by Gordon, Eva
Igal nervously babbled, “A married man should not be tempted, but yes, your physician is beautiful.”
Ulric turned to Floretta, “May I have a drink and talk about weaponry with my good friend?”
Floretta pouted. “Very well.” Both men bowed and left.
Ulric put an arm around Igal’s shoulder and walked him away. “It’s been awhile, friend.” Igal glanced back at Cassia one more time. Ulric growled, “Turn again and I’ll break your neck.”
Igal glowered at him but followed him to the emptied underground quarters where Ulric lived. “My friend, you look as angry as a wounded bull in the arena.”
Ulric set the massive shield down, slammed the door closed, and whirled around, facing his old friend. “Cassia is the girl from Caesarea, the child with the she-wolf, isn’t she?” His question, a blatant accusation.
Igal’s eyes widened in concern but attempted a sheepish smile and shrugged. “Like I said, a mistake.”
Ulric picked up the heavy man who weighed as much as three men by his armpits. His fangs sprang out. Drool escaped in rage. “Speak the truth!”
Igal struggled, kicking and butting his head against Ulric’s, but to no avail. His sandals dangled above the floor. He spat out, “Put me down. I’ll tell you the truth!”
Ulric lowered him, worried that if he dropped the huge man, he would break a hole through the floor. “Speak.”
He held his pained armpits, his chest heaving from thrashing about like a caught fish. “Cassia was once the child known as Shifra.” He scowled up at Ulric’s looming body. “Why does it matter to you?”
He emitted a low growl, “It matters because she’s my mate.” His claws curved out ready to slash his guts out.
Igal gaped, his eyes unblinking. “Your mate?” He whispered, “Is she a wolf woman?”
He sighed in an attempt to remain calm and not tear him asunder. “No. She is human.”
“But you are a wolf man?”
“I cannot tell you any more.” He could force him to make a blood vow, but the others would smell his fresh blood. It didn’t matter. Igal’s life would be forfeit. An omega could not ask a human to take a blood vow without the alpha’s permission.
Igal nodded vigorously. “I agree. It’s best I know naught of such things.”
“My wolf senses told me Cassia recognized you and you she.” As did all the other present lycans. Fool!
“I know. That’s why I went along with being mistaken.” He pressed his fist on his forehead. “How could I have been so stupid?”
Ulric softened. “Perhaps Floretta will not pursue the matter.” Yet.
The big man sighed, “Let us hope.” He shook his head, his brows wrinkled. “Shifra is a fellow Judean.”
“Like you?” All this time Ulric thought, she was from Aventicum. She had not trusted him enough to tell him the truth. It was long ago; it no longer mattered. She was his mate.
“Yes, but you must know Emperor Domitian hates Jews. I’ve arranged to leave Rome.”
“He hates many. I promise nothing will happen to my mate.” He did not tell Igal about Senator Cato’s execution and his connection with Cassia’s master, Gaius.
Igal sighed and furrowed his bushy black brows, “She was five years old but so intelligent for one so young. A child with the wisdom of a sage. Two Roman men took Shifra. They promised she would be given a good home.” He smiled at the distant memory. “She called the one with the white hair, wolf. And now she is the mate of you my friend, a wolf.” He shook his head. “I am confused.”
Ulric took a flagon of wine and cups. “Drink my friend. Tell me everything you can remember about my…Shifra.”
“Surely as your mate she will tell you…” He frowned. “Wait, does she want to be your mate?”
“Yes, but we only made our vows last night. She would have told me in time.” To explain the claiming ritual, meant revealing their secret lycan society. Like everyone else Igal accepted Ulric as the only wolf man.
“Vows?” He drank. Ulric poured him another.
“We made a promise. That is all you need to know.” He smiled, “Now start from the beginning when you first met the child, Shifra.”
Igal began, “You would not have recognized me then. I was as thin as a reed. Along with hundreds of others we were to be sold into slavery in Rome.”
Ulric poured him more wine and listened. Like him, Cassia had been snatched from her land and brought to the brutal world of Rome. Ulric shared the danger Igal and Cassia had faced because of their bond. Everyone knew how Floretta lusted for the gladiator and was not above murder to keep him as hers.
Igal drained his cup. “When I first saw her, I hoped to convince Shifra to return to Judea with us.”
Ulric suppressed a burp, “My mate will not go with you.” He chuckled. “You tell me you are leaving Rome every time I see you, old friend.”
“This time I mean it.” He lowered his voice. “Domitian overtaxes us Jews for being allowed to practice our own faith. There are rumors he plans to slaughter us all.” He wiped his brawny hands on his tunic as if washing away a stain. He lifted his hands. “I will no longer create weapons for Roman blood sport.”
“Where will you go?”
“My wife Naomi’s cousin lives in Yavne, a new spiritual center for Jews.”
Exotic religions confused Ulric. He knew so little of them. Would Cassia prefer to join her ancestral people? Gaius would not let her go and most importantly neither would he. “Will you leave soon then?”
“This shield is the last weapon I crafted. As soon as we gain passage by sea, we’ll pack our wagon and head south.” The big man with the barrel chest stood. “Let Shifra choose.”
His mood darkened. “Cassia stays with me.”
“Friend, you are a slave. Is that what you want for her? With us she would be family, marry a…”
Ulric hurled his cup against the wall and growled. “Do not dare say she would marry another!” He calmed. Guilt ripped his heart. What right did he have to keep her here if he could not offer her freedom?
Igal did not flinch or show fear. Brave, but too ignorant to understand the danger of coming between a lycan and his mate. “If you love her, let her have a life away from this den of Roman blood lusting vipers.”
If he loved her? More than a wolf maiden he possessed, she was his beloved. Igal had a point. She had to live. When one’s wolf mate died, the other soon followed in death, often for no other reason than a broken heart. A gladiator’s death could come any day. Then what would happen to Cassia? “I promise you, my friend, the day will come when I and others will cry for freedom or death.”
***
Cassia bid farewell to Floretta. “Domina, I wish to express my gratitude for your hospitality and gracious banquet in my honor.” She bowed, fearing that at any moment the haughty wolf maiden would change her mind. As she stood straight, she waited for permission to leave.
Floretta in return gave her a forged smile, “I will forever be grateful to you for my son’s life, physician. Good journey.” She turned on her heels and walked off with her entourage of slaves.
Lucius hooked his arm into hers. “Come, I’ll escort you back to your quarters.”
“I would be most honored, but if you have more important things to do…”
He looked back. “Good, we’re alone. I’ve arranged for you to leave immediately.”
“I thought I was leaving at cockcrow?”
He lowered his voice, “I must confess. When we were at your infirmary I took a whiff of your discarded bandage.”
Her eyes widened in horror.
He quipped, “Our wolfish ways can be odd to humans, but then again you’re not exactly human, are you?”
She stopped dead in her tracks. Her heartbeat thrashed in her ears. “Whatever do you mean?”
“When you were not around, I tasted the blood on the bandage more out of curiosity than to find your secret, but I did. You are a wolf maiden and one with a special
gift.”
Trapped. Is this why he wanted to buy her? Would she be his breeder? Her face heated. “So your motivation in keeping me as slave is to use me?”
“My interest is to keep you safe. Nothing more. If my father found out, you would become his. You are goddess touched. He would divorce Mother to marry you.”
“Your mother will not allow me to be your slave.”
“No. I would keep you as the gladiator’s slave.”
“You mean…?”
“Yes, Ulric’s slave. He desires you and you him. My father has discussed buying him a female to keep his needs satisfied. Mother of course would be jealous, but there is nothing she could do about it.”
“You are mad! She would find a way to kill me.” She tilted her head up, curious. “Why would you help Ulric?”
He frowned. “Not just Ulricus, but you as well. Mother took away my chance at love. I vow to make sure you and Ulric stay together.” He sniffed the air and looked around. He whispered, “One cannot be too careful with lycans around. I cannot explain why, but I promised Feronia to unite an ill-fated lycan couple.”
Cassia gaped in cheery surprise. The boy was a romantic. “I doubt your mother will allow such an arrangement, despite Macula’s approval.”
“Yes, I know but I see no other way.”
She cast her gaze down. “Only if Ulric is freed can we be together.”
“My father will never free him. He said the only way Ulric will be free is when he dies in the arena. The emperor is seeking a beast gladiator to kill Ulric.”
Her eyes widened and she squeezed his arm. “No. You must not let that happen.”
“That is why I wish to buy you for Ulricus. At least you would know some joy before it’s too late.”
She shook her head. “The Lupercal plan to order Macula and other masters to release their omegas.”
“I doubt the Lupercal will force my father to do anything that is against the emperor’s wishes.”
They arrived at the smaller villa. He let her go and she faced him, meeting his gaze. “Please don’t offer to buy me from my master. I will not be anyone’s slave, not even Ulric’s.”
“Yet do you not care that you belong to Gaius?”
“Gaius is more like a father than a master.”
“I understand. Get your things. The litter will be sent shortly for you.” He shrugged. “Knowing Mother and Father’s reputation, it would be too dangerous to buy you for Ulricus.”
“Can I at least let Ulric know I’m leaving?”
“Mother will grow more suspicious than she already is. She plans to seduce Ulricus before Father returns.” He glowered back at the massive villa. “If she sends Nox to nose around, she will find out you’re a wolf maiden.”
Before he turned to leave, she said, “Lucius, thank you.”
He smiled in youthful sincerity. “Cassia, I owe you a boon for saving my life. As a citizen of Rome and alpha lycan of the Caninus pack I vow to keep your secret safe.”
***
Ulric’s heart drummed in panic as he walked Igal toward the gates of Macula’s estate. He stopped and flared his nostrils. Cassia was gone. Thank the gods. His wolf disagreed. His fangs sprang out and a low growl escaped his throat.
Igal gave him a sidelong glance. “What’s wrong?”
He whispered. “Cassia left.”
“How do you know? She could be inside.”
Ulric gritted his teeth. “A wolf’s nose is greater than human eyes.”
“Will you seek her out?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. Floretta must have ordered her to leave earlier than planned.”
“If you wish, I can make sure she arrived safely?”
“No! You are not to go near her. Is that understood?”
Though a big man, Igal shuddered like a nervous colt. He lowered his head. “Go in peace, then.”
“You, too.” They gave each other a brotherly arm embrace. Ulric waited until Igal left unharmed. Why did Floretta allow Cassia to leave a day early? His hackles rose and fangs emerged.
He wanted to storm into Floretta’s room and demand to know why Cassia left. The ungrateful bitch was more of a danger to his mate than Macula. By the time he reached the villa, he had calmed.
Lucius called to him from the atrium, “Ulricus.”
He whirled around and snapped, “What?”
Lucius approached. “We need to talk in privacy.”
Ulric wanted to bark at him, but since the accident, Lucius had changed in a profound way. No longer the selfish whelp of a powerful pack leader, he had matured into a man. Had it been his near death experience, or had Cassia’s healing touch mended his heart to be more principled? He followed him outside into the wooded path where he had earlier strolled with his mother during her visit. He disrobed and signaled Ulric to do so as well.
“We will shift and talk away from prying ears.” Lucius shimmered into a gray wolf with streaks of black fur. He trotted despite a slight limp in his rear left leg.
Ulric shifted and loomed over the smaller lycan as they moved away from the main grounds and into the forest. Perhaps, Lucius, not Floretta, had sent Cassia away. No matter. He desired to lope away in his wolf form and find her. They arrived at a small lake and the ducks flew in a panicked frenzy of flapping wings and protesting quacks.
Lucius stumbled to a stop and lifted his bad hind leg. He shimmered back into his human form, breathing heavily. He still had scars on his body but nothing dramatic. He leaned against a tree, a pained look on his face.
Ulric shifted. “Your knee is not well enough for long walks.”
He slowly stretched it. “Cassia warned me to rest for a few days. Once we return, I promise to follow her advice.”
Ulric’s temper flared. Ungrateful whelp. He wanted to nip Lucius’ nose. Cassia had spared him the life of a runt. “I wanted to ask your mother why she was dismissed early.”
“Ulricus that would have been foolish. I sent her home.”
He raised a brow at the young alpha. “So it was you?”
“I know Mother. I thought it best the wolf maiden leave.”
Panic gripped his heart. Macula’s son knew the truth. He tried to temper his tone, but sounded dangerously gruff, “What do you mean, wolf maiden?” His inner wolf stalked the boy. His life mate was in danger.
“I have known since I tasted her blood soaked bandage. I venture to guess you wish or rather plan to claim her.”
His large frame shadowed over the smaller lycan. He growled, “Who else knows?”
He quipped, “If you mean to silence me, you will not live long. Before I left, I informed my slave Zeno I was to meet with you.”
“I do not kill…” He almost said the crippled but rephrased, “without a good reason. Cassia’s safety is the best reason.”
“Calm down, gladiator. No one else will know of it from me.” He chuckled. “Don’t look so surprised. I owe her a boon for saving my life. Allow me the respect from one alpha lycan to another.”
Ulric scowled. “Not too long ago you called me an omega barbarian dog.”
He met his eyes. “I despised you. Not because you were a captured slave but because you are everything an alpha should be. Everything I am not. Big, fierce, and despite your slave collar, the most dominant alpha I know. I watched you get whipped. You never whimpered or begged the flogger to stop. I saw only one thing, hatred in those cold bestial blue eyes. You are more wolf than human.”
“Lucius, you are young. All of this will someday be yours.”
“At one time I wanted to be human rather than wolf. Marry Nidia and turn my back to lycan society. Father accused me of being weak because I loved a human. He said I should be more like you, in touch with my inner wolf.” He scoffed, “Imagine, I should be more like a captured slave.”
“A captured Chattian warrior,” Ulric corrected.
Lucius failed to see the humor and his mood darkened. “I despise my parents for their role in the deaths of Nidia and
Eco.”
“For a wolf to hate his den parents is wrong, but I understand. To take away those we love is unthinkable.”
He shot Ulric a feral look. “I will stay a wolf.”
“Not possible. You must honor both natures.”
“If I remain wolf, perhaps I will stop grieving for Nidia and Eco.”
“You are wrong. It is the wolf in you that is loyal to the humans you loved. Does not the goddess Feronia teach you to care and love humans?”
He sighed, “You are right.”
“Come, let’s return and share a cup of wine.”
“Ulricus, have you chosen her as a mate?”
He stiffened, not ready to trust the guilt-ridden angry young man. “I am a slave, not allowed to take a wolf maiden without your father’s permission.”
Lucius pointed a finger at Ulric. “This is why Father must never know. Your secret is safe with me. I know you want her, and I sense in her heart, she’s already yours. I will see to it that you claim her.”
Little did he know he’d made his claim. He laughed, “Are you now Cupid?”
“If her master Gaius is still alive, I will buy her and give her to you as your slave.”
His eyes widened and then narrowed. “My mate will never be a slave!”
“Of course not, but at least you would be together.” He picked up a stone and threw it into the lake. “She hated the idea as well.”
Confusion muddled his feelings. Dark thoughts of doing as he pleased with her entered his mind. Would she not do anything to be with him? “Good. We agree.”
“Why?” Lucius sighed in frustration, “At least you would be together.”
“If I die in the arena, do you think I want her sold to another?”
“Ulric, she is a wolf maiden. A Valeria Luperca. If you die, she will be given to another alpha of my choice.”
Ulric growled, “Like you?”
“Better I make second claim than Father.”
“Why not take her now?” he said, testing. “I’m an omega with no rights to a wife and especially to a wolf maiden.”
“To claim one that belongs to another goes against Feronia’s precepts.” Lucius twisted a sad smile. “I shall tell you my secret. As Nidia lay on her deathbed, I cut a strand of her hair. I then took the strand of her hair and wound it with a strand of mine. I climbed Mount Soracte to Feronia’s Temple. There I made the burnt offering of our hair along with a doe’s and a stag’s hearts to Feronia.”
