Varius sighed. It all seemed like they were just waiting for the inevitable, the day when this all came to a head and Woods actually got what he wanted: for them all to be back with the Horatius Group and out of the public eye, if not dead.
“Let’s break for now and meet back later,” Titus said. “We’ve all got shit we need to get done.”
* * *
Lena stared at the pasta she’d picked out as she settled on the cold, hard cafeteria chair. She didn’t really have much of an appetite. After Varius had left the night before, she went through the box he brought her. Mostly it contained pictures she had hanging around her apartment.
She longed for her family. Usually she didn’t spend so much time in between talking to her parents, although she’d told them she had taken a new job, and it would be hard to talk to them for a bit.
Of course they understood and had been so supportive of the new job, but she hated not being totally upfront with them. She somehow suspected that if they knew where she really was, they would have worried for her.
“You know not eating isn’t going to get back at him,” Rachel said with a smirk from across from her.
Lena looked up at the pretty doctor and smiled. “I’m not trying to get back at him.”
Rachel gave a little laugh and looked over to the table where Servius was sitting and giving them both the stink eye.
“I think your patient from yesterday is wishing he had waited to come in today,” Rachel said.
Lena’s cheeks warmed. Maybe she had been a bit harsh with him.
Servius, obviously having heard what was being said, huffed and turned his back to them.
Lena sighed. She’d have to apologize to him when she got the chance.
Paige, her fellow nurse, patted her on the back from beside her. “Don’t worry,” she said with a smile. “I’m sure he’ll live.”
Lena shook her head. She had been such a child yesterday, but she was just so frustrated. For the first time ever, she wanted someone so badly she could almost taste them.
It was an odd feeling to want someone like that who was virtually a stranger in every other way.
Still, she didn’t really feel that way about Varius. Although she had only known him for a few months, her heart felt like she had known him her whole life, almost like they were meant to be together. They paused their conversation when Ava came to sit at the table, tray in hand.
Lena smiled at the woman. She hoped she would be able to get to know the sister of her friend.
Ava looked at her as she sat down. “Titus said he’d like to see you.”
Lena frowned. The last time the leader wanted to see her, he had sent her to pack up her apartment, and that led to an ambush by a reporter and the mess with Varius.
“Go ahead and go,” Paige said from beside her. “I’ll pick up something for you and bring it back to the clinic.”
Lena nodded, not really sure if she’d even be able to eat. It all depended on what Titus had to say to her.
Not wanting to waste time, Lena quickly made her way through the maze of doors leading to the central office area. Not seeing anyone in the waiting room, she walked to Titus’s office. She knocked on the door and then stepped in.
He waved for her to come over to his desk where he was on the phone.
“Thank you for holding, I have her here with me now. Just one moment.”
He pressed a button and pulled the receiver away from his ear and held it out to her.
Lena took the phone but frowned a little.
“Your parents are on the other end,” he said.
Lena stared at the phone as if it had just sprouted wings.
“What?”
“It appears they saw you on the news with Varius and are worried about your safety.”
Her heart jumped into her throat. She wasn’t ready to deal with this just yet.
“I just ask that you not talk about the hybrids and anything your might have learned,” he said. “We’ve had problems with this before, but the last time the parents weren’t all that… close to the woman. I understand the situation is probably different with your parents, but you need to appreciate our position here.”
Lena nodded. “I won’t say anything.” She’d never betray their trust like that.
Titus nodded to the door. “I’ll be just outside,” he said before hitting the button.
Lena watched as he walked to the door and closed it behind him as he left.
“Hello?” she said into the phone.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re safe!”
Her mother’s worried voice came rushed over the line.
“Hi, Mom,” she said and smiled despite the odd situation. She’d been missing their talks. “I’m totally fine.”
“What’s with all this stuff on the news? Are they holding you there? Should we be calling the police or the military?”
Lena sighed loudly. She didn’t even need to know all the things that nasty reporter had said. It was the same thing they had been recycling since the hybrids hit the news.
“No, Mom,” she said and sat in the chair Titus normally used. Comfy. “I’m fine, really. This is the job I was telling you about. I love it here.”
She could almost hear as her mother pressed her lips together in that firm line she had come to know as a child when she did something her parents didn’t like.
“Couldn’t you have picked someplace that’s less dangerous?”
Lena couldn’t go into the details concerning the Reverend or the strange townsfolk mob, or even explain how being at Luna Lodge meant she was safe.
“It’s not dangerous here at all,” she said easily. “I’ve got friends and—”
“A boyfriend?”
She could hear the irritation in her mother’s voice. Not only had Lena not told her the details of her new job, but as far as her mother was concerned, Varius was her boyfriend. There was no way to even deny it since she’d said it to that reporter, who was no doubt running that over and over.
“Yes, a new boyfriend.”
“But he’s one of those hybrids.” Her mother whispered hybrid as if it were a dirty word.
“He is,” Lena said with irritation. Varius might not be her real boyfriend, but there was no way she was going to listen to her mother talk bad about him. She didn’t even know him.
“Isn’t there some other nice man you could meet? How about one of those doctors at the hospital?”
Lena frowned. The hospital that had no problem screwing over her friend and turning Lena over to Reverend John? No thanks.
“They were assholes,” she said with venom.
“Language!”
Lena sighed. The older she got the more she knew her parents were hell bent on keeping their only daughter a little girl.
“A lot has happened,” her mother said. “Maybe you should consider staying with us for a while.”
“I’m happy where I am.”
“But—”
“I’m happy where I am,” Lena repeated with a bit more force.” She sighed. “Mom, I love you, but I don’t want to move back home right now.”
Her mother sighed on the other end as well. “All right, then.”
“Mom, I’ve got to get back to work. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the whole story sooner, but I didn’t want to worry you. I’m fine. Better than fine.”
She could hear the heavy sigh from her mother.
“I understand,” she said and paused for a moment. “When are you going to be able to visit us?”
Lena’s heart ached. Her parents weren’t bad people. They loved her, and she was their only child. It had been late in life when they’d had her.
Now they were getting on in years. Her father’s eyesight was failing, and it wouldn’t be long before he was totally blind.
“I’m not sure, Mom,” she said softly. “Let me talk with my boss, and I’ll get back to you.”
She could hear her mom take in a shuddered breath.
“Okay,” her mother said.
Lena gave a sad smile, not really sure when or if she’d be able to see her again.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
Lena hung up the phone, heart heavy. She loved her life at the lodge, but there would come a point when she’d need to see her parents. The only problem was convincing Titus that she needed that, and, for that matter, getting past her own fear of leaving the grounds.
She opened the door to the office and found Titus standing on the other side.
“Sorry for the trouble,” she said and gave a small smile.
Titus nodded. “All settled now?”
Lena nodded and turned to walk away. She stopped when Titus called out to her.
“You know we could set up a trip for you to see them.”
Lena turned to Titus from the door leading out of the waiting room.
“How—”
He gave a smile. “We have pretty good hearing.”
Lena blushed. Of course. She knew they had exceptional hearing.
“It might be a good thing,” he said. “They see you’re safe so when the media comes knocking on their door, they can say you’re taken care of here.”
She nodded. It did make sense, especially with the constant feed from the news about what monsters they are.
“You’ll have to take Varius if you do,” he said.
Her eyes shot to his in surprise.
“The whole world knows him as your boyfriend now,” he said. “It would be strange if you made a trip home without him.”
Lena nodded. Not quite sure if that was such a great idea. “I’m not sure if I’m ready, but maybe it’d be different if I were far away from this place.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ll be honest. I’m scared to go into town, but my parents are far enough away that… certain people from town won’t be around.”
Titus turned toward the office door. “Think about it and get back to me.”
Lena turned and made her way back to the clinic, trying to push the idea out of her head for now.
Chapter Eight
That evening Lena was sitting outside on the porch swing when Varius stopped by the house. It had been a long day of getting her things packed and loaded, but he and the team had made it happen. Still, all day surrounded by her scent, the ache in his chest just wouldn’t go away. He needed to see her.
He needed more, really, but for now he was content to just see her and be around her and not just her scent.
Lena glanced over at him as he brought the box in his arms up the stairs. She had wrapped herself in a blanket despite the heat, but at least tonight, she was wearing something less revealing. He figured he should be able to control himself for the moment.
She scooted over a little, making room for him to sit down on the swing with her. He hadn’t been sure if she would be willing to tolerate his presence. Things had been so confused between them, and he just hoped she understood that everything he’d done was done to protect her.
Varius set the box down and sat next to her. They stay there in a comfortable silence for a bit, just listening to the chirp of the bugs in the wooded area around the place and the wind as it blew through the trees. The air was warm and sweet but still felt cool since the days had been so warm.
Lena broke the silence after a long while. “My mom called today.”
Varius turned to look at her. He was aware she had family but wasn’t really sure much else about them. They had come to expect anything from people on the outside.
With the hybrids not having anything approaching a normal family situation during their upbringing, many hybrids without mates still had trouble understanding such a thing, himself included.
“She wants me to come live with them,” she said.
His heart hammered in his chest over the thought she would leave him. He wouldn’t blame her. She might be frightened of the town, but she would probably feel safe staying with her family. As far as he knew, they didn’t live in the area.
“I don’t want to move there,” she said quietly. “I love my job here. I told her as much.”
Varius relaxed a little at her words. “Why do they want you to move in with them?”
“They just want to keep me safe,” she said quietly. “They’ve seen a lot about the craziness on the news, and it’s just worrying them.”
“I’ll keep you safe,” Varius said. “No matter what.”
Lena turned and stared at him through the dim light from the window behind them. She smiled. “I know.”
Her words echoed in his head. Her faith in him made the hybrid in him howl. His woman trusted him. His Vestal trusted him.
She leaned against him as she turned to stare back out into the darkness and the trees around them.
“My dad’s eyes aren’t what they used to be,” she said and sighed. “The doctor said he only has a few good years before they start to get really bad. Right now it’s just him and my mom. They own a little farm in the country a few hours away.”
Varius lifted his arm and placed it around her small body. He gave a little smile when she snuggled in next to him.
“Maybe you should visit them,” he said quietly. “If they see you’re all right, they probably won’t worry as much.”
Lena looked up at him from under his arm. “Titus said the same thing.” She blushed a little. “They want to meet my boyfriend.”
Warmth filled Varius in reaction to the word. Though the word itself didn’t mean much to a hybrid inherently, he knew it did to Lena and that was what really mattered. If he could just trust himself around her, it’d be a simple matter of becoming fully bonded.
Lena sat up. “I know you aren’t really my boyfriend, but they saw the news. I didn’t want to confuse them. If I told them I just was trying to say that to get Jill Hope to go away, and we’re worried about—”
Varius leaned in and kissed Lena to silence her. He didn’t want to hear that they weren’t close. She had to see just how much she meant to him. He had to show her it was more than mere lust. Yes, he’d screwed things up by putting a stop to things before, but he’d only done that out of concern.
The kiss was soft. He ran his hand to the back of her neck and threaded his fingers through her hair. When he pulled back, Lena’s eyes were just slightly open. Her lips were pink from the kiss.
“I want to meet your parents,” he said, his voice raw with the emotions roiling his heart. “I want them to know just what you mean to me. What we have isn’t as simple as words like boyfriend and girlfriend. You’ve been around us enough to understand that. We feel so much more for our women.”