Lycan Gladiator (Wolf Maiden Saga)

by Gordon, Eva

  “Albius and most of his pack are still in Dacia and will not return for months.”

  Disappointment washed over her. “He has been there for nearly a year.”

  “Though it does not concern humans, the good news is that Albius convinced the Dacian lycans to go further into the mountains and not bother with the human Romans. They also formed a pact to keep our lycan society a secret.”

  “I see.” If only Macula had approached the Chattian wolfen in such a diplomatic manner. Would she have met Ulric under such different circumstances?

  ***

  On his return from Ravenna, Emperor Domitian ordered Ulric to the coliseum. The emperor had been enraged that since the wolf hunt spectacle Ulric no longer fought as a wolf. Holding his gladius and large shield, he stood in the center of the arena as the bloodthirsty Roman hyenas cackled in approval.

  Domitian’s orator announced the spectacle after the triumphant trumpets bellowed. “Citizens of Rome! Listen to my words. We have long awaited the return of our wolf god, Ulric. Today our Lord God, Domitian demands that Ulric kill Quintina Eulia for heresy. Not as a man but as a wolf.” The cheer from the crowd was deafening.

  The Emperor wanted to test Ulric’s resolve to never slaughter women and children. He refused to obey the emperor. He stood glowering at Macula who sat next to the emperor. Macula suggested to Domitian that Ulric kill Quintina Eulia, the old widow of a fine noble family for heresy. A warning since Macula knew Eulia was Ulric’s mother’s good friend. A coward’s scheme. It would bring Ulric great satisfaction to disobey Macula and shame him before his human master, Domitian.

  They brought Eulia in. Her hair disheveled, she wore a soiled tattered tunic as if she were a common slave. She walked in with the tranquil countenance and gait of a woman going to a gala rather than to a horrific execution. She knelt beside him, folded her hands and began to pray to her Christian god.

  The crowds shouted for him to shift into a wolf and rip her throat out. He roared to the throngs. “I will not become a wolf man for your pleasures. I will not kill a helpless old woman.” He threw his gladius and shield on the ground and walked toward the gates. The crowd protested with shouts and profanity. The whiff of smoke and crackling flames made him whirl around. Soldiers had tied Eulia to a post and set a fire. Ulric roared. Still human, he leapt and killed the men who started the fire. Using a dead man’s cloak and arena sand, he extinguished the flames. The angered throng threw refuse and shouted their protests. Ulric growled at the audience, angered at being robbed from seeing a woman burned alive.

  Enraged, Emperor Domitian stood and scowled, then laughed. He whispered to one of his guards and the guard nodded. Ulric smelled a trick.

  Ulric hurried to unbind her. The gates opened and he turned. Twenty disheveled, dirty but well armed Roman legionnaires marched in. Domitian would use the woman to draw out his wolf in order to defend her. Trumpets called everyone to attention.

  Eulia said, “Let me be. Defend yourself.”

  He growled, “I will return for you.” He glared at the soldiers and readied his sword and shield.

  The orator shouted, “Listen to my words! Our God Domitian, Germanicus conqueror of Germania has ordered the death of the Chattian barbarian Verspilles, Ulricus.” Even the orator no longer feared calling him by his Roman title. He gestured toward the legionnaires. “These twenty soldiers brought shame to Rome by deserting their regiment in Germania. Let these deserters fight one Germanian. If they kill the wolf, they won’t be executed for desertion. They will walk away to freedom.”

  Domitian glowered at Ulric and then faced the soldiers. “Cut through Ulric and kill the woman by setting her on fire for heresy against Rome.” War drums pounded as if the men marched into Germania.

  Ulric faced the army of legionnaires with their swords, shields, and javelins. Leaderless, they looked at one another and nodded. An older one took command and roared, “Ad aciem!” The men fell into ranks and prepared a battle line as if facing an opposing army.

  Ulric taunted them with a low growl, bearing his fangs. The throng roared in satisfaction, thinking they would see the colossal wolf once again. He moved away from the bound woman and encouraged them to follow him.

  The acting commander ordered them to march, “Dex, dex, dex, sin, dex.” Anxious to kill for the chance of life. Though they had been cowards, they were well trained Roman soldiers. “Charge!”

  Like a spiked boulder, the first line attacked. He lifted his shield to block the thrown javelins. They drew their swords. Twenty against one. The skilled soldiers met his defense with long sword and shield. Surrounded, Ulric leapt over them and attacked with brutal accuracy. Distracted by five fighting at once, a soldier threw a javelin at the helpless woman, piercing her heart. She gasped, smiled, and slumped. Ulric dropped his shield and gladius and howled his wrath. His breeches ripped as he shifted. Larger than a lion and twice as fierce. The crowd held its breath. The soldiers watched him as if under a spell. They gathered closer to one another, the smell of fear made Ulric snarl a wolfish grin. Drool dripped from long white glistening fangs.

  Domitian stood. “Kill the beast!”

  Ulric roared at the emperor, the true coward and a killer of helpless women. The most despicable niding.

  Awakened from their stupor and reminded the wolf’s death meant their freedom, the soldiers charged. Javelins thrown from a distance hit his massive body, piercing him with deadly accuracy. Like a bestial sandstorm, he struck with claws and fangs. Men fell in a whirlwind of splattering blood and dust. Heads, intestines, and limbs lay like a butcher’s cut portions before market. The throng cheered, yelling that the deserters were given a proper execution. Fickle as always.

  Ulric shifted and stood surrounded by what were once men. He ripped out four javelins, one especially close to his heart and another that punctured his lung. His bloodied chest heaving, he stood and glowered at Macula. Pain from the gaping stab wound on his chest weakened him. He touched the deepest wound near his heart. His breathing shallow. Each breath, agony. He thought how Cassia’s touch would instantly heal him. Would he see her again? My beloved.

  He had not seen her for two moon cycles. Cassia. He lived only for her. Yet he heard she had left.

  Earlier, smug faced Floretta had brought the news. “The physician Cassia, a Jewess named Shifra has returned to her homeland with the blacksmith.” The news upset him, but he remained stoic and shrugged as if the information was of no consequence. It was better this way. She was safe from Floretta. His beloved, far away in her people’s land. Today he acted the gallant hero and enraged Domitian. If he survived, he would find her. If not now, in the next life.

  The crowd went mad with enthusiasm and signaled that he should live. “Ulric, Ulric!” They called him by his real non-Roman name. He threw Domitian a wolfish grin. The emperor, fearing the loss of popularity, allowed him to live with a nod and brief gesture. Followed by his guards, Domitian sneered and left. Ulric wanted to chase after him but dizzied. The arena spun. He wheezed.

  Lucius limped toward him followed by Stephanus. “We will get you to Gaius and have him stitch your wound.” They guided him down the steps beneath the coliseum.

  Ulric stumbled into the underground tunnel and fell on his knees, his life force draining from blood loss. Varus the dwarf covered him with a blanket.

  Lucius yelled at two men, “We need litter bearers. Now!”

  Ulric gripped Lucius’ arm. “What about your father?”

  “He is no doubt gathering his winnings. Domitian wants you dead and Father bet you would live another day. Besides tomorrow is the full moon. He will not leave his betas.” He whispered, “Perhaps Lupercii Gaius will let you know where Cassia is.”

  He had a point. Once he found out her exact location, he hoped to find her. Varus pressed a thick cloth over his heart as burly men hoisted Ulric up into a large carrier.

  Macula stopped in front of the litter. He sniffed and sneered. “Gladiator, you look like a boar ble
eding to death on a spit.”

  Lucius glared at his father. “We are taking him to Gaius.”

  He scoffed at this son. “Nemesis! You have grown soft since your foolish accident.”

  “And you, Father, shame me and the Lupercal.”

  Macula growled and stepped aside as the men carried Ulric past him. “I allow him to live only to win a bet, nothing more!” He gathered his red toga and left with his beta guards.

  Ulric, barely conscious, closed his eyes and thought of Cassia. Her slender arms beckoning to him. Did Igal make sure she had arrived safely? Was she somewhere in the desert thinking of him? He groaned as his litter jostled through the streets. On reaching the gates to Gaius’ villa, he sniffed the air. Her residual aroma gone.

  Egidius, her goat baa’ed making him long for her even more. Why had she left her goat?

  A man’s loud voice accosted his sensitive ears. “He is too big for the infirmary cots. Put him on my bed.”

  Ulric blinked a stare at the short thin man with the grey hair. He must be Gaius. The men flopped him on the bed. He mumbled. “Have you heard from Cassia?”

  The physician leaned over to speak but Ulric slipped into darkness.

  Chapter 13

  Cassia hid until the litter bearers had left. At last gone. She dashed into the clinic. She covered her mouth to stifle her scream. Dear Feronia. Ulric lay covered in blood. Gaius cleaned and stitched a near corpse. “Will he live?”

  Gaius swarmed over him. “He is strong but the spear pierced his heart and his left lung is punctured.” He pointed to some surgical instruments.

  “I…need…” she sputtered.

  “Assist me in surgery, physician!”

  Cassia snapped out of her panic and obeyed. She gathered the tools. “I’m ready.”

  They closed each spear and sword wound. She bandaged him and sighed. His heart spared of lethal damage by only a hair’s width. His lung damaged beyond repair. She smoothed her finger over his brow. “I will heal you, my beloved.”

  Ulric stirred and moaned. His lips were parched and his skin pale from blood loss. Even such a strong alpha could not survive these punctures to internal organs. Not without her touch.

  Gaius turned to her, “Make him sleep.”

  Cassia touched the middle of his forehead with her finger. His face relaxed into a thin smile. Was he aware of her presence? She removed her collar that contained a masking scent to avoid detection from lycans. Secluded in her villa for weeks, she hoped Floretta thought she had fled to Judea with Igal. Instead, she bided her time, until Albius’ return to Aventicum. Did Ulric think she would leave him? Knowing Nox and Floretta, she suspected they had told him of her departure.

  Clean and bandaged, Ulric slept like a tranquil wild wolf, content and curled in his den. For the first time, she saw him not as the fierce possessive alpha lycan but as the man she came to love, her mate. She smoothed his hair and traced a finger over his thickening blondish beard. “I will heal you, my beloved.”

  Gaius set his hand on her shoulder. “The waxing moon will help.”

  She worried that not even the full moon’s energy would help. “He must live.”

  Gaius pulled a chair for her to sit on. “Please, take care not to overtax yourself.”

  “No.” She climbed on the bed. “I will lie next to him.” She nestled near his strapping body and held his hand. “If I grow tired, I will sleep with him.”

  Gaius raised his voice, “Cassia, it is too close to the full moon. If he awakens and you are by his side, he will have his way with you.”

  She shot him a scolding look. “He’s not a beast! He’s my mate.” She gazed at the sprawled hulk and traced a loving finger over the bandaged wound covering his heart. “I trust him with my life.”

  Gaius furrowed his brow in concern. He pulled the chair next to the bed and draped a blanket over himself. “Then I will keep vigil.”

  “Very well then.” She smiled at him and began to hum. Unlike other healings, she felt no pain or weakness as a sensation of blood loss washed through her. Was it so with a mate? If only she knew more about the powers of the Valeria Luperca. Her breath joined his. At first, his breath wheezed, shallow and feeble. However, with each breath she took, his became stronger. Soon they breathed as one. Sleeping as one.

  “Cassia.”

  She blinked at the man holding the oil lamp. The nook of her neck ached from sleeping in the same position.

  Gaius whispered, “His pulse is strong. Let him sleep. Come, let us welcome the sunrise.”

  She wanted to protest leaving his side. What would be Ulric’s reaction on seeing his mate in his bed? Despite his weakened state, would his wolf take what belonged to him? Yet the thought of the first claim mating with her adopted father in the next room deterred such carnal thoughts. She slipped out of bed and massaged the kink in her neck.

  She entered the kitchen. Two new slaves baked the morning loaves. She missed greeting Ferox. However, with his advancing age, performing his necessary chores had grown difficult for him. On his return, Gaius gave Ferox his freedom. To most slaves that would have brought a great measure of joy but to Ferox it was akin to leaving a loving family. Gaius paid him a handsome sum and Ferox decided to live near his sister. Knowing Gaius, he released Ferox for his own safety.

  Gaius, determined to bring down Domitian, wanted her to leave as soon as Ulric recovered. Not likely. I’m staying to make sure you don’t do anything foolish against the emperor. The thought of Gaius tortured to death for crimes against the emperor were too unbearable to ponder. Besides, how could she leave Ulric when she had come so close to losing him?

  ***

  His eyes closed in deep sleep, Ulric smiled. The sights, smells, and sounds were so vivid. He and Cassia sat at the edge of a large pristine forest, facing a blue lake as the sun set. They watched the moon rise over the lake. He held her in his protective arms. Her warmth, a gift from the gods. Her aroma filled his soul. She looked up at him with adoring eyes while her fingers playfully plucked at his chest hair. No sign of wounds remained from the previous arena spectacle. Had his soul departed to be with his mate upon death? It mattered naught. Blissful peace washed over him like a gentle bath.

  The cockcrow pierced his ears. It had been a dream, but the memory of it lingered. He opened his eyes and growled. Gauis’ villa. He shot up and winced as the pull of the healing stitches beneath the fresh bandages reminded him, lycans like men bled and suffered pain. He flared his nostrils and his eyes widened. Cassia. Her sweet scent! Everywhere. On his bandages, his bed, on his body. Or was he mad?

  He flicked his fingers and claws extended. He ripped the bandage over his heart. The gaping wound, now a fine stitched reddened line. He took in a breath. His punctured lung, repaired. Not even an alpha could mend that fast. Poor Cassia. Had she had a fit healing him? He leapt off the bed. “Cassia!”

  Gaius rushed in. “Ulric, you must rest.”

  He roared, “Where is she?”

  The curtains parted. “I’m here.” She dashed to him and hugged him. Her tears wet his chest. “I thought I lost you.”

  He lifted her chin and gazed at her smoldering eyes. “Floretta said you left with Igal to Judea.”

  She cast her eyes down. “I’m sorry. It was a ruse to keep that viper from causing further harm. Sooner or later Nox would find out the truth about your claim, and our situation would become calamitous.”

  He smiled and kissed her on top of her head. “A wise decision. I’m just surprised Nox did not pick up your scent.”

  She pointed to a slave collar on the foot of the bed. “We embedded masking powders into it.”

  Gaius interrupted their reunion, “As soon as Albius returns from his campaign, he will come for Cassia. With his pack, she’ll be safe from Macula and his evil master, Emperor Domitian.”

  Ulric’s wolf aura darkened and he stepped in front of the diminutive man. “No! Cassia is not going anywhere without me.”

  Not intimidated, Gaius
snapped in rage, “If she stays with you, all will end in tragedy. Macula will not allow you to take a mate. He will take her as his breeder. Especially one with the healing gift!”

  Ulric stared down at the Lupercii who returned his glare for a long moment before he cast his eyes down. The physician spoke the truth. Cassia must leave. Alone. If he escaped with her, it meant death to the other omegas chained on Macula’s territory. Since the slave revolt led by gladiator Spartacus long ago, any escaped slave condemned his fellow slave mates to death, unless the escapee was found. He would not do that to the captive wolfen, many Chattians as well as members of other Germanic tribes. “Forgive me, you are right. Only Cassia’s life matters. I am an omega without a pack or territory. A gladiator destined to die in the arena.” This time he cast his eyes down in defeat. “I am not worthy.”

  Cassia shot Gaius a glare and intervened, “Ulric, you are the most worthy of mates. Strong, powerful, and yes, kind. I will go wherever you go.” She threw her arms around him in a tight embrace.

  “No, beloved. You are safer without me.”

  Gaius tempered his tone, “I never said you were unworthy of Cassia. I simply meant we must bide our time. When Petronia returns, she plans to set free all the omegas, not just from Macula’s hold, but also from other Roman alpha males who do not uphold the Lupercal law. All lycans shall be treated as equal members amongst the packs. Our kind must have allegiance to lycans no matter what tribe. That is the reason the Lupercal is moving from Etruria to the wilderness territory in Gaul.”

  Cassia agreed. “Petronia will need a strong alpha male to rule the territory where the Lupercal will be headquartered.” She turned to Ulric, her eyes beaming with pride, “I cannot think of a more commendable alpha.”

  His heart warmed. His beloved thought him worthy.

  Gaius took on the air of physician. “Let me check on your wounds.” He gestured for him to sit.

  Ulric scowled at him. “No need to…”

  Cassia laughed, “Take ease, gladiator, he knows far more about medicine than I do.”