by Gordon, Eva
The omega with the aura of a white wolf turned, “Yes, master.”
She lifted his long tunic. His bindings still held tight. Good. She looked beneath at the leg with the broken tibia and she sighed in relief at the progress, “No more swelling.” She carefully touched it. “Incredible alpha lycan healing.”
He beamed. “Soon I will ride and run again. On the next full moon I will hunt.”
She tempered her enthusiasm, “Yes, this leg is almost new, but the other with the shattered patella…will never allow you to run as you once did.” How did she tell an alpha that he would never hunt?
His eyes darkened. His voice, stern, determined, “No! It may take longer, but it will heal like the other.”
“With time, yes, you will walk with a limp, but never run.” Not even a lycan could recover from such an injury. She would not lie; he was after all a Roman, raised strong, never to weep.
He shoved the sheets and cushions off the bed in a fit of anger. His dark eyes fierce. “You can heal me!”
Her heart wept for the young lycan, disabled within his pack. A runt. “I did my best but such small fragments cannot be mended.”
He whispered, “Then heal me with your witch magic.”
He suspected. Her pulse raced, a near admission to a lycan that he was correct. “Dominus Lucius, you frighten me with such a vile accusation.”
“Apologies, I meant cure me with your soothing hum.” He pressed a fist to his forehead. “I will not be a useless runt.”
If she used all the energy of her gift, the boy might heal. No. The task would cost her and worse. Reveal her true nature. She spoke calmly, though her heart beat like a frightened dove. “Please understand, my surgical skills cannot mend the shattered knee.”
“Heal the knee and I vow to protect you and Ulricus.”
She lifted her chin. “And if I cannot?”
He contained his tears but his voice cracked, “I’m not threatening you. I will protect your love. I vow in the name of Feronia.” He lowered his head. “At least try. I cannot live without my pack’s respect.”
Her heart broke. Impressed, he didn’t threaten to have her flogged or put to death. He promised to keep their secret, yet could she trust a Caninus? Was he different from his parents? Perhaps if she treated him with kindness, he might follow his grandfather’s example. The great Lucius I Caninus of Rome. His grandfather, his namesake was a wise beloved alpha leader. Did not every man determine his own destiny? She sighed and looked at his damaged knee. The sooner he healed, the sooner she could leave the viper’s den. “I’m no witch but I have learned things from our travels to Egypt.” She took a vial of green powder from her sac. “This will work with your lycan blood. I will spread it on your knee. Close your eyes and sleep. I will hold your hand while its healing properties spread.”
He smiled as if he knew the truth. “Promise to hum, won’t you? It soothes me.”
Cassia nodded. “Very well.” She looked over her shoulder. “Zeno will keep others out?”
“Yes. The other lycans left to do their various tasks. Nox took the rest to hunt game.”
Cassia spread the powder, nothing more than ground up green algae, over his knee.
He gritted his teeth and hissed.
She dipped her finger in the powder and touched his forehead. She focused. Sleep. He closed his eyes instantly.
She held his hand and hesitated. What if they suspected magic? What if she convulsed when there was no one around to hold her arms? No, though severe it remained the only injury. He would be grateful and perhaps convince his father to free Ulric. That in itself was worth the risk.
She hummed. Soon they became one body. Her knee shattered into slivers but she held on. Healing and repairing. Humming. Rocking back and forth. Pieces of bone assembled. The pain, oh the pain, unbearable like tiny daggers, digging into her knee. Pressing her lips tight, she hummed louder. Mending. Healing. Her knee burned as if seared by a red-hot poker as his grew stronger. His howl echoed in her mind. Pain. Hum. It will soon pass. His knee inside her knee. Agony so great, she no longer hummed. A scream escaped her dry throat; she released his hand and collapsed on the floor.
***
In the bath behind the villa, Ulric massaged Floretta. He dug in his fingers, kneading her muscles between her shoulder blades. She moaned in ecstasy. He wished to massage Cassia, not his haughty mistress. He forced a grin, “I’m happy to please you, domina.”
Pliant beneath his hands, she begged, “Just don’t stop.”
He kept his hands gentle, despite his roiling emotions about the previous night. What a nightmare. He had decided not to kill Silo for harming Cassia, not today. Instead he stayed to protect her from greater danger, Floretta. The vindictive woman awoke to his sprawled naked body next to hers. In her drunken stupor, he hoped she thought they had made love. He bit her earlobe and licked her neck. “You don’t remember last night?”
She sighed deeply, turned and pouted. “Not a thing. Tell me what happened?”
“After you were sick, I cleaned you and carried you to bed. I tried waking you but you passed out. I held you in my arms.” A lie of course. Most of the night he rested below Cassia’s terrace. Careful not to alert Nox or other lycans, he first had made sure Nox left for her quarters before he left to guard his mate. Almost mate. Without his biting claim, she was not his.
Floretta tilted her head back. “That was so sweet.” She turned and bit his chin. “By the way, while you relieved yourself, the messenger said your mother would arrive late this afternoon.” She stretched. “We have plenty of time to make love.”
His jaw tightened. “Too dangerous, domina. Imagine what Macula would do to us.” He kept his fury at bay, and continued to feign affection for the adulterous woman. Until Cassia left for the safety of her home.
Floretta waved a hand dismissively. “The pack is loyal to me. Everything you touched will be cleansed of your scent.” She splashed his chest. “Besides, Nox will kill anyone who talks. Every lycan fears wolfsbane, Nox’s specialty.”
He too often wondered if each glass of wine he drank would be his last. The Lupercal had to do something about her power. “Still, you must not shame your son.”
“Oh, Ulricus, where do you get such moral notions? Are you not a savage forest wolfen?”
He wanted to tell her his pack had a code of honor much like the Lupercal intended the southern lycans to have. She would not understand. The daughter of a gang lord and now the mate of a twisted alpha who did not care that she fancied gladiators. He was not the first gladiator with whom she’d had a tryst. The pair were not true mates. Were the rumors that Macula’s life mate drowned under mysterious circumstances before he had claimed Floretta true?
Thoughts of Cassia jolted him and he stilled. Had he heard her call out? Something was wrong. He sniffed the air.
She laughed, “Ulricus, do you smell game?”
Zeno dashed in out of breath and then quickly averted his eyes, “Domina, something dreadful has happened in Lucius’ room. Slaves are helping, but I’m afraid she is going to die.”
Floretta raised her brows. “Who is going to die?”
Before the omega answered, “the physician,” Ulric sprang from the bath, shifted, and ran toward the villa. Her shrill voice echoed after him, “Ulricus, come back here!”
The wolf, worried for his mate, disobeyed. The guards cowered as Ulric roared and raced through the villa. He scented her into Lucius’ room and slammed the door down.
Cassia lay on the ground surrounded by a few slaves. She lay still like a corpse. A female slave applied a wet compress on her forehead. She must have had a fit and crashed down on the hard tiled floor.
Ulric snarled at the slaves and they ran out. Alone at last. He licked her face and whimpered. Alive but weak. He shifted and used his human hands to search for injuries. He gently turned her head. A small bump on the back of her head. No scent of internal bleeding or other swellings. He shot Lucius a quick look. He slept
with a soft smile on his face. She had used her gift to heal him and once again, it nearly killed her.
Tempted to maul the contented glow from the boy’s face, he instead focused on his mate. He gathered her limp body and laid her on a couch. He pressed the moistened cloth to her head. Ferox had told him that she needed sleep to recover after a fit. He smoothed her disheveled hair and threw Lucius’ cloak over her. He kissed her forehead. “Sleep, beloved.”
Floretta and Zeno followed by the slaves entered. Her tone laced in annoyance, “Ulricus, what has happened?”
His face stoic, he shrugged. “She fell and hit her head.”
“Zeno informed me she has the falling sickness.” Her eyes grew fearful. She reached for Ulric. “Stand back. One touch and she’ll give us the demon.”
Ulric shook his head. “No. It is not the falling sickness. She slipped and fell, isn’t that so Zeno?” His dominant threatening eyes bore into him like burning arrows.
She frowned and looked at Zeno who submissively cast his gaze down. “Did she or did she not go into a fit?”
“Not entirely. It looked like she did when she hit the floor.”
She glared at the other slaves who nodded in unison. They would not dare contradict him. Their fear of the alpha was greater than the wolf maiden who even after all these years living amongst their kind failed to understand hidden lycan communication.
Floretta bent down to look at her. “I am relieved; Lucius needs her.” She narrowed her eyes at Ulric. “Why did you rush here? What difference does it make to you if this slave is dead?”
“I thought the boy was hurt.”
Her look remained shrewd. She knew he never had cared for Lucius. She narrowed her eyes. “Zeno mentioned she died and you shifted as if she meant the world to you.”
He gave her a roguish smile. “Domina, are you jealous? You need not be. I only worried for Lucius. If she slipped while administering to the boy, he could be reinjured. I know how much you would suffer to see your son hurt again.”
Floretta threw him a hard look and then checked on Lucius. She shook him. “Wake up!”
Groggy, Lucius opened his eyes and yawned as if from a long night’s sleep, “What is it?”
She sighed in agitation, “You slept while your physician slipped and hit her head.”
Lucius shot up to a sitting position and glanced at Cassia. He bounced out of bed and walked, nearly collapsing, if not for Ulric’s quick support.
Floretta’s eyes widened. “You must not walk!”
Lucius ignored her, his eyes wide in horror. The scent of his guilt filled the room. “Ulricus, is she alive?”
Ulric guided him to his chair. “It appears she drank too much last night and while tending to you, she stumbled and hit her head.” He wanted to strangle him. Whether intentionally or not, he almost had killed his mate. Still, it pleased him the boy was fond of her.
Floretta walked over and looked at his legs. She gaped in surprise. “You are nearly healed.” She glanced at the green powder over his legs and touched it. “This potion must work.”
He nodded. “It smells like pond scum, but it has a curative effect on lycan injuries.”
Floretta raised a brow. “Truly amazing.” She frowned. “Zeno, wake the clumsy physician.”
The omega hesitated and bowed to Ulric. “May I?”
Ulric wanted to snarl and not allow it, but Floretta pinched her face in suspicion. He gave Zeno a gruff nod.
Floretta shrieked at Zeno. “How dare you seek his permission? It is I who has commanded you to wake her up.”
“Yes, domina,” said the frightened slave.
Ulric barked. “Do as she says!”
Zeno bent down and gently patted her cheeks. “Wake up.”
“Leave her alone!” Lucius pounded his fist on his table.
Floretta folded her arms and scowled. “What is it about this woman that makes men act like she’s special?”
“Mother, this woman saved my life and possibly the use of my legs.”
Floretta lifted her chin. Without makeup she looked prettier, but not as pretty as Cassia, who lay sleeping like the goddess of the grove. “Very well, let her sleep.”
Lucius raised his voice evoking his alpha status. “Ulricus, get dressed and take her back to her quarters. I wish to rest.”
Grateful to the spoiled son of Macula, Ulric bowed. Would the boy mature to be nobler than his parents? He bent to lift her, but Floretta gripped his arm. “No. You will come with me. Zeno, you and the others bring a litter and take her back!”
Ulric’s fangs emerged. His wolf protested, no one dares keep me from my wolf maiden. He clenched his fists to contain his snarling wolf from rampaging. His tone neutral, “Domina, allow me to escort her back to make sure these fools do not drop her.” She made to protest but Ulric threw her a roguish smile. “I promise to finish the massage I started.”
She sighed. “Go ahead. And hurry.” She threw him a seductive wink. “You must be dressed decently when your mother arrives.”
***
Cassia was still unconscious when Ulric left her. He wished to hold her in his arms, but it wasn’t worth the risk. He worried. Who treats the physician when the physician is injured? At least her pulse was normal.
When he reached Floretta’s chambers, she stared at her mirror as her slave applied ghostly makeup to her face. Outside Zeno howled in agony. She had ordered the slave to receive twenty lashes for asking Ulric’s rather than her own permission to wake the physician.
She shoved her slave away and turned, livid. “Nemesis! Where in Hades have you been?” The scent of her furious jealousy accosted his nose.
In his traditional Chattian breeches, he dropped to his knees; he looked like the son of Wodan’s Maiden rather than an enslaved gladiator. “Forgive me. I hunted game. Flog me if you must, domina.”
“Get up! Ready yourself for your mother’s visit.” She waved him off. As he rushed out, she screamed in fury.
Ulric stalked toward the gates, his thoughts moved to his concern for Cassia and his decision to tell his mother about her.
The guards opened the gates. His mother walked in, no longer a slave of Macula but a free woman, and every bit the warrior even without her weapons. She wore her long red cloak and white stola. During her few weeks of freedom, her color had returned and she no longer looked gaunt.
They embraced. “Mother, let us walk down the path for privacy.”
She beamed as they headed up the forested trail. She glanced at his bare back. “I’m glad that bitch has not whipped you recently.”
Ulric smiled. Thanks to Cassia the raised welts were gone. He guided her deeper into the forest. He stopped, sniffed. Satisfied they were alone, he braced himself to tell her about Cassia. “Mother, I have something of great importance to tell you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“I have found my life mate.”
Her eyes widened. “Here in Macula’s territory?”
Ulric smiled. “No. I found her on the dusty streets of the Subura when I nearly ate her goat.”
Her face scrunched in bewilderment. “Almost ate her goat?”
He must sound mad. As they walked on the vast estate, he told her everything from their first accidental meeting to how she had healed Lucius from his accident. That she belonged to the Lupercii physician Gaius and while Gaius was away, she alone had worked on Lucius after his accident.
His mother nodded. “I almost paid Macula a visit, thinking the boy would not last.”
“During this time I discovered she was a wolf maiden and not just any wolf maiden but my true life mate.”
She threw him a worried smile. “She sounds special.”
He laughed but understood her worry. If Macula found out, he would take her. “She is more than special. Cassia is a woman the Roman lycans call a Valeria Luperca.”
She stopped mid-step. “Oh, Ulric. Legend says such wolf maidens are rare. Goddess touched, worshiped by
all lycans. One is lucky to meet one in a lifetime. Every powerful alpha will desire her. Are you sure she is your mate?”
He straightened his back to show her that he was a head taller than Macula and in build more powerful. “Yes, with every fiber of my being.” He elaborated how he loved everything about her from her aroma to her voice and fair Tanfana, her beautiful face and body.
“And her wolf mark, did it turn red upon your touch?”
He nodded enthusiastically. “Blood red.”
She held her breath and then let it out slowly. “Have you claimed her?”
“No. But I plan to as soon as she recovers and it is safe.”
“Recovers?”
He explained about the seizures she had after a healing. “I forbid her to heal but she did this very morning. You can imagine how worried I am. Floretta will have her killed if she learns she is my mate.”
“She would not dare. It is forbidden to murder a wolf maiden, especially one with the gift to heal, one who is goddess touched.” Her eyes searched through the forest as if seeing a vision from the past. “Amongst our packs there was once a woman with such a gift, your father’s older aunt. You might remember her. She too had fits but only when the healing was as severe as Lucius’ must have been. The Lupercal must know.”
“Petronia knows but forbids Cassia to tell anyone of not only her gift but the fact she is a wolf maiden.” He omitted telling his mother that he suspected Cassia might be the woman Igal the blacksmith had recognized as the child taken by lycans so long ago.
She sighed. “I can see why. Imagine what Macula would do if he knew? He would take her as his own and use her to gain power among all the packs.”
“Mother, I must claim her.”
She pressed a hand to her heart. “Does she want to be claimed by you?”
“I know she wants me but fears that as an omega I cannot safely make the claim without my master’s permission. She worries it would be too dangerous.” His voice grew distant in resignation. “I am starting to agree.”
His mother paced and then whirled around to face him. “First she must leave Macula’s territory.”
