25 Roman
Roman
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” Justus paced the length of Meg’s living room in the cabin, showing complete disrespect for Alpha Kera who’d come to share the news this morning and welcome us to the pack.
I wasn’t sure if his lack of decorum was what irked me or if it was the little show of him pretending to care now about his intended wife. He hadn’t even heard her leave last night. I sure had.
Despite my exhaustion, every nerve of mine was a livewire on high alert. I’d been asleep until the window in her room had clicked. Then I’d tossed and turned half the night as I waited for Meg to come back, forcing myself to stay put and not run after her.
We were in Cerberus Territory. She was safer here than in Ethica. After being trapped in the councilwoman’s house for so long, she was probably eager to get out and see her friends. Or maybe a… lover.
My stomach churned at the thought.
It’d serve Justus right to have the tables turned like that, and I needed to be careful not to imagine there was anything more between us than there was.
She hadn’t been thinking clearly last night.
I never should’ve reached above my station by kissing her.
The consequences went beyond what the council or my chain of command could even impose.
The gods had marked her for Justus. She wasn’t mine. The idea of Meg and me together was only a fantasy. I knew how to differentiate between that and real life.
“And what exactly are we supposed to do while she is gone?” Justus stopped pacing to stare at the Alpha.
I could tell the woman didn’t like him by the curl of her upper lip, but she had strong military bearing and held herself steady in the face of his tantrum.
“Help yourself to breakfast. Go for a walk. Come downtown and visit the market if you’d like,” Kera offered. “You have my assurance that you and your men are safe in my territory.”
Her stone-blue eyes cut to me, and it was an effort not to cower under the intensity of that look.
What is it with the gaze of these Cerberus women?
Kera nodded, seeming to come to some sort of conclusion. “Meg should return in a couple of days.”
“Days!” Justus threw his hands in the air. “When Mother finds out about this, she’s going to go nuclear. This was not the arrangement.”
Kera frowned. “What exactly is the arrangement?”
“I… um…” Justus looked helplessly at me.
This wasn’t my mess, but I threw him a bone anyway. Old habits die hard. “The citizens haven’t been… accepting of the marriage. Councilwoman Troy is working on public relations now, and they all thought it best if Meg and Justus returned here for a few days.”
“Curse the gods,” Kera whispered under her breath.
“Should you really be cursing your gods?” Justus’s voice was full of mock concern. “I wouldn’t want to risk waking them early and putting this whole marriage thing in jeopardy.”
Kera’s jaw ticked. “Listen to me, human. I don’t care what your name is, in my territory, you will show respect. And if I find out that my niece suffered at your hands or because of your people, I’ll show you what real fear looks like.”
She hadn’t raised her voice, hadn’t so much as moved, but Justus paled, sinking into himself anyway.
“Noted.” He nodded.
I cracked a grin.
So this was where Meg got it from.
“You.” Kera pointed at my head. “Come with me.”
“Roman, don’t leave me…” Justus pleaded.
Kera was already in the yard and I was almost to the front door.
“Just cook something.” I waved toward the kitchen.
“By myself?” he cried.
The door closed behind me, and I hurried to catch up with Alpha Kera.
“I assume you’re his bodyguard,” she said.
I nodded. “Something like that. The councilwoman assigned me to her son. I’m here to ensure he stays safe.”
“He’ll be fine as long as he keeps his mouth shut.” Kera sighed, looking me up and down. “You’re a warrior?”
I nodded again.
“What about that man?” She pointed up the hill to where Marcus stood outside the Jeep he’d camped in. The front door of the cabin slammed shut.
I tried not to cringe as Justus followed us outside. “Marcus is one of the best. He’s working on comms with the city so we can find out when it’s a good time to come back.”
Kera grunted and started marching up the hill. I assumed she still wanted me to come with her.
Normally, I wouldn’t speak out of turn or when not necessary, but I had to ask, “Is Meg okay?”
Kera didn’t glance back at me. “She’s fine. It’s biology. Shifter woman problems. It’ll pass soon.”
I knew a dismissal when I heard one, but if she wasn’t worried, I figured I shouldn’t worry either.
My gut instinct argued otherwise, though.
Justus huffed and puffed behind us, catching up as we crested the hill.
“Ma’am.” Staff Sgt. Marcus jumped to attention when Kera approached.
“Did you get in contact with your superiors?” Kera asked.
Marcus gave a slight nod. “Councilwoman Troy thanks you for your hospitality to her son, and wants to relay the message that Meg’s plan is working. It shouldn’t be much longer now. The wedding can proceed like normal. We’ll have details in the next few days.”
“Meg’s plan?” Kera cocked her head to the side.
“It was her idea to come back here,” I explained.
Justus panted as he rested his hands on his knees. “What did Mom say about me?”
Marcus rolled his eyes so subtly I wasn’t sure anyone else saw it. “Councilwoman Troy says that you should be grateful to Meg. Your social ratings have gone through the roof.”
Justus grinned from ear to ear. “They love me, don’t they? I am such a romantic.”
“I can see why she had the idea to leave.” Kera stared at the three of us. “But I trust her judgement. She wouldn’t bring you here if you meant us harm. You are all free to come and go as you please in my territory. If anyone gives you any grief, just tell them my name.”
The Alpha started to leave, pausing to look at me over her shoulder. “Have you been here before?”
“No,” I said.
“Hmm.” She shrugged as she kept walking. “Something about you smells familiar.”
*
“I can’t believe she just abandoned us,” Justus sighed for the hundredth time.
“If she wants a break from you after everything she’s dealt with the past few weeks, then she deserves one,” I finally snapped.
“What’s gotten into you?” He eyed me from his spot on the rocking chair, having ventured no further than the front porch all day. “Wait… Now where are you going?”
“For a run.” I laced up my sneakers.
If I didn’t get out of here, I’d say much worse.
I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going, but the dirt road overlooked the house and valley, so I could stick to it and still keep an eye on Justus.
Plus, Marcus would be keeping a bird’s eye view on the cabin as he waited for more communication from the city.
“You’re going to leave me too?” Justus asked.
I stared pointedly at the slippers on his feet. “You can come.”
“No thank you.” He scoffed. “But hurry back.”
The night air cooled rapidly from the heat of the day—a drastic drop compared to the controlled temperatures of Ethica—and the freshness of it iced my lungs.
Although the clouds threatened more rain, none had broken all day. The air hung thick in a way that made it feel more alive than I’d ever tasted.
Inclines and divots in the earth gave me obstacles I’d never run before, and my muscles burned with the exertion as I pushed them harder.
The strange thought of how our ancient ancestors must’ve lived and the landscape of stories that never quite fit my imagination all seemed to take better shape now.
I wished I could enjoy it more.
Everything in me was wound so tight that even the run couldn’t work it out. I knew Justus could be a lot to handle at times, but this level of aggression was excessive. The need to run faster, work harder. To fight something. To… Fuck.
Maybe that’s what I needed. It’d been a while since I got laid. But the thought of gripping anyone tight—anyone that wasn’t her—had an unreal rage twisting my insides.
I’d never been jealous of Justus.
As a general rule, I’d understood our differences in class and station from an early age.
Back when Dad used to work for his family, and I’d grown up playing in the backyard when my father couldn’t find childcare.
I think the only reason Helen let me stay was that none of the other families on the street had kids.
Justus had the best toys. The best food. He went on fancy trips and wore designer clothes. And I honestly never felt like he had more than me, until today.
He was a fool for not appreciating the gift he was being given.
I turned my face to the sky as I ran, trying to peer through the fat gray clouds as if I could actually see these gods above that had damned Meg and Justus.
It was still hard to believe that this was the ultimate plan. I knew the stories of the gods—their tricks and games. Mortals were toys to them, and they often went back on their word. No one had listened to me in Ethica when I’d tried to tell them we were being played.
I was just a soldier. What did I know about the gods and their plans?
Honestly, what did any of us know? Especially the humans. We were so far removed from the stories of our history that it seemed we were doomed to repeat them. The division between science and magic, purists and shifters, between citizens and lower-class, rich and poor, us and them…
I could see why the gods were angry enough to wake again.
But these thoughts were useless. All they served to do was open a chasm in my chest I couldn’t fill no matter how hard I pushed myself.
At the top of the hill opposite the road we’d come on, I paused to see Marcus watching me with binoculars. I gave him a short wave, motioning to the cabin below, and turned to push myself further up the incline of the mountain.
My calves and lungs burned. It still wasn’t enough to chase away the frustration that crawled like ants just under my skin.
I ran harder, taking a smaller path to the right that led into the trees. I didn’t know where I was going, only that if I could push myself a bit further than I might be able to outrun the pulsing in my head.
A female cried out.
I stopped dead in my tracks, panting. I could’ve sworn I heard that voice. It was a piercing scream. A cry of pain. I turned in a circle, not quite sure how I’d ended up here in the clearing of the forest with the stillness of the trees above.
All my instincts were telling me to keep moving forward. To stay on this path. I fought against them, taking a step back in the direction I’d come from. I’d gone too far away from Justus. He was my charge. My mission. It was my job to keep him safe.
Another scream had me bolting down the path and forgetting all sense of duty.
The trail burst into a wide field in the crook of the mountain where the trees thinned and jagged rocky cliffs loomed ahead.
Two women sat in the field near a firepit, and I slid to a stop as they both turned my way.
Her eyes.
I had to do a double-take as the first woman looked at me. Her eyes were just like Meg’s eyes, but different somehow. Colder. Sharper. Her hair was longer too. It took me a minute to remember she’d been with Meg in the auditorium the day she’d come crashing into my life.
Meg’s sister. I’d never gotten her name.
“Get away from here,” she growled, crouched low and ready to fight.
It was the blonde woman who stood and smiled. She’d also been there that day. The Beta Coral. I knew her from our training records.
She rested a hand on the angry woman’s shoulder.
“Apologies. Roman, isn’t it?” Coral asked.
I nodded, but my gaze was drawn to the cave beyond them. That tug in my chest intensified.
“My niece, Alec, is a little worked up because it’s against our customs for males to be in the general area during this time,” Coral was saying.
Her words seemed to come from underwater and I struggled to make sense of them.
There was something important in that cave.
“That means you need to get the hell out of here.” Claws flashed in my direction.
I jerked back out of instinct, barely missing the sharp edges.
“Alec, don’t!” Coral cried.
Alec shifted into a large brown wolf, landing on paws in the dirt and opening her jaw as she growled.
That got my attention.
I’d seen this on video before—the shift—but it almost felt like a special effect. Something from a movie. A trick that couldn’t happen in real life—until there was really a wolf standing in front of you.
Instinctually, I reached for my weapon, and realized I’d left it back at the Jeep.
De-escalate. Training took over.
I raised my hands and took a step back, trying to see how best to appease the growling wolf, while also looking for a way to neutralize the threat.
A cry came from the cave again.
That sound. My eyes immediately went in that direction as I felt another tug, drawing me there. It was urgent. Full of need.
I needed to help.
Alec’s wolf roared with spittle flying in my face, sending me a few steps back.
The Beta sighed as she stepped between us.
“We should get you out of here.” Coral continued to smile, forcing me to take another step away from the cave. “I think you might be a little lost.”