Cassius by Stevens, Madison (chromebook ebook reader txt) 📕

and my sponsors to race unless I have a good reason otherwise. I’m healthy, relaxed, and ready to conquer the course.” She poked CJ in the chest. “I like you a lot, but that doesn’t mean I’ll do whatever you say without an explanation.”

CJ grumbled. “Okay, I’ve got something to tell you. I probably shouldn’t, but it’s the only way to make things clear.”

He stepped backward until he stood in the shadow of a tree near the fence. After looking around, he ducked behind a large trash bin off to the side.

“Is this the part where you kill me?” Kendra asked.

“This is the part where I show the truth. Come here. Once you see this, you’ll understand everything.”

Chapter Seventeen

Maybe it wasn’t the time nor the place to admit to being a hybrid, especially given they were in the middle of the mission. CJ knew that Julius didn’t agree with Kendra knowing the truth, but they’d gone from a theoretical to concrete threat. She needed to know to protect herself.

It was more than that. She deserved to know. If CJ wanted to have any sort of chance with her, he needed to stop with the bullshit rationalizations. He knew they were crap, and she would, too.

CJ stepped closer to her, his heart pounding. Kendra’s lips parted, and she stared into his eyes. He took a moment to listen and look around to make sure no one was close. Despite the cacophony all around, their small hidden spot provided a moment of peace and tranquility. He longed for what they could have when this was all over.

There were so many ways he could tell her the truth, so many ways he could prepare her with words, but her soul already had to know. They’d bonded, and she must already suspect his true nature on some level.

Dancing around the subject wouldn’t help. The best choice was the most obvious one. People didn’t believe words. They believed what they could see.

CJ reached up and pulled out one of his contacts to reveal his amber eyes. Kendra gasped and put a hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened.

He slipped the contact back in. The truth was out, but that didn’t mean safety wasn’t a concern. Ouroboros guards would know there were hybrids in the area, but the concentration of athletes meant there were a lot of large men around, both competitors and those cheering on their smaller friends. Two hybrids wouldn’t stand out in the crowd as long as they didn’t give anyone a reason to look closer.

“You’re a hybrid,” Kendra said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Whoa. That explains a lot. It explains more than a lot.” She blew out a breath and shook her head. “You know what? I should be more surprised, but somehow I’m not.”

“You suspected?” CJ asked, wanting her to confirm with her own words the connection he felt.

Kendra shook her head. “No, not really. It makes perfect sense now, but it never occurred to me you might be a hybrid. Does that make sense?” She rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s like a part of my subconscious knew that was the case, but I couldn’t put two and two together until you showed me that. I’ve seen stuff on the net about you all, but it’s not like I paid a lot of attention to it. Wow.”

“You’ve seen a lot on the net?” CJ scratched his cheek. That could move things along, provided she’d heard the right sort of things. “You’ve heard of Vestals, then?”

Kendra furrowed her brow. “Kind of. I don’t know a lot about it because I’ve heard different things, but isn’t that just a fancy name for a hybrid wife?”

Her understanding wasn’t the best, but at least she hadn’t bought into any lies about hybrids hypnotizing women and kidnapping them. He could work with that.

CJ shook his head. “It’s far deeper than that. Even my own kind debates what it truly means, but it’s a lot less about being a wife and something far deeper. The only word that really describes it is soulmate.”

He let the explanation hang there, waiting for her response without any further commentary. Walking the path of truth could be hard, but he wouldn’t run away now.

Her eyes widened. “Soulmate?”

“Yes.” CJ kept his voice low and checked around on occasion. He didn’t want to get surprised in the middle of such an important conversation. “I’m not going to dance around it. You’re my Vestal. I don’t know if it was fate or coincidence that brought us together. I honestly don’t care. We found each other, and that’s all that’s important.”

Kendra put her hand on her chest. “I’m your Vestal? I’m your soulmate? Are you serious?”

Despite her questions, and her tone of surprise, he didn’t sense any real doubt. That was the way things were supposed to work, but whatever Quinen had done to them always left room for slivers of skepticism.

CJ nodded. “I was strongly attracted to you from the beginning, which made me wonder if you could be my Vestal, but after sleeping with you, I now know. For me, we’re bonded now. I’ll never be satisfied with another woman, and if we’re not together, I’ll always feel empty. I think… I hope you feel the same way.”

“Whoa. That’s a lot to put on a girl.” Kendra scraped the toe of her shoe along the pavement. “I… I don’t even know how to react, but I guess… I just don’t know.”

He still didn’t hear doubt more than confusion. It wasn’t a mistake to tell the truth, no matter what happened.

“I’m not asking you to make any decisions now,” CJ replied. “I get this is a lot to drop on you, and I wish I didn’t have to do it right before the competition, but you deserve to know, because it might relate to why I came here to begin with. As much as I’d love to say I came here for you, finding you was a lucky bonus.”

Kendra