by Gordon, Eva
“You can’t be. Nidia is dead.”
A feminine voice from above gently spoke. It was blessed Feronia. She allowed Nidia’s soul to enter Andreea’s body to give her life essence. She warned me that when Andreea recovered, Nidia’s memories would be buried but that her soul would remain and be my true life mate. I would have to claim and love Andreea. The threat of losing Andreea made me realize I had already fallen in love with her. The next morning I returned to the camp with Andreea. Albius was relieved by her miraculous recovery and we made our way back to Rome.
Cassia, I wish you could be here. We plan to wed during Lupercalia. After the Ceremony Albius will return to his Northern territory and I will rule Rome’s lycan pack. I have told Andreea all about you and she hopes to meet you someday. Mother is not allowed to attend the wedding but sent us a letter wishing us well. I know that Feronia gave me my wish because of helping you and Ulric escape as beloved life mates. By now, you must be married and with many blessings soon have children. May Feronia guide you and keep you well.
Enjoy Lupercalia,
Lupercus Caninus Lucius
The letter gladdened her heart. She smiled. Yes, Lucius we are married and so happy. The first full moon after their arrival, they had married. It has been a day of great celebration and a night of passionate love. Tonight, she looked forward to her first Lupercalia. She rolled up the letter and placed it with her important parchments. She slipped her hood over her head and stepped out. The contrast of blue sky and soft snow, was blinding and she squinted in search of the stables.
Cassia hiked a short distance through the fenced pasture and towards the wooden stables to visit Egidius. To the east, she viewed a lofty waterfall glistening with ice that come spring would plunge with gallons of fresh water. The beech and silver fir forest teemed with fauna. There was plenty of game such as the isard, a sure-footed antelope along with mouflon sheep, the ibex, wild boar, and deer. Neighbors included bears, lynx, and natural wolves. Though cold and isolated from humans, it was pure paradise for lycans.
Egidius ambled up to her, barely visible against the white snow backdrop. “Baaa.” He stood on his hind legs, his cloven feet on the fence.
She tugged at his long white beard. “I must lock you up for the night.” She entered the gate and he followed her inside the stables. The horses were fed and their area cleaned of manure. A dark shadow turned. She gasped until he stepped into the light. Ulric. His beard thick, but well manicured and his long hair pleated. He too wore the traditional local garments. His furred cloak made him look more wolf than man. Back in Rome men shaved and had short hair, but Romans who made Gaul their home often took on the local customs.
“Cassia, you should not be out in this cold.” He dashed over and held her against him.
“I’m fine. I had not expected to find you here.” She gazed at his muddied boots. “I thought the betas would help you clean.”
He laughed. “Most are already climbing the peak for tonight’s Lupercalia.”
Her pack would ride to the newly constructed Lupercal Temple of Feronia where the night’s festivities would take place. The lycans would go to their designated areas and prayer vestibules within the temple. At midnight, Ulric and the alpha men would chase their claimed wolf maidens through the vast forests of their hidden territory. Ulric had set up a sentry on each corner of his territory. Local people heard rumors of giant wolves and did not dare trespass.
Ulric kissed her neck and whispered in a seductive husky voice, “Tonight, the wolf will seek you out.” He nibbled on her ear.
She flushed and her wolf mark gently tingled. Tonight he would take her in an ancient ritualistic way. Like her, he never had participated. Was he just as curious? “Perhaps we should make our way up soon as well.”
He smoothed her cloak hood. “Just my thoughts. I will tack our horses. Go back and warm yourself near the hearth.”
“Ulric, you have pampered me long enough. Let me help saddle my own horse.”
He raised a brow and met her eyes. “I sense my mother’s influence.”
She teased. “Tonight I plan to add a challenge to the chase.”
He smiled and growled in approval.
***
Inside the sacred hall of the Lupercal temple, amidst the ancient rhythm of drums, ocarinas, and bells, the wolf maidens anointed their alpha mates with a sliver of blood and then offered them goat’s milk. After the ritual and imbued with his wolf spirit, the participating alphas lost their human speech until the next morning.
Cassia shuddered as Ulric’s wolf darkened his face. The fertility rite made him more wolf than human. After a game of hide and find, they would mate all night. Her pulse raced in erotic anticipation. In Rome, humans celebrated Lupercalia in a different manner. Men chased women and flogged them with a piece of goat hide. A cruel corruption of their ritual. If struck with the whip, the Romans believed the women became fertile. Part of the human ritual included the sacrifice of a dog but not in lycan society. Lycans considered the dog a wolfen brother. Instead, a prey animal was slaughtered and its blood offered for the ceremony.
Cassia and two women followed Petronia out to the edge of the forest.
Petronia removed her wolf mask. Her long white robe flowing in the gentle but cold wind she addressed them. “As you climb there will be lit torches, however, other than that, only the full moon’s brightness will guide you. If you fall, blow your whistle and we will come rapidly. Tonight only three of you have chosen to run the first Lupercalia outside Rome. The first wolf maiden to reach the top will win a banner in triumph. I must remind you, your alpha wishes a challenge. Do not make it too easy for him to find you.”
Cassia aimed to win, despite her competition, two Keltoi wolf maidens, experienced with the terrain and cold conditions. Like the Olympian athletes of Rome who prepared to run races, she had trained every day for the last two months. Rohesia rode with her along with an alpha female, Lupa. Ulric complained she had lost weight and didn’t have enough fat to survive the cold. Though thin, her legs were muscled and her back strong from carrying a pack with weights. Ulric had called her his ibex, a meat he looked forward to tasting, a promise that kept her motivated to accept the challenge.
They stood silent, anxious to start. Naked beneath her fur lined woolen cloak, Cassia shivered. However, they all wore thick snow boots, designed for warmth and cleated for good grip. She ran twice sky clad in preparation, but during the day, when the temperatures were not as low. She quivered from both the cold and the thrill of Ulric chasing her.
Petronia bowed, dropped her cloak and shifted into her wolf form. Beautiful with white streaks of grey covering her like a saddle. Her blue spiral markings on her shoulders extended to her front legs. Having been born a runt she was small, the size of a natural wolf. Petronia dashed up the peak, a signal for the wolf maidens to begin. After an hour, Petronia’s howl would signal the alphas to commence the hunt.
The two Keltoi women sprinted. Cassia paced herself, knowing that soon a steep climb would slow them down. Their destination peak dusted with a fresh powder of snow grew colder. Had they practiced as she had? Obviously not, because as they reached the hill, they slowed, rasping from the altitude. Cassia easily passed them. Careful not to stumble and fall down the precipice.
With each step, she thought of her life. Vague memories of her days in the desert. Shifra. Daughter of an unknown pack. Running in the streets of Caesarea. Igal. Their daily aches of hunger and need for warmth that every orphan suffers. Had Igal reached Yavne? Like her, not knowing what had happened to his family, he too began a new legacy. Hers was to be with her mate and serve as Valeria Luperca in the high mountains of Gaul. Goddess touched. Were there others like her?
In the distance, yips and howls meant the beta wolves enjoyed their own mating games. Her legs straining, she stopped to rub her calves. She had made it to the natural stone steps that led to the peak. Her destination. She half turned. Had the Keltoi women given up?
Her
lungs strained for breath and her muscles ached as she reached the top. Her best time yet. On top Petronia stood naked. Despite the cold Cassia perspired from the exertion. She bent her knees to catch her breath.
Petronia handed her the banner and a cup of warm mead. “Congratulations, Ulric will be so proud. Run and find a hiding place. I’ll howl for the alphas to begin.”
Cassia nodded and ran deep into the woods below. The alpha howled. Soon three wolves returned the call. The howls sent a shiver up her spine, fueling her primal need to run and hide. She recognized Ulric’s deep howl. Beneath her cape, she untied a sac and took out masking powder. Ulric would need more than his sense of smell to find her. A challenge. She spread it over her body and smiled in mischievous satisfaction. She found a pine branch and covered her footsteps as she strolled along. Soft snowflakes fell as she searched for a hiding place. There. A huge tree with a gaping hole. She crept in. Big enough for someone as big as Ulric to stand and lie in. Make love in.
The howls of the lycans hot in pursuit gave her a chill, and she huddled within her cloak. Two triumphant howls and distant feminine laughter meant the first two alphas had found their wolf maidens. Silence followed. The clouds grew dark, covering the moon’s light. The gentle flakes of snow turned fierce and the wind howled.
The masking powder turned out to be a bad idea. Ulric would never find her. Her hands trembling, she picked up the whistle and blew. Nothing but a sputter came out. She dried it and blew again. The wind shrieked in tune with her high-pitched alarm. There was no way he could hear it. With no fire or warmth from his body, she might freeze to death. It proved reckless to have used the masking potion. She huddled in her cloak and hoped to survive the night.
The tree began to shake as a beast bellowed a growl. It pushed its way in. She screamed. Snow rained from the hanging branches and covered her hole. Buried alive, like in the tomb. Panicked, she clawed at the snow that blocked the opening but to no avail.
Suddenly a clawed paw spiked through the snow. Within seconds, it had dug an ample hole. Ulric in his wolf form, silver like the glistening snow, stood still at the entrance.
“Oh, Ulric, I’m so relieved you found me.”
He emitted a low warning growl and crawled in. She lit her small traveling lamp. Furious feral eyes beamed at her. The fierce look he gave his opponents. His hackles up, he roared at her.
She fell back on her elbows. Trapped. “Ulric, calm down.” He leaned in, sniffed her hair, and growled in disapproval. She croaked, “I’m sorry. It was foolish to hide my scent.”
The wolf cocked his head and unsnapped his pack. He shifted. Yet not entirely human. Covered in fur, he still bore elongated fangs and clawed hands. Was this part of the ritual?
This wild man, her husband, moved closer so they were nose to nose. His fur receded and he shot her a wolfish grin. Without warning, he nipped her nose. “Oww!” A chastising pinch. She slapped him. “Don’t ever do that again!”
He growled.
“Did you not want a challenge?”
He answered with a long sigh.
She had forgotten he would not have human speech until the morning light. He did not appear cold despite his nakedness. Nonetheless, with only her cloak and snow boots, she shivered like a wet cat.
He rubbed her body with his scorching hands. Warmed, he released her and then spread out a thick blanket from his pack and laid it out for her. He turned and packed the opening with snow. Satisfied with the protective shelter he grunted. She touched his muscular buttocks and he turned, his erect phallus not affected by the ice cold. Her blood stirred and her wolf mark blazed. He drew her in and her hands squeezed his taut biceps.
His hot breath brushed her neck as he growled, “Maaeeeen.”
She smiled. “Yes, yours. And you are mine.”
He stripped her of her cloak. His breathing slow, he nuzzled down to the hollow of her throat. She burned with desire and caressed his broad chest with her lips. He made an animalistic murmur and pushed her down on the blanket, then turned her around. Her backside to him. His phallus rubbed against her cold bottom. His hand squeezed her wolf mark. A shiver of ecstasy shot throughout her core and she moaned in pleasure. He growled and entered her waiting warm channel. Claiming her once again as his.
He was colossal and she so small. Helpless beneath him. Yet she felt safe. Nothing would harm her, not humans, lycans, or blizzards while under his protective frame. He made wolfish sounds, growls, and low grunts in the primal need for the eternal mating dance. He moved her hair aside as he gently bit the back of her neck. Fangs grazing her made her jerk at the tickle, but he firmly held her in place with his free hand. The pull of the moon influenced her and she growled like a she-wolf in heat. Waves of sensations coursed through her with each of his thrusts.
She took in his manly aroma and the sound of his heartbeat like war drums. Their lovemaking prior to tonight always had been an erotic pleasure, but tonight it reminded her of the thrill of the first claiming. A time when the danger of discovery shadowed their passionate stolen moments.
Memories flooded her mind. His oiled body, glistening with strapping muscle during Floretta’s banquet. Cassia desired him despite the peril. They had been so close that night to claiming one another, yet kept apart by the risk of Floretta unearthing the truth. Her wolf mark had flamed at being so near the gladiator chosen to be her mate.
She arched. “Ulric,” she cried as her pleasure peaked in an unstoppable surge of sensations.
He growled as he too shuddered in satisfying release. Not done with her, he turned her over and ravished her mouth until his length grew ready to take her again. It would be a long wolfen night.
***
Ulric woke to raven caws outside their meager shelter. Light filtered in. Cassia’s head lay nestled on his shoulder. Her woolen blanket and tresses hid her exquisite face. He shivered and sighed in deep contentment. Cassia took most of the blanket and cloak to bundle herself. He did not mind. Had his speech returned? He cleared his throat.
She poked her face out of the blanket like a turtle extending her head out of her shell and blinked. She spoke in a haughty tone, “Gladiator, do you dare wake me?”
“I’m sorry, beloved. I wanted to make sure my voice worked.”
She sat and glanced at his bare skin. “Dear Feronia, you are uncovered and cold.”
He grabbed her and rolled on top of her. “Then warm me.”
She pressed her hands along his shoulders and magical warmth spread throughout him. She smiled with lips as sweet and perfect as warm honeyed wine. “How is that?”
“Ah, healing warmth, my Valeria Luperca.” He marveled at her powers. Not only his mate but a gift to all the lycans. He held her tight and sighed. Over the last moon cycles, he helped her in the infirmary, and held her hand to prevent her seizures. For him to ease the suffering of others after he had caused so much in the arena fulfilled his guilt-ridden soul. He felt sorrow for gladiators still forced to kill in the arena. He was free, but not free of the ghosts slain by his hand or in some cases by his claws.
She sensed his pained thoughts. Her abilities detected emotional pain as well as physical ones. “Ulric, what’s wrong?”
“I hope I’m worthy of you and your love.” He glanced down at his calloused hands. “A blood lusting gladiator.”
She sat and raked her hair back and stared at him with eyes brightened in her love and admiration. “Ulric, you are more than worthy. You fought only to defend yourself or others but never for the joy of killing.” She traced her fingers over his furrowed brow and smiled. “You are like Hercules. Done with your labors and free to look down from the sky.”
He twisted a brow up. “I believe he had only twelve labors and was more heroic?” He whispered, “And he never stood by as his worst enemy marked his mate with urine.”
She frowned. “Remember he needed absolution for killing his family, so his tasks were indeed more daunting. You protected your family all along and for that you are
to be rewarded as the ideal alpha to run a pack.” She bit his earlobe and moved to nip at his nose. Her movements, slow, deliberate like a snake. She met his gaze. “I hope that you never tire of loving me.”
He looked at the glint of her green eyes, like green seedlings sprouting from beneath the white snow heralding the coming spring. Her long brown wavy hair with tones of red framing her beautiful face made him feel he had been rewarded the greatest gift. “Beloved, my love and admiration for you grows with each sunrise.”
He captured her mouth, ready to ravish her again. A howl followed by higher pitched howls interrupted them. Petronia and the others searched for them. He half groaned and released her, “Best we meet the pack. After all, you reached the banner first and should be honored.”
She quipped, “You see, my running practice helped.”
He laughed, “You have always been good at running. Since the time you were a street urchin, Shifra, running from the Romans and then thinking you could run from me when I first discovered your true nature.”
She donned her cloak. “No more running from you,” her voice seductive, “unless it’s Lupercalia.”
He stood and draped the cloak over her and dug out of their den. The snowfall had been severe. He lifted her and smiled. “Let us return before the pack thinks they lost their alpha and his mate.”
She sighed. “But you are naked.”
He laughed, “Take heart, soon we will enjoy fine mead in our hearth heated chamber.”
THE END
Afterword
Thank you for reading, Lycan Gladiator. If you would like to comment on the book, or have any questions about my Wolf Maiden Saga or my other books, I can be contacted via my website www.ravenauthor.com/
About the Author
I write fantasy and paranormal novels with a strong romantic element. I love to create stories that combine my passion for mythology, romance and werewolf lore. Lycan Gladiator is book 1 in my Wolf Maiden Saga. Apocalyptic Moon, released spring 2013 is book 1 in my After the Bane series. I also write steampunk, epic fantasy and Victorian era historical novels.
