Chapter 12

12

R om woke wrapped in wolf fur, smelling of sex, and with a fresco of Laverna looking down on him. The painting was an incredible work that rendered her cheeky sneer to perfection. She was dressed in ancient Roman clothes with a crown of bones and laurel leaves on her head.

Where the fuck am I? he rubbed at his face, groggy and disorientated.

The previous day came back to him in flashes—Sidonius's apartment, the spell choking him, bits of consciousness in and out until they got into this room. He was in a temple dedicated to Laverna. The image of her in her full divine aspect hit him like a hammer. She had saved him...and then they had fucked like animals on the floor.

You did it all wrong too , his wolf said, waking up inside of him.

Rom smiled at the memory of her riding his cock. I don't think I did anything wrong at all .

So where is she then? You are waking up alone , the wolf snapped back. If it was left to me, I would have put her on that throne and licked her until she gave in and accepted her position as our mate. But here you are. Unmated. You didn't even get a taste.

Rom sat up, ignoring the wolf's commentary on his lovemaking skills. Although, it hadn't exactly been lovemaking. It had been a quick and reckless fuck out of sheer desperation to be inside of her. He hated that the wolf was right in that he was waking up alone too.

No, Laverna wouldn't have been shy about telling him if she had wanted something else last night.

You were probably just a pity fuck because she felt sorry for you , his wolf grumbled.

Rom didn't like that idea one bit. His clothes were gone, so Rom wrapped the wolf fur around himself. It wasn't until he was almost at the temple door that he realized why it was so quiet. He couldn't feel the city. He rested his hands against the door and tried to steady himself. Apart from the wolf, his head was completely quiet.

This part of the city belonged to Laverna, not him. That had to be it. He needed to find his hostess and kiss her senseless for saving his ass and giving him a moment's silence.

All amorous hopes that he might have been harboring were doused when he found Laverna sitting at a large dining table with Claudius and Roberto. Photos and reports were all scattered around a map. Laverna's hair was up in a messy knot, and she was wearing a Xena T-shirt and a pair of tights. Rom smiled at her. He wanted to bend her over the table and...

"Rom? Are you okay?" Claudius asked, making the other two look up from the map.

Rom clutched the fur around him a little tighter. "I think so. Groggy. How long have I been out?"

"For most of the day. It's about 2 p.m. Laverna threatened to skin me if I woke you," Claudius said, eyeing Rom's makeshift cover up. "Is that a wolf fur?"

"Settle down. It's no one you know," Laverna said. She ran her eyes over Rom, but she didn't meet his eye. There was no heat or embarrassment or any recognition at all of what had happened between them. She gestured to a door. "The baths are that way. I spoke with Hecate, and she said to make sure you fully submerge in the salt pool to remove any lingering traces of the magic."

Claudius got up and offered Rom a black leather duffle bag. "I bought you some things from home. Looks like all of our places might be under surveillance by the witches."

Laverna pointed again to a door on the other side of the room. "Go that way, and don't get lost, or we will never find your body." She still hadn't looked him in the eye. Not once.

I told you that you were a pity fuck , his wolf growled. And didn't that just piss him off?

Rom took the bag and headed for the baths before he said something he regretted, like he usually did when they argued. It would only make the situation worse.

Laverna could pretend that nothing had happened between them, but he wasn't going to. He would wait until they were alone before confronting her about it because he wasn't going to go back to how they were. He had been inside of her, had tasted her lips and skin. He couldn't go back to pretending he didn't want her. He wouldn't .

Rom found the baths, and they were almost as elaborate as his own. Everything was white and green marble with shining bronze fittings. One pool was high-density salt, the other hot, and one cool-off pool. There was a door leading to a steam room and a large bathroom.

He had always suspected Laverna went out of her way to look a little grubby and disheveled on purpose so that people would underestimate her. It worked too. No wonder she had turned down his offer to use his baths when she had this waiting for her at home.

Rom went through the duffle bag and found his phone and a fresh pair of clothes. He had a bunch of text messages. The first was from Hermes. I can't believe you walked into a spell and got whammied. Does your nose not work anymore? How are your eyes? Is it time for you to cross the rainbow bridge with the other old dogs?

"Dick," he muttered.

The next text was from Hecate. Submerge yourself at least three times in the salt water, just to be sure.

Rom growled and tossed the phone back into his bag, ignoring the other messages. He was embarrassed enough that he had fallen for the trap so easily. He couldn't believe Laverna had told everyone. He ran a frustrated hand over his face. Actually, he could believe it.

The gods were more gossipy than old nonne , and now he looked like a complete idiot. He had smelled the blood and reacted. Just like Canidia and her hags knew he would.

He needed to find Sidonius. It had been a lot of blood, but werewolves healed fast, and they would want to keep him alive for more bait...or parts. Fuck . He didn't even want to consider that, but he had to. Sidonius was an immortal creature that was like an all-you-take buffet of body parts for witches' spells.

Rom showered quickly and went straight for the salt bath. The aqua-blue water was perfect, and he sank into it with a sigh despite the stringing cuts on his back and shoulders made from Laverna's sharp nails. Sex, sleep, and a bath. If the circumstances hadn't been so fucked, it would have been a perfect day.

Rom didn't feel any of the spell still on him, but when Hecate told you to do something, you fucking did it. He dunked his whole body and head under the water three times, and the last of his brain fog vanished.

He wanted to stay in the baths longer, but Sidonius wasn't going to find himself. Rom couldn't lose him. He had been the second wolf he had made after Claudius, and he wouldn't leave him to become bits of love spells or whatever the fuck Canidia had planned for him.

Romulus showered, dressed, and felt a little more centered. He needed food and hot coffee and hoped Laverna had both. It dawned on him again that she had brought him to her actual home . He always suspected she had a secret safe house somewhere, and now she had exposed it to both Claudius and him. She must have really been worried. He tried not to smile and failed.

Laverna had cared enough to bring him to her den, and that was something he never would have expected. They also had sex. Another thing that seemed so out of the realm of possibility that he could barely fathom it.

She might be keeping a professional face on in front of the others, but he wasn't going to let her pretend it hadn't happened. He would deal with the witches, and then he would make her his mate once and for all.

Smiling at the thought of the hunt to come, Rom went to find out everything that he had missed while he had been sleeping.