Free Titus: Luna Lodge #2 by Madison Stevens Page A

Endless reading and then testing.” He sighed. “Knowing that my results would affect the team. The more I miss, the more brutal the punishments became.”
    “Like what?” she urged him.
    Titus looked her in the eyes. The pain of the memories still etched into his soul. “No food, beatings, shock.” He shrugged. “Whatever they could find that would get the best results.”
    “They used your friends against you,” she said softly.
    He shook his head. “I wasn’t allowed friends. I hadn’t spent much time with any of them outside training exercises until we were released.” He gave a bitter laugh. “No, they used everything against me, but instead of harming me, they only harmed the men.”
    He took a deep breath as he opened up wounds he didn’t like visiting. “The scars Lucius has are my fault,” he said. He keep his eyes forward, so he didn’t have to see the scorn in her eyes. “They brought in a woman, a Vestal.”
    “Vestal?” she asked.
    He looked down at her and debated what to say. Titus sighed. “A woman that draws us to them.” He stared at her for a moment before continuing. “A woman that smells unbelievably good to us.”
    She swallowed hard, and he knew that she understood what he was implying. “They brought her in. She was one of the ones they paid,” he said and looked away again. “It didn’t matter. She didn’t draw me, just like all the rest. I refused to try. I couldn’t even if I had wanted to.”
    He heard her breath hitch in her chest.
    “They were angry I wouldn’t even try.” His face contorted in rage. “He was angry. So they sent her to Lucius.” Pain filled his chest as he remembered. “He won’t talk about what happened, but when she came out, his face was as you see it. We think she came back several more times, but he won’t say.”
    “Poor Lucius,” she whispered.
    He nodded. His guilt tore at his layers.
    She placed her soft hand against his face, and he leaned into it.
    “You didn’t do this,” she said to him. “They did with that horrible woman.”
    He sighed. “If I had just done what they asked…”
    “If they had just been better people,” she said with conviction. “Those bastards deserve to burn in the hottest pits of hell.”
    His eyes fell on her. She blazed with anger, and it warmed him that she cared to that degree.
    “You’ve heard my nightmares,” he said softly. Her cabin came into view, and he sighed. “So what are yours?”
    Kate yawned and buried her head back against his chest.
    “It’s silly really,” she said. Titus shifted her in his arms as he climbed the stairs. “There are always these glowing red eyes.”
    Titus froze.

Chapter Nine
     
     
    “Red eyes?” he said menacingly.
    Kate looked up at him from her comfortable position. His face was fixed on hers.
    “I know it’s silly, but I saw a pair in the woods the other night. They creeped me out so bad that I haven’t been able to sleep well since.” She yawned.
    “When?” he said firmly. She blinked a few times, thinking. “Kate, it’s very important. When was this?”
    She blushed and glanced away. “After we…after we were finished on the deck.”
    The heat poured over her as she thought about it.
    Titus thundered up the stairs with her still in her arms. He turned the handle and shut the door behind them.
    “From now on you lock your doors,” he said to her.
    She nodded deftly. They entered her room, and he sat in the middle of the bed before making a sweep of the area. Kate watched from the bed as he looked all around and then into the darkness of the forest.
    He pulled out his phone.
    “I need a sweep of the forest by my cabin,” he said to the person on the other end. “Tell them to keep an eye out for any and everything.”
    He turned to look at her, worry etched on his face. “It could be nothing. I’ll talk with you more about it in the morning. Call if they find anything.”
    Titus hung up and looked at the window. “Is that why