No. Maximus was sure. His Vestal was still out there. He’d fix whatever happened to him and the others, and they would find their mates.
Chapter Fourteen
Selena wondered if Maximus could hear her pounding heart. She’d been trying to focus on their hike and investigation, but now that she knew the truth, it was almost impossible not to stare at him and wonder.
With the retreat of the Luna hybrids from their old lodge, public interaction with hybrids of any type had dropped to almost nonexistent. People liked to claim they’d run into a hybrid on the street or in the woods with obviously faked videos uploaded to the net, but the truth was the hybrids had achieved what they’d originally intended, hiding away from the world. From what Maximus said, he was a different sort of hybrid, too.
She glanced over her shoulder. Maximus didn’t live in Maui and was investigating something related to the hybrids. Selena might not be an expert, but one thing she did appreciate is that they tended to run in packs. How many hybrids might there be on the island?
She shouldn’t be in the woods with a hybrid investigating something potentially dangerous. Every part of her logical brain screamed for her to turn around, despite having talked Maximus into letting her continue along with him.
Some of her motivation was curiosity, but that wasn’t the main reason. For whatever reason, she felt completely safe around Maximus, like he would never, ever let her get hurt. Before, when she believed he might be a mob enforcer, she was nervous but still found herself wandering into the forest with him. Perhaps, on some level, she understood he was a hybrid.
But why would that make a difference? Hybrids weren’t the villains the early media coverage painted them as, but she didn’t know much about the man. Their initial conversations had been filled with lies. She shouldn’t trust a man she barely knew who had knowingly lied to her, even if he had a good reason.
Selena pulled out her phone and stared at the map, glad she was smart enough to download it before they’d traveled deep enough to lose signal. She motioned behind her. “Based on that stream we passed a few minutes ago, we should now be in one of the blank spots.” She surveyed the trees, not finding anything that stood out. More trees, birds, and bugs. Certainly nothing she could use to convince the permit office, if that was still even a good idea.
Maximus slowly looked around the forest, his brow furrowed in concentration. Selena tried not to stare at his now exposed amber eyes, but they kept drawing her in. She forced herself to look elsewhere. This wasn’t the time to get distracted. Her attraction before had been ridiculous, but now that she knew the truth, she couldn’t help but wonder if all the rumors about the hybrids’ other impressive traits were true.
Stupid. Her job was on the line, and she was horny for a hybrid who had just got done admitting he was waiting around for a soulmate he couldn’t even detect. That wasn’t the kind of man she should let herself get involved with. Not only that, she might be walking toward the base of an evil organization.
Selena frowned, thinking back to Vestals. Given everything Maximus told her, the make-out session earlier must have been nothing more than manipulation. She’d been so stupid. Of course someone like him wouldn’t be interested in her. Maximus was there to investigate a threat to the hybrids. Nothing more. He said so himself.
Maximus sniffed at the air. “Huh.”
“What?” Selena inhaled deeply through her nose. It was the same mix of floral and earthy scents she’d smelled the entire time, but she lacked the enhanced senses of a hybrid.
“I’m not liking our luck here,” Maximus said, frowning. “I can smell something odd, something I couldn’t before. It’s faint here, but it’s definitely out of place compared to everywhere else we’ve been.”
“Odd?” Selena nodded slowly and swallowed. She’d been an idiot to come along, hot hybrid or not. “Like gunpowder or the smell of explosives? Do explosives even have smells?”
“Depends on the explosive.” Maximus crouched, tilting his head to listen. “I’m not sure what I’m smelling. I don’t think it’s explosives. You might be on to something with guns.”
Selena let out a sigh of relief. “Then it really is nothing more than an old Army storage place.”
Maximus stood, tension lining his face. “I haven’t smelled a lot of World War II-era ammo depots, but I have smelled my fair share of modern guns. I’m smelling something a lot more modern.” He shook his head. “I should take you back. Make up something if you have to, but you should tell the director this place isn’t safe.”
“But then we can’t film at the waterfall.”
“That’s the idea.”
“I get it. You’re right.” Selena groaned and rubbed her temples. “I’m so screwed. I’m going to lose my job.”
Maximus raised an eyebrow. “That’s better than losing your life.”
“I know.” Selena waved a hand at him. “It’s just I thought I had this situation under control, but then…” Her stomach churned. “Wait. Are you saying it’s the Horatius Group?”
“The people I’m looking for aren’t with the Group. The Group’s pretty much destroyed, and if I have my way, these other people, the Phoenix Corps, will be too.” Maximus shook his head. “I haven’t smelled anything specific to them. It could be normal criminals guarding something, but I don’t think it’s safe for you anymore. We’re going back. Now that I know there’s something here to look for, my people can come back later and check into it.”
“You’re right.” Selena scrubbed a hand down her face. “I’d like to claim this was all bravery, but I think it was more desperation. My director can’t blame
