Chapter 10

10

H ow do I get myself in these situations , Laverna thought. Romulus's eyes were glowing, and he looked ready to tear apart anything that moved. He walked slowly into the entry hall of the apartment, his footsteps not making a sound.

Laverna followed, not wanting to be alone. She could feel a wrongness in the air but couldn't identify what it was. Hair rose on the back of her neck, and a chill swept down her spine. What the fuck had happened in here?

Blood stained the floor like a body had been dragged along it. She stepped carefully around it. Romulus was already walking into a trashed lounge room, a low growl coming out of him. His skin was rippling like the beast inside of him was getting ready to pull itself free.

"Rom? You in there?" she asked, looking around. The furniture was broken and covered in blood. There had been an epic fight, but there were no bodies. Laverna didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

"Caught," Romulus snarled. He whirled, too quick for Laverna to follow, and tackled her to the carpet. His eyes were shining, and his mouth was full of fangs. Laverna froze, too scared to move. She was pinned, his huge body holding her down and a soft snarl coming from him.

"Rom?" she whispered. His hands on either side of her were tipped with lethal claws.

"Stay. Still," he said around the fangs. "Magic. Claudius. Phone."

Laverna slowly moved to get the phone from his jeans without breaking eye contact. When his golden eyes scanned the room, she quickly hit Claudius's contact.

"Boss? Are you there yet? I'm about a block away," Claudius answered.

"Can... Can you hurry? He's not right. He said there's magic, and he won't get off me," Laverna said, fighting to keep her voice steady.

"Laverna? Deep breaths. I am on my way. I know you're scared, but he won't hurt you," Claudius replied. She could hear his panting as he started to run.

"I don't think we can be sure about that right now," she replied.

"I can. He's physically incapable of it. I can't tell you why, but if there's magic involved, you might be the only thing that will keep it from destroying him and the city along with it. I'm almost there. Hang on." Claudius hung up, leaving Laverna to deal with the irate half-wolf creature on top of her.

With shaking fingers, Laverna touched his cheek. His golden eyes turned back to burn into her.

"Claudius is coming. He'll know what to do," she said, trying to reassure him.

Romulus's hand gripped her hip, moving to her waist where her shirt had ridden up. His hands were burning against her bare skin. A low rumble came out of him, and he buried his face into her neck and shoulder.

" Laverna ," he groaned and pressed his full body against her. Her ichor turned to fire as his weight and strength crowded her. Oh, Fates, she didn't know if she should be terrified or horny, and her body didn't either.

She whispered, "Rom, I don't know what's happening right now."

"Touch me," he begged, and she almost swallowed her tongue.

Feeling sweaty and anxious, Laverna gently carded her fingers through his thick, soft hair. Her heart was hammering erratically, but it didn't stop her from doing it again. She had always wanted to touch his perfect hair. Romulus made a happy, content sound, so she did it again.

Claudius came slowly into the room, his hand covering his nose. "Gods, there's magic stench everywhere in here."

"Help," Laverna squeaked from under Romulus's bulk. "He weighs a gods damn ton."

Claudius shook his head. "You have to stay where you are. Rom touching you is probably the only thing that's keeping him from destroying the city right now."

"What?!" she squeaked. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Claudius's stern face hovered over her. "The blood is Sidonius's. They took him and left a trap that Romulus walked into because it sent him into alpha mode. I can smell the remainder of the magic in the air, and it's coating him."

"Can't we just wash it off somehow?" Laverna said, trying not to panic.

"Not yet. The magic is weakened when he's touching you. If the magic sets the wolf mad, with Rom's connection to the city, he could drag everyone down with him," Claudius explained, his dark eyes filled with pity. "Sorry, Laverna. You'll just have to deal with it for the moment."

"For Fates' sake, why me? He hates me, Claudius!" she pointed out.

Romulus grumbled, and she gave in and started stroking his hair again.

"He doesn't hate you," Claudius said with a frustrated sigh. ¨He can't control or protect you, which makes him...agitated. The whole city and everyone in it are bound to him. You understand that, right?"

"Yeah, sort of? In theory?"

"He is the city, and you are the one person in it that is not bound to him. A free agent to cause trouble, dance around him, and do as you please. Rom doesn't use the power he has because he wants everyone to have a measure of free will." Claudius looked them over, his frown deepening. "This magic was meant to send him mad and cause havoc in the city. Not to mention if he really lost it, he would go on a killing spree."

Laverna tried to understand what he was saying, but having a very big and sexy god on top of her was too distracting. Every time she tried to move, he just gripped her tighter.

"We can't stay here. If the witches set this up as a trap, they are bound to know it's been triggered," she said and summoned her divine strength. She rolled Romulus onto his back and sat on him. He grinned up at her, but she couldn't tell if it was the man or the wolf.

"If we can convince him to get in a car, we can take him back to his villa. Maybe getting out of the center of the city will help clear the magic away?" Claudius suggested.

Laverna shook her head. "No. They knew where to find Sidonius, which means they know where to find the rest of you."

"We can't exactly check him into a hotel like this, goddess," Claudius said, exasperated.

Laverna stared down at the god between her thighs and said the one thing she never imagined she ever would. "We will take him back to my place. No one will ever find him there. He will be able to shake off the spell, and you will be able to pull the wolves together and co-ordinate with my people. We need to find Sidonius, and we can't be divided anymore."

Romulus's thumb stroked over the soft curve of her hip, his smile getting wider. "I like this too."

"Stop looking at me like that, or I'll give you to the witches myself," she snarled half-heartedly. "I still don't understand any of this, so when you are back to normal, we will be talking about it."

Claudius lifted his hands to heaven. "Praise Luna, they are going to use their words. Now, how are we going to get him into the car?"

Laverna and Claudius managed to get Romulus back down in the elevator, but only because she suffered to let him carry her. The situation became even more embarrassing because his two other wolves, Lucius and Eolus, arrived in time to witness her embarrassment.

"I never thought I would see it happen. Congratulations," Lucius said. Claudius made a cutting motion at his neck to get him to shut up.

"This isn't what it looks like, you fucking mutts," Laverna hissed at them, which only made them smile more. "He's under a spell, and apparently, touching me stops him from going crazy because of my divine power."

"Sure. That's the reason." Eolus was laughing so hard, his golden curls shook. He got out his phone and snapped a picture.

"Sid has been taken by the witches, and you two clowns are laughing. Get the fuck upstairs and look for clues while I get your fearless leader to safety," she ordered.

Lucius bowed regally. "Yes, alpha. Claudius, come back here when you finish delivering the happy couple where they need to go."

"Keep it up, and I will fucking neuter you," Laverna said.

Romulus held onto her, so she just ended up flailing uselessly while cursing at them.

"Always a pleasure, goddess," Eolus said, and they both disappeared into the elevator with wide smiles.

Laverna collapsed back into Romulus's chest. "Those two get more ridiculous every time I see them. They have only become worse since they mated."

"They will take Sidonius's disappearance seriously, don't worry. This is just...a too interesting development for them not to comment on," Claudius replied with a straight face. His eyes were glittering with amusement, and his sincerity didn't fool her for a minute. Assholes .

Claudius got the keys to the Porsche out of Romulus's jacket pocket with minimal snarling, and he opened the back door for them. It was a good thing Romulus hadn't decided on anything with two seats that day. Otherwise, things would have gotten even more awkward.

Like they can get much worse . Laverna sat in his lap because he still refused to let her go.

If someone had told her a week ago that finding bodies would lead her to straddling Romulus awkwardly in the back seat of a Porsche, she probably would have kicked them between the legs for their audacity.

"One day, we will be able to look back on this and laugh," she said as she stared out of the back window of the car and hoped that the tinting was dark enough so that no one would think they were fucking.

"You smell so good ," he whispered, his breath hot on her ear. Goosebumps swept down her arms and spine.

"So do you," she stammered awkwardly and hoped that his wolf couldn't smell how turned on she was. It wasn't her fault. Romulus was a lot handsome man to be pushed up against.

For the first time in her long life, Laverna was over her head and didn't know what to do but try and breathe. She really shouldn't encourage what was happening in any way. She tried to hang onto the thought of how much she hated him, but it wasn't working. He smelled of spicy man aftershave and wild things that screamed sex in her brain.

Laverna didn't have to wonder how close his wolf was to the surface. His clothes were straining, making his already impressive chest bigger.

Laverna was pissed that the witch's magic was all over him, but until she got him into her safe haven, she couldn't unleash any of her divine power to try and get it off him. If anyone was going to fuck with Romulus, it was going to be her and no one else.

Laverna wriggled under the thought, and that just made him hold her tighter. With a sigh of frustration, she gave up struggling, rested her chest against his, and put her head on his shoulder.

"If you tell anyone about this, I will make your life hell," she whispered, not knowing if he would understand a thing she said in his current state. After a moment, his hand came up to gently cup the back of her head.

Laverna blinked, not knowing what to do with the sudden lump in her throat. As much as she talked shit about having lots of sexual partners, she hadn't been laid in months, and they were never in her bed long enough for any kind of affection or comfort. That's not what she wanted or would accept from anyone.

Laverna forced herself to swallow the lump. It means nothing. You're probably just touch starved .

She didn't look at him as she said, "We'll fix this, Rom. I promise."