing he could remember were the glowing blue eyes.

  Claws raked his thigh and tore deep into the muscle. A second later, the creature tossed him into the air and against a tree like he was a doll being tossed by a child. Before he landed, the creature snatched him again and tossed him back into the air.