The Alpha Emperor’s Resurrection

29: Saga

Talia had chosen to move out again very quickly after her return, but Caius still didn't seem to be interested in rekindling our enjoyable affair.

I had accepted that things were over between us, and I didn't try to convince him to screw around again.

His decision to satisfy my curiosity when I first found him seemed to have been more costly than satisfying for him; his relationship with Talia was frosty at best.

That wasn't entirely my fault. Her attempt to control Aurelia and Robin was cruel and thoughtless, and I couldn't be blamed for Caius finding her behavior unappealing.

I was tempted to leave, but I felt like Robin needed me to stay with him, and I decided that I wouldn't go until he was more confident.

If I was completely honest with myself, I didn't really want to leave Caius behind, either.

I respected his boundaries, but I couldn't stop thinking about him - about who he was, and everything he had been.

He had given it all up to raise Aurelia with Talia, and I wished I could convince him that Robin was more than he thought, because it would have done both of them good to talk about that.

Caius didn't even realize what Robin was giving up to be with Aurelia, let alone respect him for it.

He had only been back for a couple of months, and it was easy to forget that he didn't understand a lot of things; his English was already better than my Latin, and in many respects he had adjusted to his new life - but that was a life within the confines of a Villa that was not completely alien to him. He still hadn't left the place, and I felt that it might do him some good to get out.

He needed a challenge, and I decided it wouldn't be completely inappropriate or out of line for me to ask if he wanted to go back to the forest he had awoken in; if he could cope with getting there, maybe I would bring him back via the store.

Dragging him out without a real plan was out of the question, though, and I was aware that Talia was close enough that she was planning to visit again; leaving would give her a chance to speak to Caius without me there, and for them to rekindle whatever flame had been so irresistible to him before - or to seal their fate and end things so he was free to move on without being criticized.

I didn't bother to tell anybody when I left; I didn't want them to know what I was planning, and I doubted that any of them would even notice I was gone.

There were no other wolves around, but I needed to wait until there was less of a chance of struggling to hide from a human, and I was caught up in my memories of the day I found Caius.

I thought I had stumbled upon a Loner - a wolf with no pack, or status. In his wolf form he looked almost frail, and in retrospect he may have been showing the signs of his true age; the age he had been when he died, at least.

Caius hadn't actually shifted to his wolf form since then, and I was just as eager to see him as a wolf again as I was to introduce him to the world outside of the Villa.

Talia was gone by the time I got back, and it was clear that Caius had not been intimate with her.

He was sitting in the kitchen with Robin and Aurelia, and they seemed to be having fun - I decided to test the waters and play my own game with Caius, because I wanted to know whether he was free to pursue something with me.

He probably wasn't going to appreciate my sense of humor, but I wanted his attention; I needed to make it clear that I was still interested in him, in a way that he could choose to ignore without rejecting me.

I took an excessively long time removing the knee length black leather boots I had chosen to wear. I didn't need to unlace them so provocatively, but Caius kept glancing at me, and he thought I hadn't noticed.

At least he was still interested in me physically, and it wasn't going to be too difficult to get his attention if the way he kept looking at me was anything to go by.

I finally took the groceries through to the kitchen, showing no sign that I was putting on a show for Caius' benefit; I wasn't sure whether I was still going to do what I had planned, anyway. I probably didn't need to be such a brat to get his attention, and there was a chance he was going to be upset rather than amused, but I wanted to remind him of something specific - something we had done together.

I paused by the counter and completely ignored Caius; Aurelia and Robin had managed to get him to try a sugary cereal, and he seemed less than impressed by it. His tastes were far too refined for the likes of modern novelty breakfast cereals.

When he pushed the bowl away, his face screwed up in a way that was almost adorable, but I felt rather bad for him.

"Froot Loops?" I raised my eyebrow at Robin, but he pretended not to notice that I was unimpressed. I started to put the groceries away, and waited for a moment before I turned back to nod at Caius. "Do you really think Grandpa over there is going to appreciate garbage like that when he still thinks the f*****g toaster is a work of unparalleled genius?"