Maximus tried to imagine what the hybrids would do once the Corps was finished. He didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. The mission would come first, and then he would worry about the future. He tried to ignore the hanging fear they would not be able to find their mates.
Everyone in the room wore brown contacts to cover their natural amber-colored hybrid eyes. Ironically, the revelations about the corruption in the US government and the persecution of the hybrids had made it easier for many to blend in when they did mix in human society. While the hybrids couldn’t do much about their size, some humans had taken to wearing amber-colored contacts as both a fashion and solidarity statement with the hybrids. Maximus had no problem taking advantage of the human fad to further hide his men in the field, but he wasn’t going to rely on it.
His concern faded, and he chuckled at cramming his twelve men into one motel room. It might be suspicious to some, but he doubted anyone in that neighborhood wanted to knock on their door and ask what they were up to. Any curious neighbors would likely assume they were a group of toughs up to no good. As long as they kept it down, no one would have a reason to call the police.
Naturally, they weren’t all staying in the one room, but Maximus wanted to go over things as a team. They weren’t in Hawaii on a vacation. Someday they might have to return for that, but that would be long after they defeated their enemies and their futures were secured by their own hands.
He frowned. A couple men were flipping through tourism pamphlets. It was time to focus his squad and make them understand the importance of the mission. Not only was destroying the final remnants of the Phoenix Corps important for the hybrids’ safety, if they could collect any intel from the survivors or take Quinen alive, they might be able to reverse whatever was happening to the twelve men in that room. Even if it was only the loss of their ability to smell their Vestals, that was too much. It meant they had no future.
Their superior senses, training, strength, and speed made them better than humans in many ways, but every hybrid felt it in their soul, something that made them more vulnerable than humans. Something was missing. They weren’t complete, and they couldn’t rely on dates and swiping on apps to deal with that. Their soulmates were a lot more literal. They needed their Vestals, or they would be forever trapped with a longing they couldn’t suppress, never satisfied with their existence.
It was one thing when they held out some hope for the future, but with the loss of ability to scent out the Vestals, they stood at the dark precipice of hopelessness. The men were putting on a brave face, but he knew they all felt it as keenly as him.
Maximus didn’t care what Titus and Rachel said. He knew his new, smaller Alpha Squad would need to leave the other hybrids to make sure their problem wasn’t contagious and maintain morale, but for now, they needed to prepare for the mission.
He nodded to CJ and Tiberius. The latter was his second-in-command, and CJ was one of his best men, despite being younger than the rest. A third hybrid, Cornelius, rounded out Maximus’s main lieutenants. Cornelius’s light beard and handsome face made him seem more like a human model than a genetically engineered supersoldier. They had used that to their advantage on missions. If only Cornelius had a friendlier personality, he would have been perfect for social engineering jobs. No man, even a hybrid, could be perfect.
“We all know why we’re here,” Maximus said. He resisted the urge to bark out his speech in command mode. They’d rented out all the adjacent rooms, but they couldn’t be sure someone might not be walking by and think an out-of-control party was going on. “The intel from the Luna hybrids appears solid. With the Horatius Group destroyed and the Phoenix Corps now all but destroyed, we’ll have to assume that whoever is left will be far more likely to lash out.” He bared his teeth and let out a light growl, eliciting matching growls from most of his men. “And we know what it means to be wounded animals and how dangerous that can be.”
Tiberius leaned against a wall, his fingers laced behind his head as if they were just chilling and waiting for a luau and not preparing to hunt down dangerous enemies. Maximus was always surprised how the hybrids could all have such different personalities despite being created and trained in the same facility. Their creators never mentioned any genetic manipulation to ensure that, and if they could do something like that, it’d make more sense to make them loyal and placid rather than give the hybrids diverse attitudes that could lead to them questioning their masters.
“The intel might be solid, but it might also be old,” Tiberius said. “These bastards are trying to avoid not only hybrids but a lot of governments. It’s like you told us the other day. Every country is eager to prove they weren’t totally involved in screwing hybrids over. We could sit back and do nothing, and I bet within a year there wouldn’t be anyone left who can threaten us.”
“Humans screwed us over to begin with. We can’t rely on humans to protect us.” Maximus grunted and rounded on the other hybrid. “Setting that aside, you’re saying you think this is a waste of time?” he asked, injected stern challenge into his voice.
Tiberius shook
