Chapter 31

31

R om knew the moment his wolves joined the fight. They raced through the arena, attacking Canidia's witches with everything they had. He didn't dare look at Sidonius and be distracted. He was alive, and that was the most important thing at that moment. Remus attacked him, fang and claw. He was wild with fury, foam clinging to the corners of his mouth.

"You try and rob me of my birthright again!" he roared and lunged. Rom danced out of the way, the strength and grace of his wolf form keeping him out of Remus's grasp. It didn't hesitate or get distracted by old feelings of kinship. This was another alpha in his territory who killed members of his pack and who wanted to hurt his mate. This was a wolf that needed to die.

A loud roar of people's war cries echoed from underneath the arena, and Laverna's army of angry followers poured in to join Rom's mercenaries. They were there to avenge their loved ones. Those that Canidia and her witches felt were less than them. The ones whose cubs they had hurt. Together, they were Rome, and they wouldn't allow the witches to live a second longer.

Golden light flared at the far end of the arena, and Rom spotted Laverna. He cut through the crowds of fighting people, knowing that Remus wouldn't die until Canidia had met her end. There was no sign of the wounds Laverna had given the creature the night before, which only confirmed their hunches that his re-animation was still dependent on the witch herself. Remus roared in frustration and struck out his own people to try and follow Rom.

Laverna was wielding a gladius and a long dagger, both shining golden with her divine magic. A very familiar gladius, in fact.

So that's who stole it , the human side of Rom thought. It was one of his favorites that had been lost since the fourth century. He shouldn't have been surprised that she had taken it.

The wards around Canidia shattered as Laverna's power tore into them. Her crown of bones and laurel leaves was back, and the goddess did not hold any of her power back as she fought for her revenge.

"On your right!" Laverna shouted at him. Rom dodged as a man in a black robe drove a dagger down and stumbled. Rom grabbed the man by the back of his neck and gave him a hard shake. He felt the bones crack under his fangs, and Rom spat him out.

He positioned his back to Laverna's, and they fought side by side. Remus reached them, and Romulus made sure he didn't get too close to Laverna. Never again .

Laverna fought with magic and blades, countering every one of Canidia's attacks. Rom lost time, and the fight could have lasted ten minutes or an hour.

Canidia screamed, and Rom risked turning. Canidia was clutching a bloody stump where her hand used to be. She was still cursing Laverna when a net of Laverna's power tied itself around the witch.

"Just shut up and die," Laverna hissed and cut Canidia's screaming head from her shoulders. Remus roared and collapsed beside the witch's corpse, which was already starting to smoke.

Rom pulled on the power of the city around him and forced the wolf down. There were some things that he needed to be a human for. The wolf let go of its hold over him, and Rom turned back into a man. He walked over to where Laverna stood over Remus. He had fallen to his knees and was making a whimpering sound.

"I'm sorry you couldn't control your bloodlust when you were alive," Rom said to the thing that was only partially his brother. "I'm sorry I had to kill you then, and I am sorry I have to kill you now. I cannot allow you to live this half-life or risk my mate's life with your obsession."

"I wonder what curse you will get this time," Remus spat out between rotting gums. "I hope you suffer more than having to simply look after a city." Rom froze, the fear of another curse hitting him in the stomach. Remus always knew how to cause the most amount of pain.

"You killed him once already. It's enough, Rom," Laverna said and gave him a sweet smile. "If there is going to be another curse, it's going to be mine to carry."

Before Rom could move to stop her, she bought her gladius down and struck Remus's head from his shoulders. The world warped around them, and Rom screamed as an invisible hand reached inside of him and pulled something free. He grasped Laverna, and they sank together to the ground.

"What did you do? What did you do?" he cried, his forehead pressing against hers. Laverna's eyes shone with power, and she laid a hand on his chest.

"You tell me. I can feel...everything," she whispered.

Rom touched their mating bond, which was still intact. It was his connection to the city that had changed. The burden of it wasn't weighing him down so heavily because...because it was halved.

"You took part of my connection to the city, and you're now bound to it too," he said, tears falling down his face. "You shouldn't have done that, my love. You don't know what the cost of it is."

"Yes, I do, Romulus," Laverna said, clutching his face in her hands. "I do know, and that's why I'm not going to let you bear it alone anymore. We are Rome. We always have been. Now, it is right and fair. We are partners and mates in all things. You're not alone anymore either."

Rom kissed her and tasted their salty tears. "I love you, Laverna. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Rom. Always have, always will," she replied. She looked around, and that was when Rom realized the fighting had stopped. There was no one in a cloak left standing. Rom quickly got to his feet and lifted Laverna back to hers.

"Everyone, start gathering the bodies of those bastards so I can burn them," Laverna instructed, and people snapped to attention. A few of them, mostly Rom's men, were looking at her with wide eyes. If they hadn't believed she was a real goddess, they sure as fuck believed it now. She was radiating magic and authority, hair wild and crown only a little crooked. Rom hurried across the arena where his praetorians were crowding around Sidonius, pressing into him with their big bodies.

"Okay, get back and let me free him," Rom said, pushing a sandy-colored wolf that was Lucius out of the way. Rom saw the complicated locks on the silver manacles and called out to Laverna. "I'm going to need your assistance over here, goddess."

Laverna jogged over to them and saw their predicament. "I really need to teach you boys how to pick locks."

"You...you two have mated," Sidonius said through cracked lips. "What the fuck else have I missed?"

"A lot, old friend," Rom replied and gently stroked his wolf's hair. "You're going to be okay now."

Sidonius's laugh turned into a cough. "It took you long enough to claim her. I was going to leave it until the end of the year before I tried claiming her for myself."

"You old charmer. I just might have taken you up on it," Laverna said, smiling at the wolf.

Rom growled in warning, which made them both laugh. Sidonius was soon free of the silver, and his eyes glowed bright with his wolf. The chains were the only thing that had stopped him from changing.

"Do it, and stay close. We have a van to take us out of here," Rom told him.

Sidonius's wolf was as silvery white as the moon above them. The other wolves crowded him again as soon as he was changed. They sniffed and licked at him, welcoming him back to the pack before the four of them raced off through the stadium. Rom would get him whatever therapy he needed, but for now, being with the pack was what he needed most.

Rom and Laverna helped pile the last of the dead into a stack in the middle of the arena. Rom got enough interested stares that he took one of the black robes off a dead man and wrapped it around his waist to cover his nakedness.

"There goes the view," Laverna commented, making an older woman near her cackle.

"I can see why you like him so much now," she said to Laverna and waggled her brows at him.

Rom wished he could have covered the bodies with fuel and lit them himself, but they were on temporary flooring, and only Laverna's divine power would ensure that none of the witches could possibly come back from the dead. Romulus didn't think it was possible, but Hecate and Medea had told them to do it, and they would know best.

Laverna's power raced out of her in golden flames and covered the mound of bodies. When everything was burning hot and turning to ash, she joined Rom and took his hand. Together, they watched until there was nothing left but ashes blowing out over the city.

When it was done, Romulus bent down and kissed Laverna. He could feel the city inside of her and the mating bond that was filled with so much love.

Laverna nibbled his lip before sighing against his mouth. "Take me home, baby."

Rom had never heard a better plan in his life.