Sol: Luna Lodge #1 (8 page)

“Is that my desk?” Sol glared up at his leader.

Titus shrugged at him and grinned. “Casualty of war.”

“And just where am I supposed to do my work?”

Titus snorted at the comment. “You are going to be far too busy to do any more desk work.” He stood and came around the desk. “We need you in the field more.”

Sol raised an eyebrow at him. “You turning things over to Carter?”

Titus narrowed his eyes at the snarky comment. “Carter has brought in more men to help train our men. We need the help.”

Sol sighed. They did need the help. Their men might be stronger and faster, but when it came to some of the bureaucratic bullshit, they really didn’t know what they were doing. It’s not they weren’t smart enough. They had a very good education. After all, the point wasn’t to create gladiators, but men who could think both tactically and beat the shit out of you.

He nodded to his leader. “I’m with you.”

Titus smiled. “I knew you would be. We’re meeting all the team leaders in the conference room. I need you to brief them on what we’re up against, and then we can go over what to do about the press.”

“They seem like they’ve gotten worse since this morning.” Sol said, following Titus through the door and to the room next door.

“Worse than it seems,” Titus said and slipped into the room.

Sol frowned. Titus sat at the head of the large, round table next to Carter. Sol followed behind and took the seat to the other side of him. Apollo was already in his seat beside Sol.

He turned to glare at him before the meeting started. After this was over, he had a few choice words for Apollo.

“Let’s get down to business,” Titus said to the room. “First things first. We have confirmation that it was explosives in the main lodge. Not a surprise but good to know. I don’t think I need to stress the kind of people we’re up against with this.” He glanced around the room.

“We don’t know for certain it’s them,” Carter said from his side.

“Either way, I think it best we assume the worst,” Titus said firmly. “Especially with the most recent incident.”

Carter nodded his head.

“Sol, will you enlighten the group?”

Sol turned to the other men around the table. Some were from Carter’s team and some their own.

“Mark Kincaid was seen at the home of Erica Scott this afternoon. Although he did not mention the name, it was heavily implied that he had been working with the Horatius Group.” His hands gripped the table hard, his anger bubbling to the surface. “Not only were they trying to get to her, but they were trying to get to us through her.”

“How do we know he didn’t get to her?” Lucius said, his hunter skills in full force today. He was ready to take out anyone that might be trouble, the deep scars on his face contorted in rage.

Sol shook his head. “I’ve observed her multiple times without her knowledge. She’s not with them. However, they do still want her. Mark had been trying to recruit her to rope us in, but it seems the group has other plans.”

He paused and looked around the room at the various hybrids to express the gravity of the situation. “They mentioned Bona Dea. We have underestimated them. They were able to identify her as a Vestal somehow before we had even met.”

“Vestal?” Carter chimed in.

“The idea with the Bona Dea project was that the right women was needed in order to create a second-generation hybrid.” Sol’s eyes shifted to the other non-hybrids at the table. “The Vestal is such a woman. One that produces a certain pheromone that entices the male hybrid.”

Carter looked between Titus and Sol. “And Ms. Scott is a Vestal.” He looked to Titus for a long moment. “I assume Kate Walker is as well.”

Titus nodded his head slowly.

“And why didn’t the others pick up on her?” Carter asked.

“I have a theory,” Dr. Fisher said. The balding man was one of the few doctors they had allowed to inspect them over this past year. Despite his genetics background, the doctor only poked once and took enough for what he needed. He also treated them like equals, like humans.

Sol also suspected that the man’s age played a factor. This man was not a threat.

“Please,” Titus said.

“You are an alpha,” he said to Titus. He held up a hand when Titus started to argue. “I realize that you don’t follow traditional wolf pack rules, but your genes might not care about that. The reaction you had to Ms. Walker was likely to a specific pheromone that particularly attracts alpha males.”

Sol considered the idea. It very well could be. Although he could sense it in her, it wasn’t nearly as strong as what he was getting from Erica.

“Could that be true for each of us?” he asked the doctor.

Dr. Fisher considered the idea for a moment. “It’s a possibility. We would really need to call in an expert for this.”

“No,” Titus said. “I’ll not have my men poked and prodded just to see what gets them hot and bothered. We’ll sort this on our own with what we have.”

The doctor sighed. “I understand, but there might come a time when you want to change your mind. If anything, for the sake of your men. If they are only attracted to certain pheromones, it could make finding a woman difficult.”

Sol turned to Titus, who seemed deep in thought. They might have to compromise at some point in order to make a life for themselves.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Titus said after a moment.

“Another concern I’d like to mention is that Kincaid must be working with someone other than just the Horatius Group.” Some murmurs came from the table. “We know that some in Washington are not happy with our new freedom. I suspect they are the ones who helped him get in and might even be connected with the Group.”

“Let’s not be rash here!” Carter jumped from his chair and shouted from the other side of the table.

“Tell me I’m wrong!” Sol shouted back. “Someone had to have the pull to get him in here and direct him to my office. Lot of lobbying groups in DC. Maybe the Horatius Group is just another one with a few politicians in their pockets.” He breathed in deeply. “It’s not too easy to forget when someone calls you an abomination and pushes for you indefinite imprisonment.” He looked into Major Carter’s eyes. “Tell me again it’s not possible.”

Carter nodded after some time. “We’ll keep all possibilities on the table. But the fewer that know this, the better. If they are working with people in DC, we’re going to need the element of surprise.”

“Agreed,” Titus said. He looked around the group of men gathered at the table. “This does not leave this room.”

The men around the room nodded, and Sol was glad to have Carter’s men on board. They were more likely to follow his orders than some douche in DC.

“All right.” He clapped his hand once. “Before we continue to the security details, we need to talk about the growing crowd at the gate.”

“Maybe I should just take care of them,” Lucius growled. Several men near him glanced away, almost afraid to meet his eye.

“You’ll not do anything unless I give the order for it.” Titus stared down the table at him until Lucius broke eye contact.

“It was just a suggestion,” Lucius mumbled.

“Listen.” Titus sighed. “I know everyone is tired, but we’ve got to handle this the right way. It’s not just a matter of the media at this point.”

“I still think hiring a PR person would be the best choice,” Carter said quietly.

Titus shot him a brutal look that told Sol he would be hearing about this later.

“Besides the media, we’ve now got two factions. Those that are fascinated by us, and those that want to eradicate us.”

Sol cleared his throat. “What can we do about this?”

Titus shook his head. “Nothing for now, but I want measures in place. Backed by Major Carter, we should be able to defuse nearly every situation.”

“And the ones we can’t?” Sol looked between Carter and Titus.

“Listen,” the major interjected. “Top priority is to prevent casualties on either side. We take them unharmed, it’s only going to be good for us.”

“This is what they are waiting for,” Titus said to the room. “Our enemies are waiting for us to fail, for the kinks in our system. We need to make sure that there aren’t any and that we’re able to send these people to prison. All it takes is one dead man, and our position could be compromised.”

Sol nodded. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

* * *

Erica moved freely around the kitchen, searching the cabinets for something to snack on. She had been surprised to find the fridge fully stocked but wrinkled her nose at the excess of healthy food.

Right now all she wanted was a bowl of cereal, and the one she could find tasted like rabbit pellets. Didn’t this man have a tiny craving for something sweet? She opened the freezer, hoping for something there. Meat, meat and more meat. Erica snickered. Not breaking any stereotypes there.

In a last ditch hope, she slid open the drawers under the counter. Bingo! A package of popcorn and a chocolate bar. Dinner of champions.

She hummed a little as the popcorn cooked. When it was ready, she took the bag upstairs along with the chocolate. She placed them on the bed and turned to look at the room across from hers.

Erica chewed her lip. A little peek couldn’t hurt. After all, she was staying in the house of a man she barely knew who had basically said he was attracted to her. Knowing more about him couldn’t be a bad thing.

She cautiously walked into the room. The moon lit up the place to the point where she really didn’t need to turn on a light. It was better that way, as he might come back soon.

The walls had several paintings landscapes that didn’t really match the feel of the room but still felt comfortable. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the photo on the side of the bed. A pretty woman stared back at her, and Erica wondered who she was. Turning it to the light, she noticed small print at the bottom.

Erica might have laughed if it didn’t seem so sad. To have a picture in the room because it seemed normal but no picture to fill it. She placed the frame back on the stand and stood. Really, she didn’t need to know any more about him. This was a man that had come to her rescue twice. He might still be a mystery, but she had no right to go through his things.

She crept out of the room and went to her own. With the door shut, she set to work hanging up her clothes and munching on the goodies.

* * *

Sol groaned as he climbed out of the chair. Every part of him ached, and he just wanted to go home and sleep a good ten hours. He turned and caught sight of Apollo as he slipped out the door. Before sleeping, he had to settle things with Apollo.

He raced from the room into the hall and caught the other man just outside the building.

“What the fuck was that earlier with Erica?” He rounded on Apollo.

“The other was asleep and things looked fine.” He shrugged. “Besides, you were there.”

“She wasn’t supposed to know that.” He stepped forward. The two stood nearly nose to nose. He knew this wasn’t that big a deal, and things had worked out, but the irrational side of him just kept going over what could have happened.

Apollo stepped back and held his hands up. “I’m sorry that happened to her, but if you were really that concerned, why did you let it go for so long?”

Sol swayed back from the verbal blow. He poked at the guilt that wracked his chest.

“You had doubts, I get that, but you can’t get mad if the bait you set out gets manhandled.” Apollo stepped around him, hopped into a jeep and drove off.

Angry and guilt laden, Sol climbed into his own car and drove home.

His mood didn’t improve when he entered the house. What he expected, he couldn’t really say, but the scent of her was all over, and yet she was nowhere to be found. Sol climbed the stairs only to find her door shut. The glow of light crept out from under the crack.

He stomped the last few steps up and into his room. After clicking on the lights, he ripped off his shirts and tossed his boots to the side. Despite their attempts to fit in however they could, he really preferred to be barefoot. Shoes were clunky and slowed him down if anything.

The plush carpet squished between his toes as he padded over to the bed and plunked down.

Her scent enveloped him. He could nearly taste her. His hand moved to the front of his pants as he felt himself grow with need. Sol rolled to his side and breathed her in. Slowly, he began to stroke himself through the barrier of his pants. When he breathed in again, faint hints of popcorn hit him. He froze.

Chapter Nine

Erica heard him come home and wondered if she should go out to chat, but his heavy steps up the stairs stilled her. She backed away from the door and listened as he banged into his room.

She rolled her eyes and went back to her bag. When she was packing earlier, Erica had been so nervous with him in the room she just threw a pile of undergarments into the suitcase. She groaned when she realized the only nightgowns she had packed were the ones Kate picked out for her. Totally not practical and not at all what she should be wearing. Not with someone like him around.

She sighed and tossed off her clothes and bra. The silky green material slipped over her head, and she smiled. Kate could be persistent, but she was usually right when it came to clothes. The way the material fell on her body hid the areas she really didn’t want to show and showcased her breasts. Erica snorted. Not that anyone but her would get the benefit of seeing it.

She spun in front of the mirror and admired the color on her. Apparently emerald was something she should think about wearing more often.

Erica looked up when the door across the hall banged open, and Sol stomped into the hall. Within seconds, her door banged open.

She stared in shock at a very angry Sol. Despite herself, she stared at the solid expanse of his chest. Before, in his arms, she had felt parts of muscles, but here, they were on full display, rippling as he breathed heavily in and out. Her eyes drifted to the trail of hair that stopped at the top of his pants. She licked her lips thinking about what she’d like to do to him if given the chance.