Arena Shifters (A Paranormal Romance Novel) (17 page)

“A
dark creature, Master. A creature that resembles a wolf but he cannot hide his
evil origins.”

“Wait,
it’s just a wolf right? What’s so unusual about a wolf in the forest?”

“Because
it’s not just a wolf. This one’s a werewolf!”

“A
werewolf? Are you certain, woman?”

“Yes.
He got my companion and I only just escaped. We must leave the forest
immediately and inform Dominus that werewolves are living here now.”

“How
far from here?”

“I’m
sorry Master, I have been running for a long time. I don’t know where the beast
is but we have to run. It is coming Master. Come, we must go.” She glanced
around wildly like she expected it to come crashing out of the trees at any
moment.

He
held out his arms towards her. “Come, while I’m here, no wolf-beast is going to
bother you, I promise.”

The
girl took a tentative step in his direction. “Will you take me back to the
Villa then?”

“Of
course. Perhaps you can help me in return.”

The
woman instantly became compliant and stepped into his outstretched arms. “How
can I help?”

Primo
set his hands on her delicate shoulders and pressed down firmly until the woman
was on her knees before him. He looked up at the twins who were watching him.
He signaled them to keep watch, then he returned his attention to the woman. He
took his stiffening cock out of his tunic and pressed the tip to the girl’s
lips. Obediently, she opened her mouth to accept his offering. Her mouth was
hot and her tongue was doing wonders with the head of his cock until he was as
hard as steel. He grabbed her hair on either side of her head and with each
thrust of his cock he yanked her head into his sweaty thighs. She tried to cry
out, but it was muffled around his cock so it came out as a lot of garbled
noises, and he liked that. Enthused by her reaction Primo renewed his efforts
in an attempt to skull fuck her to oblivion. In no time he was spewing his load
down the woman’s throat and he kept on thrusting and spewing, and thrusting
until the woman went slack and collapsed in the ground.

The
twins looked up at him, his wild chaotic lust mirrored back in their own eyes.
He looked down at the woman who was beginning to stir, then back to the
questioning eyes of the two gladiators.

“Go
ahead,” he said. “When you’re through, make sure she is silenced. You can catch
up to me later, I’ll just be following the creek.”

“Yes
Primo,” they replied enthusiastically.

“Just
don’t dally too long. We still have work to do.” Without waiting for a response
he took off jogging along the creek bed, the woman’s cries music to his ears.
He wished he’d have had time to stay and watch, but…

* * * * *

CHAPTER NINETEEN:

Cat and Mouse

* * * * *

Primo
knelt down placed his hands just over the coals in the makeshift fire pit.
Though he wasn’t certain, he thought he could feel a little bit of warmth
coming off the blackened branches. It didn’t really matter. He was close, he
knew it. It was the afternoon of day two and by his estimation, he should be
storming their camp by nightfall at the latest. The imagined looks that would
be on her sullen face sent thrills to his loins as he remembered the last time
he’d had his way with her before that boy interrupted him; again! Well, he
couldn’t help it if the Dominus’ son was in the wrong place at the wrong time
and was mortally wounded. He had been wondering what to do about the kid and
how to remove him so he wouldn’t be a deterrent to him becoming Lanista and
this little hunt seemed to be the perfect time.

“We’re
close,” he replied, in response to the twin’s questions. He could feel their
restlessness. They had rejoined him an hour ago after he’d left them with the
woman as a reward for their help. Even after dallying with her, they were still
itching for a fight. “They’re sticking to the river hoping it will lead them to
the next settlement but they’ll never even get close.”

He
stood up and took off running, motioning for them to follow. They also took to
following the creek with the assumption that after all this time they weren’t
going to suddenly break off and head back up the bank and off into the thicker
woods. The exact thing they should have done. They had not gone too long when
they surprised a lone individual getting water from the creek.

The
man didn’t see Primo and the twins until it was too late. The sound of the water
crashing over the rocks sufficiently masked their approach until they were only
about 3 meters away. He jumped up drawing his gladius, clearly unsure if he
wanted to stay and fight or try to run for it.

Just
as Primo came within striking distance, the man threw down his sword and
dropped to his knees, hands over his head.

“Please
don’t hurt me, I surrender. I am a wounded man, I cannot fight you.”

Primo
halted in front of the man, positioning his foot on the man’s sword so he
couldn’t pick it up again, and resting his own weapon at the base of his neck.
“Who are you?”

I
am a Gaul on my way to Savona to find work. My friends call me Smithy…I work in
the forges.” He said by way of explanation.

“What
are you doing here, man from Gaul? Your nowhere near Savona, and how did you
come by that injury?”

“I
was set upon by a lad and his girl this morning. I only barely escaped with my
life.”

Suddenly
Primo was interested. He indicated the man could put his hands down and he
sheathed his gladius.

“Tell
me of this boy and girl who attacked you.”

“First
kind sirs, my wound…”

Primo
turned to the twins. “Here, take my pack and see to his wounds. This man must
live.”

While
the twins did some basic field medicine Primo questioned him. “So, what exactly
happened, and where? And be quick about it. I have been hunting those two for
two days now and I grow impatient.”

“I
became lost after my horse threw me and wandered into their camp where they
immediately attacked me. The boy was no fighter, but the girl, had she not been
wounded and dazed...”

“Yes,
well she’s not that good. When I find her she will be put in her place as will
the boy.”

“Well
I would have been fine had it not been for the boy distracting me. She got the
drop on me and sliced me good, as you saw.

Something
about the man didn’t make sense to Primo. His story just wasn’t fitting with
his bearing. Clearly something happened. He also had a hard time believing
either one of them together or separately would attacked unless they absolutely
had too. Primo didn’t really want to add another person to their group,
especially a wounded man. But he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of leaving him
out here and having to worry about the man slitting his throat in the night. In
the end he ended up letting the man go free, but with a small knife; he decided
to keep the man’s sword with a promise to return it if he would come by the
Villa later.

They
parted ways and the three hunters ran on.

* * *

Lucius

* * *

Petronia
and Lucius were just putting out their fire when a maddened man came crashing
out of the trees, sword in hand and bearing down on them. Petronia dove under
his first strike as she launched herself for her sword which was propped up
against a rock while she was relaxing. Why do they always come when she wasn’t
ready? The man’s backswing was surprisingly fast and he may have clipped
Petronia if it hadn’t been for Lucius. Not quite knowing what else to do, being
unarmed, he simply kicked the man in his posterior causing him to fall forward
on the ground next to Petronia. She was still in no condition to be fighting
but she managed to get her hands on her dagger and she just rolled over and
stabbed the guy in his side. Before she could make a second strike he man
jumped up only to be confronted by Lucius who had come up with her gladius. He
wasn’t a professional, but the man didn’t know that. Lucius advanced
aggressively and the man’s courage began to falter. Lucius took another step
towards the man and that was it for him. He was already wounded and
outnumbered. By their looks they weren’t worth robbing, and as far as the girl,
she was a little old for his taste. If she could magically lose about a half
dozen years she would be ripe for his plucking; but not now. He turned heels
and ran off through the woods back the way they had just come. At least he
wasn’t going to be up ahead where they were headed.

“Are
you alright,” he asked Petronia who was lying back down on the ground.

“A
bit dizzy…”

“Yes,
you really lost a lot of blood. You’re in no shape to be fighting.”

“And
you…you’re hardly capable.”

“I’d
love for you to teach me….when you’re feeling better of course. We really
should move on. Can you walk with me supporting you?”

“Do
I have a choice?”

“Not
really. I know you need rest but I don’t want to stay here in case that guy
comes back looking for more trouble.”

“Let’s
go then. Where are we going?”

“I
heard that if you follow this stream here it empties into the Kern River and
that will eventually take us to the port town of Sepua. It’s big enough we
could lose ourselves in the crowds there and figure out what to do.”

“Walk
then…”

Lucius
set off at a slow pace so as not to wear Petronia out even more. After a half
hour of silence Petronia asked: “Why is it you’re always being so nice to me?”

“You
don’t want me to be nice?”

“No,
it’s just…different, I guess.” Petronia would never have admitted it, but every
time the boy…young man was around her she felt like she was going to faint or
something. She would feel all giddy and warm inside, and lately she began to
wonder what it would be like to kiss him. Would his lips be rough or soft? What
would his breath smell like? She hoped hers wasn’t sour. Then she scolded
herself for thinking like that. He was after all only 15. Although by Roman
standards that made him a man. In her culture, you weren’t a man until you were
17. This was all wrong. She tried to close her mind to such thoughts but was
having a hard time being successful.

Even
though he was tired, Lucius felt he could walk this way arm and arm with her
forever and not get bored. He was enjoying the touch of her skin and the way
she leaned on him for support. She needed him and he liked that. He liked her
natural smell. It identified her. He would recognize her in a room full of
women even if he was blindfolded. He longed to hold her in his arms and kiss
her. He was a man now and she was an adult too…but he didn’t know if she shared
those same feelings for him. Perhaps this was the time to find out. At the
Villa there was never time for long talks because there was never any privacy.
Of course he wasn’t supposed to have anything to do with the slave girls unless
it was to just lie with them for fun. But he didn’t want that with Petronia.
Well, not just that. He would like to lay with her but she was more to him than
that.

When
they had been at it for almost 3 hours, Lucius stopped their progress.
According to the sun, it was well past the noon hour.

“Why
are we stopping? I can kee-”

“Shh….I’m
sure you can but I heard something back behind us.” He whispered in her ear.
This would not be a good time to run into trouble. He cast around for somewhere
to hide. About 5 meters from the creek’s edge he noticed a large bramble of
logs and branches. Perhaps they could hide there. He led her over and found it
was a better choice than he thought. Tucked safely from view was a small
cave-like hole big enough for the both of them if they squeezed very close
together. 

“It’s
probably that guy coming back to start more trouble,” Lucius whispered. If it
is it means he’s brought a friend or two. We really cannot afford a fight right
now.”

“No.”
Petronia agreed. “We cannot.”

Several
minutes later they heard someone walking alone the creek. They were making no
attempt to hide their presence. That meant they were confident they were about
to find whoever they were looking for. They were speaking so loudly he could
make out every word they were saying despite Petronia’s ragged breaths in his
ear.

“I
think the guy was lying, began brother one, “we’d have overtaken them before
now. They’ve obviously gone away from the creek and they’re somewhere wandering
around in the woods which is where we should be.”

“Your
wrong brother,” began the other gladiator, brother two. “I would bet money
they’re no more than a 100 meters downstream. We just need to pick up our pace
a little.”

Lucius
held his breath and prayed. If they even did a cursory search of the area they
were bound to find them. His heart was pounding in his chest as he contemplated
covering Petronia’s mouth with his hand. She was breathing incredibly loud. He
had just about decided to do it when she coughed. To his ear it sounded like an
explosion.