Chapter 7

7

R om woke with sweat soaking his sheets and hair. His heart was pounding in his ears, his senses exploding with adrenaline, and his whole body was ready to fight. It took him a few moments to realize he wasn't under attack.

He sat up and ran his hands through his hair. He had been dreaming of his brother, Remus. He had taken Laverna for his mate and was gloating about it. It made him want to kill him all over again. The connection to the city throbbed inside of him, reminding him of the consequences of that bloodshed.

If you took her as a mate yourself, then you wouldn't have nightmares about it , his wolf prompted him.

"Can you just fuck off?" he said, sighing as he longed for the days when his wolf actually slept in the month and only harassed him during the full moon.

Rom's phone buzzed on his nightstand. Three missed calls from Claudius. He checked the time and swore. It was almost lunchtime. He never slept that late. He tapped Claudius's number and waited, his knee bouncing as it rang.

"Sir, everything okay?" Claudius answered.

Rom bit back his laugh. He really didn't know how to answer that. "Rough night. What have you found?"

"The men and I traced the witch's scent as far as we could. It looks like they came in the direction of Fonte Nuova," Claudius replied.

"Send people to investigate the town and see if there are any strange newcomers. It is far enough away that my power with the city won't be any help." Rom got up and headed for the kitchen. He needed an espresso or three to get his brain working. "I don't suppose any of you got a proper smell of the creature?"

"Nothing that makes any sense. There is a strong sense of rot, like a stench of dead things, but the witches are thorough in making sure that it can't be identified. It's animal, and that's about it." Claudius growled low in the back of his throat. "Do you think they have animated something?"

Rom considered the question. "It's within their power, but it's not an ability I've encountered for centuries. It could be that they have used different parts of many creatures. Who the fuck knows with witches?"

"We will know it when we fight it. Have you heard from The Lady of Bones today?" Claudius replied. He was the only wolf that Rom had told about Laverna being his mate. He had done it under extreme duress, and it had been done more for Rome's safety than his. If Rom ever really lost it, his mate would be able to bring him back from the madness before he destroyed the whole city.

Claudius had never breathed a word of it since he was told. It was one of the reasons Rom liked him.

"I have not, but I will check in. Her network is different from ours, so maybe the underbelly of the city knows where these witches are hiding. They can't help but try and peddle their snake oil," Rom replied, and they rang off.

The day before, they promised to check in by sundown every day, but Rom was impatient to talk to Laverna. He stared at her number before putting his phone down again and making coffee.

Laverna wouldn't have been idle. She would have every pickpocket and homeless person in Rome on the lookout for witches. He had always admired her network. A few times over the centuries, he had tried to cultivate his own people on the streets, but they were always loyal to her. She was their goddess, their judge, their mother.

Laverna had always had it in for Canidia and vice versa. Laverna thought Rom had slept with her but never believed him when he swore it wasn't the case. Canidia had tried multiple times, using witchcraft and charm, but his wolf always saw through her tricks.

Rom drained two espressos before picking up his phone again.

Claudius tracked the witches as far as Fonte Nuova. They are going to scour the town. Anything to report?

That I'm not one of your praetorians to demand a report from , came the reply, quick as lightning.

Rom drummed his fingers on the counter and waited. He didn't know how to not give orders. It was who he was. He had learned long ago the more he demanded something of Laverna, the more determined she would be not to give it to him. It gave him an idea.

Apologies, oh great Lady of Bones. Can this lowly male kindly request you impart some knowledge pertaining to witches if you have any?

The first piece of knowledge about witches: Never stick your dick in one.

Fates, woman, I never fucked a witch in my life. Canidia was just trying to get a rise out of you, and it's still working hundreds of years later. Rom let out a frustrated curse and made another espresso. He didn't know why she constantly went out of her way to be difficult.

I don't care what you do with your dick. It's just common sense not to put one in a witch.

Certainly starting to seem like you care about my dick. Do you have any information at all or are you just trying to annoy me?

Why can't it be both?

Rom was about to give up on getting anything more when his phone buzzed again.

Keep your shirt on. Roberto put the word out and will report to me by dusk (you're demanding shit earlier than agreed). I am also about to have lunch with a dark and beautiful contact who might be able to help.

Rom's eye twitched. Who is the contact? Should I be in on this meeting?

Absolutely not. I want to be able to talk about you.

Who is it? You know you can't be spilling about this with anyone.

Don't be dramatic. It's Eris.

Rom didn't know if that was good news or not. Eris only ever had allegiance to Eris. Why would she care about what happened in Rome?

Chaos of the witches not enough for us to handle?

Don't worry. We will be good. :P

You don't know how.

You wouldn't know, Romulus. I'll talk to you at sundown. Like we arranged.

Rom stared at the text and tried to take some steadying breaths. Eris could be an asset, even if Rom had heart palpitations and worried whenever he knew she was staying in the city. She had gotten better at controlling her curse over the centuries, but there would still be a ripple effect the longer she stayed there. Trying to get her to leave had never worked in his favor either.

Rom growled a low and angry snarl that did nothing to alleviate his frustration. The sooner he killed the fucking witches, everything would go back to normal, and he would be fine. The wolf inside of him only huffed in amusement.