Lycan Gladiator (Wolf Maiden Saga)

by Gordon, Eva

  Struggling to drink, she swallowed a few sips before the rest dribbled down.

  He commanded. “We run all night.” Tonight they must reach the Lupercal headquarters in Etruria. He gathered her in his arms and with the speed of the alpha lycan, he ran northwest to join his mother and then on to Gaul. Freedom. Pray she survived their liberation.

  Cassia woke in a lit room warmed by a hearth. She lay covered with a woolen blanket. Was she dreaming or dead? Why would the dead rest near a flaming hearth? Her memory of the previous days was vague. She drifted in and out of consciousness. Concerned voices around her. Jostled inside a wagon. Her dream. Always the same, where Ulric took her out to breathe the fresh air in the moonlit night. A blood red moon, like the one under which she and Ulric first made love.

  She shot up. “Ulric!” He had rescued her. She lifted herself up but racked with coughs she plopped back onto her bed. Her ribs ached with each hacking spasm.

  The door banged open and Ulric dashed to her side. His hair down, his beard thick, and dressed in furs. No evidence remained that he had ever walked in the streets of Rome. “Cassia, you are back.” His weight sank into her bed as he drew her in. “My beloved. For two days you raged with fever.”

  Clutched to his chest, the feel of his heartbeat soothed her. Safe. Her voice croaky, she asked. “Where are we?”

  “We have reached the border into Gaul. We are guests in a small villa belonging to a Lupercii, a friend of Albius. Over the next ridge Petronia awaits.”

  “And Macula?” She wheezed a cough. Outraged that his omegas escaped, the alpha would hunt them with lycans and Roman soldiers. Equipped with wolfsbane laced arrows. Her fate, no better. Macula enjoyed the rape of captured women almost as much as killing the men.

  “Shh.” He gently patted her. “The moon is waning and they ride in pursuit.” He quipped, “We too found fast horses thanks to my mother’s ingenuity.”

  She cleared her throat. “She’s here?” At last, reunited with his mother, but how sad that she might witness her son’s death.

  “In the kitchen. Brewing her herbal concoction to help ease your cough.”

  “Does Petronia know we are coming?”

  “We sent out a howling call and she responded. We are days away from meeting with the Lupercal packs.”

  She was free, but her mood returned to despair. “Domitian plans to kill all the Jews and Christians of Rome.”

  Her coughing grew worse, making it hard to breath, and he pulled her into his arms and held her. He soothed her back and offered her water. “This entire time you have slept and you have not heard. All of Rome celebrates the death of Domitian. The decree was never carried out.”

  She drank and wiped her wet lips. “He’s dead?” Relief washed over her and she wished that she too could dance in the streets of Rome.

  “By the hand of Petronia’s Lupercii, Stephanus and Domitian’s trusted household. Apparently, on seeing a journal of how Domitian poisoned his brother a few soldiers betrayed him. So you see, beloved, none of his evil decrees were carried out.”

  She had given Stephanus the journal. She had helped stop the tyrant. “Where is Stephanus? I must write and thank him for his bravery.”

  “Unfortunately, Domitian’s guards killed him.”

  “Poor Stephanus. Has Macula declared himself Emperor?”

  He twisted a smile in satisfaction. “The Senate declared Marcus Cocceius Nerva as the new Emperor. Our lycan kind remains a secret from humans.”

  Rohesia entered. She looked like an Amazon. Dressed as a Chattian warrior, ready for battle. “Cassia, thank Feronia.” She pressed two fingers on her forehead. “The fever broke.”

  Ulric gently pushed her back down, leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Unfortunately we need to leave. We have been hauling you on a bed in a wagon, but now the terrain will require you to ride.”

  Rohesia gave him a sidelong glance. “What about the goat?”

  “Egidius?” She coughed, unable to ask. Had she misheard?

  Ulric’s mother frowned. “Shh.” She offered her a drink of an aromatic fluid. She laughed. “Yes, your goat.” Rohesia gave Ulric a pointed look. “My son acts as if the goat is his own child.”

  He quipped, “A beta lycan is carrying him over his saddle.” He smiled down at her with such love she thought she would melt, “You, beloved, will ride with me.”

  Her wolf mark flamed in response. She remembered her dream with Feronia. Had she healed her? She touched the skin on her left hip. “I feel it.”

  Ulric raised a brow. “Eh?”

  “Your claim.” Her tone was filled with joyous wonder, and her faith validated.

  Rohesia gave Ulric a knowing smile and explained. “Feronia blessed you with her healing touch.” She lifted the sheets and pulled her loose tunic up. “Look.”

  With Ulric’s help, Cassia sat and stared. No brand. Only her wolf mark, clear and bright red. “I dreamt Feronia removed the brand but thought it only a wishful dream.”

  Ulric scowled. “It would be justice if Floretta woke with the brand instead of her wolf mark.”

  A lycan brought in a stew for her. Her stomach awakened with a growl. “I’m famished.” She ate every morsel. Renewed with strength, she stood and stretched, ready to ride.

  Ulric frowned. “Cassia, you are to rest. I will carry you from now on, perhaps forever.”

  She relished his protectiveness, but chided him. “I’m not your delicate vase but your strong mate.”

  He laughed, “We shall see. But for now, you will be pampered.” He guided her back down to a chair and she did not protest since her legs grew weak again.

  Bernardus, his second in command, came in. His face grim, “Ulric, I caught Macula’s scent. We must leave now.”

  Ulric clenched his fist. “I wish I could challenge him, but knowing him he will hide behind his pack.”

  Rohesia shot him a scolding look. “We are outnumbered and you know the foul dog uses wolfsbane.”

  Cassia slowly nodded. “Of that I’m certain.”

  Rohesia beamed. “The Lupercal declared Macula rogue for giving Domitian the blood vow. The good news is that once we reach Petronia, other packs will join us to destroy the Caninus pack. Our leader has formed a tight alliance with the Aquitani Keltoi wolfen packs.”

  “That’s wonderful.” However, her heart twisted in sorrow for Lucius. There was good in him. She hoped that Petronia would declare him free of his family’s blemish. The boy only wanted to someday, perhaps in an afterlife, reunite with Nidia.

  ***

  Ulric worried. Was Cassia strong enough to ride? Except for an occasional coughing fit, she sat straight in the saddle. He pressed against her soft bottom and his length throbbed. “How are you feeling?”

  She rubbed against him and sighed, “Much improved. Your mother’s medication gives me great vigor. Do not slow on my account. Even I sense Macula’s nearness.”

  Bernardus, his second in command beta, rode alongside their horse. “Listen.”

  Ulric lifted his hand to signal silence. The horses’ ears perked forward. The stillness of the wooded path grew ominous. He cocked his head to one side. An exploding clamor disrupted the silence. The thud of hoof beats, and worse the marching racket of clawed paws from prowling alpha wolves tracking their scent. Ulric was their only alpha, but Macula had several, at least three, he determined from the patter of paws on the wet ground.

  Ulric steadied his skittish mount and raised his sword. “We will fight like gladiators.” Cassia clung to his horse’s mane.

  His pack thumped their fists against the shields and drew the swords scavenged from the slain Roman soldiers who attempted to stop them from reaching the Lupercii’s villa at the border. “We fight as gladiators!”

  Ulric galloped in front of them. “Freedom or honorable death.”

  Three large wolves, Macula’s alphas, dashed from the bramble and attacked. The squeal of a horse and two killed betas forced Ulric to hand his reins to Cassia as
he leapt off. He turned to his mother. “Ride off with Cassia.”

  Rohesia gave a brusque nod and gestured to her. “Come!”

  Ulric shifted and attacked. He rolled on the ground with one of the wolves, biting and clawing until he gripped its throat and sank his fangs in. A second wolf succumbed to the attack of four of his beta men who speared the alpha. Ulric whirled around.

  A gray lycan wolf leapt in front of Rohesia’s horse. It reared and threw his mother from her saddle. Stunned she lay on her back while Cassia stood waving his gladius between the snarling wolf and his mother. He shot a wolfish grin at her. Cassia, his she-wolf.

  The enemy lycan charged her. Ulric roared in fury and flung at the lycan that dared threaten his mate. Ulric snarled at the enemy alpha and swiped his dagger-like claws across his neck, sending his decapitated head into the brush.

  Rohesia stood, gathered her quiver and gave Cassia a wry smile. “Someday I will teach you how to hold a sword.”

  Ulric growled orders. Two of his betas brought their horses. They jumped off and helped the two women get on the mounts. They galloped away. Ulric kept his pack safely ahead of him. He walked toward his fallen den brothers and howled in sorrow. The others joined in the chorus. Two betas pulled the slain lycans off the path and covered them with branches. Ulric snarled for his pack to head west.

  Cassia called from her mount. “Ulric, hurry!”

  Macula’s riders gained ground. Ulric gazed at his dead friends, whimpered and joined the others.

  A horsewoman galloped toward him, her bow drawn, aiming at Ulric. A twang echoed and struck Ulric on his shoulder. Normally such a wound would be a minor annoyance except this wound flamed in unimaginable pain. Ulric yelped. Wolfsbane. He fell and writhed on the ground, thrashing like a speared fish. His blood burned his insides and his muscles cramped and contorted in agony. He shifted to his human form and his fit grew worse. His spine contorted and his head tilted back as he bawled incoherently.

  He kept his eyes open and watched Macula dismount and join Nox. She stepped closer, gloating over him with her bow as he suffered.

  Macula sneered, “You will die like a dog, just like your father.”

  Though he could not control his movements, he growled and reached a contorting clawed hand toward him. The taunting alpha stepped back and laughed.

  A whistling arrow sung through the air and hit Nox, penetrated through her body shield, and pierced her heart. She fell from the force, growled and leapt up. Another hit her throat. Her eyes widened as another arrow shot her between her eyes. Dead before she plunged to the ground.

  Rohesia had delivered the fatal arrows. She shouted in Chattian and rode toward her son.

  Ulric glanced at her. No! Agony crippled him and prevented him from telling his mother to run. Another horse drew close and Cassia leapt off. She ran to him and held his hand. “Ulric, stay with me.”

  Macula laughed, “Hold him all you want while he dies slowly and in such great pain that you will soon beg me to kill him.”

  The rest of Ulric’s pack charged Macula’s men. Chaos ensued. A melee of claws, fangs, and the clang of swords. Though they were outnumbered, his lycans were trained gladiators. Each fought as many as three at once.

  Cassia held his hand and closed her eyes. Ulric focused on her humming. She was the rope between life and death. Healing and agony.

  Macula laughed harder, “Your sweet voice will do nothing for your gladiator.”

  A cold stream flushed through Ulric’s burning blood. His muscles relaxed. He made to push her away, but she stubbornly clenched her fingers around his, not letting go. Together they suffered indescribable pain. She screamed and finally let go. He fell back, free of pain and floating as a tingle of healing energy coursed through him. She had cleansed the wolfsbane from his system. His breath returned. His muscles ached from the ordeal. He tilted his head toward her. She convulsed. Cassia, don’t die. Weak, he crawled to her but then collapsed still spent from his ordeal.

  Macula knelt beside her and held her thrashing arms. “What is wrong with you?” She finally quit her fit and sighed as if exhausted. His enemy patted her cheeks. “It was as though you too were poisoned. How could that be?”

  She smiled and lowered her breeches, just enough to expose her mark. “Not only am I a wolf maiden but a Valeria Luperca.”

  Macula’s eyes widened and he stumbled back. He stared at her as if she were Feronia herself. “No, you can’t be.”

  Ulric regained his strength. The beast that threatened his mate still drew breath. His hackles rose and the wolf within emerged. Protective of his mate. Long kept rage for the death of his father. So many he had killed to please his master. With a low rumbling growl he stood. The largest, fiercest wolfen, undefeated in the arena, and maddened at his mate’s suffering.

  Macula slowly turned; he gaped as the large grey wolf snarled and stalked toward him. He shifted in challenge, but too late.

  Ulric pounced, his fangs locked on his neck. Ulric ignored the claws that dug into his back, growling and squeezing until Macula’s head was severed from his body. In bloodlust, he mauled out his heart and gulped it. In a final act of vengeful rage, he urinated over his head, turned and kicked dirt onto it. He howled in victory.

  His mother called, “Ulric!”

  He cocked his head. Macula’s betas bowed in submission while his mother spoke to them like a philosophical orator.

  She pointed to him. “Behold your evil tyrant of an alpha. He dared use wolfsbane. Worse, he dared profane Feronia’s anointed wolf maiden, Cassia, Valeria Luperca. A living goddess.”

  Cassia leaned against a tree for support as enemy betas bowed before her.

  Ulric shifted to his human form and wiped blood from his mouth. He stood in awe. His Cassia. His beloved. Not just sacred to him but to all lycans as well. The Caninus lycans, who only moments ago had attacked with vengeance, now murmured prayers begging forgiveness. Is this why Lucius went out of his way to help them? Would Feronia now grant his wish?

  Cassia ran to him. Coughing between words. “Ulric, I almost lost you.”

  He lifted her chin and smiled. “I’m here, beloved.” He drew her into his chest and gently kissed the top of her head.

  His mother cleared her throat, “Ulric, what do you wish done with these flea bitten jackals?”

  He turned to Cassia. “Valeria Luperca, command them.”

  She twisted her lips to one side and tapped a knowing finger over them. She faced them. They waited with bated breath. “Half of you will return to your new pack leader Lucius; however, the first half will be chosen by my claimed mate, Ulric to join our pack in Gaul.” She tapped one of the older betas, Cyrus, on the shoulder. He had been Macula’s chief military advisor and would serve Lucius well.

  He kept his head down. “Yes, domina.”

  She suppressed a cough with her fist and continued. “Macula’s wolf maiden, Floretta, is to be banished from Rome. I want her exiled to the Pontine Islands.”

  Ulric quipped. “Most wise and generous.”

  “On your return to Rome, all omegas released and any word about our secret society will mean instant death. With the exception of Lupercii and new wolf maidens, there will be no more blood vows. Over time, our packs will cut off most dealings with humans.”

  Cyrus bowed. “I will see to it, Valeria Luperca.”

  Epilogue

  Cassia stepped from their temporary hut built to withstand the harsh alpine winter. After the spring melt their pack would construct their villa. She dressed in the local Keltoi women’s tradition, with a brightly colored embroidered dress held closed by a silver brooch in the shape of a wolf. Over her dress, she wore a thick woolen cloak. Her long brown hair, braided in their fashion, made her look like she had never been a native of Rome. Yet she had been.

  It had been six moon cycles since their escape to the new Lupercal palace. It rested on a high cliff in the Pyrenees Mountains in Gallia Aquitania. A pack of nearly one hundred members of
the Keltoi pack joined the Lupercal. Petronia gave Ulric and his pack a large territory in a wooded area behind the Lupercal palace. An infirmary built for Cassia beneath the palace contained a library of medical scrolls from around the world. A healing center for lycans. She would attend to Lupercii and wolf maidens as well. Though her powers only healed lycans, as a trained physician, she would serve both lycans and humans.

  She warmed her body by the hearth and opened a second letter sent by Lucius. In his previous letter, sent shortly after their arrival, he sounded despondent. He had lost his father, his mother had been exiled, and his friend and mentor, Stephanus killed during Domitian’s assassination. Alone, with a few pack members, Albius had welcomed him and offered his guidance on how to rule a pack. Lucius had written he hated leaving Rome and hoped to return soon.

  She unrolled the scroll and read it.

  Dearest Cassia,

  Feronia has answered my prayers and blessed me with my wish to be with Nidia. No, I’m not on my death bed. Let me explain. I reluctantly joined Albius with my pack on a mission to Dacia to exchange lycans and a few unattached wolf maidens. One caught my interest, a raven-haired, dark-eyed, pretty wolf maiden, an orphan named Andreea. As we journeyed back, I paid her no mind. My heart belonged to Nidia. Nonetheless, I thought perhaps this young woman would be a pleasing mother to my children. I felt as though I betrayed Nidia so I remained aloof and uncaring of Andreea who pestered me with questions about Rome.

  Then tragedy struck. All of our human companions, both Lupercii and wolf maidens came down with a plague that had struck a few villages along the Danube River. We did our best to keep them alive, but alas, only a single Lupercii man survived. Andreea was dying in my arms and I begged Feronia to let her live. Albius ordered everyone to leave us alone, and his betas prepared a burial site for her. A glowing light hovered over Andreea and she suddenly opened her feverish eyes. She gazed at me and smiled.

  When she spoke, chills ran up my spine. It was my beloved’s voice. “Feronia is allowing me to return to you as a wolf maiden. Andreea is one with me, Nidia.” I could not believe it.