Chapter 28

28

L averna dressed in Romulus's spare clothes again, rolling up the hems of her pants so that she wouldn't be stepping on them the whole time. Romulus dressed in jeans and a shirt, looking fully recovered from his fight with Remus.

Orgasms had gone a long way in helping settle her churned-up insides after seeing him hurt. She needed that physical connection despite their bond. She took the time to dry her hair while Romulus went to see what was going on with breakfast. She was starving, and the half bowl of risotto the previous night hadn't been enough.

It wasn't her fault that she was hopelessly distracted by Romulus being sexy. She had fought her desire for him for centuries. She thought when she locked it up, that it would simply go away, but it turned out it was just being stored until she could have her wicked way with him.

Laverna would have to get used to the bond, but it wasn't as frightening as she thought it would be. She didn't feel so lonely anymore. They would probably still fight like cats and dogs, but she knew they would work through it and probably have amazing makeup sex afterward.

Laverna found Romulus at the head of the table with Eolus, Claudius, and Lucius fussing around the kitchen. When she saw the white bakery bags, her stomach growled again.

"Whoever got pastry on their way here, I wish you all the blowjobs in the world," Laverna said and pulled out a cornetto from inside one of them.

"You hear that, lover? You're to give me all the blowjobs in the world," Eolus said to Lucius.

Lucius snorted. "You say that like it would be a change of pace."

Laverna wanted to laugh, but her mouth was too full.

"Go and sit down. I'll get these eggs served up," Claudius said and waved his spatula at her. "We are all going to need all the protein we can get today."

Laverna went to take a seat by Romulus, but he snagged her hand and tugged her into his lap. "I don't think that this is appropriate," she whispered.

"You say that like you're not used to parking your ass on a wolf fur," Rom replied, laughter in his eyes.

"Good point," Laverna replied and got comfortable. None of the other wolves seemed to notice or care. They placed two plates in front of them, piled high with steak and eggs.

"I want you to know I love all of you so much," Laverna said and fell on her food.

Lucius sat down on their right, a smirk on his face. "You must have a great dick, Rom, to get her to love us all so quickly."

"I wish I could take credit, but it's the food, not my dick, that puts her in such a loving mood," he replied.

Eolus watched her with wide eyes. "Does she always eat like that, or have you been starving your mate, Rom?"

"No, she always eats like that," Rom said, shifting her a little to the side so he could get to his own plate.

Laverna ignored all of them, too focused on her steak and the fried mushrooms she found underneath them.

"Tell us what happened. I've called in the cleaning crew to come and take care of the bodies so that we can be focused on how we are going to get those fucking witches back for this," Claudius said, placing coffees down in front of them.

Laverna could get used to this kind of excellent service.

Romulus updated the wolves on their rude wake-up call and Remus kicking his ass. Laverna didn't look up from her plate until it was empty. The jittery mess inside of her finally settled under the weight of food in her stomach, and she sipped her coffee.

"Any luck on finding where they might have taken Sid? Or is the house still being processed?" she asked.

"Still processing it when we left not long after you. They got forensics in there to take in the contents of the garage for testing. There were no trails that we could follow outside of the property, so wherever they took Sidonius, they did it in a vehicle," Lucius said and took another pastry from the plate in the center of the table.

"Now that the police have Canidia's photo and Sidonius's, we are hoping they get sloppy and get spotted on some CCTV," Eolus added.

Laverna was getting more coffee when her phone started ringing. She scrambled up out of Romulus's lap and went searching for it. It had fallen under the couch where she had been playing nurse in the least sexy way possible. She grabbed it and saw Hecate's profile picture.

"Good morning," Laverna greeted and turned on the video call. Hecate's face hovered into focus. She looked wired, her usual perfect hair in a messy braid and a smudge of something on her cheek.

"Laverna! Good, you're up. Medea and I think that we have figured out this spell you sent us," she said, her movements erratic as she ignored the camera's direction and moved through the house. Laverna took up her spot back on Romulus's lap and positioned the phone so they could both see the goddess of the crossroads.

"We hope we have figured it out," Medea corrected and took the phone from Hecate. "It is definitely a transference spell to energetically shift the curse of the city from Romulus to Remus."

She spread out her own sketches of the spell that Laverna had found in the witch's garage. There was a red triangle drawn over what Laverna had already seen.

"If we have interpreted this correctly, they will need three or more witches to form this triangle with Remus and your stone in two of its points. They will be able to draw the worship and legend of your followers from the stone and get it to fuel not only a substitution for you but also the power infused into the stone will give the spell an extra boost."

Laverna scratched at the back of her neck. "Okay, so we can stop them from doing this spell by disrupting it?"

"Provided you break through their wards to kill them before they are finished, yes," Hecate said.

"There are three points of the triangle. If Remus and my stone are two of them, what's going to be the third?" Romulus asked.

Medea hesitated, but Hecate didn't. "My guess is a blood sacrifice. They clearly aren't beneath using them for their other spells, and I doubt this one will be any different."

"Sidonius," Eolus muttered, putting down his knife and fork. "That's why he wasn't at the house. Wherever they are planning to perform this spell, that's where he will be."

"It's going to be finding them that's the problem," Laverna replied.

Medea bit her lip. "I might have a theory about that too."

"Only a theory," Hecate added.

"A good theory. These witches use blood and pain to draw strength from it. My guess is that they will use a location in the city where the most blood was spilled," Medea replied, talking over the top of her.

Hecate's face pushed back into the screen. "And it needs to be a place powerful to Remus as well. Like the house was."

"So Aventine Hill is a good place to start. Hard to pick where the most blood would be," Claudius said, leaning back in his chair. "Rome has been fought over for centuries."

"No. There's one place above all others that has had more blood and pain and suffering than anywhere else," Laverna said, looking at Romulus.

"The Colosseum," they said at the same time.

"It would also explain why she has been in the archaeological park so much," Laverna added.

Hecate nodded in agreement. "It will be a good place to start. They will wait until the moon is full at midnight in order to pack as much magic as they can into the spell."

"Thank you, both of you. This is really helpful," Laverna said sincerely. "If there is a way we can repay you, let us know."

"Just be smart about taking them on. Set a trap for them or something, for fuck's sake. You guys have been reactionary this whole time, and they keep kicking your asses because of it," Medea replied, never one to mince her words. "Let them be drawn into a false sense of security. Let them be all gathered in the one place and then smite the bitches."

Laverna laughed. "I love you and your vengeful mind, Medea. We will do our best."

"Good. Because Canidia is giving witches a bad name everywhere," Hecate replied, and they rang off.

"Okay, so we have a location and an idea of what they are planning to do," Lucius said, pouring more coffee into each person's cup. "We need to make a plan."

"We need bait to distract them," Eolus agreed and looked at Romulus. "You will do nicely. Maybe if you show your face, it will send Remus into a murder frenzy."

"If we are going to set a trap, we need to figure out how to take out their guards to get inside. They won't be dumb enough to leave the doors unattended," Claudius argued.

Laverna grinned, the plan already forming in her mind. "I have a secret passage into the Colosseum we can use. There's no way the witches will know about it since the archaeologists still haven't found it." At their surprised looks, Laverna shrugged. "What? I didn't want to have to pay an entrance fee, and occasionally, I needed to smuggle people out before they were executed. Of course I needed my own entrance!"

"Of course you did," Romulus said, straight-faced, and Laverna felt his love for her rush through the bond and all the way to her toes.