by Darcy Abriel
He circled her as she stood there. “The rack,” he waved a hand to indicate her antlers, “looks good on you. There must have been some antelope in your mother's heritage at some point."
She shook her head, still unable to believe where she was. There were days when it felt so totally unreal, like a dream.
"It's quite real, Gulietta."
"Stop doing that. Get out of my head. Quintus does that all the time."
"He's going to be your mate; it is his right."
"He's not my mate. And I don't belong here."
A deep roll of laughter erupted from her sire. “You are exactly where you belong. Didn't you feel it when you were out there? I know you must have. You didn't belong there and I think you knew it."
"I don't belong here either. My mother wasn't like me. She didn't have horns, nor did she have hooves. Why am I like this?” She tapped her antlers, then looked down at her feet. “I wasn't like this when I lived out there."
"You've matured and come into your destiny. If you'd stayed out there you never would have been fulfilled."
"If it's so great here, why didn't my mother stay here?"
"Your mother was always questioning things. She was a Sabine woman from the line pacted to me. She never should have left and she suffered the consequences because she did so. She belonged with me. Just as you do."
"I promised her I would never come back here."
"It was a foolish promise. She never should have asked you to make it. She knew. From the beginning she knew. The oracle foretold your birth. There are few satyresses in the world. Even fewer now because of nonbelievers and surgeons who try to remove the evidence of their magic. And end up killing our kind in the process."
"She never would let me have surgery,” Gulietta murmured. “I had an appointment with the doctor, but Quintus arrived and everything changed."
"Those of our kind who stay too long outside our world die. As your mother did. She could have had a long and happy life if she would only have returned to us. To me."
"She was afraid. Of you. Of this place."
"It was her father who did that. Poisoning her mind. He took her away from Reate after your grandfather was murdered. He blamed us. He poisoned your mother's mind against us."
"But she must have come back here. Or she wouldn't have met you."
He tapped the book in her lap. “A funeral for her grandmother is what brought her back. But you are all drawn back here one time or another. Sooner or later. She couldn't help herself. But she let her father's words override the joy she found with me. And she denied her destiny.” He leaned toward Gulietta. “Don't let the same happen to you. Don't let fear drive you away from what you truly desire. Or from where you belong."
"I had plans. I had just finished college and had a degree in interior design. I was looking for a job. But you changed everything."
"You lived with the blood of your ancestors running through your veins all this time. Do you really think you could have fought it for much longer?"
"My mother did."
Antius sighed. “She was not satyress as you are. Quintus and—Quintus is guardian of our gateway. He has care of a villa and the surrounding lands for as long as he serves me. He moves between worlds. As you may with a bit of glamour."
"He doesn't love me. He wants me because of what I am. Because of what you'll give him—his freedom."
"Quintus has sacrificed much to protect our kind. It was he who came to me seeking help for Rome. We came to an agreement. With the help of Bacchus we brought the Romans and the Sabines together."
"You mean you let them kidnap women. Which ended up in war."
"And then it was settled. The women agreed."
"You turned the tables from what I'm told. The one Sabine woman who came to you for help to stop the bloodshed ended up your mistress, agreeing to have your child. And all of her line had to swear an oath to you."
He shrugged. “Nothing is free. It is all negotiation. And the Sabine women have always been of fine stock."
Gulietta jumped to her feet. “We are not stock."
"Of course not. As you wish.” He rose to his feet, towering over her. “My women await my return. Quintus is different. You might give him a chance to prove himself to you. I think you may find that he does care for you. In his own fashion."
"Like you care for your women?"
He drew himself up. “I care for them very much. They want for nothing. As you want for nothing. You are in a position of great respect. Raised higher than any other of my get."
"Yeah, well I'm the only female within light years with horns, aren't I?"
"You are needed here, Gulietta. The women look up to you. The men are devoted to you. Give it a chance."
He turned and walked away, leaving her standing there. So unsure of herself, of where she truly belonged. And wondering whether Quintus did care for her or if she was just a duty. A consolation prize for all his centuries of loyalty to Antius.
"Are you ready for today's lessons, Satyress?"
"Latek, where did you run off to?"
"When Antius arrived I figured you might want some time with him. Alone."
"Hmmm. So what are we studying today?"
He pulled one of the larger books from the pile. It looked old. He opened it and she saw the illuminated pages and neat, old-style handwriting. She had to wonder how many centuries it had been in existence.
"A book of spells. You should know how to cast, just in case you might have a need. You have the power, you just need the focus. Come, sit with me and let us begin."
If only she could keep her mind on the present and not keep returning to the past. She didn't want to think about Quintus. She wanted to forget about him. Unfortunately, that wasn't as easy as she would like it to be.
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CHAPTER 6
Kansas City
As Gulietta awoke, she recognized her bedroom, but also realized she was naked and groggy with no real sense of how much time had passed. Her body ached, but it was a pleasant ache, not the cramping she was so used to experiencing. This was her apartment, but something was different. The last thing she remembered was being in the alley with Quintus and for the first time the cramps had disappeared completely. How could that be? What was so special about him that she could be, for the first time in her life, pain free?
She pulled the sheet up around her as he walked into the bedroom carrying a tray with a teapot and several cups.
"Where did you get that?"
"It was in the back of one of your cupboards."
"I've never seen it before. The teapot was black china with strange gold markings all over it. Why had she never noticed it before? She and her mother had shared this apartment. She guessed it just meant she really wasn't as thorough at cleaning as she thought she was.
Quintus poured some tea into a cup and held it out to her. She looked into his eyes. They seemed to be a softer gray than they had been the night before. His expression calmer, not as ... hard.
"I don't drink tea. The coffee was on the first shelf. It would have been less trouble to locate that."
"Coffee isn't what you need right now. The tea is much better for you. Here, drink it."
With little recourse, she accepted the cup and took a sip. She grimaced at how sweet it tasted. She really would have preferred a nice cup of leaded black java.
"Oh, God, how do you drink this stuff? It's disgusting."
"You'll get used to it. The sweetness is natural, no additives."
She leaned back against the pillows, a firm grip on the sheet. She looked at him as she sipped at the disgustingly sweet tea. There was something different about him, she wished she could put her finger on exactly what it was. “Who are you and why are you here now?"
"Your father heard of your mother's death. Without her protection he thought it best to bring you back to Reate."
"He thought it best? He hasn't been in touch with me all these years and now he
worries about me? I can take care of myself."
"You have no idea do you, of who you are and who your sire is? Your mother never told you?” He pointed to the cup. “Drink the tea, it will help to soothe any aches and pains."
How had he known she felt the first twinges of the cramps returning? She took another sip from the cup. “Ugh."
Quintus leaned toward her. “Would you prefer to ease the cramping another way? As we have done over the last forty-eight hours?"
Her gaze widened. “You've been here for two days?” How could she have lost so much time?
"Your mother used what she knew to contain your impulses. There was magic in her, you know. She apparently used strong safeguards to keep you from feeling the full brunt of your nature. But she never took the time to explain what you should do to care for yourself apparently."
"Her death was unexpected. There was no time to prepare for anything.” She felt the need to defend her mother.
"She still should have begun your lessons when you were a child. She never taught you anything, did she? About how to quell your needs."
"I can't say that she did. She never really shared much of anything. Something tells me she wanted to forget anything that had to do with my father."
"She was foolish to have run away from Antius. He would have cared for her, and protected you. And you would now know how to handle your powers. And your needs."
Another twinge and she drained the cup. Quintus refilled her mug. “And exactly why are you here?"
He leaned back against the bed frame, stretching his legs out parallel next to hers. She couldn't stop looking at him. Clothed now, but she remembered those muscled thighs. She remembered her buttocks resting upon the unforgiving muscular flesh as she rode his cock for what seemed like hours. Her mouth plastered to his as though she could draw the very essence of the man through their joined lips.
She remembered feeling like she'd gone for ages without nourishment and only he could quench her thirst.
She remembered strange things from that first night. A man materializing out of the mist. A large dog with huge fangs. And then sex. Lots of sex. With this man. They were fragments of memory. At least she thought it was memory. Could it have been a dream?
"Oh, my God,” she said. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind.
She wanted to hit him when he smiled at her. The color of his silver eyes turned shimmery in the sunlight. And suddenly it was quite evident what he was thinking.
"In your dreams."
"I would rather stay in yours. It works both ways, Gulietta."
"Are you saying you know what I'm thinking?"
"Of course. You and I are tied. An ancient pact with Antius. We ... I've waited for you a very long time."
"You think I'm ... You can't be serious. Are you trying to tell me he arranged a marriage for me? Are you crazy?"
"You're telling me you can't feel the connection? We have just made love in every way conceivable. We've hardly left this bed for the last two days, and you don't accept it?"
"That was just sex. So I like sex. Okay, I like a lot of sex. So what?"
"Do you often lie to yourself this way? Is that how you get through it?” He leaned forward. “And what do you tell yourself about the pain? Do you remember what it was like before I arrived? And what about now?"
She almost spilled the remainder of the tea as she reared back against the headboard. She would not acknowledge that there was some truth to what he was saying. She dared not.
Suddenly a sharp pain stabbed through her head and she dropped the cup, reaching up to grab hold of her head.
"What is it?” He was immediately beside her.
"My head. It hurts.” She moaned as another sharp pain shot through her. “What's happening? What was in that tea you gave me?"
He looked at her and his expression tightened as he gazed at the top of her head. She reached up and then screamed. “What the hell did you do to me?” The nubs were no longer just small bumps, but sharp protrusions that were suddenly longer than they had been before. “What have you done to me?"
"It's simply the maturing. We have to get you back to Reate."
He shoved the blanket aside and exposed her legs. It looked like they were altering as well. And her legs from just below her knee downward all of a sudden had a profuse amount of furry stuff on them.
"I have to be in the middle of a nightmare,” she said. “Somebody wake me up. Oh, God, wake me up!"
"It's beginning and there's no turning back. I had hoped it would be a slower process, more time for you to understand. I'll see if I can dig up some glamour to help mask the transition until we can get you to safety. Gather what you wish to take with you, because we are leaving now."
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CHAPTER 7
Reate, Italy
Quintus had given her little choice. And the changes to her body pushed her to do as he said. The antlers were by far not what she'd expected. At all. But then who would? It had taken her a long time to become acclimated to her situation in her father's kingdom. To say the least, she had been shocked when she was first introduced to him. Most assuredly more beast than man.
"He cared for your mother, you know,” Latek said. “He's always known where she was. He respected her decision not to return. I believe he always hoped she'd change her mind before it was too late."
"But she didn't. And I can't say I blame her, considering his harem. I expect she didn't want to be just one among many."
Latek stroked his white-bearded chin. “They're both stubborn. No, she never would have been happy being one of many. But your destiny was always assured."
Gulietta leaned back in the grass and stared up at the blue sky. “Tell me why I'm here. You seem to know everything about what goes on in this place. Quintus is like trying to get answers from a stone wall. And my father is just as mysterious. I want to know ... where did I come from? How was it that I was chosen for this rather dubious honor?"
"It goes back a long way, Gulietta. Back before Romulus came here. Back when Antius was a young man and came to an agreement with Silvanus, the nature god, for this territory. He had a bit of leverage in that there was some talk that Silvanus had sired Antius. Although there was no solid proof. It was in a time when magic folk were appreciated and honored. The story goes that Silvanus wanted a special favor of Antius. Antius agreed and bartered for his own kingdom. There were no doors, no gates back then, just the knowledge of the veil between our world and the human world."
"Why was the wall built then?"
"The Sabine tribe settled in the area. And then Romulus wanted women for his followers in Rome. None in Rome would have them, being all thieves and fugitives. Antius made a deal with Romulus to gain him access to the Sabine women. Then Antius made a deal with Bacchus. He always was a master at getting what he wanted. And then he forged another deal with the Sabine nation. In the end it got him Quintus, as wolf guardian of the gates, and ... well, that Romulus's men would build the wall, providing a more solid separation between our worlds, well guarded by Quintus and a few of his Roman followers. Antius's shrewd deals also gained him a certain control over some of the Sabine women. Their bloodline is forced to serve Antius until the end of time. But there was a shrewdness to their deal as well. I think Silvanus had a hand in that. The other way out for the women involved the birth of the fabled satyress of Reate."
"And that's supposed to be me."
Latek laughed. “No one ever thought it would happen. Your existence ends the Sabine pact with Antius. You are the savior of the Sabine women in Antius's court."
"And what of Quintus? Why am I supposedly promised to him?"
"Quintus was one of Romulus's protectors. Part man, part wolf, a gift of the gods. He watched over the ruler as a child. Supposedly he was suckled by the same she-wolf as Romulus and his brother. And his life was dedicated to Romulus's protection. But Romulus wanted wives for his men more than to protect a man who had served hi
m so well. In exchange for the women, he, for all intents and purposes, sold Quintus to Antius."
"Good Lord. People have so little value to these rulers it seems. Like pieces of a chess game."
Latek nodded.
"But there is more that you don't know.” Latek hesitated before he continued with his story. “I shouldn't tell you this, but Quintus has a twin brother,” he said quietly.
"A brother? Why haven't I met him?"
He shifted as though uncomfortable. “Well, I think you have. Quintus is the warrior, Marius is the peacemaker. If you think back, you may recall seeing two different sides to the man who has been your lover. Marius tends to stay quietly in the shadows."
"I-I don't remember. I don't understand."
"Quintus does the dirty work so to speak, and Marius cleans up the messes.” He leaned closer. “When Quintus came for you, do you remember anything out of the ordinary?"
"It's all such a blur. He said he was with me for two days. I have these images of fierce and yet tender. His eyes—the color kept changing. And his manner. It's the oddest thing."
"They were afraid of scaring you. All their lives the brothers have shared everything. When Quintus was given to Antius, Marius offered his own freedom as part of the bargain. He was one of the counselors to Romulus at the time. They agreed to a new bargain with Antius, knowing it could mean the death of one if you chose the other."
Gulietta wondered if she would ever understand this world that she'd been thrust into. Treating people like pawns, playing with feelings and with lives.
She rose to her feet. “Take me to him, Latek. I want to meet him."
"But you have met him."
"Obviously, I thought he was Quintus. I want to meet Marius. I want to see them together.” She shouldn't be shocked, knowing the antics Antius pulled in his own court. Hadn't she witnessed his enjoyment of the games when she was staying in the castle? That was before she demanded her own villa, sick of watching his machinations. This was just the final straw.