The Alpha Emperor’s Resurrection

44: Caius

Talia was still my Mate, but I felt guilty when she was lying in my arms.

There was no reason for me to feel guilty, but I did, and I regretted sleeping with her even though it felt good physically.

Things felt forced - it wasn't the same as it had been when I first met her and our relationship was a tempestuous flurry of passion and hatred. I still found her attractive, and I respected her, but there was something missing and I couldn't define it beyond knowing that things were not right.

The others came home far sooner than I expected, and they had humans with them, but Talia chose not to acknowledge that; she was more interested in reminding me how well she knew my body. I hoped that my underlying tension was not ruining the evening for her, even though it was more about marking her territory than pleasing me, anyway. She wasn't subtle about that.

She made a snide comment when there was a commotion downstairs, because her jealousy was more of an issue than she would ever admit and she considered it evidence that she was right about Saga.

I wanted to go down to see what was happening, but she told me it wasn't our drama; when Aurelia left with Robin and one of the humans, it felt like it would be a terrible idea to intrude.

Going down to talk to Saga would only end in a fight between her and Talia.

A fight a lot of men would have paid good money to watch, but not one I had the energy or any desire to intervene in.

"My Mate..." I sighed, and nestled against Talia, breathing in deeply as I entwined my fingers with hers and pressed my lips to her soft skin.

Talia's scent was so familiar that I was flooded by memories of our time together whenever I was close to her. It made her difficult to ignore.

She smelled faintly of frankincense, because she often burned incense in the privacy of her own room and, apparently, that hadn't changed. Her true scent was like moss on the bark of an ancient tree, or dew on wildflowers. Primordial, natural, powerful - perfect for a former Gallic princess.

Saga was clearly powerful, too, but it wasn't the same; her scent was invigorating, and fresh - it stirred my soul and awoke a passion in me that meant I finally understood why men did such foolish things in the name of love for women like her.

The fact I could smell her unexpected arousal for another man was driving me mad. My body had responded immediately to the fact she was so ready for someone to f**k her, and it was killing me to know someone else was satisfying those urges.

I wanted her; she wasn't mine, but I was supposed to be hers.

"Aurelia has been gone for a while," I murmured when Talia got up to put her clothes on. "Can you...?"

"I don't want to get involved in whatever is going on."

Of course. It didn't matter that I was worried about our pregnant daughter and had no way of getting in touch with her, because Talia didn't want to get involved.

"What if something has happened to her baby?"

"Do you think that me phoning her will make a difference? If she's not supposed to have that baby, there is nothing we can do to change that - you know that. She has chosen to have a child with a man who can't protect her, that is not our fault."

Talia had never been a warm person, but it hurt to hear her speak so bluntly and I thought she was being needlessly cruel.

"You are oversimplifying this. And he isn't a bad person."

She finished putting her pale gray top back on and laughed dryly.

"Not a bad person? I don't care whether he's the kindest man in the world; he's an i***t, he's weak, and Aurelia deserves someone better than him. You wouldn't even have let a wolf like him die for your entertainment in the Arena, Caius; how can you be OK with this? Are you really content to watch our daughter settle for mediocrity, or is your change of heart because you are infatuated with the boy's sister?"

Talia's words stung, and I stood up, feeling the anger and frustration rising inside me. I had developed feelings for Saga; but that complicated mess of emotions was not why I was being supportive of my only daughter.

"Aurelia is a grown woman who can make her own decisions; but she is also my daughter, and I will fight until my dying breath to make sure she is safe and happy if that is what she needs from me. You're her mother - don't you feel compelled to help protect her if you're so convinced she needs protecting?"

She was, unsurprisingly, and infuriatingly, unmoved by my outburst of emotion.

"I kept her safe for two thousand years without you criticizing me."

"You kept her safe? Is that what you call it? You kept her isolated, Talia. You used to call me cruel for treating you like a caged bird when you were first brought to Rome, but how long has it been since Aurelia has had a friend? She's more socially naïve now than she was when I died, for f**k's sake; are you really surprised that she has fallen in love so easily when she has been so starved of any meaningful connections?"

Talia glanced at the door and shifted on her feet, and I was glad to see her squirm.

"She has always had the option of leaving - of finding a relationship elsewhere. I didn't force her to stay with me, and I am not forcing you to stay with me, either."

I wasn't entirely sure what had driven Talia to come to see me; we had avoided speaking about the state of our relationship, and I had enjoyed reconnecting with her physically, but now it was clear that she had made her decision and she left me alone in the room without looking back.

Not entirely alone, though; Saga and her human lover were still in the courtyard together.

The man didn't stand a chance of satisfying a voracious young White Wolf like her, but the fact she sounded so frustrated was not any consolation to me and it meant I had to lie on my bed with my eyes screwed shut and my nails digging into my palms as I prayed to every deity I could remember that things would change for the better.

Talia was still gone when I woke up the next morning, and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to feel.

Guilt was the main thing bothering me as I made myself a drink, hoping that nobody would try to interact with me in the kitchen.

Aurelia and Robin were still gone, and the human man Saga spent her night with was still in her bed. There was nothing to focus on that wasn’t concerning or maddening, and I was so caught up in my own thoughts that Saga managed to sneak up on me.

"Do you need me to remind you how the shower works?" she asked playfully, and nudged me aside to get to the kettle. “Or do you want to smell like her for some ridiculous sentimental reason?”

The fact she didn't seem upset or concerned was honestly rather terrifying. I wasn’t sure whether she had been using me from the start, or if she was hiding her real feelings.

"I don't-"

"-relax. I'm not angry with you for sleeping with your own Mate. You seem torn up about it, though. Was she not as good as you remembered? Or were you the disappointment? Is that why she left so soon? Unless I’m the one who made things hard for you?"

"You make everything difficult," I murmured, ignoring her clumsy innuendo. "Are you hoping I will tell you it was awful and that you're the best I've ever had?"

"No, Caius; I'm hoping you'll move so I can finish making coffee. I know I do a better job of satisfying you than she did."

She wasn't wrong, but I couldn't let her comment slide.

"You say that as if the stranger you spent the night with wasn't completely incapable of satisfying you."

"Felix?" Saga laughed. "He's not a stranger, and he'll learn what I like soon enough."

She wasn't planning to sleep with the man again, but for some reason she wanted me to think she had feelings for him.

"Perhaps I should have a word with him? I can't imagine it will take too long for him to figure it out, though. You're not a subtle woman. But whether a human is even capable of making you feel submissive is another thing entirely."

"You think I want him to dominate me?" Saga seemed amused by the idea and she swirled a metal spoon in the cup of pungent coffee as she locked eyes with me.

"You have power beyond measure, Lupa. It's perfectly normal to find pleasure with people who can make you feel powerless for a while. It’s nothing to be ashamed of."

"Is that so? And here I was thinking I just find it satisfying to see arrogant older men succumb to my advances."

"You will never be satisfied by that man - sexually or emotionally."

"You're sounding awfully territorial, Emperor. Did you spend all night with your Mate, worrying about where I was letting Felix stick his human appendage? Are you concerned that another man might take what you have claimed?"

"I don't think you want me to answer that," I whispered.

Saga blushed and stared down at her cup. She was clearly not used to men engaging with her when she played this game, and it threw her for a moment before she regained her composure and cleared her throat.

"You don't have the guts to answer it."

I took the cup from her and put it down on the counter before I lifted her to sit on the edge and moved to stand between her legs.

"You want my attention this badly?" I raised one of my eyebrows at her, rested my hands on her thighs, and pushed the bottom of the short dress she was wearing up slightly with my thumbs.

"I just-"

She started to protest, but I kissed her to silence her and she wrapped her legs around me to stop me from moving away.

"You just need to know you can still manipulate me."

"I can," she whispered.

I smiled.

"Of course."

"I was curious, that's all.”

Her curiosity was going to get somebody in a lot of trouble one day, if it hadn't already.

I kissed her again, and she ran her hands through my hair, tugging me closer to her; she let out a small moan as my hands moved up her body, feeling the curves that were seemingly irresistible to me.

"Curiosity..." I murmured against her lips. "You want to know how seriously I took that little joke of yours? Whether I consider any part of you mine? Is that what this is really about?"

Saga's hands moved to my hair again, pulling me closer to her so she could whisper in my ear.

"What else would it be about?"

She pressed her body against mine, grinding against me - something she didn't seem to be doing consciously.

"I don't know. Perhaps you're bored."

"Bored?" she asked as her hands skimmed the top of my waistband. "Maybe I should go back upstairs and see how submissive Felix can make me."

I growled, and Saga's breath caught in her throat. She hadn't expected me to respond that way.

I hadn't expected it either.

"Don’t do that," I said, my voice barely above a whisper as she dug her nails into my shoulders. “Not unless you want him dead.”

I closed my eyes and my heart pounded as her fingers brushed down my chest and reached my waistband again; I moaned when she slipped her hand down to feel how hard I was already, encouraging her to take what she wanted from me rather than going back up to her human lover.

She pushed her underwear to the side with one hand, and guided me to press against her with the other.

"Come on," she whispered when I managed to control myself. When I didn’t immediately give her what she wanted, she leaned back slightly and feigned innocence. "I thought you wanted to conquer me, Emperor?" she asked, using my mother tongue, because she knew exactly how to get my attention.

I groaned, tasting the sweet nectar of her lips against mine a moment later, despite the bitter coffee she had been drinking, as I shifted closer to the counter, pushing myself deep inside her and making her gasp in pleasure.

My lips remained locked with hers, and I kissed her deeply as she wrapped her legs around me.

I moved my hips with an unexpected urgency and wound my fingers through her hair, pulling her head back sharply so I could look into her beautiful fiery eyes as she panted to catch her breath.

My other hand moved between her legs, and I kept my eyes fixed on hers as I brushed her c**t softly with my thumb and felt the tension that had been building in her all night release.

She grabbed my hips and pulled me forcefully against her, and I gave her a moment to savor the climax she had been denied for so long before I stepped away from her.

It had been almost too easy, but I knew her body intimately and the man she had been with was apparently clumsy at best.

“Not exactly my most challenging conquest,” I said blankly, biting the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t smile at the look of utter frustration I knew my casual response would elicit from Saga. “I hope I satisfied your curiosity, at least.”

She swallowed nervously and shook her head. It didn’t matter how intelligent she was, she had never been with someone she considered her equal and she was unsure of herself.

“I don’t-”

“-I don’t consider any part of you mine. I haven't earned that honor. I'm yours, but you won't be mine until I can take care of you, and I'm not capable of that at the moment."