“You men help the others load up,” Carter said to the solders standing around.
“What is this?” Titus asked. The screen was playing an old feed from the room they were in front of now.
“It’s dated a month ago,” Apollo said, his face void of emotion.
They watched on the screen as a normal man was strapped onto the table in the room. Several people in coats stood around the man drawing blood and measuring other vitals. Another man came onto the screen. When the others finished, he pulled out a syringe and stabbed the man in the heart, injecting some sort of vile liquid.
“What the fuck?” Apollo said.
Not even bothering to pull the needle out, the man ran for cover on the other side of the window.
Carter and the hybrids watched, just as the scientists must have, as the man began to change before them.
His muscles grew so rapidly they almost seemed to inflate. The skin split in areas, and blood dripped around him. They watched him silently scream as he transformed into something else.
“Good lord,” Carter said. “Fast forward, I don’t need to see this.”
Apollo hit a button, and they watched as the transformation completed. The man ripped the shackles that had held him down and tore the needle from his heart. With a snarl, he snatched a nearby scientist and smashed his head several times against the table.
The feed cut out and seemed to skip a few days.
“His arms are healed,” Lucius said. “Look at the deep grooves in the skin though.”
They watched as the scientist brought in cattle prods, trying to make the man comply. His eyes darted about, his expression bestial.
“Fast forward,” Titus said.
They flipped forward through the days. Much of it was the same for weeks until the last week before the current raid.
“A woman,” Carter said.
A knot grew in his stomach as Apollo hit play. Titus watched as the scientist pushed the poor woman into the room and locked the door.
“Bona Dea,” Lucius whispered and started to shake.
“Turn it off,” Titus said. “We can guess how this ends.”
Apollo turned off the screen and pulled out a stack of notebooks tucked under the command center.
“I don’t think we have to guess,” Apollo said.
Titus took the first book from the top of the file and skimmed to the date. He read the writing to the other.
“Vestal was not a viable match. The infused hybrid rejected the match much like the others. Vestal was lost in the process.” He looked up at the group in horror. Things were far worse than he could have ever guessed.
“I want this faxed to Doctor Miller and Doctor Fisher immediately,” Titus said, holding the books. “These hold they keys to their whole project.”
“Good,” Carter said. “Maybe we’ll be able to find those bastards and shut this down.”
“Maybe,” Titus said. “But why leave all this to be found?”
The men looked to one another and shrugged.
“This was more than just a mistake.” Titus looked at the books. “But who wanted to make sure we got these?”
* * *
Titus flipped through the documentation on the plane and dialed up the doctors at the lodge.
“This is amazing,” Rachel answered, jumping right in. “I don’t know who you had to kill to get this, but it is so worth it.”
He sighed and leaned his head back.
“Doctor Miller, I didn’t have to kill anyone.”
“Whatever,” she went on. “These reports are so detailed,” she said excitedly. “There’s just so much to look at.”
“You do realize that actual people died for us to have this data.”
Silence followed on the other end. “You’re right,” she said quietly. “It’s so easy to read this on paper and forget that these aren’t just numbers.”
“So what are you seeing?” Titus might not want to celebrate the findings, but he certainly didn’t want to dwell on it long.
“Well, it seems like these Vestals are more than what was first thought. We assumed that you hybrids were just reacting to a pheromone the female was putting out,” she said.
“We’re not?” Titus thought about Kate and what her scent did to him.
“Well, yes and no,” Rachel replied. “The hybrid male puts out a pheromone that sort of calls to the female. Some men put out ones that are a bit more generic, and so they are likely to get several women interested, whereas others have trouble finding a reacting female.”
He could hear her shuffling through some of the papers.
“It seems the researchers found that the more specialized the skill, the harder it was to find a match,” she said.
Titus frowned. “But all my men are specialized.”
“I’m putting you on speaker,” Rachel shouted to the phone.
“Your men are specifically talked about in here and even more specifically, you are talked about in here,” Doctor Fisher said.
“Go on,” Titus said. His hands gripped the armrests.
“They have a calculation of odds in here,” he said. “Yours indicates the least likely to find a match.”
His thoughts once again drifted to Kate. She was far more special than he ever even knew.
“There’s more,” Rachel spoke up. “When you hybrids send out these pheromones, there is a chemical change that occurs in the woman. In some cases, the woman are said to display increased senses.”
“What do you mean?” Titus asked.
“She means,” Doctor Fisher joined in. “That these woman become something new temporarily.”
“In what ways?” he asked slowly
“It seems to have heightened some of their senses,” Doctor Fisher said. “They have reports in here that some of it was limited to their sense of smell, but it’s all related to the hybrid. The more specialized the skill set, the more potent the effects.”
Titus groaned. It all made sense now. He had been so caught up in the heat of the moment and more than a little buzzed when they had given in to their needs on their decks. Even though it didn’t make sense, he knew there was no way she should have been able to hear him or even see him, and yet she had.
He might not have been so frenzied if it hadn’t been a week since he’d last seen her. It hadn’t helped that she’d smelled weird at that time as well. He froze.
“Can a female respond to other males?” His stomach twisted. There was no way he could give her up.
Titus listened as some paper rustled over the line.
“Yes,” Rachel said. “Typically they have only reported it if the other male is higher ranking. Their pheromones are more potent and tend to outweigh the others.”
His heart raced as he thought about the only person he knew to outrank him. The Pale Man. Titus had already suspected he was at the hearing. Now he knew. For some reason, the Pale Man was stalking Kate. Somehow he knew before any of them did.
“We’d like to get some samples of blood from Kate and Erica,” Doctor Fisher said.
Titus frowned. “You’ll need to get their permission. But let them rest for now,” he said.
“All right,” Doctor Fisher said bruskly. “But this is top priority.”
“Safety above all,” he said and sighed. “Last thing we need is to set a bunch of people on edge. I’ll be back soon. Until then, keep all this under wraps.”
“Will do,” Rachel piped up.
Titus hung up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Things at least somewhat made sense, but that didn’t change the fact that the situation was now far more complicated than he could have ever guessed. How were they ever going to convince any women to ever move there if they had to disclose to them that if a man liked them, they’d undergo biological changes? It wasn’t exactly something you could put in a flier.
He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. It would be better to get some rest.
His thoughts drifted to Kate. She had see
med so small and scared when she asked him to stay. That wasn’t something he got often from someone like her. If he was totally honest, he loved it. Kate could stand toe to toe with the big boys, but she still needed him. It made him feel important in her in her life.
Just the thought of her made his dick twitch.
Titus groaned and shut out the thoughts of her. The last thing he wanted was a hard on for the rest of the flight home. Apollo would be sure to point it out, and he didn’t think getting in a fight on the plane would be such a good idea.
He closed down those thoughts and just hoped that sleep would take over soon.
Chapter Eleven
The little coffee house Kate sat in front of seemed like the last place she would be meeting Senator Woods. He was drawn so tight that she thought he would rather meet in some high-class lounge. Maybe the idea was to make her feel comfortable.
Kate sighed and climbed out of the car. It had been a struggle to even get away, but she knew that if Sol or Titus had any idea what she was up to, they wouldn’t have let her come. And she needed to. At the minimum, she needed to know what Woods was planning.
The SOB was known for causing trouble, and she was sure this was just another plot.
She opened the door to the café, and Woods looked up from his paper. He had picked a spot just off the main traffic near the kitchen. Likely the location made it less than desirable. He certainly seemed pained to be there. His lips twisted into a smile when he saw her.
“I’m so glad you could join me, Ms. Walker.” He stood and pulled out her seat.
She tried to keep her skin from crawling when he pushed her seat in.
“You said it was urgent,” she said.
He sat across from her. He looked nervously behind her. Kate turned but only found the waitress behind her.
“Coffee please,” she said to the young woman.
As Woods watched her leave, Kate only became more uncomfortable. Something wasn’t right about this meeting. She was starting to see that it might have been unwise not to at least tell someone where she was going.
“So you want to tell me what this is all about?” Kate said and crossed her arms.
The waitress came back with the pot and creamers. Kate noticed her hand shook as the woman poured her coffee. She gave the woman a weak smile.
“I’ve got it,” she said and took the pot.
Relief flooded her face, and she quickly scurried away.
“I know your job with the hybrids can’t be that fulfilling,” Woods said as she put cream and sugar into her cup.
Kate set her spoon down and looked at him.
“How would you know?” she asked.
“You forget,” he gave her a wicked smile, “I know people who can get information.”
Kate shrugged. “Big difference between getting information and knowing how I feel about working there.”
“Don’t get smart with me,” he said loudly. A crash from the kitchen made him jump. “Ah, what I mean is that we know the kind of pay cut you’ve taken working with them.”
“We?” She stared at him. This was getting more and more sketchy.
“My associates and I,” he said. “We’ve got a better job for you,” he continued. “Something far more important.”
“Like what?” She took a drink of her coffee and sighed. At least one thing was good about this meeting.
“The chance to make a difference in the world. The chance to be a part of something bigger than just PR,” he said passionately.
“Are you trying to recruit me into the military?”
His face turned red, and he slapped his hand against the table. “I can’t do this,” he said loudly.
The waitress raced out of the kitchen as pots banged into the sink next to the wall.
Woods glared at her from across the table.
“I’m offering you a good deal,” he spat at her. “You’ll not get another offer like this.”
She stared at him for a moment. The thick vein in his forehead popped out and seemed nearly ready to pop. Kate pulled out some bills from her purse and placed them under her coffee. She stood and looked down at the weaselly little man.
“I haven’t heard any deal at this point,” she said and leaned forward. “What I have heard was a shitty little man trying to strong arm me out of doing a job that directly pisses him off.” She leaned in a little further. “To be honest, at this point they could cut my pay in half, and I’d still do the job just to see your pissed-off face.”
She smiled at him.
“So you tell your associates I take the jobs I want, and I certainly won’t be taking any job that would require me to be within a hundred-foot radius of you.”
Kate spun on her heels and walked toward the door.
“It’s about that Titus,” he said. Something crashed in the kitchen. When she turned, she found him standing near the kitchen door. “Well people like him don’t make it far. He’s too afraid to do what’s needed. He and his men are going to fail. And then where will you be?”
She shook as she looked at him. Never in her life had she wanted to hit someone more.
“Titus won’t fail,” she whispered. “Because I’m going to do everything within my power to make sure that doesn’t happen. And if that means I have to take down a congressman to do it, then so be it.”
Kate fled the building. Shaken and ill, she climbed back into the car. She had to tell the hybrids about this. Woods was now directly saying he was working against them. Titus might be angry that she didn’t tell anyone, but it was better this way. She was able to get down to the root of the problem, and now they knew for sure. There was nothing Woods wouldn’t do to get what he wanted.
She sighed and started the car. When Titus got back, it was going to be real fun telling him.
* * *
Kate sat on her deck, waiting. Part of her really didn’t want to admit that she was waiting, but there was nothing else it could be. She watched his cabin for any signs of life. Not that she even knew what she would do if he came home and didn’t decide to come over. Not only did she have news from the day, but she ached to see him.
She sighed and closed her eyes. Lord did she have it bad.
A breeze drifted by, and she smiled. Honeysuckle and water. She opened her eyes and glanced to the water. The woods were about as safe as they could get. The men had been doing patrols most of the day and turned up nothing. Besides, it had been a week since she had even seen the eyes.
She glanced back at his cabin and stood. If he came home, he would find her, and if he didn’t, she would find him. No more hiding.
Kate went in, grabbed a towel and slipped on her shoes.
She made her way out of the house and down the path. The night was still, and she enjoyed the silence. The hybrids had been making such headway on their little town, it was easy to forget all the woods around them. She wondered if as they continued to grow they would have to start cutting some of the forest. She hoped not. The natural beauty of the place was amazing, and it offered some coverage from onlookers.
The water came into view, and she smiled. It had been so humid recently. Getting in was going to feel so good, especially after the day she had had. She stripped down and stopped at her panties and bra. Cautiously, she looked around. With all the men searching the woods, it didn’t hurt to be a little extra cautious.
Kate sighed as the cool water touched her skin. She walked in slowly and then dove into the cool water. When her head popped above the water, she sighed. It felt even better than she had expected. She floated on her back and enjoyed the warm air as it slipped over her.
Her mind drifted to Titus once again for the millionth time that day. Woods was wrong about him. She knew it in her bones. Men like Woods lived life on a hope and a prayer that something bad would happen to the other side, allowing them just enough room to slip in.
It was crap, and she didn’t trust him. She didn’t know just how willing he was to get his hands dirty, but she
was willing to bet money that he wouldn’t mind letting someone else do it for him.
“You must be deep in thought,” Titus said from the border of the trees.
She jumped and struggled to cover herself. She dipped into the water.
His glowing eyes followed her as she moved closer to the bank. He came out from the trees.
“Heard you went into town,” he said.
She swallowed. There were so many things to tell him, but she couldn’t make her mouth move.
Kate nodded.
“How’s the water, Kate?” he said and took off his shirt.
She watched as the black t-shirt hit the ground.
“Good,” she said just above a whisper.
His eyes flashed for a moment when he unbuttoned his pants and dropped them to the ground.
Her mouth ran dry as she sat and stared at him in his underwear. Tanned muscles reflected the moon overhead.
“Are you coming in?” she asked quietly.
“Oh yes I am,” he said. Like a flash, he tossed his underwear to the ground and dove into the water.
She watched the top, waiting for him to surface. When he popped up in front of her, she jumped back in surprise.
“You’re right.” He smiled. “It is nice.”
“About the trip to town,” she said.
Titus shook his head and moved forward. “Don’t want to talk about it,” he said.
“It’s about Woods.” Her breathing became heavy as he moved closer. Kate jumped when her back met a large rock.
Titus stood just inches from her and frowned. “Definitely don’t want to talk about him.”
She looked into his blazing eyes. “Well, what do you want to talk about?”
Titus shook his head and leaned in. Their lips were just a breath apart.
“Nothing,” he growled.
Kate groaned when his mouth pressed hard against her and wrapped her arms around his neck.
His hands slipped up her back and pulled her in closer to him. Her pebbled nipples scraped against his hard chest, and she pushed herself even tighter against him.
Titus pulled his mouth from hers and trailed light kisses down her neck. The stubble tickled the sensitive skin along there, and she moaned in pleasure.
Titus: Luna Lodge #2 Page 8
