Page 35 of Laverna

Laverna looked back at the cowering men. "You assholes are lucky that I got laid last night, and I'm in a good mood. Pack your shit and get the fuck out of Rome tonight." Her power lashed out, and all three of them groaned and clutched their heads. "Instant sobriety is a bitch, I know, but you need to get going. You dumb fucks messed with witches, and if you don't leave now, I doubt you'll be alive by morning."

"Who are you?" the blond one asked in a shaky voice.

"I am Laverna, the goddess of thieves, and this is my fucking city," she said and gave them an elaborate bow. "Now get the fuck out of it before I change my mind and start chopping things off you."

21

Laverna paced along the footpath while Romulus leaned against the Porsche with his arms crossed.

"There's no way around it. We need to hit this place tonight," Romulus said, his voice deceptively calm.

"We aren't ready," Laverna replied and stopped pacing. They needed to find Sidonius and the missing children, but they had no idea what they were walking into. They had no recon on the house. The witches could have an army waiting for them.

"Laverna, I know this is as personal for you as it is for us." Romulus didn't move, his jaw set. "Let me and my people take care of this."

"You guys could be walking into anything! They could have more traps like they did at Sid's apartment. You don't know," Laverna said, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Claudius shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his wolf in his eyes. "We have walked into fights with less information. The men are trained for this. Your people can sit this one out until they are needed."

Laverna knew they were right, but all she could think about was that horrible spell on Romulus and the nasty things the witches would do to a pack of wolves.

"Okay, make the call, Claudius. Roberto? Find out who is close in that neighborhood and try to get some eyes on it," Laverna said, and they hopped to it. She stopped pacing and stood in front of Romulus. "What if they put another spell on you?"

"You know how to get it off," Romulus said with a slight shrug.

Laverna bit the inside of her cheek. "What if Remus is there?"

Romulus's eyes glowed. "Then I will kill him a second time for what he did to you."

"He's your brother, Rom," she whispered. "That means something. You didn't exactly have an easy job killing him the first time."

"Whatever that creature is, he is not my brother." Romulus moved off the car and cupped her cheek with his warm palm. "You are my mate, whether we have accepted it or not, and that thing hurt you. Bit you. I'll kill it for making you bleed, cara mia."

Laverna tried and failed not to melt at the endearment. She had always thought Romulus was challenging as an enemy. She had no idea he would be equally devastating as a lover. One she knew how to handle. The other made her tongue-tied and flustered.

"If you go in, I'm going in too. I won't let them have you, Rom. I won't. If anyone is going to have you as a plaything and torture you for all eternity, it's going to be me," Laverna said, and because she was still scared to show too much of her heart, she added, "I was here first."

Romulus ran a thumb over her bottom lip. "Careful. You are getting possessive, which turns me on, and I'm still worked up from what happened upstairs. I've never seen your chthonic aspect. I didn't know if I should run away or get on my knees."

Laverna looked down at his crotch and back up at his face. "Are you telling me you got a fear boner? Oh, this is information you shouldn't have let me have."

Romulus's hand slipped from her face to her neck. "Are you ever going to not be a menace?"

"Hmm, nope. Better get used to it," Laverna said and quickly cleared her throat. "You know, if you want to hang around after the witch business."

Romulus's eyes skimmed over her face, and then let out a small sigh. "You really don't get it yet. That's okay. I can wait until you do."

"Get what?" she asked.

For a second, Laverna thought he would kiss her. She rose up on tiptoes, but Claudius interrupted them with a loud cough.

"We have twenty available men ready for a raid," Claudius said and looked to Romulus. "If we are going to do this, we really should do it now before they have a chance to move the stone."

"If they haven't already," Romulus replied. He opened the door of the car for Laverna. "Come on then, goddess. I need you to be watching my back to make sure I don't fall into any traps."

Laverna brushed her hand against his before climbing in. "I don't know about watching your back when I'm the one that should be entering the house first."

"I have my limits, cara mia, and you are not going in first," Romulus said before shutting her door.

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