Free Marius by Madison Stevens Page A

leaned into him and gripped his arm. “What do I do?”
    Marius cleared his throat. He’d never really thought about it.
    “I don’t think there’s anything to do,” he said. “It's just what you are.”
    “I've taken the birth control shot,” she blurted out. Her eyes shot to his, wild with embarrassment. Her face reddened, and she turned from him. “I mean …  ” She fumbled to find the right words. “Not that I … ” She trailed off, and her face turned a shade of crimson Marius had never seen on her before.
    He opened his mouth to say something, anything to make her feel at least a little better, but she was already moving away from him.
    “I think I better go check on Hannah,” she said, looking anywhere but at him.
    “Are you sure?” he asked. “We’ll talk to Rem. We might get some information.”
    She shook her head, and he was relieved when her eyes met his again. “He doesn’t know how to help Hannah, but he might be able to help you all.”
    Marius nodded. In the end, she was right. They needed to exhaust all options. If something happened to Hannah, Lucius would be beside himself, and they needed all the mated pairs they could get if they were going to make it.
    Still blushing, Rachel hurried from the room and down the hall. He followed her and watched as she retreated into the patient wing. Zeno frowned at him as he made his way to the office, and Marius fought the urge to toss a punch as he walked by and wondered where the aggression came from. It wasn’t as if he didn’t get angry, but it was just a tad out of character for him, but then everything concerning Rachel was a tad out of character for him.
    He opened the door and was surprised to find Titus and Rem deep in conversation. He stopped.
    “Should I come back?” Marius said at the door.
    Titus waved a hand. “We’re finished,” he said.
    “So,” Marius said and looked between the two men. It wasn’t often he spent much time with Titus, and now, he knew why. Titus was a hard man to know and be comfortable around. Seeing Titus there with Rem was like being in a room with two of him. “Did we come to any conclusions?” he asked and stepped into the room. Marius leaned casually against the wall near the door.
    “You mean other than that we barely trust each other and know very little about one another?” Rem gave a broad smile and sank into the couch near the desk. Titus leaned against Rachel’s large desk, and a sliver of irritation crept up Marius. It shouldn’t bother him that they were here in her office, and yet having them in her space was pissing him off more than he expected.
    “Now then,” Titus said, apparently unaware of the growing irritation Marius was feeling. “Let’s start with the Horatius Group and Romulus.”
    His irritation vanished as he took in a shallow breath. This was what they had been waiting for. They knew so little about their roots. It had always been taught that the less they knew the better, but Rem was a chance for more. A chance for real knowledge. Besides, given all the attacks, it only made sense that they could improve their defenses against the Group if they knew more about them.
    Rem frowned and sat up a little more straight. “You really don’t know anything, do you?”
    Titus crossed his feet and frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Romulus is just a piece to a much bigger puzzle that has been going on for thousands of years,” Rem said.
    Titus seemed as stunned as Marius.
    “Thousands of years?” Titus said.
    Thousands. They had assumed a few decades. Maybe fifty years, but thousands? It didn't even make any sense, given the type of manipulations the Group was attempting. He thought it over. Perhaps they'd been relying more on simple eugenics before, with only modern science providing them the final tools they desired.
    “How do you know this?” Marius chimed in.
    Rem turned to him and shrugged. “It’s documented. They have archives full of books on