Page 15 of Laverna

"Rom? You in there?" she asked, looking around. The furniture was broken and covered in blood. There had been an epic fight, but there were no bodies. Laverna didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

"Caught," Romulus snarled. He whirled, too quick for Laverna to follow, and tackled her to the carpet. His eyes were shining, and his mouth was full of fangs. Laverna froze, too scared to move. She was pinned, his huge body holding her down and a soft snarl coming from him.

"Rom?" she whispered. His hands on either side of her were tipped with lethal claws.

"Stay. Still," he said around the fangs. "Magic. Claudius. Phone."

Laverna slowly moved to get the phone from his jeans without breaking eye contact. When his golden eyes scanned the room, she quickly hit Claudius's contact.

"Boss? Are you there yet? I'm about a block away," Claudius answered.

"Can... Can you hurry? He's not right. He said there's magic, and he won't get off me," Laverna said, fighting to keep her voice steady.

"Laverna? Deep breaths. I am on my way. I know you're scared, but he won't hurt you," Claudius replied. She could hear his panting as he started to run.

"I don't think we can be sure about that right now," she replied.

"I can. He's physically incapable of it. I can't tell you why, but if there's magic involved, you might be the only thing that will keep it from destroying him and the city along with it. I'm almost there. Hang on." Claudius hung up, leaving Laverna to deal with the irate half-wolf creature on top of her.

With shaking fingers, Laverna touched his cheek. His golden eyes turned back to burn into her.

"Claudius is coming. He'll know what to do," she said, trying to reassure him.

Romulus's hand gripped her hip, moving to her waist where her shirt had ridden up. His hands were burning against her bare skin. A low rumble came out of him, and he buried his face into her neck and shoulder.

"Laverna," he groaned and pressed his full body against her. Her ichor turned to fire as his weight and strength crowded her. Oh, Fates, she didn't know if she should be terrified or horny, and her body didn't either.

She whispered, "Rom, I don't know what's happening right now."

"Touch me," he begged, and she almost swallowed her tongue.

Feeling sweaty and anxious, Laverna gently carded her fingers through his thick, soft hair. Her heart was hammering erratically, but it didn't stop her from doing it again. She had always wanted to touch his perfect hair. Romulus made a happy, content sound, so she did it again.

Claudius came slowly into the room, his hand covering his nose. "Gods, there's magic stench everywhere in here."

"Help," Laverna squeaked from under Romulus's bulk. "He weighs a gods damn ton."

Claudius shook his head. "You have to stay where you are. Rom touching you is probably the only thing that's keeping him from destroying the city right now."

"What?!" she squeaked. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Claudius's stern face hovered over her. "The blood is Sidonius's. They took him and left a trap that Romulus walked into because it sent him into alpha mode. I can smell the remainder of the magic in the air, and it's coating him."

"Can't we just wash it off somehow?" Laverna said, trying not to panic.

"Not yet. The magic is weakened when he's touching you. If the magic sets the wolf mad, with Rom's connection to the city, he could drag everyone down with him," Claudius explained, his dark eyes filled with pity. "Sorry, Laverna. You'll just have to deal with it for the moment."

"For Fates' sake, why me? He hates me, Claudius!" she pointed out.

Romulus grumbled, and she gave in and started stroking his hair again.

"He doesn't hate you," Claudius said with a frustrated sigh. ¨He can't control or protect you, which makes him...agitated. The whole city and everyone in it are bound to him. You understand that, right?"

"Yeah, sort of? In theory?"

"He is the city, and you are the one person in it that is not bound to him. A free agent to cause trouble, dance around him, and do as you please. Rom doesn't use the power he has because he wants everyone to have a measure of free will." Claudius looked them over, his frown deepening. "This magic was meant to send him mad and cause havoc in the city. Not to mention if he really lost it, he would go on a killing spree."

Laverna tried to understand what he was saying, but having a very big and sexy god on top of her was too distracting. Every time she tried to move, he just gripped her tighter.

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