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Beast Games 1

Cat and Mouse

Tobias Luch is a mouse shifter who has had little interaction with
the predatory beasts who fight in a no-holds-barred contest of

strength. But when a wealthy investor drops by for an unexpected
visit, Tobias is charged with delivering an important message to
the beasts’ trainer. He doesn't realize that the errand will bring

him face-to-face with a tiger shifter who is destined to be his
mate.

Cassisus Alferrik the Vain is legendary in the arena and lives at the
adjacent training compound where Tobias works. When his mate

wanders into his domain during practice, Cassisus is immediately
and absolutely drawn to the man fate has given him. He doesn't

care that they come from two different worlds. However, his
indifference is not shared by others. He will have to fight internal
and external enemies in order to convince his mate of the joy of

their union and carve out a new normal within the confines of their
world.

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifters
Length: 58,617 words

CAT AND MOUSE

Beast Games 1

Jana Downs

EVERLASTING CLASSIC

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove

CAT AND MOUSE
Copyright © 2013 by Jana Downs
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-104-6

First E-book Publication: January 2013

Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
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www.SirenPublishing.com

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CAT AND MOUSE

Beast Games 1

JANA DOWNS

Chapter One

An excerpt from the multipublished book Origin of the Species Reclassified:

the role of shifters in a modern society by S.G. Brentwell, Professor at

Stanford University. (103)

Diagram of the Human Hierarchy

The following diagram outlines the fundamental differences and

uses of Homo sapiens (humans) and Homo mutatio (shape-shifters).

Humans:

The most superior beings on the planet. Can

perform any task given to him or her.

Predatory Shape-shifters:

Those aggressive species possessing higher

intelligence than their more demure counterparts.

May be used for protection, physical labor, games,

and confrontation between nations.

*Note: Approach any predator with extreme

assertiveness*

Nonpredatory Shape-shifters:

This includes a wide range of species. The most
useful of which are the larger species which can
be used as beasts of burden. Those humans who
can adopt a family of a smaller species of group

mammal such as a mouse may find good house

servants in them.

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Number Six glared at his captor with his ice-blue eyes and tiny claws
extended. If they came near him, they were going to get it.

“That one looks like he has spunk,” the human said as he circled

the inside of the cage, picking up kits and examining them while they
cried before casting them aside.

“Ah yes,” the breeder agreed. Master Marin Simon always

favored him. “That is number six of this particular litter. Should be a
hell of a fighter. Has the same build as his father, even so young. You
have good taste, Flavius.”

The human, Flavius, stepped toward him. Number Six hissed and

swiped at the man. The human smiled, revealing straight white teeth.
“He’ll do. I want that one.”

Master Marin grinned and patted his pronounced paunch. “Very

good, sir. He’ll be a fine addition to your school.”

Number Six hissed again. He didn’t want to go to school. He

didn’t want to go anywhere. His brothers needed protecting. Number
Four mewed pitifully from his place in the corner. He was smaller
than all the others. Six made a dash for his brother.

He growled as strong human hands picked him up by the scruff of

his neck. He made a very feline sound of displeasure. He needed to
get to Four.

“He’s really excited. What’s he trying to run to the corner for?”

Flavius asked.

Master Marin made that clucking sound he usually made when he

was displeased about something. “It’s Number Four. Six is
particularly fond of Four. I don’t know why. Four is the runt of the
litter.”

“He’s a got a tender side then.” Flavius didn’t look displeased at

the notion. “I’ll take number Four as well.”

“Two kits? You are a generous man for a trainer of Beasts.”

Master Marin clucked. “It will triple the price. They have very similar
markings, almost twins. They will draw a crowd of epic proportions if
fought together.”

Cat and Mouse

“Done,” Flavius said, scooping up Four and tucking him under his

other arm. It made Six feel a lot better now that Four was coming with
him. He could look after Four wherever they went.

Master Marin sputtered. “No negotiation?”
“Negotiations are for people with little money and lots of time. I

am a man of neither problem. Settle up with my man, I’m taking the
kits on to my car.” Flavius cradled them both in his arms, and Six
took a deep breath. He smelled like human but also, underneath it all,
was Beast. A male Beast. Six made a sound of question and pawed at
the man’s buttons.

Flavius chuckled. “Now, now, none of that, little one. I shall call

you Cassisus because you are a vain little thing, and I shall call your
smaller brother Faustus, because it means ‘lucky.’ How do you feel
about that?” Six made a sound of agreement and gnawed on Flavius’s
buttons. Maybe their new master wouldn’t be so bad after all.

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Chapter Two

Present day

“Flavius, he’s grown into a hell of a gladiator. Your father made

an excellent choice. He’s favored to take Rome and the Olympics this
year,” one of Master Flavius’s human companions, Justin, said as he
reclined on one of the blush-white leather couches that made up the
sitting area in Master Flavius’s living room. The massive house had
just finished construction six months ago, and Tobias was still getting
used to moving through it. He knelt on the carpet at his master’s feet,
ready to go fetch anything either of the men desired. As one of the
house servants, it was his job to do so.

“I was surprised that father gave the school to me when I reached

majority. I mean, I knew he wanted to retire, but I expected him to
sell off the shifters in the Ludus so he could move to Florida with
Mom,” Flavius said, taking a sip from his glass of whiskey. He and
Justin had been drinking steadily since early afternoon and showed no
signs of stopping.

“Well, he did always impress on you how important the Beast

Games were. He was one of the first people to open a school to train
them, wasn’t he?”

Master Flavius nodded. “As he predicted, the Beast Games have

become an international sensation since the shifters decided to reveal
themselves to the human race. My compliments to your own profits,
Justin,” Flavius said, raising his glass in a salute to his friend.
“Cassisus has been difficult at times, but he’s grown into an

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extraordinary fighter. I hope we do take Rome. If that happens we’ll
be a shoo-in for the Olympics.”

Tobias perked up at the mention of the white-tiger shifter,

Cassisus. He and his brother, Faustus, had become celebrities almost
overnight when they’d hit the circuit back in July. Master Flavius had
been more than thrilled with their accomplishments. They’d won
every match put to them in New York, Denver, and Los Angeles. The
master had spoken of bringing them into Europe for the Beast Games
there if they won in New Orleans.

“The Olympics. Can you imagine? It’s only the third time they’ve

had the Beast Games there,” Justin said excitedly, his enthusiasm
obvious in the gleam in his eyes. “I have to tell you I’m envious. I
wish I had invested more heavily in shifters when this whole mess
started.”

The “whole mess” he spoke of had to be the Keepers Act of 2025,

which lowered shifter status to that of chattel. The act required that a
shifter be the property of a human to insure their good behavior and
register in a national registry. It was a load of bullocks really. The
humans had just wanted to enslave the shifters for their own purposes,
the least of which was the Beast Games. Some said that shifters who
were trained and made to participate in the modern version of the
gladiatorial games were the lucky ones. Tobias wasn’t so sure. They
were treated a hell of a lot like thoroughbreds at a horseracing circuit,
which Tobias heard the humans were phasing out in favor of shifter
horses as well. The gladiators were fed, groomed, and trained for the
games often at the expense of their health or, in extreme cases, their
lives. Though Flavius was the exception to that rule. There was no
master who was kinder than the young human who ran their home.

“I’ve adopted a nest of meerkats to handle my household chores,

but there is something to be said for mice. They’re much quieter than
the meerkats, who chatter constantly,” Justin said, reaching down and
petting Tobias on the head. “Adopted” was a very cute way to phrase
what Justin did. No doubt he bought a shifter family to look after his

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house. Master Flavius’s family had done the same, but Flavius wasn’t
a bad master. He was kind for the most part and fair. Tobias had heard
from the servants that Justin traveled with exactly what all his
servants were used for. Master Flavius was many things, but a rapist
wasn’t one of them.

Flavius smiled and reached down to ruffle Tobias’s hair as well.

As usual, the scent of soap and man wafted up to tease Tobias’s nose
at the action. “I must say I’ve found favor with mice myself. Little
Tobias here has been a part of my house since he was a pup. We
practically grew up together.”

“Do you keep the mice separate from the Ludus Beasts?” Justin

asked. Tobias didn’t like the way Justin was looking at him, like he
was a fascinating animal at the zoo. He shuddered internally. His
mother spoke of a time when shifters were treated like anyone else,
before they’d decided to trust humans to accept them.

“Not at all. The gladiator school is no different than any other

place in my house. The mice are sent in to care for my cats and the
cats are told to behave or face punishment. It’s that simple.” Flavius
sat back in his chair and pushed a stray bit of blond hair from his face.
It was common knowledge that Master Flavius was the youngest
Ludus master in the United States, no doubt due to the stable of
gladiators he’d inherited from his father when the man had retired two
years ago. Tobias definitely favored Master Flavius’s way of doing
things. He wasn’t as harsh as his father had been.

Justin chuckled. “I’m surprised you’re able to keep the Beasts in

line, but then again, you always did have a way with the animals.”
Tobias was really beginning to dislike this guy. “I’m thinking of
going into breeding myself. I mean, the games are good, and the
prestige is great if you can make it to the top. But it requires so much
travel and advertisement and big investments in training that I just
don’t know if I want to deal with all of it. I’ve had the two gladiators
in my house that have won things here and there, but it is exhausting
taking care of everything that goes into the games. Hugh was telling

Cat and Mouse

me that breeding the Beasts is the way to go. I’m thinking wolves
would be a good investment. They’re an up-and-coming shifter class.
The Pack Games are pretty fascinating.”

Flavius frowned for a second before his expression blanked.

Tobias knew that his master wasn’t happy about something.
“Breeding is so inhumane though, Justin. I mean, they may be
animals, but they have a higher sentient intelligence. They can love.”

Justin snorted. “Oh please. They’re no different from breed mares.

I’ve never seen you get upset over a well-bred pony. Every shifter in
your stable has come from a well-known breeder and has pedigrees
that go back to the beginning. It’s rather hypocritical for you to say
that it’s wrong, don’t you think?”

Flavius waved his hand and made a noncommittal sound. “It’s

almost 2:00 a.m., my friend. I think I will go on to bed to sleep off
this whiskey.” He tapped Tobias on the shoulder twice, the signal for
him to stand. Tobias did so and hovered just behind his master. He
was really happy to be getting the hell away from Justin. The guy
really creeped Tobias out.

“All right, Mr. Bleeding Heart. Be that way. G’night.”
“Good night, Justin. I’ll have a servant rouse you in the morning,

and I’ll give you a tour of the Ludus.” Master Flavius motioned for
Tobias to gather up his laptop and three notebooks. Tobias scurried to
do as he was told.

They went out into the hallway through the tall white door that

was the entrance into the study and down the wood-floor hall toward
Master Flavius’s bedroom. One of Tobias’s cousins, Corey, opened
the door to Flavius’s bedroom and gave a half bow before closing it
shut behind them.

“Justin has become a bigoted ass since going away to school,”

Flavius said, his irritation finally showing itself. “If I didn’t need his
financial backing on this next match, I would toss him out right now.”
He made a noise of frustration and began to strip. Tobias looked away
and blushed, the heat stealing over his cheeks at the sight of bare

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human flesh. “Fetch me a shirt and a clean pair of boxers, Tobias.”
Tobias did as he was told and placed the clothing carefully on the bed
before going back to his corner. There was a small notch there where
he would leave through when he was dismissed.

“Tobias?”
“Yes, Master?” Tobias asked, his soft voice making an appearance

for the first time the entire night.

“Were you offended by what Justin said?”
Tobias blinked. “I’m not sure I understand the question, Master.”

He did understand the question. He just refused to answer it. What
would his offense garner? Nothing. And in the morning, if Master
Flavius decided to hold his words against him, he would have no
defense. Servants were to be rarely seen and rarely heard, and that had
been the way of things his entire life. It wasn’t that he had no opinion.
It was that he had no power.

Flavius looked at him for a good ten seconds before nodding.

“Never mind then. Go on to bed, Tobias. I’m sure you’re tired.”

Tobias nodded and gave a little bow. “Thank you, Master. I’ll

come with breakfast in the morning.” He took off his shirt and shorts
and stood in his underwear before carefully folding his clothing by the
wall and crouching beside the hole. The change came over him like a
whisper. His bones and muscles constricted, his frame shrinking in
extraordinary degrees. Within seconds he was in his animal skin. He
stretched his tiny paws and smoothed them over his face before
climbing out of his underwear and giving a little squeak of good
night.

“Tobias, tell the other servants to please keep it down in the walls

tonight. I get woken up by scratching and squeaking, and it annoys
the hell out of me,” Flavius said, already tucked into his massive four-
poster bed. Tobias gave a little squeak of acknowledgment before
going into the servants’ entrance via the hole in the wall.

* * * *

Cat and Mouse

“Oh for Christ sake’s, Cassisus. It’s a freaking mirror,” Faustus

said, crossing his arms over his well-muscled chest and tapping his
foot impatiently.

“It was my mirror, and someone broke it,” Cassisus snapped. He

held up the broken silver mirror that one of his fans had given him. “I
am not coming out until my damn mirror is replaced.”

Faustus sighed and leaned against the bars of Cassisus’s quarters.

“I’m sure the master will get you a bloody mirror, Cassisus. But he
won’t be inclined to grant any requests if you continue to act like a
Grade-A diva.”

Cassisus knew logically that he was being unreasonable, but he

didn’t give a damn. He had so little, and every object he possessed
was precious to him. The mirror had been a gift from a little human
boy who had been at one of their matches in Denver. Cassisus had
carried it everywhere with him since he’d been given it.

“I am not in the mood to play games,” Cassisus declared, sitting

down on his mattress, which was only elevated off the floor by the
box springs underneath. “Someone broke my mirror deliberately.”

“It was probably one of the servants who came in to clean, and it

was probably an accident. If you cleaned up yourself, then you
wouldn’t have to worry about it. You’re the only cat I know who is a
slob,” Faustus accused.

Cassisus bristled. “I am not a slob. This is organized chaos,

brother. I know where everything is.” He held up the mirror again.
“Including my mirror. My mirror was in my desk last night. This
morning it was on my floor and broken.”

Faustus snorted. “Riiiight. So someone snuck into your room,

broke your mirror without you either hearing or smelling them, and
then left it on the floor where you would step on it.”

“Exactly!” Cassisus snapped.
“Oh for the love of God, Cassisus. You sound ridiculous!”

Faustus rumbled, raking a hand through his white-blond hair.

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“Boys, what is the problem?” their lanista, Corbin, asked, coming

around the corner. The massive bear shifter took up the whole damn
hallway. “Why aren’t you two in the practice square?”

“Cassisus has decided that he’s not practicing today because

‘someone’ broke his hand mirror.” Faustus growled, gripping the bars
of Cassisus’s room and glaring.

“Is that so, Cassisus?” Corbin asked, unlocking the cage with his

massive set of master keys. As manager of the gladiatorial school,
Corbin was the only one with a complete set of keys for the entire
place.

“It was the only one I have!” Cassisus shouted unreasonably. He

had to share everything. His weapons, his food, his space, hell, even
his belongings didn’t really belong to him but to his master. For once
he wanted something that was his and only his. Was that so much to
ask?

“I will speak with Master Flavius today about getting you a new

one delivered. If you behave, I’ll even let you pick out the one we
order from Amazon. All right?” As usual, Corbin tried to placate
Cassisus. He may have been a pain in the ass, but he was the best
gladiator there, and he knew it. They didn’t call him Cassisus the
Vain for nothing.

Cassisus sighed. It wasn’t the point of his protest but whatever. At

least he’d get something out of it. “Fine,” he said. “But I want
expedited shipping.”

Corbin chuckled and took his arm, dragging him from his cell.

“Whatever you want, Cass. Just get your ass in the practice arena.”

Cassisus huffed but did as he was told. He walked side by side

with his brother down the simply decorated cream hallways that led to
the main floor. This part of the gladiator school was the sleeping
quarters and didn’t really deviate from the structure of a regular house
except for the fact that the walls were reinforced with cement and
brick behind the drywall and the doors weren’t wooden but instead
were barred gates which ran floor to ceiling and could be locked.

Cat and Mouse

There were only two other parts of the house. The kitchen and

attached eating area, where the gladiators took their meals unless they
were on lockdown, and the indoor practice area, which was
essentially a big sandbox that ran the length of a ballroom and
provided an indoor area for them to spar when it was either too cold
outside or raining. Since it was December, it was far too cold for
some of his shape-shifting brethren. While he and Faustus would be
all right out in subzero weather as Siberian tigers, some of the other
cats, the lions in particular, would be freezing their asses off. Cold
fighters equaled slow fighters, and Master Flavius had shown the
forethought and caring to have the school erected with an indoor
sparring area.

Cassisus had been very familiar with his master’s father, Flavius

the first, but the junior member of the family had had limited
interaction with those fighters that Flavius the elder had raised since
infancy. He did give them more amenities and more funding though,
so Cassisus supposed that was a good enough reason as any to like the
guy.

They took a right into the sparring room. Their fellow gladiators

were already on the sands, stretching their muscles and doing
experimental swings with swords and other weaponry. The steel
pieces were mainly for the human’s enjoyment. It was a well-known
fact that shifters fought better either completely shifted or partially
shifted. Their claws were more easily controlled than clunky swords
or axes.

“Decided to join us, Cass?” Malcolm called out as Maxi tackled

him to the ground and started wrestling with him. The two snow
leopards were playful to the core, but they were also unpredictable as
hell. Mal had been Cassisus’s friend since they were kits though, so
he was pretty good at predicting Mal’s mood.

“Someone has to show the plebs how it’s done,” he said, rolling

his shoulders to get out the earlier tension. Faustus beelined for the
armory and came back with two shields which were specially made

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for them. They attached to the wrist and had a strap that circled the
chest and shoulder. The shields could even be used in shifted form,
which was pretty cool in Cassisus’s mind. The new invention was
certainly top-of-the-line.

“Get the lead out, Cass. Let’s move,” Faustus said, padding

barefoot out onto the tightly packed sand. His brother may have been
runt of the litter, but Faustus had grown into a man of considerable
size. He was almost as big as Cassisus, standing only an inch or two
shorter than his six-six frame.

“Who am I taking this morning?” Cassisus asked Corbin as the

lanista shouted at two of the lion shifters to stop horsing around as
they knocked over one of the tables which housed some of their
equipment.

The bear shifter made a noise of frustration as the two lions

scrambled for purchase on the slate floor. “For Christ sake’s. Those
two have four left feet.” They were the newest edition to the Ludus
and were only eighteen and twenty respectively. Not that Cassisus
was much older, he was only twenty-five, but they seemed so much
younger than the rest of them for some reason. Corbin turned his
attention to Cassisus. “I want you and Gregori paired up today. He’ll
help you work on that armor of yours.”

“He hits like a fucking hammer, Corbin,” Cassisus said, eyeing

the Liger with disdain. Gregori’s mixed heritage was one of the many
reasons that the big cat was scary as hell and mean to boot. Both sides
of his family had apparently rejected him and his litter mates, so his
old master had sold off the kits even before they were weaned. The
experience had apparently given Gregori ample reason to hate
everyone and everything and snarl like he was in his cat form even
when he wasn’t. He was also the biggest son of a bitch in the bunch.

“Yeah, well, next time you’ll get your ass to practice on time

instead of pouting about your broken toys,” Corbin said with a
cheerful grin on his face. Bastard. “All right, gents, let’s get this show
on the road!”

Cat and Mouse

* * * *

“As you can see, I have the entire house especially formulated for

their needs. We have twelve gladiators in residence now with the
three new additions I bought three months ago. There are more rooms
upstairs for when I choose to expand the school. Hopefully after the
Olympics this year,” Flavius said, motioning to the now-empty
gladiators’ quarters.

“You know, I hear that they’ll be starting some water-based Beast

Games soon,” Justin was saying excitedly. “They’ll have sharks and
all sorts of interesting shifter types paired off for the fights.”

“I deal in cats only, Justin. You know that. My house specializes

in that, and I don’t really have the urge to go in any other direction
when I do expand.”

Tobias tuned out the conversation as he looked around the

gladiator school. As Flavius’s personal servant, he rarely saw the
inside of the building adjacent to the house. It was much larger than
the school had been at the old house, and he imagined it was far more
luxurious. His master enjoyed taking care of his gladiators.

Some of his cousins worked in the Ludus, but they rarely talked

about the gladiators there. They were predators of the more obvious
kind. Cats to their mice. So a certain amount of fear was pretty
common among the household staff. Typically, smaller shifters or
herbivores were used as household servants. It was rare that predators
were allowed near human families. Tobias supposed it was because
nonpredatory shifters were seen as gentler for some reason. Humans
just didn’t understand that wild animals were still animals, no matter
their small size. Over time the urge to fight their human masters had
left most of them, though. Second-generation shifters like Tobias
wouldn’t even dream of rebelling. This way of life was his way of
life. Besides, Flavius was a kind keeper.

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“Tobias, go tell Corbin that we have a guest and that he’s to get

the boys lined up and ready to be presented.” Flavius’s voice cut
through his musings. “Tell Cassisus and Faustus to be out front and
displayed properly. I don’t want them off in the back just because
they want to be obstinate.”

“Yes, Master,” Tobias said, bowing. He turned on his heels and

followed his nose down a side corridor. The cats were easy to smell,
so he just followed his nose toward the objects of his task.

He came out into a large room with a sand pit at its center. The

sound of metal and the screams of cats had the fine hairs on his body
standing on end. His stomach turned over as he watched the predatory
grace of the cats as they clashed in the sands. The last thing he wanted
to do was go down to the pit and approach any of them. He waffled,
unsure who to approach. Corbin was the lanista, the manager of the
gladiators, but he couldn’t remember what he was in addition to that.
Nor could Tobias recall what exactly the man looked like. He never
had to go down to the Ludus and never by himself.

“What are you doing here, boy?” A great voice boomed from right

behind him. Tobias turned and gave a little squeak of fear as he
looked up into the yellow eyes of a massive cat in human form. He
was handsome enough and certainly attractive, but the smirk on his
face and the dead look in his eye made him absolutely terrifying.

“I, um, I…” His tongue tripped over itself as those eyes regarded

him with cool calculation. He swallowed. “I−I came with a message
f−from Master Flavius.”

The shifter sneered. “Oh? What does Master Flavius want with us,

eh?”

“Gregori, what the hell are you doing?” Another voice cut into

whatever stammered reply Tobias was attempting to formulate.
Tobias felt relief for a second until he saw who had spoken. A huge
man with white-blond hair and glacial-blue eyes who was nearly as
big as the first giant stepped to Tobias’s other side. Tobias was

Cat and Mouse

sandwiched between the two, and it was the last place he wanted to
be.

“Having a little bit of fun with the help. Got a problem,

Cassisus?” Gregori snarled.

“Shut the fuck up. You’re scaring him.” Cassisus rumbled, taking

Tobias’s arm and pulling him from between them before promptly
putting Tobias behind him. Tobias blinked. Seriously? A cat was
defending him? Gregori snorted before turning on his heel and
stalking toward one of the weapon-clad tables a few feet away.

The cat who’d saved him turned his attention back on Tobias. “Hi,

little one. You okay?” Their eyes met, and Tobias felt his head spin.
His mother had always warned him that the eyes of cats could
entrance. He knew what she was talking about now. Aside from being
a good guy, his savior was gorgeous, and his coloration was so exotic
that he looked like something out of one of Tobias’s dreams.

The cat tilted his head to the side, studying him. “You smell good,

little one.” He seemed to have realized what he said, because he
shook his head as if to clear it. “Um, back to that first question. Are
you okay?”

“Yeah,” Tobias said breathlessly. Wow, the cat was pretty. Tobias

just wanted to curl into him. Which was insane. He was a gladiator, a
cat, something Tobias had been warned to stay away from his entire
life.

The gladiator’s nose twitched, and a low growl sounded. “Hmm,

what’s your name, little one?”

“T−Tobias.”
The human cat started purring, and the deep rumble made

Tobias’s body tighten. Why was that so sexy? “Nice to meet you,
Tobias. I’m Cassisus.” He smiled, revealing straight white teeth. “But
everyone calls me Cass.”

“Hi,” Tobias managed as his eyes fixated on the other man’s lips.

He wondered what the cat tasted like. His hand found its way to pet
Cassisus’s chest, feeling the vibrations of the purring as it stroked

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along the sweaty flesh. The cat didn’t seem to mind in the least, and
in fact, he seemed to purr louder as the petting commenced.

Cassisus leaned down, his lips separated from Tobias’s by less

than an inch. The cat’s breath fanned Tobias’s face, and Tobias
started panting at the unasked question. He’d never been kissed
before, but suddenly he could think of nothing better than to have
Cassisus’s lips on his. His body screamed for it, every nerve tingling
in awareness that he’d never experienced before. The cat licked his
lips, obviously as entranced as Tobias was.

“What the hell is going on here?” The question brought them both

out of the haze of enchantment. Tobias’s cheeks blazed as he looked
up at the cat who had stolen his sanity for the past thirty seconds.

He turned, ready to flee. A big hand grabbed his arm, and he

whimpered at the touch. It hurt. It felt like a thousand stinging insects
were biting his arm wherever the hand touched the skin of his arm.
Cassisus snarled, a very feline hiss of displeasure sounding in the
small space. The hand released him. He looked up into the brown
eyes of the man who had grabbed him. He was even bigger than the
other two men he’d met. What do they feed people down here?

“Who are you?” the brown-eyed giant asked.
“His name is Tobias,” Cassisus answered for him, stepping in

front of the giant as if to protect him. Tobias didn’t understand the
urge, but he grabbed ahold of the edge of Cassisus’s pants to let him
know where he was. It seemed to settle the cat.

“Flavius’s Tobias?” the giant asked.
“No.” Cassisus growled. “Mine.”
“I−I belong to Master Flavius. I’m his personal servant.” Tobias

stammered through the sentence. “I−I’m supposed to be talking to
C−Corbin, the lanista.” Cassisus turned his head and met Tobias’s
eyes over his shoulder, a look very near disappointment on his face.

“Then you’ve met him.” The brown-eyed giant stepped around

Cassisus, who seemed frozen to the spot. “I am Corbin. Did you have
a message?”

Cat and Mouse

Tobias nodded and felt a moment’s panic as Cassisus pulled out of

his touch. The acute sense of loss was painful. He rubbed his chest
where his heart was hammering like a battle drum, and a dull ache
that was settled there grew sharper. “Yes. He wants the gladiators
lined up to be presented to a guest. He wants Cassisus and Faustus in
front.”

Corbin inclined his head to acknowledge Tobias’s words. “You

heard him, gents. Get lined up for presentation.” He pointed a finger
at Cassisus. “That means you, too, Cass.”

Cassisus turned and took a step away from Tobias. “Wait!” Tobias

cried out without thought. He wasn’t even sure why he did such a
thing.

The gladiator turned. “Yes?”
“I, um, thank you,” Tobias managed, clenching his fists to keep

from reaching out to the cat again. What is wrong with me?

“You’re welcome, little one.” Cassisus took a step in his direction

before stopping. “How old are you?”

“Eighteen,” Tobias answered automatically, though he had no

idea what sort of relevance that had in their conversation.

Cassisus smiled. “Good enough.” He took the last two steps and

drew Tobias into his arms. The mouse gasped at the full body-on-
body contact with the cat. The firm hand on his chin tilted it up until
he lifted it to where Cassisus wanted him. What is he doing? The
dazed thought penetrated his awareness an instant before Cassisus’s
lips settled on his own.

The awareness that had warmed his blood the moment before

went into a full boil. Tobias whimpered at his first taste of man and
Beast. God, what have I been missing?

There were no servants in the house that he wasn’t related to in

some way. He’d been fairly isolated. Of course he’d seen people kiss
in movies and on television, but the reality of it was something else
entirely. He felt swept away by the press of Cassisus’s lips on his

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own, and when the cat lapped at his mouth, seeking entrance, all he
could do was sigh and open his lips for Cassisus’s sensual assault.

He clung to the cat, draping his much smaller arms around his

neck and opening his mouth wider to accept the slightly rough caress
of Cassisus’s tongue. The cat’s hands wrapped around his waist and
kneaded his ass through the black dress pants he’d worn. The touch
was electrifying, and he gasped at the caress. Urges that Tobias was
pretty sure he hadn’t had before boiled up from somewhere in the
depths of his consciousness. He wanted to be naked in the worst way.
He wanted to rub against Cassisus’s body until he came.

Cassisus broke the kiss and began to nibble a trail down his neck

and onto his shoulder, nuzzling his way beneath the collar of his shirt
to get there. The motion drove Tobias crazy. He wanted something to
happen. He just didn’t understand what.

“Oh.” The word was a gasp of delight as Cassisus nipped the

tendon of his neck harder. The sensation ran down his shoulder and
nestled in his already-throbbing cock.

“Drop him. Now, Cass.” The shouted command of the lanista

sliced through Tobias’s desire like a knife. What the hell am I doing?
He pulled back and tried to get out of the gladiator’s arms. Cassisus
growled at him and gripped his arms more tightly.

“Cassisus, why are you assaulting my personal servant?” The

master’s voice made Tobias blush scarlet. Flavius had just caught him
practically humping one of the gladiators! He closed his eyes tight
and gave a little whimper of embarrassment. He’d never been in this
sort of situation before.

* * * *

Master Flavius’s personal servant? Well, let it never be said I

don’t like the best of the best. Cassisus tightened his grip on the other
man and held the man to him. Tobias kissed like a dream, and the cat
that he was wasn’t inclined to give up his prize. He didn’t know what

Cat and Mouse

had set off the possessive instincts inside him, but he knew that he
would attack anyone who dared to take Tobias from him.

“Cassisus, I asked you a question.” Flavius’s annoying voice cut

into his contemplations of the man in his arms.

“He’s mine,” Cassisus heard himself say, barely sparing the other

man a second. Realization struck him. Christ, Tobias is my mate.
He’d heard other shifters talk about finding the one person whom
their animals attached to within seconds of meeting, but he’d never
been around any mated couples himself. None of the gladiators in
Flavius’s gladiatorial school were mated.

Cassisus watched as Tobias scrunched up his face and turned a

sickly shade of white. What was his problem? Cass made a noise of
comfort and rubbed his cheek against Tobias’s cheek.

“Tobias is a member of the main house, Cassisus. He is not

available for purchase or for your pleasure. If you want, I can
purchase an appropriate bedmate for you when we get to the first
circuit in Europe. Would you like that?” Flavius was still talking.
Why was he still talking?

Cass raised his lip and hissed at the human. “I don’t want anyone

else. He’s mine.”

“Cassisus, I will not ask you again to let Tobias go.” Flavius’s

voice took on a hard edge. Cass just snorted. Master or not, the human
was no threat to him.

“Cass,” Corbin said in warning. Cass growled again and petted his

mate’s cheek with one hand.

“Tell them you’re mine, little one. Tell them that you don’t need

them to protect you,” Cass encouraged, stroking Tobias’s face in an
effort to get him to open his eyes.

Corbin made a noise of frustration. “Master?”
“Deal with him,” Flavius said coldly. Cass tensed as he felt his

lanista move behind him. If he touched Tobias he was going to rip
him to shreds. Friend or not, if Corbin took his Tobias, he was going
to freak out.

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“Wait!” Faustus’s voice sounded. “I can get him to let the boy go.

I promise.”

Cass raised his head and saw Faustus on his knees before Flavius.

The rest of the gladiators were standing in a tight line in the sand,
shifting uneasily. Cass could smell the tension in the room.

“I suggest you get his attention quickly,” Flavius bit off. He’d

apparently gotten his panties in a wad over Cass’s disobedience. He’d
just have to get over it. This boy was his, the only thing in the world
that was his and his alone. Didn’t they understand why that was
important?

He tensed as Faustus approached him and maneuvered so that half

his body was between Tobias and his brother. Faustus noted the
action with a quick flick of his vibrant blue eyes.

“Brother, the little mouse doesn’t belong to you,” he said, moving

slowly closer.

Cass’s cat gave a feline sound of annoyance at the suggestion.
“Come on, Cass. You’re scaring the little mouse.”
Mouse? Where was the mouse? Cass, perplexed, took a deep

whiff of his mate. Underneath the undeniable scent of mate there was
an odor that was familiar. Prey. His mate was a mouse? Holy shit.

“He’s mine, Faustus,” Cass managed, his mind reeling at the

implications. Maybe he’d imagined the mate thing. Who had ever
heard of a cat mating a mouse? He shook his head. It was a fluke,
something that his subconscious had made up. The more he thought
about the fact that the man in his arms was a mouse, the less it made
sense. Out of all the matings he’d heard of, none of them was between
species so different. Besides, he was a gladiator, and this boy was a
member of Flavius’s main house. It didn’t make sense that his cat
would claim someone who was clearly not his equal.

Faustus spoke again, and his voice was the only thing that really

made sense to Cass. “Cassisus, the master asked you to put him
down.”

Cat and Mouse

Reluctantly, Cassisus put the boy away from him and took a step

back. He glanced at the relieved expression on his brother’s face and
then back to the brown-haired, brown-eyed mouse who had so
thoroughly captured his attention. He was adorable. Long, dark lashes
framed deep, soulful brown eyes that seemed to take up his whole
face. He was tiny in comparison to Cass’s massive frame, barely
grazing his sternum when they stood against one another. He had
excellent tone though, probably from a life spent scurrying around
and eating simple meals. His cat urged him to get closer to the boy
again, to rub against him, and to take him back to his cell. He shook
his head. There was no way that he was doing that. What had he been
thinking?

“He’s back,” Faustus announced, clapping a hand on Cass’s

shoulder. The concern in his brother’s eyes said that they’d talk about
this later. “Come on, Cassisus. Let’s get lined up for the master’s
guest.”

Cass nodded, frowning. He tore his eyes away from Tobias and

turned toward the sand. He stepped down into the pit and took his
place in the front of the gladiators where his fellow warriors had left
enough room for him and Faustus to get into line. He fell into the
saluting posture he’d been taught since he was a kit, his hands clasped
behind his back and his legs splayed to display the muscles of his
thighs and calves. Since they only wore what amounted to as a
loincloth to practice, every muscle he had was on exhibit. Usually
before a presentation they were oiled as well so that everything
looked even more defined, but apparently Flavius had counted on the
exorbitant amount of sweat that was shed during practice to do the
job.

Flavius stepped down into the sand pit followed closely by

another blond that Cass had never seen before.

“Are they always so headstrong, Flavius?” the stranger asked as

Corbin took his place slightly behind them. The bear looked beyond

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pissed, and Cass knew that after Master Flavius left, he was going to
get it big time.

“Not usually, but then Cassisus is my prize fighter, so he is

often…harder to manage than some of the others, thus why my father
got his brother, Faustus. Faustus tends to temper Cassisus’s somewhat
stubborn temperament,” Flavius explained as they walked down the
line of fighters. They stopped in front of Cass, and the stranger had
the gall to feel of his thighs like he was testing the tone, much the
same way one would do a horse at auction.

“He’s got strong limbs,” the stranger complimented, his hand

creeping higher. “I wonder what else he’s got.” Cass felt a deep
rumble of disapproval making its way up his throat. He wondered
how much trouble he’d be in if he struck the grubby little human. He
was saved from the contemplation when Flavius reached out and
snatched the stranger’s hand off of him.

“He’s strong everywhere, I assure you.” Flavius’s words were

casual, but there was an underpinning of warning that Cassisus
appreciated.

“Too bad the Beast Protection Act is still in place. Can you

imagine how much he’d fetch if you rented him out by the hour?” the
stranger asked, a longing expression plastered over his face. Cassisus
did growl then. Faustus stomped on his foot, and pain shot up his leg.
Cass winced but resisted the urge to dance around on one foot like he
wanted to. Damn that hurt!

“The BPA is in place for a reason. We’re supposed to be the

animals’ keepers, not their predators. Besides, the half-breeds that
were produced from the unions sort of defied the boxes we put the
species in,” Flavius said, pulling the stranger down the line and away
from Cass.

The stranger snorted. “They’re no different from mutts. Just

because they happen to be half-human doesn’t mean they’re not
animals.” He looked back at Cassisus before moving on to Gregori,
who scowled menacingly in his direction. “He’s certainly a unique

Cat and Mouse

one.” Another cursory glance of the assembled gladiators. “You’ve
got quite a stable, Flavius.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I may
come to you in the future with an offer for stud fees. Like I said, I
have been considering breeding.”

Cassisus smelled the anger permeate the air, and Cass noted the

tic that had begun in the master’s jaw. He didn’t like the idea at all. It
made Cassisus wonder exactly what the master was doing in the
company of such a jackass, and not the shape-shifting kind.

“I look forward to the offer,” Flavius said, belying the scent he’d

perfumed the air with.

The stranger grinned. “Good. I’m done here. Would you like to

take lunch before I leave for the airport?”

“Of course. Tobias?” Flavius asked. The little mouse stepped

forward, and Cassisus had to grip his hands tightly into fists to keep
from moving toward him.

“Yes, Master?”
Cassisus glared. Mine, his cat declared.
Flavius reached out and ruffled his mouse’s hair. “Run along to

the house and have the kitchen prepare a light repast for Justin and
me. Something warm I think.”

“Of course, Master.” Tobias gave a half bow and practically fled

down the hallway away from the arena. Only the hand on Cass’s arm
that was clasped in a death grip kept him from following. The pinch
actually helped him focus a bit. It was a mouse. It wasn’t, couldn’t,
and certainly wouldn’t be his mate.

“Corbin, I expect you to deal with Cassisus’s disobedience?”

Flavius asked.

Corbin gave a curt nod and met Cass’s eyes. “Yes, Master. I plan

to.”

Oh shit. I’m in such trouble.
“Excellent. Send me an e-mail of the daily report at your

convenience after supper.” Flavius waved to the gladiators before
steering his guest in the direction of the exit.

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Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the two of them were out

of sight. That had certainly been the most exciting thing to happen in
the practice room in months. Cassisus gave it ten seconds before
Faustus, Corbin, or both of them lit into him about his behavior.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Faustus snarled the question,

slapping a palm on Cassisus’s well-muscled chest.

“Um, that he smelled really, really good?” Cassisus suggested,

giving his brother a sheepish grin.

His brother’s lips pulled back and he bared his teeth at him. “In

front of Flavius? For real? What the hell, man!”

“You showed your ass in front of Master Flavius.” Corbin

growled, joining the make-Cass-feel-like-a-dumbass party. “Since
you woke up today, you have been a pain in mine, and I promise you
that you will feel it tonight. So when you’re sore tomorrow, it’ll make
you realize the stupidity of your actions!”

Okay, maybe he’d really fucked up today. “Look, Corbin, my cat

went a little nuts. I mean, I just kept thinking that the mouse was mine
and that he was my mate and that I didn’t have to nor would I share
with anyone—”

Corbin’s eyes bulged. “What did you say?”
Cass sighed. “I said my cat went a little nuts. Something inside me

kept screaming about how Tobias belonged to me and—”

“Did you just say he was your mate?” Corbin interrupted again. It

was an annoying fucking habit.

Cass glared. “Yeah. My cat certainly thought so. But, then I

started thinking about how fucked up it would be for a cat and a
mouse to be mated, and I realized logically that my cat just needed
some kitty Prozac or something.”

A string of curses followed his statement as Corbin stomped over

to the table and snatched up his giant jangle of keys. “Gladiators, take
a break. I’ll be back shortly. Return to your cells, and I’ll send the
servants with something to snack on.”

Cat and Mouse

Cassisus’s mouth hung open. Was he really getting away with

this? Granted, he’d been a little out of control, but he’d expected
some sort of repercussions, like no TV in his cell or running outside
until he puked, probably the latter because Corbin was an asshole that
way. He caught sight of Faustus, who wore an unfathomable
expression.

“What?” he asked his brother, tilting his head to the side as he

queried in a true feline fashion.

“That little mouse is really your mate?” Faustus asked softly.
Cass shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I thought I was sure when I

was touching him, but it doesn’t make sense. You know?”

Faustus shook his head. “I don’t know, man. I really don’t know.”
“Move it, ladies!” Corbin rumbled, ushering the gladiators to put

their weaponry in the correct place, so that the shields and metal bits
could be cleaned properly. He and Faustus were spurned into action
and began gathering and removing the shields that Corbin had had
them try on as well as the practice weapons they’d tossed onto the
sands when they’d taken their last break.

Cass helped Faustus pull off the new armor and then let him help

Cass pull off his own. The weapons they’d used were put on the
rotating rack. By the time they were done, most of the gladiators were
meandering back toward the cells, chatting idly with one another as
they discussed what had come over Corbin to call a halt in the middle
of their practice. Cassisus was too distracted to enjoy the break,
though. His mind constantly strayed back to Tobias and the way his
lips had felt against his own. His cat paced back and forth in his mind,
eager to get the lead out and go find the man the feline had claimed.

“Come on, brother,” Faustus said, tugging Cass toward the

hallway. “You want to watch the new True Blood?” The show had
radically transformed since its original incarnation, which still aired
regularly on HBO. Shifters were actually cast as shifters nowadays,
and their owners made a mint off their good acting skills.

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“Nah,” Cass said after a moment’s contemplation. “I think I’ll just

go read for a bit. I’ve got a new thriller waiting on me.”

“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Some historic piece about court intrigue and

assassinations, all sorts of craziness.” And alone he could try to
untangle all the wants circulating through his mind in a never-ending
reel. Maybe he’d just shift into his cat for a bit. That would be a nice
way to unwind.

“You sure you don’t want to hang in my cell and grab some tube?

It’ll be the last few days we have DVR until we get back from the
European circuit.” Faustus dangled the information like an
enticement. It really came down to the fact that Faustus didn’t like
being alone. When they’d hit sixteen and been put in separate rooms
for the first time, Faustus had been the one to suffer for it.
Unfortunately, Cassisus wasn’t in the mood to be enticed.

“Nah,” he repeated. Faustus nodded and didn’t make any more

comments as they walked back down the hallway.

“We getting showers sometime today, Corbin?” Hadrian asked as

they each stood in front of their respective cells. For a lion, the guy
was fastidious as hell and liked water almost as much as Cassisus and
Faustus did.

“Yeah. When I get back you guys will have shower time, but until

then, cool your heels,” Corbin said, motioning the gladiators to go
into their cells. He locked the doors behind each of them. When he
got to Cassisus’s room, he paused. Cass leaned against the bars,
looking him in the eye as Corbin considered him.

“What’s up?” Cass asked. He really wanted to be left alone. His

cat wanted to come out and lounge for a bit.

Corbin locked the door. “I want you to tell me honestly, Cassisus,

did you feel like the mouse was your mate?” The question was
unexpected. What does it matter? It wasn’t like they’d let him actually
keep Tobias anyways. He knew some gladiators owned other shifters
as servants or whatever, but Flavius didn’t allow it in his house, never

Cat and Mouse

had. It was a tradition left over from when Flavius’s father, Flavius
the first, had been in charge of the Ludus.

“I felt a pull toward him, Corbin. I’m not going to lie. But, it

doesn’t matter. A cat and a mouse can’t be mates. Right?” Cassisus
asked a little bitterly. He didn’t know why the idea that Tobias wasn’t
really his bothered him so much.

Corbin shrugged. “There are stranger things on heaven and Earth,

Horatio.”

Cass frowned. “Who the hell is Horatio?”
“It’s Shakespeare.”
“Who is Shakespeare?” Cassisus asked, his confusion growing.
Corbin looked wounded for a half second before his face

smoothed over and he sighed. “We’ve lost so much in captivity.
Makes me wonder if we’re really becoming the animals they’ve
labeled us as.”

What an odd thing to say, Cassisus thought as Corbin turned and

walked toward the side exit of the Ludus. He turned from his cell bars
with a sigh. Corbin was always saying weird things. And what was
with the twenty questions about how Cass felt about Tobias? Really,
it didn’t make a difference in the end, right? Cass was a gladiator, and
he was a tiger. Tobias was a personal servant to Cass’s master and a
mouse. Their worlds were so vastly different that they might as well
be on two separate stars. So why did Cassisus want to know the other
man so badly? And why did he want Tobias to be his?

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Chapter Three

Tobias was aching. He didn’t know how else to describe it, but his

body felt tingly and tight, and he’d had to excuse himself to the
restroom to rearrange himself in order to not be obscene in front of
the master and his guest. He’d never been so hard in his life.

“Was good to see you, Justin,” Flavius said as he opened the front

door, and Justin and his servants hauled his half ton of luggage toward
the waiting limousine.

Justin motioned the rest of his servants out the door and paused at

the doorframe. “I’ll be seeing you soon, Flavius. Take care.” With
that, he left in the same obnoxious manner which he came in.

Flavius shut the door and leaned against the polished wood

surface. “If I never see him again it’ll be too damn soon. God, he is
not the guy I remember from prep school.” He glanced up as if just
realizing that Tobias was still in the room. He pushed off the door
with a sigh and took a step in Tobias’s direction. The mouse’s eyes
immediately hit the cherrywood floors. He’d been taught from an
early age to look down when the master’s eyes were on him.

A hand tipped up his chin, and Tobias met the gaze of his green-

eyed master. “Tobias, you and I grew up in the same house. Don’t
you think that formality is a little passé at this point?”

Tobias took a step back, fear spearing his gut. “No, Master. No.

Your station is far removed from mine. We may have grown up in the
same house, but we are far from equals in any capacity.”

“There was a time we were friends, wasn’t there? Back when we

were young?” Flavius asked.

Cat and Mouse

Tobias lowered his eyes. “Yes, Master Flavius. But, we were

children and knew no better. Your father corrected any notions of
equality long ago.”

Flavius turned from him and made a noise of exasperation. “Damn

my father and this entire world for what it has become! And damn me
for having to put up this…this façade!”

“I…I don’t understand, Master,” Tobias stammered. He’d never

seen Flavius so flustered, not since they’d been in their early teens
anyway.

“Don’t you, Tobias? I remember a time when you told me exactly

what was on your mind when you came in to change my sheets. I
remember talking with your cousins about life and what the world
was before humans decided that they couldn’t trust your kind. I
remember the gladiators had been so damn proud of what they did.
They were shifters, but they were also men of renown instead of
animals bred to fight like dogs or cocks.”

“I don’t remember that, Flavius,” Tobias said, dropping his title

for the first time in more than ten years. “I don’t remember a time
when your kind respected mine that much.” Flavius looked like
Tobias had slapped him. Tobias pressed on. “Master, you are kind to
us, more so than any human I’ve ever met. Your family has given
mine sanctuary from people who would exploit us in the worst ways,
and for that I am supremely grateful. But, even you don’t see us as
people. So, please, don’t demand that I address you with familiarity
and converse with you on subjects that bother you. I am your slave,
Master. Not your friend.”

He was scared that Flavius was going to strike him then. He

looked damn close to doing so. But just as quickly as the look came
over him, Flavius relaxed and looked weary instead. “You’re right,
Tobias. Sometimes I let the stresses I’m under get to me. I didn’t
mean to shout.” He gave a sheepish smile that looked forced. “You’ve
had an exciting day already.” The evocation of Cassisus’s memory
once again had Tobias instantly distracted. “I don’t think I’ll need you

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for a while. Why don’t you go on back to the kitchens and get
yourself a bite to eat? Come down to my office in an hour and I’ll
give you something to do.”

Tobias recognized a dismissal when he heard one. “Of course,

Master Flavius. Thank you.”

* * * *

Flavius went into his room and shut the door quietly behind him.

His nerves were so bad at this point he knew that he would fall apart
at the least provocation. Playing master had never been his strong
point. His father had made it clear from an early age what his
responsibilities would be. So Flavius had built an empire out of the
gladiators his father had given him, much more vast than his father’s
before him. It was all a lie. He swallowed hard and crossed to his
bedside dresser to extricate one of the numerous pill bottles therein.
Anxiety medicine had been his best friend since beginning this farce.
He tossed the tiny white pieces of mind into the back of his throat and
swallowed without water.

The knock to his door nearly had him jumping out of his skin. His

heart constricted. What would it take to just be left alone for one hour
in this house?

“Come in,” he called out. What he really wanted to say was “go

away,” but he doubted his staff would survive the heart attack it
would give them if he did. They were very sensitive to his moods,
especially Tobias. He sighed at the thought of his personal servant.
They’d been thick as thieves once, like brothers in everything but
blood. Father had certainly put a stop to that, though. “You can be
friends with the shifters the same way you can be friends with a dog.
Anything else is obscene and unnatural,” Flavius repeated the phrase
that had been drilled into his head after his father had walked in on
Tobias and Flavius playing together on the floor of Flavius’s

Cat and Mouse

bedroom. They’d been seven and nine, respectively. If his father only
knew how he was interacting with his shifters now…

“Master Flavius?” Corbin’s voice sent a spear of desire through

his gut. Oh God, please, have a little mercy. Begging God had never
accomplished much for him, but he tried it all the same.

Flavius turned slowly toward the shifter in his doorway. “Is it

midnight already?” He meant the words to come out jokingly. They
sounded breathless instead. Corbin’s deep brown eyes regarded him
with no small amount of heat. Flavius felt his cheeks warming at that
look. “What is it, Corbin?”

“I wish it was midnight.” The throaty rumble of the bear’s voice

sent chills down Flavius’s spine. “It was midnight in Flav’s room, and
all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”

“That’s not funny, Corbin. What do you want?” Flavius trembled

at the look Corbin was giving him. No. He wouldn’t lose control. Not
again.

“I want you always, cub.”
The words had their desired effect, Flavius hardened behind his

slacks. Motherfucker. Can’t he just leave me alone? “I told you the
rendezvous would have to stop.” Was his voice shaking?

“Yes. And I told you to lock me in my cage if you really want

them to stop. If you think you can stop.” Corbin took a step in his
direction, and Flavius nearly lost it. The urge to throw himself into
Corbin’s arms was almost irresistible. He wanted nothing more than
to let the bear take him to bed and rub against him, marking him with
his scent inside and out. The image had him throbbing. What he
wouldn’t give to be able to just forget the world and let Corbin do
what he had been oh so good at doing for the past year now.

Flavius balled his hands into fists to keep from reaching out. “I

can’t.” His weakness disgusted him. His father would have a vapor fit
if he knew.

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Corbin nodded as if Flavius’s words were expected. “I didn’t

come here for that. I will get that later tonight when everyone is in
bed. I came here to discuss something else with you, Flavius.”

Flavius crossed his arms over his chest, the urge to run to Corbin

still thrumming inside him. “Oh? The incident with Cassisus earlier?”

“Yes. Your servant is Cassisus’s mate.”
Flavius’s head snapped up, and he searched Corbin’s expression

for some kind of joke. “But he’s a mouse.”

“Yes.”
“And Cassisus is a cat.”
“Yes.”
“How the hell is that supposed to work?”
Corbin gave him a wry smile. “I imagine the same way it works

between a bear and his human cub.”

“We’re not mates.” It was the only thing that helped Flavius retain

his sanity. Everything was okay so long as he didn’t admit to being
mated to the other man. Mating implied something uniquely shifter
and uniquely animal, and Flavius just couldn’t deal with that yet.

Corbin shrugged. “If you say so, cub. I didn’t come to debate. I

came to tell you that if you don’t let Cass have at least some access to
your little Tobias, there will be trouble of epic proportions.”

“How do you mean? Cassisus would rebel?” It was a fear that

every gladiator master had. A school full of shape-shifting warriors
was difficult to control on the best of days. In a time of rebellion, a lot
of people could get hurt or killed.

Again Corbin shrugged. “I don’t know if he even realizes the

lengths his cat would go to get to his mate. You have such a young
group of gladiators, it’s no wonder that they don’t even fully
recognize their animal impulse to mate. Cass has always been
possessive with his things. This will be no different. You don’t want
to have him restless and annoyed for the rest of the season. It’ll make
for terrible fighting and even more terrible temper tantrums.”

Cat and Mouse

“What do you suggest I do?” Flavius asked, pushing a hand

through his hair in frustration. “I can’t give Tobias over like some
damn chew toy.”

“The gladiators have an after-meal snack before bed. Usually

servants bring them in to the gladiators. They’re given the food
through the bars, so no worries when it comes to Tobias’s safety. Let
Cass at least get that much access to Tobias, and it should keep the cat
mostly in check.” As always, Corbin’s arguments were sound. “I’ve
already seen how big of a distraction the mouse is going to be after
we made Cass drop him. Cassisus will be useless for fighting if we
don’t sate some of his instinctual cravings.”

“Is that what I am to you? An instinctual craving?” Flavius

immediately wanted to snatch back the words as they escaped. Very
good. You sound like a Grade-A psycho.

“You’re mine, Flavius. Bears are patient by nature. You’ll come

to me in your own time. I’m not worried about that.” Corbin’s eyes
took on that hooded look they usually did when he was about to say
something that would make Flavius melt like a hot stick of butter.
“And when you come to me of your own accord, the way we come
together will make all the stars align for you, and you’ll never doubt
again that you’re my cub.”

He was so close now that Flavius could smell the Irish Spring

soap that Corbin was addicted to. He licked his lips. “Corbin,” he
whispered. It was a request.

The bear leaned down and claimed his lips in a kiss.

Jana Downs

Chapter Four

Cassisus paced his cell after a long day of practice, rubbing the

towel over his head to dispel the last bit of water left over from the
showers. It had been three days since he’d spoken with Corbin in the
cells, and he’d not heard anything else about either Master Flavius’s
answer or Tobias’s whereabouts. Though he’d tried to bring it up a
few times, Corbin had managed to redirect his attention every time. It
was beginning to piss him off.

He crossed the floor to where the bed and the rug, which he’d put

down so he wouldn’t have to put his feet down on a cold floor when
he got out of it in the morning, was. His toes dug into the plush
material, luxuriating in it for a moment. Like the cat he was, there was
nothing he loved better than digging his claws into the cloth and
stretching out. He picked up the remote and flipped on the TV. What
was on didn’t matter. He just liked the background noise to drown out
the sounds of other televisions, game systems, and people chatting.

Why hadn’t Tobias sought him out? Surely he’d felt the bond flare

between them. That meant Cass was entitled to the little mouse now,
didn’t it? He sighed. There was so much he was unsure of when it
came to mate stuff. He’d learned from other gladiators that some
masters refused to let shifters get their own mates because of the very
strong bond that formed between them. The possessiveness was
usually the part that masters found abhorrent. After all, shifters were
slaves, possessions.

He growled at the thought. Tobias was his. Something for him and

him alone. In a world where he was allowed to own nothing, even the
possibility of having something for himself left him dizzy with

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giddiness. Though it did beg the question of whether or not he wanted
Tobias because he was his mate or because of the measure of freedom
Tobias represented. Now that’s a strange thought. Did he even want a
mate?

“Cassisus?” Corbin’s voice snapped him out of his spiraling

contemplations.

“Yeah?”
“Do you still want to see Tobias?” the bear asked, leaning against

the bars of his cell.

Cass nodded.
“Good. He’ll come serve you the after-meal snack in a bit. Put

some clothes on and don’t scare him. And, Cass?”

“What?”
“No means no. If he doesn’t so much as want to look at you, you

are to leave him alone.”

The words rankled. “And if I tell you to fuck off?”
Corbin’s normally laid-back expression turned to steel. “Then you

will never see him again, and I will personally beat you bloody well
senseless. Got it?”

Cass hissed at him, feeling his cat pushing against the inside of his

skin, wanting out to wipe that superior look off his trainer’s face.

“Cass…” The word was a warning.
“Yeah. Yeah. I got it. Send him to me.”
He settled back into his bed as Corbin turned away and walked

down the hall away from his cell.

“Bastard,” he whispered. He was so confused. What had he done

to label himself a person who took advantage of those smaller than
him? He wiped a hand over his face and sighed. I almost wish I didn’t
have a mate. All these feelings are a pain in the ass to deal with. It
wasn’t that he cared for the little mouse. He was intensely attracted
and possessive, but as far from emotionally connected as could be.
The only thing he really knew about the other man was that he was a
mouse shifter and worked closely with Flavius. But still, the desire to

Jana Downs

touch and be touched in return, to be wanted and surrendered to, were
feelings that he wasn’t used to. They called him vain because of his
confidence in all areas of his life. He always had the prettiest men in
his bed, had always been the strongest, fastest, most beloved by the
crowds. This…uncertainty was throwing him off his game in a big
way. He didn’t like it in the least.

A sullenness settled over him like a wool blanket, abrasive against

his skin. He rolled out of bed and padded over to the armoire and
dragged out a fresh shirt and a pair of jeans from the closet. He left
off his shoes. The mirror offered him no comment, but he nodded at
the reflection. He was good looking, toned, a gladiator. The mouse
should be grateful that he was even putting this much effort into
looking good for him.

“Um, C–C–Cassisus?” The squeaking question had Cass reaching

for the remote to flick his television off. He mentally prepared himself
for the impact of seeing Tobias before he turned. He might as well
have been fighting the rising sun for all the good that preparation did.
The impact of the smaller brown-haired, brown-eyed man was like a
punch in the gut from Gregori. Mine. His cat insisted on the fact.

“Hello, little one,” Cass greeted, crossing the cell to stand before

the bars. The mouse shrank back. Right. Cass was much taller and
probably looked imposing as hell. He glanced around the room until
his eyes lit on a pillow shoved in the corner. The pillow was thrown to
the floor in front of the cell, and Cass sat on it, folding his legs so that
he sat Indian style before the mouse. The tray that Tobias was
carrying was shaking, and Cass half expected him to drop the thing
before he was served his meal.

“Come. Sit,” Cass encouraged, motioning to the floor beyond his

bars. He didn’t understand why Corbin had warned him about keeping
his hands to himself if Tobias wasn’t even going to come inside.
Annoyance began to ripple, only to be cleared away by pleasure as the
tray was placed carefully on the ground and Tobias sat in a similar
position to Cass on the other side.

Cat and Mouse

Tobias refused to meet his eyes as Cass stared a hole into him.

“Master Flavius was leery of letting me come here.”

“I won’t hurt you,” Cass promised. It was a promise easily made.

The last thing his cat wanted to do was hurt Tobias. Rub against him?
Yes. Fuck him? Most definitely. But hurt? Hell no.

Tobias reached for the tray and picked up Cass’s standard box of

Oreo cookies. “These things aren’t very good for you.” His eyes
finally raised up enough so that Cass felt like his attention was fully
on him for the first time.

“I like sweets,” Cass offered by way of explanation.
Tobias shrugged. “It’s your body.”
Awkward silence descended over them.
Well this is comfortable. Maybe he’d been wrong about the mate

thing. Wasn’t it supposed to be easy conversation and hot sex or
something?

“Why did you ask for me?” Tobias asked suddenly, offering the

Oreos through the bars. Cass reached out and took the wrist attached
and pulled Tobias forward so that they were separated by only a few
inches of air and iron.

“How can you ask that? You feel the pull as much as I do.” Cass

was sure about that. The little mouse had reacted to him. As reluctant
as it had been, he’d most definitely reacted to him. The scent of fear
perfumed the air. Damn. He hadn’t meant to scare him. Immediately
he let the other man’s hand go and sat back with his cookies. When
Tobias, shaking now, extended the glass of milk, Cass took it slowly
and didn’t try to touch the mouse again. He was so used to the other
gladiators who reacted positively to his rougher nature that he didn’t
know what to do to express himself with someone as gentle as Tobias.

The mouse seemed to gather his courage. “We’re mates. So what?

It doesn’t mean anything anymore. It’s an outdated instinct from a
freer time. I don’t want to be involved with a gladiator.”

It would’ve been less shocking if Tobias had slapped him. “What?

How can you say that? Fate, instinct, whatever it is, has given us an

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opportunity to make a real connection to someone. Doesn’t that mean
anything?”

“Connections are for people who have the ability to choose. If I

could’ve chosen, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. Master Flavius
said I had to go, so I did.” Cass snarled, and Tobias’s trembling
increased, though he pressed on. “I−I will not be pressured into a
relationship with you.”

“Relationship?” Cass sputtered. Since when they were in a

relationship?

“I’ve never been in one, and I have sort of resolved myself to not

being in one because of the situation we’re in. I won’t risk someone I
love being sold off or made to breed with someone else or something
horrible like that.”

“Love?” Cass echoed stupidly.
Tobias waved his hand like he was dismissing him. “I know you

probably don’t believe in love being a big tough gladiator, but I don’t
even want the possibility to occur.”

Cass cleared his throat. “Aren’t you putting the cart before the

horse? How about you just get to know me and stop worrying about
what might or might not happen?”

“I can’t do that,” the little mouse said softly. “I’m sorry, but

you’re a risk I’m not willing to take.”

A very feline growl sounded. “Don’t patronize me, boy. I’m not

someone to be shrugged off. We’re mates whether you like it or not.”

“I choose not to act on that knowledge,” Tobias said stubbornly,

standing.

“Where are you going?”
“I’ve delivered your meal. That’s all I was told to do.”
“Wait!” Cass called as Tobias turned toward the exits and started

to walk away. The mouse paused. “You can’t just walk away from
this and ignore it.”

“I’ve lived my whole life without my mate. I can continue to do

so.”

Cat and Mouse

Cass slammed his body against the cage he was in. “Don’t walk

away from me, Tobias.” The mouse ignored him. “Tobias!” Cass
snapped, losing his temper. For the first time in the twenty-some-odd
years he’d been a gladiator, he completely lost control of his cat and
shifted, tearing his clothes as his body switched shapes and became
the tiger inside him. He screamed as only a cat can, the noise making
his cell mates stir restlessly in their own skins.

* * * *

Tobias shook as he left the house. The noise that Cassisus made as

he shifted was one that left him near tears. He’d made the decision to
deny their mate bond soon after Master Flavius announced that he
would be serving Cassisus his nightly snack from now until the
gladiators and their master left for the European circuit. Tobias knew
his reactions and wasn’t in the habit of lying to himself. If he let
himself talk to the gladiator, get to know him, do all the things his
family said that mates did…he’d love him.

That possibility was a frightening dream that would turn into a

nightmare. Tobias belonged to the house, and Cassisus belonged to
the Ludus. They came from two separate worlds, and it was only a
matter of time before they were forced apart by factors beyond both
of their controls. Love was a freedom neither of them had. It didn’t
mean it didn’t bother him to walk away. In fact, every step away from
Cassisus was agony. However, Tobias was nothing if not practical.

He made it to the front of the Ludus and came out into the main

courtyard that lay between the houses. The fresh air would do him
some good, as brief as it was. It took less than a minute to cross the
yard, but he savored the scent of grass when he could. He needed the
distraction from the fact that he’d basically told his mate that he
wouldn’t give them a chance.

Full night had fallen, and he slowed as he reached the center.

There was a fountain and bench located there. He knew from

Jana Downs

experience if one sat on the other side of the fountain, one could see
the side yard where the gladiators practiced in the summer months.
The winter air had reduced the foliage to little more than winter grass
and shrubs which required little pruning. In full summer, the entire
courtyard was filled with flowers. Master Flavius loved flowers of
every type, and the gardens of the estate always overflowed with
them. This new estate was even more vast, and the gardens, no doubt,
would be even greater.

What would it be like to tour the house and gardens with

Cassisus? He chuckled at the thought. The cat would probably be
uninterested in the architecture, paintings, and gardens. A male like
Cassisus would probably be more interested in the wide, wild fields
that ran to the south of the estate. No doubt he’d want to shift and roll
in the high grass, to jump into the creek where it widened into a larger
river on the other side. Tigers liked water, didn’t they? Come to think
of it, I wouldn’t mind doing the same thing. Running as far and as fast
as his feet would carry him appealed to his animal nature. Wrestling
with someone under an unrestricted sun seemed both beautiful and
impossible. Like Cassisus.

He sighed and hurried his footsteps, following the gravel path

around the fountain and up the stones steps that led into the house.

Cat and Mouse

Chapter Five

“You are to go to him tonight,” Master Flavius commanded as

Tobias knelt at his feet after his meal.

Tobias winced. “Master, I do not wish to disobey you, but the

gladiator makes me…uncomfortable.”

The normally kind face of Flavius turned absolutely cold. “He

hasn’t left his cell for three nights. He refuses to shift, to eat, or to
practice. Tobias, what did you say to him?”

He’d never heard Flavius use that tone with him before. “I−I told

him that I wouldn’t accept our mate bond.” The words were
whispered. Was he to be punished?

“Did he frighten you? Hurt you in any way?”
“No. I never let the conversation get that far. I…Master, please,

don’t make me go to him. I don’t want a mate.”

Flavius’s expression softened, and he petted Tobias’s head, the

way he’d done when they were little. It was a brotherly gesture
designed to settle Tobias’s racing heart. It was effective. Flavius
wouldn’t punish him.

“Mates are blessings for your kind, Tobias. It only makes sense

that I would encourage the bond between you. If you truly don’t want
to be with him, I will not force you. However, if you are staying away
out of fear of what will be or what could be, you should reconsider
your stance.”

Tobias looked at him and felt the anger begin to build in his chest.

How was it that free people always had advice for people who had no
choices? “Master,” he said through gritted teeth, “please, leave the

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subject alone. Master, I will do as you ask, so please do not ask this of
me.”

“Tobias, I need him in top shape for the European circuit. Put up

with it until we leave for Europe, and I swear to you when we return I
will allow you to stop. Give me time to find something else for him to
focus on for the time being,” Flavius pleaded. The action shocked
Tobias. Flavius was good at giving orders and rarely bent even with
his favorite slaves. What was with him lately? First he asks me for my
opinion as a friend and then a what? A favor?

“Master, I don’t understand.” Where was the trick? Where was the

trap?

“Do this for me, and I will reward you, Tobias. I am not asking

you as your Master but as your childhood friend. I can’t grant you
freedom from slavery, but I can give you more freedom than you’d
find anywhere else in the world.”

“A bribe? A bribe to keep Cassisus company until you leave for

Europe?” Tobias couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I don’t consider it a bribe, but call it what you like. I need him to

do well. We have one last state-side arena to go to in New Orleans,
and then we’ll be off in Europe. Once the Ludus has been established
on the world stage and the gladiators have enough fame, I can cut
them down from making so many arena appearances, increase the
prices for the ones they attend, and make them do more celebrity
appearances. Cassisus is our best hope for the Olympics. If he wins
the gold, I can make things better for everyone here. We could have
not just a new home but a sanctuary of sorts. Tobias, I have big
dreams for everyone, but I’m going to need your help to achieve that
dream. So please, Tobias, will you help me?”

Tobias didn’t know what to say. In all his years as a servant, first

Flavius’s father’s house and now in Flavius’s house, he’d never been
offered this sort of singular decision-making opportunity. He let his
own dreams bubble to the surface for the first time since he was a

Cat and Mouse

child playing with Flavius in the massive room upstairs where he was
made to change the sheets.

“I want a cottage on the grounds. I can still be your personal

servant, but I want a space of my own.” His heart thudded as he made
the request. Could this really be happening? Had he really said that
out loud?

“Done and done. Whatever you need I will provide.” The ease that

Flavius agreed with made triumph surge through his veins. “In
exchange you will keep Cassisus happy?”

“Until you leave for Europe, I will serve after-meal snacks to

Cassisus.” He could keep his heart from becoming involved until
then. “But I’m not sleeping with him,” he added as an afterthought.
He didn’t know if the saying was true. Where the body went the heart
would follow, but he was not willing to find out either way.

“I wouldn’t ask you to whore yourself for anyone,” Flavius said

quickly. “I just ask you to talk to him.”

“I can do that. He likes trinkets and stuff, right? Maybe I can order

him something to apologize for ignoring him?” He would find a way
to keep himself removed from his mate and in return win his freedom.
All he had to do was talk to his mate for a few weeks. Piece of cake.
Right?

* * * *

Cass slept mostly. Three days after Tobias had walked away from

him and he still couldn’t shrug off his cat. His anger wouldn’t abate,
and because of that, he couldn’t shift back to his human form. So he
slept. He’d swiped at everyone who had even come close to the cage,
and even his brother Faustus couldn’t get him out of his funk. His
mate had utterly and thoroughly rejected him, and nothing was going
to change that. The one thing that was supposed to be his was utterly
out of his reach. If they let him out, he’d tear the house down stone by

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stone until he found Tobias and convinced him that he was being
stupid. Stubborn mouse.

“Hey, brother,” Faustus said as he came up to the front of the cell.

Cass’s eyes slid open lazily from his place on the bed. It must’ve been
near the end of practice time if Faustus was here. His little brother
typically came over to try and get him to shift to human form
whenever they were done for the day. “I’ve got someone who wants
to see you.”

Who cares? He didn’t want to see anyone but Tobias, who had

made it absolutely clear that he wouldn’t even eat with him never
mind anything else. Why was he so upset about it? It wasn’t like he
knew the guy.

“Cassisus?” Tobias’s voice penetrated his fog of feeling sorry for

himself and had him lifting his head.

Tobias. His cat overwhelmed his logical mind, who was still hung

up on the fact that Tobias had left the first time, and jumped up to go
over to the bars of the cage. He purred and rubbed against the metal,
wanting Tobias’s hands to stroke his neck. Instincts controlled him.
His cat didn’t care that he didn’t know anything about Tobias, didn’t
care that Tobias had rejected him, didn’t care about anything but the
fact that he was here.

Faustus chuckled. “Looks like big brother wants some rubs.”
“Is it okay to touch him?”
Cass smelled fear coming off his mate but didn’t understand why.

He wouldn’t hurt him. Why was he afraid?

“Sure. He’s your mate, and hear that noise? It means he’s happy.

He wants to touch and be touched. Put your hand through the bars and
let him smell. Okay?” Faustus was talking to him really sweetly.
Good. He wasn’t going to frighten his mate.

A small hand extended through the bars, trembling as it did so.

Cass lifted his whiskered face and sniffed the proffered fingers. He’d
eaten something salty earlier, probably crackers or something.
Underneath the scent of food and soap was the clean, fresh scent that

Cat and Mouse

was all Tobias. He purred louder and lapped at those fingers, stealing
the taste so that his mate’s essence played over his tongue.

Tobias laughed and sat down outside his cell, moving his hands

down Cass’s head to caress the spot behind his ears. “Will you shift
back to human form now and eat something, Cassisus? You’re being
stubborn. I’m here now, so you can stop.”

Cass huffed. His mate didn’t sound happy with him. He gave his

hand one last lick before padding over to the dresser beside his bed.
His anger had vanished at the first tentative touch of his mate’s hand
on his head. He willed the change to overtake his muscles, forcing the
skin, muscle, and bone into their human shape.

It was always a strange sensation shifting forms. There was

always this little thrill of fear that accompanied the action. Once when
he was fourteen, he’d gotten stuck halfway in between human and cat.
It had been a terrifying experience and one he definitely hadn’t ever
wanted to repeat.

He had been whipped for some minor infraction, probably not

holding stance long enough. The trainer then had been a big brute of a
man who’d decided that inflicting pain while he shifted to be the
epitome of a good technique for training young gladiators. He’d
panicked halfway and had gotten stuck that way for hours. Faustus
had finally talked him out of it several hours later, but the time when
he’d been in that position had seemed to stretch on into eternity.

Finally the change was complete, and he straightened, popping his

arms and neck from where they’d been cramped from inactivity.
Opposable thumbs rocked. He turned toward his mate, who was still
sitting outside the cell. He padded over to him and sat down. The
anger and hurt his cat had pushed aside the moment before came
flaring back to life.

“Why are you here?” Cass asked.

* * * *

Jana Downs

Don’t look at his privates. Don’t look at his privates. Don’t look−

Oh Christ! He’s huge. Tobias felt his cheeks start to blaze as Cassisus
swung around and casually sauntered over to the entryway of the cell.
The bars afforded Tobias some protection but absolutely no modesty
for Cassisus. The scent of cat still permeated the air, which the mouse
inside Tobias didn’t much care for, but the overwhelming smell of
male beneath it had Tobias almost panting as his instinct to mate
reared its head. Mice were by nature sexual creatures. Tobias had
always been the exception when it came to sex. It figured that it
would take finding his mate to awaken his sexual side.

“Why are you here?” Cassisus repeated, glaring openly at Tobias

now.

“I−I came to see you,” Tobias stammered. He didn’t add anything

about the deal he’d made with their master for it.

Cassisus snorted. “You told me under no uncertain terms you

wouldn’t be back.”

“I couldn’t stay away.” Because I want my cottage and the

freedom to be employed, not enslaved. Man, I’m a jackass. What kind
of bastard used their mate to get what they wanted?

“You couldn’t get away from me fast enough earlier.”
“I changed my mind. What’s the harm in conversation?” What

harm? Oh nothing. Just touching and kissing and liking someone who
I swore I wouldn’t. Tobias’s heart started to pound. He didn’t need
this stress. What if the big male found out that Tobias had only come
here so that Master Flavius would keep his word? Men of violence
often found it easy to carry that out in places other than the rings.
Why had Flavius dangled a bit of freedom in front of Tobias like that?

Cassisus considered him for a minute as if searching for the lies in

Tobias’s words. They were there even if they weren’t obvious. Tobias
swallowed. He wasn’t a liar. In fact, he hated to lie. So why was he
doing it now?

“I’m not a bad guy,” Cassisus said after his consideration. “I’m

not out to hurt you. If you’re afraid of that possibility, I can assure

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you I’m not going to. I know our instincts say that we have to be
together, but I think that we don’t have to rush into it.” He paused as
if mulling over what he’d said. “And if you want to stay on the other
side of the bars until you get to know me I’ll understand.”

It was a sweet gesture. Really. It just made Tobias feel worse

though. He was going to crack. There was no way he could keep
something like this internalized while his would-be mate suffered
under the illusion that Tobias was actually interested in a relationship.
He wasn’t that cruel. He opened his mouth to spill his guts, but
Cassisus beat him to it.

“And I’ll only expect you to share my bed after you get to know

me. I know you probably have your own space, but when we’re really
mated, you’ll stay in mine.”

Tobias’s stomach turned. Another form of enslavement. Mating to

Cassisus was nothing but the acquisition of something living and
breathing to Cassisus’s collection of knickknacks that he had scattered
through his space.

“We’ll talk about it then,” Tobias said, silencing the voice in his

head that acted as his conscience. It wasn’t like Cass liked him.
Cassisus liked the idea of having a mate. Cassisus was using him like
Tobias was using Cass. They both wanted something and were
making sacrifices to get it.

Cassisus gave him a dazzling, white smile. “Great.” He sat down,

flashing more of his gorgeous body in Tobias’s face.

“Um, brother, I know he’s your mate and all, but his face looks

like he’s hot enough to have an aneurism. His head looks like all the
blood is pooling there. How about putting on some clothes?” Faustus
asked.

Tobias looked up, startled. He’d forgotten Faustus was still there.

He’d been so caught between what he was doing to Cassisus, the big,
scary, shifted cat form of his mate, and how very naked his human-
shaped mate was that he’d completely blanked out Faustus’s
presence. Why couldn’t he have been mated to Faustus instead? The

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other half of the cat-shifter duo was levelheaded, calm, and
controlled. He didn’t make Tobias feel uncomfortable, and none of
the servants in the Ludus ever complained about him.

Cassisus was a different animal entirely. He was arrogant,

pigheaded, and aggressive. According to the servants’ gossip, he was
possessive on top of that stubborn streak. He was everything that
Tobias couldn’t stand in a person. Tobias’s family wasn’t like that.
None of Flavius’s companions were like that. Cassisus was beautiful
and confusing. Faustus would’ve been so much better. Maybe Tobias
would’ve even wanted to be mated if he had a mate as patient as the
man.

A hand reached through the bars and grabbed the front of Tobias’s

shirt, jerking him toward the bars so that Cassisus’s face was inches
from his own.

“If you ever look at my brother with that sort of speculation again,

I will do something I will greatly regret,” Cassisus rumbled. His eyes
were narrowed slits reminiscent of his cat form. The ice-blue of those
eyes made Tobias shiver. He wasn’t afraid of Cassisus even though he
saw anger in those depths. What did one do when one was in the
claws of a tiger?

“What would you do?” Tobias whispered.
“I’d beat Faustus’s ass for starters.”
Why did that turn him on? A pulse started beating in his groin in

time with his heart.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Faustus said from somewhere over

Tobias’s shoulder. “Unless you need some help, Tobias?”

“You need to leave now, brother, before things get ugly.” Cassisus

spoke before Tobias could deny a need for assistance. Tobias didn’t
speak. There was a strange heaviness in the air that made it hard to
breathe. Their eyes stayed locked on one another. Cassisus’s attention
didn’t waver from him.

The sound of footsteps faded away, and the two of them were

alone. It was only then that Cassisus spoke again. “Why were you

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looking at my brother like that?” There was still a thread of anger
there but a genuine curiosity as well.

Tobias decided to give him a healthy dose of honesty. “I think it

would be easier if your brother was my mate.” The hands on his shirt
tightened, bringing his cheeks forward so they rested on the bars. It
was almost like Cassisus was threatening to pull him through the bars.
Tobias’s hands went through the spaces between the metal and
entangled in Cass’s hair.

Cass hissed as Tobias tightened his grip. If the gladiator wanted to

get aggressive, Tobias could get aggressive right back. What the hell
am I doing? I’ve never been aggressive before in my life! In the house
of Flavius senior, all aggression in the servants had been tamped out
at an early age. He’d never been allowed to wrestle with his cousins
when he’d been younger or anything else that would foster
independence. It had been forbidden.

But this Flavius had changed the rules. He’d offered him a home,

a job, not enslavement. That meant something, didn’t it? He tightened
his grip, and Cassisus groaned. The low noise wrapped itself around
Tobias’s balls and squeezed. Holy crap. It was sexy to make his mate
make sounds like that. He tugged Cassisus forward until his lips
hovered over his.

“Why would it be easier with him?” Cassisus demanded, his eyes

boring into Tobias. There was a fire burning in those glacial depths.

“I don’t want to do this to him.” Tobias demonstrated exactly

what he meant by pressing his lips to his companion’s. The move was
bold, so unlike Tobias that it almost startled him out of the enjoyment
of kissing his mate. It felt good, too good to waste.

Their lips caressed one another endlessly. Tobias felt the exact

instant the power dynamic shifted and Cassisus caved to his desire
and started taking Tobias’s mouth for his own. The gladiator’s tongue
pushed its way into Tobias’s mouth and demanded his participation
with each bold plunge. Tobias’s whole body caught on fire, and it
wasn’t long until he found himself flush against the iron gate,

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wrapped in the gladiator’s arms and only separated by a few damning
inches of metal. He wanted to be touched, caressed, fucked? Maybe.
As intoxicating as his newfound power was, that was territory that
he’d never explored and was absolutely afraid to.

Cassisus pulled back suddenly, panting. “You’re not what I

expected.”

Tobias swallowed and relied on the bars to keep him upright.

What had just happened? Why had he stopped? The scent of his mate
and the contrast between the cool alloy and Cassisus’s hot skin made
Tobias throb.

“I−I want…” he trailed off, unable to put into words the state he

was in. He took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to calm down.
The hair that his hands were still tangled in felt like silk around his
fingertips, and he had to force himself to let go.

“Wanting isn’t a bad thing, baby, but wanting while keeping me at

arm’s length is going to get a little painful for the both of us,” Cass
said. The half grimace on his face spoke to the same effect. Fuck.
What was I thinking?

“I shouldn’t have come here.” Never should’ve taken myself out of

the box I was born into. A little house for myself? What the hell was I
thinking? He shook his head to try and clear away the screaming
voice that competed with his sanity. This decision-making stuff
wasn’t easy. How was he supposed to make them when he’d never
had to make them before? No decision he’d ever made had
consequences in his life. He just followed the orders of his master and
tried to find contentment where he could.

“I think you are scared of possibilities,” Cassisus rumbled.
“Let me go.”
“No, Tobias. I don’t think I will.”
Adrenaline surged through Tobias’s veins along with a healthy

dose of anger. “You promised that we’d go at my speed.”

Cat and Mouse

Cassisus’s eyebrow quirked upward. “Did I? Your speed? Were

you or were you not just yanking on my hair and demanding that I
kiss you?”

Tobias deflated. “Um, I, uh…” Embarrassment singed him. How

was it that Cassisus made him so uncomfortable all the time?

“Take what you want, Tobias,” Cassisus said, switching tactics.

“You started this. Follow up on it. Take nothing more than what you
want. I’ll put my hands on the bars and not move them. Okay?”

“Y−you confuse me.”
Cassisus grinned, the smile not necessarily a sweet one. It was all

arrogance and I-know-more-than-you. “Don’t be a mouse on me now,
Tobias. Be a man.”

“I am a man!” Tobias protested, his anger firing again.
“Prove it.”
Fine. Just, fine. Tobias’s hands went out as his arms were released

and wound them back in Cassisus’s thick hair. He jerked Cass’s head
forward and smiled at the wince that the big gladiator made at the
action. Mine. The thought came out of nowhere. It felt good to think
it, too. His lips met Cassisus’s, and he groaned at the taste. Kissing is
good. Really good, but Tobias wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be
thinking like that. Distance. Yeah, right.

He pulled back, resting his forehead against the bars and panting

against the tightly bound ball of want inside him. This was not going
to work. If he stayed around Cassisus, he was going to fall into bed
with the cat, and where would that leave Tobias? At the mercy of a cat
with more beauty and brawn than is good for any one person.

“You are definitely all man, Tobias,” Cass rumbled, stroking

Tobias’s hips where they rested on the bars. “Will you come inside?”

The temptation finally forced Tobias to see how far he’d let things

progress. “I want to take this slow. I’ll come back every day until you
leave.” It was the closest thing to a promise of commitment as he
would give the big gladiator. “Eat, Cass. You will need to keep your
strength up.” If the mouse had to force-feed the cat, he would do it.

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Just until the match. The reminder didn’t make Tobias any less aware
of the fact that he was taking care of his mate.

Reluctantly, the cat drew back and pulled the tray of food that

Tobias had brought into his lap and began scarfing it down with a
hunger that let Tobias know exactly how much he’d missed eating.
The slices of summer sausage and Triscuits were a particular hit with
the gladiator.

“Don’t leave the fruit, gladiator. You need to have better eating

habits.” Really, he was going to have to talk to Master Flavius about
this whole eating situation. He understood that with the amount of
exercise the gladiators did that what they ate wasn’t terribly
contributive to their overall fitness, but Tobias was a big believer in
supplying the body with a balanced diet, not just protein and
processed sugar.

Cassisus winked before swallowing his mouthful. “Stick around

long enough, little one, and I’m sure your good habits will rub off on
me.” Leave it up to the cat to make even that seem sexual.

Tobias mumbled something noncommittal and continued to watch

Cassisus devour the snack tray that Tobias had put together. He had
absolutely nothing to talk to the gladiator about. What does one talk to
them about? The games? No. That wasn’t quite right. That would be
like Tobias talking about his day as a personal servant. It was a job.
Some people like their duties. Tobias considered that.

“So do you like being a gladiator?” he asked after a long, silent

pause.

Cass nodded. “I love it actually. There is nothing quite like

performing in front of a crowd. It’s the one place I really feel like I’m
free.”

Tobias could understand that. In the arena, nothing existed but

sand, sweat, and weaponry. The winners became heroes, and the
losers were honored for their contributions to the match. If anywhere,
the arena was the place where shifters reigned supreme. He sighed.
“That sounds nice. Isn’t it an illusion, though?”

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“An illusion?”
“Yes. I mean, you’re not really free. You only feel that way

because the humans created an artificial environment. It’s controlled
freedom and therefore not free.” Tobias was waxing philosophical
tonight. He opened his mouth and was surprised when Cassisus stuck
an apple slice in it.

“You’re unhappy with the way things are. I get it. Why don’t you

ask for a different duty if you’re unhappy?” Cass asked, tossing
another bite of apple into his own mouth.

Tobias snorted and nearly lost a bite of apple for his trouble. “I am

happy. I like my job. I just had a conversation with Master Flavius
earlier that must’ve bothered me more than I realized.” He still wasn’t
sharing the exact nature of that conversation with Cassisus, but at
least he could work out what was gnawing at the back of his skull.
When the master flipped their dynamics and treated Tobias like an
equal, he was sorely tempted to act like one. It was frustrating
considering he couldn’t act like one.

“You have a spunky personality under that learned demure

attitude of yours,” Cass observed, polishing off his tray of goodies.
“Thank you for the meal.”

“You’re welcome. And I’m not ‘spunky.’ I’m just tired.” It had

been a long day.

“You could come in here and take a nap,” Cass offered.
Tobias laughed and shook his head. “You’re relentless.”
The unapologetic grin the gladiator gave him said it all. Little by

little Tobias felt himself relaxing in the cat’s company. Maybe it
wouldn’t be as bad as he was making it up to be in his mind. Maybe
entertaining Cassisus for a few weeks wouldn’t be the burden and
stress that Tobias had originally thought. So long as they didn’t touch,
Tobias was pretty calm.

“So I suppose we should get to know one another, hmm?” Cass

asked, going over to the trunk at the foot of his bed and opening it up.
“I mean, I’m not sure how the mating thing works, but I’m pretty sure

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we’re supposed to know more than what we do for a living. You’re a
PA, and I’m a cage fighter. What else makes you tick, Tobias?”

Tobias shrugged. “I’m not sure. I like to read, I guess, and my

family is important to me.” He thought about all the things in his life
that had meaning. Those were about all the things he had in his life
that were somewhat separate than what he did day to day.

Cass straightened with a bottle of wine and two plastic cups

clenched in his fist. “Well, what do you know, I’m also a big family
guy. My brother is everything to me. You have any siblings?”

“Several. Mostly brothers. I’m not really close to any of them like

you are to Faustus.” Tobias watched as the gladiator uncorked the
bottle and poured them both a cupful. It was by far the most bizarre
way he’d ever been served a good bottle of wine before. Usually the
master got him his own glass, or if he gave the family one, they drank
out of regular glasses from the kitchen. Plastic was new.

“Oh?”
“You and your brother have a legendary bond. Everyone knows

that you’re thicker than thieves. I’m surprised you didn’t mate the
same person.” As Tobias said the words his tongue tripped over them
as his brain caught up. It was a common saying among shifters to say
that two people were so close that they should’ve mated the same
person, but after the reaction Cassisus had displayed when Tobias had
looked at his brother before made it seem more like a dig than
anything.

Again, Cass surprised Tobias by laughing. “You’re not the first

person to say that, but the sad truth is that my brother and I are night
and day, and he needs a mate that would frustrate him to death, not
one who would join and maintain the order of his world. My brother
needs to be shaken up.” His blue eyes sparkled as he handed over
Tobias’s cup through the bars. “Plus I would be greatly disappointed
if fate made me share. It’s been well established that I do not share
very well.”

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Tobias shivered at the possessive tone in his voice. Just like it had

never left, the fire that started in his gut every time Cass said or did
something remotely sexy began to burn him. “Er, then I suppose it’s
good that you don’t have the same mate.”

“Shall we toast?” Cass asked, changing the subject. Tobias nearly

sagged in relief. A playful Cassisus he could handle. A serious, bent-
on-seduction Cassisus just seemed too dangerous.

Tobias smirked. “I hardly think these are proper toasting glasses?”
Cassisus’s eyebrow quirked up on the right side. “Little one, I’m a

gladiator, and I break delicate shit.”

“Oh, that reminds me.” Tobias picked up the thin brown box that

was sitting beside him and handed it through the bars. “I hope you
don’t mind. I got you something to apologize for leaving you the
other night without hearing your piece.” Tobias’s cheeks heated at the
thought. “Apparently the ancients wore beads in their hair to signify
their status as being taken. I found this on the Net and thought it was
appropriate.”

He actually found himself hoping that Cassisus would enjoy the

present as much as Tobias had secretly enjoyed picking it out. He
watched as Cass easily tore off the packaging and opened the box.
The set Tobias had bought had been simple, but he’d liked the story
of Antinious and his human mate, Angelus, since he was a boy.

“Do you know the story?” Tobias asked as Cassisus examined the

bead box and the twine.

Cass shook his head. “We weren’t big on bedtime stories when I

was growing up.” Tobias wasn’t entirely surprised. The atmosphere of
the Ludus was a million miles away from the atmosphere at the house.
That was one of the reasons he’d chosen out the history box set. It
included a book on Antinious and Angelus’s story.

“It’s one of the cat stories I grew up with. The legend said that

there was once a cat shifter who became a gladiator in ancient Rome.
I’m sure the book says it better, but the long and short of it is that he
fell in love with a slave named Angelus, who was actually the son of a

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politician. The story is all about them falling in love against the odds
and finding freedom together in the end.” Tobias smiled just thinking
about it. He sighed. He’d fallen in love with the stories when he was
young. He eyed the cat fate had given him for a mate. Maybe he
shouldn’t have loved the story so much.

“What kind of cat was he?” Cassisus asked, pulling out the book

filer that would install the story on his e-reader.

“A lion, I think.”
Cass turned the bead box over in his hand and made this strange

rumbling sound in his chest that might’ve been a laugh. “A tiger
would’ve been better. However, I appreciate the gesture. Thank you.”

Tobias sipped his wine. It was sweeter than he expected and

slightly smoky. “It’s a bit academic, I know. I’m sorry if it isn’t to
your tastes.”

Cass shook his head. “Don’t ever apologize for giving me

something. Every gift is a reflection of the giver. Any present from
my mate is a treasure. I will learn more about your gift and then
comment appropriately about the thoughtfulness of it at a later date.
Okay?”

Tobias was perplexed by Cassisus. A normal person would have

just said thank you, maybe gushed about it without ever really
knowing the true meaning of his gift. Cassisus was proving to be a bit
different than Tobias expected.

“All right,” Tobias said, leaning his shoulder against the bars. A

change of subject was in order. “So tell me what it’s like to be a
gladiator.”

Cass’s smile was easily given, and Tobias kept getting sidetracked

by his easy grin. He certainly was a beautiful man. “What do you
want to know, little one?”

Before he knew it, several hours had passed and they’d talked

about everything from their favorite color to the proper way to defend
oneself in a match with a larger opponent. Tobias glanced at the wall

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clock and found himself reluctant to leave despite the fact he had to
be up in a few hours.

“I should let you sleep,” Tobias said, stretching. His muscles

protested sitting on the floor so long, but he had been content there.

Cass pressed himself to the bars and reached out, drawing Tobias

forward and into easy kissing distance. The cat’s hands on his clothed
skin was almost unbearable. The lust that had faded rose sluggishly as
if it, too, had been seduced by wine and good conversation.

Cass started purring again as Tobias leaned into him. “I enjoy

your company, Tobias. Why don’t you stay? I promise to be a perfect
gentleman.”

“Will the perfect gentleman include pants?” Tobias teased. He’d

finally started relaxing in the face of Cassisus’s nudity a few minutes
ago, but it was still extremely distracting.

“Hmm, clothes suck.”
Tobias just shook his head at the cat’s pouting protest. “Tell me

good night, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You promise you’ll come back?” Something about the way

Cassisus asked him made Tobias think that maybe Cass wasn’t nearly
as shallow emotionally as he seemed.

“I promise.” It was an easy promise to give. After all, there was

still a week’s time between tomorrow and when the Ludus would
pack up and travel to New Orleans. Spending his spare moments with
his would-be mate would be no hardship.

Cassisus sighed. “Then I suppose this is good-bye, Tobias. Sweet

dreams.”

“Good night, Cassisus. Sleep well.” Tobias went to pull out of the

embrace only to have his movement stopped by Cassisus’s strong
grip. “What?”

“I’ve been good. Do I get a goodnight kiss?” Cass asked, his voice

a whispered plea. How can I resist that? Tobias leaned forward
without thinking and met his lips. He sighed into the gladiator’s
mouth as the taste of his mate invaded his senses and stole away every

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logical thought he possessed. It would be all too easy to slip into the
cell and let Cassisus take what they both had danced around tonight.
The thought of his mate’s hands caressing him, touching his body
everywhere, was something that sent shivers of want up and down
Tobias’s spine. Why do I feel so bold with you?

“Tobias,” Cassisus whispered, diving into another kiss. Tobias’s

tongue thrust out to parry with Cass’s, dancing in a ritual that was as
old as humanity. His forehead clunked on the bars as he chased Cass’s
lips back toward the interior of the cell.

Tobias’s eyes popped open at the sudden cold on his face. His lips

tingled, and he was panting lightly as he stared at the gladiator who
had pulled his head back just out of range. Cassisus’s firm hands were
still resting on Tobias’s hips though, an anchor against the want
swimming through him.

Cass sighed, the noise long and frustrated. “Go, Tobias. I can’t

stand anymore teasing tonight. If we kiss again there is going to be
much more than saliva exchanged.”

The threat, promise, was enough to make Tobias take a hasty step

backward. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said softly, turning and all but
fleeing down the hallway. It wasn’t that he was scared Cassisus would
actually follow through with what he said. He was more afraid that his
stupid body was all too happy to oblige him and let Cass have his way
in whatever manner the cat saw fit.

He took a deep breath as he exited the hall. This mating thing

while keeping his distance was going to prove harder than he
imagined. He either needed to tell Cassisus about the deal he’d struck
with Master Flavius, or he needed to do a better job at keeping that
necessary distance. He didn’t want to hurt Cass, and he certainly
didn’t want to lead him on if Tobias was just going to walk away in a
week’s time. It wouldn’t be fair.

So much for an easy decision. His dreams were going to be

confusing and hot tonight. Tobias would need to get some relief
beforehand if he had any hope of getting some sleep. It was only

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when he reached the exit door that he realized that he didn’t have his
set of keys for the house security. He sighed. He couldn’t lose those.
If Master knew he had misplaced them, he’d be in big trouble. Flavius
gave him a lot of freedom with those access codes and metallic
inserts.

He turned and jogged back the way he came. He would just have

to go back and get them. He rounded the corner and saw them on the
floor right where he’d been sitting. He approached the cell quietly, not
wanting to disturb Cassisus if he had, by some miracle, dropped off to
sleep in the past thirty seconds since he’d been gone.

His mouth dropped open as he looked up. Cass’s back was to the

hallway near his bed, the naked perfection spotlighted by the dim
night light that he’d turned on at the side table. One hand was braced
on the table while the other moved along Cassisus’s flesh in an age-
old rhythm. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was doing.

Tobias couldn’t do anything but stare as he watched the

gladiator’s back and ass flex as he pleasured himself. His own cock
throbbed in sympathy, bunching uncomfortably in the confines of his
pants.

“Do you want to see, or do you want to pretend like you don’t and

scurry away, little one?” Cass’s deep rumble didn’t even penetrate
Tobias’s lusty brain for a full fifteen seconds. It wasn’t until the
gladiator turned, revealing the jutting length of his hard-on that the
words finally penetrated.

“I…” Tobias swallowed before licking his lips.
Cass tilted his head to the side, the movement utterly feline and

calculating. “Do you want to watch?” He reached down, the shadows
playing along his rippled abdomen, and wrapped his fist around his
thick cock. The damn thing had to be eight inches at least. Tobias
whimpered, pressing the heel of his hand to his own throbbing
member. He’d never felt want this incredibly sharp.

Cassisus moaned then, the sound low and hungry. Tobias watched

as pre-cum decorated the plum-shaped head. Cass used the wetness as

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lubrication and began stroking himself in earnest, his eyes never
leaving Tobias as he jerked himself off. Tobias snatched his hand
back as it rubbed unconsciously against his dick. No. Control. Walk
away. It wasn’t happening. Tobias was captivated by Cassisus’s
movements.

The cat’s hand moved faster, his other massaging the tight globes

of his sac as Cass brought himself closer to the precipice of pleasure.
Tobias’s panting increased, and he felt his body crank that much
tighter at the sight. Had anything ever been so beautiful?

Cassisus came with an animal sound of satisfaction, the low

animal growl a perfect reflection of the duality of his form. He spilled
his pleasure into the circle of his fist, his head tilted back and muscles
tensing at the moment of completion. Tobias ached. He was unable to
leave but unable to make himself shift so that he could join Cass in
his cell. He rested his forehead on the bars and stared at his mate.

With two decisive strides Cass was right in front of him. Without

asking, the cat unbuttoned Tobias’s jeans and pulled his cock through
the bars. Tobias made a small sound of protest as Cassisus’s knees hit
the floor and his mouth wrapped around his hot length almost
simultaneously. Tobias held on to the bars, unable to think past the
reality of what was happening.

“Oh God,” Tobias panted, his grip becoming white knuckled as

Cass started purring and lapping at his exposed flesh. He’d never had
a blow job before, and damn if it wasn’t better than his cousins
bragged about. “Cassisus. Christ, I can’t. Wait.” The orgasm that was
burning its way up his spine was not going to be held at bay that much
longer.

Cass drew back and stared up at him with the same hungry

expression he’d worn the moment before. “Give it to me, Tobias. Let
me suck you down.” The words alone were almost enough to send
Tobias careening over the invisible ledge.

Yes, please. More. “God!” He had no way to compare, but he was

pretty sure that Cassisus’s mouth was the best thing that had ever

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been experienced in the history of sex. The gladiator hollowed out his
cheeks, deep throating his length and keeping a firm suction that
drove Tobias insane. This is really happening. He hadn’t planned on
his evening ending quite like this.

Suddenly the orgasm he’d been putting off barreled down on him

like a freight train. He gave a startled yelp before his cock jerked and
shot the sticky proof of his pleasure into Cass’s eagerly suckling
mouth. He groaned, unable to do anything but feel in that moment of
perfect bliss.

Slowly he came down from his pleasure high, floating back down

to the real world. His thighs were Jell-O, and his prick was overly
sensitive as Cass cleaned his length before tucking him back into his
pants. All Tobias could do was try and catch his breath and rely on the
bars to support him as he sagged against them.

“That was…” Amazing? Stupendous? Awful of me? Any of those

options would’ve done. Tobias felt like a Grade-A prick for having
more than one motivation for seeking out his mate. He hadn’t meant
for this to happen.

“Shh, no need for words or reasoning, little one,” Cassisus said

warmly, pushing himself to his feet before reaching out and stroking
Tobias’s now slightly damp hair. “Take the pleasure I’ve given you as
a promise of the things to come. It will only get better from here.”

God help me if that is the case. Is it possible to stroke out from

pleasure overload? “Thank you,” Tobias whispered, needing to say
something, anything after that.

“No. Thank you for letting me. We’ll go as slow or as fast as you

want, Tobias. Consider me your willing slave,” Cass rumbled. His
voice was playing havoc with the nerves across his body. The way the
gladiator talked made Tobias want to melt into a puddle of yes-please
and let him do whatever he wanted.

The words finally penetrated. “Never my slave,” Tobias said,

pulling back and nearly stumbling on his unsteady feet. “We’re

Jana Downs

equals, mates. Even if I yield to you, we’re on the same playing
field.”

Cass considered him. “That’s important to you?”
Tobias nodded. “It’s everything to me. I can’t be a slave or

enslave in this mating. It would kill me.” He craved the equality even
in a friendship. In his mating, he demanded it.

“Such strange ideals from a man born into servitude,” Cass

observed. He shrugged. “Okay. I’ll try and make sure that we’re
always on the same level. Sound good?”

Tobias nodded again. Why did he feel like he’d just committed to

a lot more than just being companions? The satisfied look on the cat’s
face said his theory of what was actually going on had been correct.
Cassisus had just taken Tobias’s agreement to mean that Tobias was
seriously considering being mated. Christ on a Ritz Cracker. So much
for keeping it casual.

Cat and Mouse

Chapter Six

Cassisus finished his fiftieth sit-up as Corbin came down the

hallway to unlock their cells. Cass had only managed to sleep a few
hours last night. He’d been too excited for anything but feverish
dreams of the future. He’d pay any sum, complete any task given him,
if Flavius would grant him unlimited access to his little mouse. He
sighed as he thought of his mate. He’d never imagined they’d come
together like they had last night. He hadn’t been planning on sucking
him, but damn if he hadn’t been more than happy to do so.

“You’re awake?” Corbin asked suspiciously. Normally they had

to all but drag him out of bed for breakfast.

“Yep. Awake and ready to go, Lanista,” Cass said with an

extraordinary amount of cheer. Nothing could wreck his good mood
today.

The bear did not seem like he was supportive of this “good mood”

plan. “Uh-huh. Good night, Cass? Or have you slept yet?”

“I slept. I just had a great night with my mate.” Cass puffed up at

the thought. My mate. Yeah, that had a great ring to it.

“Uh-huh. I’m pairing you with Hadrian and Julian today. They

know one another well enough to fight as a pair, and I need them to
face a strong opponent who won’t clobber them into the sand. Can
you provide that?” Corbin asked. He usually waited until after
breakfast to ask Cass for anything. The gladiator mentally shrugged.
No matter. He was in a great mood.

“Fine. I’ll take them on during practice. Are they going to be

fighting with us in Louisiana?” If they were, Cass would be surprised.
They were only six months into their training with Corbin, and the

Jana Downs

bear rarely allowed anyone without a full year under him to hit the
sands on a circuit.

Corbin shook his head. “They’re going to watch how it’s done,

but no, they’re not participating. Master Flavius wants to get them as
ready as possible for Europe, though. He was thinking about
highlighting them in a few exhibition matches to garner interest.”

That sounded about right. Hadrian and Julian were identical twins

and would be quite striking at an exhibition match with their golden
bodies and blond hair. They were still too green for a real match, but
they would draw a crowd with those looks.

“We’re also doing a short practice today. The master has a

photographer coming in that will be taking pictures of you and the
rest of the school for some advertising. Flavius hopes to pick up a
corporate advertising sponsor soon,” Corbin continued.

Cass grinned at the thought. I’m such a fucking rock star. Soon

they’d be doing commercials and all the other stuff the most well-
known gladiators in the world did. That meant less time on the sand
but with Tobias by his side. Cass could live with that. His mind was
already stretching forward to the future and the Olympic games. He’d
have to win his match in New Orleans and over half in Europe in
order to qualify. He couldn’t wait. He lived for the rush of the arena.

Corbin unlocked his cell. “All right. Hurry up and grab some

breakfast. We’ll have to go through drills, conditioning, and practice
before the photographer gets here. The servants will wash and oil you
for the shoot after.”

“I want Tobias to attend me,” Cass said automatically. The

thought of his mate’s hands rubbing oil into his flesh did dangerous
things to the state of his arousal.

Corbin nodded. “If Master Flavius can spare him before supper

then I’ll see what I can do. Don’t make it a habit to be so demanding
with his attentions, Cassisus. Flavius has him performing duties as
well. Don’t overburden your mate. Now get down to the mess hall.”

Cat and Mouse

Cass rolled to his feet before pushing open the cage and striding

out into the hallway. “Don’t mind if I do, Corbin.”

He made his way down the hall and into the dining hall. The long

bench tables weren’t as packed as they usually were whenever he
dragged himself down here for a meal. His brother saw him, and his
eyes widened. Cass grinned and waved. He couldn’t wait to tell
Faustus about his night, leaving out the dirty details of course. Who
was he kidding? He was going to spill the dirty details as well.

He plopped down in his usual seat. “Hello, gents. You’re looking

at the luckiest man on the planet.”

Tacitus hid a smile behind his hand and used the other to scribble

on his notepad. He’d had an accident when he was younger that took
away his ability to speak, so he carried it around to talk to those who
didn’t know sign language.

“You can sign it to me, man,” Cass said, grinning. The only one at

the table who didn’t know ASL was Gregori.

Tacitus chuckled silently and held up the pad. We heard how

much “luck” you had last night, brother.

Cassisus frowned. “How?” Had the servants heard or said

anything?

Tacitus scribbled some more before holding up the pad once

again. You weren’t exactly quiet. Your mate sounds hot.

“He is,” Cass growled. “But I suggest you become deaf as well as

mute in the future.” He would have to see if he could get some kind of
privacy partition for his cell. He was a mated man now. Maybe he’d
ask Flavius for one after he won in Louisiana.

“You’ve accepted the mating to a mouse far easier than I

anticipated,” Faustus said, speaking up for the first time since he’d sat
down. “I like the way he looks on you. You seem happier.”

“I’m very pleased with my mating, Faustus. He was reluctant at

first, but he’s coming around.” God, had he ever come around. The
look on Tobias’s face as he’d come was etched forever into Cassisus’s
mind.

Jana Downs

Gregori snorted. “Aren’t you the least bit suspicious?”
“What do you mean?” Cass asked.
“Come on. Don’t tell me you didn’t think it was the slightest bit

strange that he came to you last night after Master Flavius tried every
other way to get you to come out of your cell?” Gregori slurped down
his glass of orange juice before picking up a handful of peeled grapes
and tossing them into his mouth. “I’d bet you anything that Master
Flavius ordered him into the Ludus to get you to cooperate.”

The idea didn’t sit well with Cassisus at all. “He would’ve said

something.”

Gregori made a noise of disbelief. “You don’t know him well

enough to know if he would’ve said something or not, Cassisus.
Maybe you should get to know him before you start waltzing around
here all rainbows and sunshine.”

Somebody kicked Gregori under the table, and Cass bet money

that it was Faustus. His mood was suddenly not so pleasant. They
were mates. It just didn’t make sense for him to betray the one
relationship in the world that came with no strings.

“It doesn’t matter if Flavius sent him,” Cass muttered, eyeing his

full plate with distaste. “He likes me.” No one came apart for him like
that without wanting him.

Gregori continued, “When are you going to get it, Cassisus?

Hormones are driving his attraction, not mated bliss.”

“Okay. You are no longer allowed to talk to my brother, ever,”

Faustus rumbled, blatantly kicking Gregori this time. “Don’t listen to
him, Cass. He’s just jealous that you got your mate and he didn’t.”

“Whatever,” Gregori said, pushing back from the table and

standing. “Enjoy breakfast, assholes.”

Cass shook his head as he watched Gregori walk away. “Man, that

guy has an attitude problem from hell.”

No joke, Tacitus signed. But Fautus is right. Don’t listen to him. It

doesn’t matter how it happened. It’s just good that he likes you.

Cat and Mouse

Cass picked at the breakfast ham on his plate. As one of the

servants walked by, he caught the scent of mouse. Without thinking,
he reached out and grabbed the servant’s arm.

“Sir?” the servant asked, his eyes cast downward.
“I need you to get a servant for me from the main house,”

Cassisus demanded.

The servant considered him, his brown eyes calculating. “You

want Tobias.”

“You know him?”
The servant’s eyes narrowed. “He’s my cousin. He came in pretty

exhausted last night after spending the evening with you, gladiator. I
think you need to cool your heels and wait for him to come to you.
He’s confused by this thing you have going on. The arrogance of you
gladiators is astounding.”

Cassisus admitted that he was shocked for a good thirty seconds

as the mouse glared daggers at him and told him basically where he
could get off. “He’s my mate, and I would like his company. Get him.
Now.”

“Look, gladiator, I’m not your dog, and I don’t fetch. The servants

of the main house are subject only to the orders of the head servant
and the Master Flavius himself. You want to have me punished, fine.
But I fetch for no man.”

Faustus growled low in his throat. “How dare you talk to my

brother like that!”

The servant snorted. “Easy, cat. I have no quarrel with you.” He

continued to stare at Cassisus. “If you can mate one of us, you can
treat the rest of us like we’re equals. You’d do well to remember that.
If I see Tobias, I’ll tell him you want to see him. But I’ll order him
nowhere.”

With that he walked away, head held high. Cass stared after him

in shock. “What. The. Hell?”

Jana Downs

“I don’t know about you, brother, but I think your mating just

stirred a whole lot of shit up,” Faustus whispered, staring after the
mouse.

“Have you ever heard a mouse talk to a cat like that?” one of the

twins asked in a hushed voice.

“It’s unnatural,” another gladiator said.
“Uh, Faustus? Why was he pissed at me?” Cassisus asked.
“Probably because you were talking to him like an inferior,”

Faustus said, biting into a hunk of honey bread. “You were within
your rights, though. Everyone knows that gladiators outrank Ludus
servants and house servants. Technically the only servants that
outrank us are the head servants and the lanista.”

Cass considered him. “And not technically?”
Faustus shrugged. “But we’re also all slaves. Just as technically,

we’re all on the same playing field, we just have different duties. I
hadn’t considered that before.” He looked thoughtful. “Maybe your
mating will show us all something new, Cassisus. Seriously, don’t
worry too much over Tobias’s motivations for coming to you. If he is
half the man I believe is worthy to be mated to my dearest brother,
then he will find his way into your heart and into your bed.”

“Thanks, bro. I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Cassisus said.
“Let’s move it, boys!” Corbin barked from the doorway.

“Daylight is burning, and we’ve miles to go before we sleep!”

“Cass, you didn’t eat anything,” Seneca, another gladiator whose

animal form was a leopard, noted, snatching the apple off Cassisus’s
untouched plate.

“Not hungry.” There were too many things to consider running

through his head like so much laundry in a dryer.

Seneca took another bite out of his apple. “Suit yourself. You’re

going to be kicking your own ass later today.”

Cassisus jogged to the head of the throng, eager to get his mind on

something familiar. He needed the physical action, the weight of his
armor, to make him calm. He’d thought it was a simple matter of

Cat and Mouse

mating, but the larger implications were becoming clearer. No matter.
I’ll make it simple. Things will die down once Tobias and I are mated,
once we join. They just had to start with some open communication. It
sounded simple enough.

* * * *

“Beautiful, Tobias,” Flavius complimented as his servant finished

the calligraphy on the personal invitation to Senator Chen Hermes. It
had been Tobias’s idea to issue some personalized invites to the
higher members of society whom Flavius desired to watch them
perform in Louisiana. Celebrities drew the media, and the media drew
sponsors. “You really are becoming an invaluable asset to me, Tobias.
You run the media side of things better than I ever dreamed to.”
Tobias had a knack for it. That was clear.

Tobias looked up at him with the same doe-eyed expression that

he usually did when he was in a place of utter contentment. “Thank
you, Master. I do enjoy it.”

“The photographer should be here any moment. I imagine the

gladiators are just getting out of the showers. If you like, you can go
down, watch the session, and bring Cassisus something sweet to tide
him over until supper,” Flavius suggested. He’d heard from the head
servant that Cassisus had wanted Tobias all day, but he really hadn’t
been able to spare him until that moment. Corbin had suggested
letting Tobias go down about this time anyway. He shivered as he
recalled the rest of Corbin’s scrawled message on his messenger. The
bear was really getting out of hand with his innuendo and stolen
kisses.

Tobias sighed softly. “I would rather wait until my scheduled time

to go down to him, Master.”

Flavius looked over at him in surprise. Tobias hadn’t moved from

his spot at his desk for hours. At the least, the mouse needed to stretch
his legs. “Is everything all right, Tobias?”

Jana Downs

The mouse looked up, meeting his eyes. “Everything is fine, sir.”
“The Ludus servants tell me you were at Cassisus’s cell until late

last night. I had hoped that you two were getting along.” Corbin had
reported that the cat had been all but whistling this morning when
Corbin had gone to wake them.

“We’re getting along fine,” Tobias said, returning his eyes to the

paper he was folding. Written mail was rare in today’s age, so it
would say something to the receiver about how highly Flavius viewed
them.

“So why don’t you want to go to see the man who you spent a

nice evening talking with?” Flavius asked.

“It’s personal, Master.”
There was his title, slapped on to create distance. Flavius took a

deep breath. Tobias was being inordinately stubborn when it came to
the subject of his mate.

“Our arrangement for your cottage isn’t. What is the problem?”

Silence reigned as he asked his question. The pregnant pause made
Flavius wonder whether Tobias would actually yield on the subject.
Out of all the servants in his household, Tobias was the least likely to
rebel, the least likely to give him even a ripple of trouble.

“I like him, Flavius,” Tobias snapped.
Flavius reeled. Had Tobias actually yelled at him? It should have

disturbed him, but instead he felt an acute sense of relief. He hadn’t
had anyone react to him with honesty in so long that it nearly brought
him to his knees. Even Corbin maintained a maddening amount of
distance between them. How was he supposed to express to Tobias
how wonderful it was to be treated as an equal for once?

His silence must’ve frightened Tobias because he looked panicked

for a split second. “Master, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“Shut up,” Flavius said. “Just shut up. Don’t ruin it.”
Tobias looked utterly confused. “Master?”

Cat and Mouse

“I just…Don’t call me ‘master’ right now. Just talk to me,

converse with me, tell me the truth of what you’re feeling,” Flavius
begged.

Tobias’s eyes rose and met his. This time it was Flavius who

looked away. “You’re lonely,” the mouse whispered. “That’s why
you want me to be your friend. You’re just as isolated as we are in
your station.”

He was right. The men and women he spent every day with didn’t

talk to him, not really. He was sick of having to maintain an air of
superiority with people he didn’t truly believe were inferiors. “I am.”

“Cassisus is a beautiful temptation, and something happened last

night that has my head screwed up. I want to maintain some kind of
wall between us because it will hurt too much if he’s taken from me.”

Flavius’s head snapped back to Tobias as he spoke. Was that

honesty? Was Tobias actually talking to him?

“What do you mean ‘taken from’ you?” Flavius asked.
Tobias sighed as Flavius leaned closer. “As a gladiator, he could

fall in the arena. As a slave, he could be sold off at any moment.
You’re human, so you don’t understand what mating means to us. If
we mate bond with someone and then that someone dies or we’re
separated, the experience is excruciating pain. It’s not just emotional.
Our animal literally dies without its mate and leaves behind a hollow
shell of a person, unable to shift or even maintain a semblance of life.
We become empty, Flavius. Would you risk the pain when it isn’t in
your control? My life isn’t my own. If I were a free man, maybe. But
mating isn’t something to take lightly.”

Flavius was fascinated. “I’ve read the texts of Antinious,

Bellenus, and of the Elders of Pran. They mention nothing about
that.”

“That’s because the predators wrote our history. They’re too

proud to admit a weakness, especially in writing,” Tobias explained.
“The less predatory species circulated the information and the legends
word of mouth.”

Jana Downs

“Ah, I see.” And he did see. It was easy to understand because

similar things had happened in the history of humanity. The bigger
conquerors wrote their own version. “So you don’t want to risk
becoming attached to him because you’re afraid of the possible
consequences should he be hurt or sold.”

“Keeping him at arm’s length is the only way I can deal with this

arrangement,” Tobias said, looking tired. “I hope you understand,
Master.”

It didn’t seem very fair to Flavius. Destiny, fate, whatever

someone wanted to call it, had given the shifters the ability to identify
the one person whom they were perfectly matched with. It seemed
cruel to deny that sort of match. “And if I promised never to sell
him?”

Tobias considered him for a minute before shaking his head. “I

can trust your word, but what if something happens to you? There is
nothing legal to keep us together. What if your sponsors pressure you
to breed him? What will you say then?”

“I can promise you that I will never sell him and that I will never

use him as a stud to breed more gladiators for the arena. You ought to
know I find that practice barbaric. I won’t make you go to him any
other time than you are scheduled, but I do encourage you to seize the
opportunity, Tobias. The reward might be worth the risk.”

Tobias was quiet so long that Flavius thought he’d really pissed

the other man off. He didn’t regret it, though. Despite his station and
his vehement denial of Corbin’s affections, Flavius really was a
romantic at heart. Human beings assumed that the Romans had the
right idea by enslaving the shifters the first time around, but Flavius
knew better. The shifters were people just like him. They needed
companionship to be truly happy. If Flavius could gently nudge one
of his household into a relationship that would give him a measure of
peace, he would do so.

“I’ll go,” Tobias said at last.

Cat and Mouse

Flavius smiled. “Good. Make sure that you stop by the kitchens

and pick him up a snack. Good luck, Tobias.”

Tobias looked at him strangely, like he was seeing Flavius for the

first time. “Thanks.” He pushed up from his desk and left quietly.

Flavius took a deep breath as the door snicked quietly shut behind

Tobias. This was a good thing. It wasn’t something his father would
approve of, but it was something that he could live with himself
about.

“You did well, cub,” an oh-so-familiar voice rumbled from behind

him. Gooseflesh broke out over his arms. Corbin must’ve come in
from the outside service entrance. He turned his head slightly, hoping
to lessen the impact of the bear on his senses, but it didn’t do any
good. “I think they’ll do well together if given enough space and
opportunity.”

Flavius swallowed. “Yes.” He couldn’t manage to say more than

that as the lanista took three great strides to stand in front of him
before wrapping his massive arms around Flavius’s waist. “I thought
you were getting the men ready for the shoot?” Flavius whispered.
Everywhere Corbin touched burned.

“I came to tell you that they are all ready to go. The photographer

will need your approval for the final shots before they’re sent to the
printer, though.” Corbin was nothing if not efficient at his job. He
took being a lanista as a serious charge and duty. Corbin really
believed that running a gladiatorial school was what he would’ve
chosen if he would’ve lived a free life, and because of that, Flavius
believed he put extra effort into his work.

“All right. How long before he’ll need me?” Flavius asked, trying

to maintain a façade of normalcy as his body came alive.

Corbin’s eyes sparkled, and the look sent shudders of longing

down to Flavius’s toes. “About an hour.”

Flavius inhaled Corbin’s scent and tried not to pant. “And how

long will you need me?”

Jana Downs

The bear growled, the sound low and feral, and oh so good. “At

least that long.”

Flav closed his eyes in an effort to calm his suddenly galloping

heart. In the middle of the day? Someone could come in at any
moment…“Lock the door,” he whispered.

“With pleasure, Master.”

Cat and Mouse

Chapter Seven

“You shouldn’t run to him every time he calls, Tobias,” Giotto

said as Tobias rounded the corner on the first floor of the Ludus. The
guards had said that the gladiators were in a room near the showers on
the exhibition floor. Unfortunately, Tobias didn’t spend enough time
in the Ludus in order to navigate there without a few wrong turns.

His cousin’s face was a relief until the words penetrated his

bubble of thank God. The snide way Giotto said the words
automatically put him on the defensive. “I’m not running every time
he calls. Besides, if I want to go to him, it’s my prerogative. He’s my
mate.” The first time saying it out loud was equivalent to sucker
punching himself in the gut. He hadn’t realized how heavy the words
were until he spoke them. My mate. Flavius was right. It was special.
How could Tobias even begin to reconcile the fact that he was using
his mate to get his freedom?

Giotto huffed. “You’ve always got to be different, cousin. But this

is really something else. I always knew you thought you were better
than us, but I didn’t think you’d take up with the most arrogant cat in
the Ludus.” Tobias bristled. He wasn’t different, and Cassisus wasn’t
that bad.

“Careful, Giotto. Some things you don’t get to take back,” Tobias

said through gritted teeth. What is my problem? Why is he getting
under my skin? I’m calmer than this. He tried to center himself like he
normally did when something about the world bothered him. It
usually worked and sent him into a numbed state where nothing could
touch him. However, today he just couldn’t manage it. After Flavius

Jana Downs

treated him like a friend and Cassisus pledged himself as Tobias’s
equal the night before, the independence had seeped into his marrow.

Giotto grabbed Tobias’s arm. “We were raised in a hierarchy.

Humans on top, predatory shape-shifters under them, and
nonpredatory shape-shifters on the bottom. You’re fucking with the
hierarchy, Tobias.”

“What is your problem?” Tobias asked. He glared and jerked his

arm out of Giotto’s grip.

The aggression that had been bleeding from Giotto’s every pore

eased a little with his next words. “Did you know that the rest of the
house servants are talking about your mating and contemplating
coming down to the Ludus to see if any of the predators are their
mates? This event isn’t just about you mating a man of another shifter
type. This is about you disrupting the natural order of things. I find
this a very disturbing thing, Tobias.”

Tobias assessed the situation. It was probably best if he eased his

mind somewhat. Even if he had decided to actually try and give the
mating between them a chance, there was no reason to upset the
whole mess of house servants. “The master has promised to give me a
measure of freedom if I keep Cassisus company until they leave for
Europe. At most, the disruption will be for another few weeks. After
that things will return to normal.” Mainly because I will be at a
cottage on the grounds and not submerged in slave politics.

Giotto looked intensely relieved, his entire body sagging as the

tension left him. “So you are doing this on the master’s behest?”

Tobias nodded but felt uneasy. He wasn’t sure if it had been his

best idea to tell his cousin about what was going on other than the
mating between him and Cassisus.

“Good. I’ll tell the rest of the mice. That should calm the uprising

a little bit. Thank you for telling me, Tobias. I didn’t mean to jump
you,” Giotto said, smiling a little sheepishly.

Cat and Mouse

Tobias offered his cousin an answering smile, but it felt wooden

and forced. “No problem, cousin. Could you direct me to the shower
hall? I was told the gladiators were there.”

“I think they’re in the holding cell next to the exhibition studio

actually. It’s down the same hall.” Giotto pointed to the long hall on
their left. “Go down that hall until you come to the staircase. Go up a
floor and you’ll find them at the end of the hall you come out on.”

“Thanks,” Tobias murmured, heading in the direction Giotto

instructed him to. He hurried away from his cousin and the things
he’d said. Was his mating really that much of an abomination? The
issue wasn’t a new one. There had been shifters in the recent past who
had accidently mated their owners and had met rather unfortunate
ends. But that was understandable given how little humans really
knew about the mating process. Had there ever been a cautionary tale
about a predatory shifter mating a nonpredatory shifter? He’d read his
fair share of scandal rags that paired them, but nothing was ever said
about the likelihood of failure. Probably because such a mating never
happens. The thought was a bit daunting.

He ascended the stairs and followed his cousin’s instructions to

the room he hoped was correct. He pushed open the door and was
immediately surrounded by steam. What the—Oh, dear God. The
holding cell was little more than a steam bath. There were mostly
naked gladiators everywhere, sitting on the polished wooden benches
or leaning against the white tiled walls, getting oiled by other Ludus
servants.

“Well, look who we have here,” the massive shifter, who had

confronted him the first time he’d come to the Ludus with Master
Flavius, drawled as the door clicked shut behind him. He tensed and
automatically reached back for the door handle. As he tugged it, the
handle didn’t open. Shit. It’s an auto lock.

“I’m here to see Cassisus,” he blurted out as the shifter took

another step toward him.

Jana Downs

“Hmph, of course you are,” the shifter rumbled, changing

directions at the last second and heading deeper into the steam. He
was trying to intimidate me. Holy shit. He’d never felt more hunted
than when that massive cat was growling at him.

“Was Gregori bothering you?” an unfamiliar voice asked. Tobias

looked up and nearly sagged in relief. It was Faustus.

“No. He’s just scary. Where is Cassisus?” He really needed to see

him. The nervousness he was feeling was perfuming the air with
chemicals guaranteed to agitate the cats. He was a mouse after all.

Faustus glanced over his shoulder. “Getting oiled currently.”
Raw, unreasoning jealousy reared its ugly head. Without thinking,

he sidestepped the gladiator and beelined over to the bowl-shaped
area where the gladiators were being rubbed down with oils.

A servant that smelled like an avian of some kind was kneeling at

Cassisus’s feet, rubbing rowan-smelling oil into his calves in slow,
steady motions. It didn’t help Tobias’s temper that Cassisus was
naked. Without thinking, he kicked the basin of oil over and nearly
fell on his ass for his trouble.

“What in the world?” the avian squawked, falling backward.
Tobias bared his teeth. “Get away from him.” He looked up at

Cassisus and glared. He pointed his finger in Cassisus’s face, nearly
spitting he was so angry. “You do not get to let other servants touch
you!”

The big cat’s eyes widened in surprise, his pupils dilating until

they were pinpricks against the sea of blue in his irises. “I’m sorry?”

“You better be, Cassisus,” Tobias snapped, stomping his foot in

rage. He slipped on the oil and pitched forward, but Cass caught him
by the shoulders and righted him.

“I belong to you,” Cass murmured, his hands tightening on

Tobias’s arm. It wasn’t painful, but it certainly conveyed the
possessiveness that the words claimed. “We’re mates.”

Tobias huffed, the anger not abating even at the whispered

admission. “If you need something, you can call me.”

Cat and Mouse

“I did!” Cass rumbled, looking exasperated. “It’s not my fault that

no one would deliver my message.”

That was true, but Tobias didn’t have to like it. He counted

backward from ten trying to rein in his temper. Had he ever been
jealous before? He didn’t think so. It was then he became intensely
aware that his very naked and very large mate was holding him very
close. He swallowed, unable to resist peeking at Cass’s prominently
displayed body.

“Is it necessary to get oily naked?” he asked, inhaling the scent of

rowan and Cassisus until he was almost dizzy with it. His body
hardened. Being mated is like going through freaking puberty. Cass
just had to exist to get Tobias turned-on.

“Your little mate is feisty, Cass. Care to share?” a voice called

from behind them.

Cass raised his head and hissed. “Shut the hell up, Mal. You talk

about my mate again in any way, and I’ll come over there and add
some authentication to your supposed badassness with bruises!”

“I brought you food,” Tobias interrupted, his cheeks heating.

Good God, I’m turning into a barbarian. Apparently hanging out with
predators had him acting like one. Jeez. You mine. I bring you food.
You give me fun time. Ugh. The internal caveman voice would’ve
been funny had Tobias’s embarrassment not been so incredibly acute.

“Um, thank you. Why don’t you come over here and sit with me?”

Cass asked, herding him toward an empty section of bench. Tobias
allowed himself to be pulled out of the basin and sat down on the
bench, but Cass didn’t sit with him. Instead, he stood in front of him,
shielding him from the other gladiators. Unfortunately it also made
his bare cock inches from Tobias’s face.

“Oh my God, would you put that thing away?” Tobias asked in a

strangled voice. Cassisus wasn’t hard yet, but even soft, Cass’s
manhood proved to be a temptation. The cat sniffed the air, obviously
catching Tobias’s reaction. His body started to swell.

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“I can’t, little one. Corbin ordered us to remain unclothed until

after the shoot. The performance wear is Velcro, but our regular
clothing would get oil on it, and that is apparently a difficult stain to
get off,” Cassisus explained, his voice deepening as Tobias watched
his body, captivated. What would it be like to touch the gladiator?
What would it be like to suck his body like Cassisus had done the
other night?

Hormones. They’re just hormones. “Do you want to be alone for a

minute?” The words were out of his mouth before he could think
better of it. What is wrong with me?

Cassisus’s nostrils flared. “Yes. Stay here.” He turned, and Tobias

nearly snarled at him for displaying his cock to a room full of virile
males. They were shifters, as comfortable in their nakedness as they
were in their feral form. He knew logically it was because they hadn’t
joined together yet that he was being so incredibly unreasonable about
the whole thing.

I’ve got to tell him about Flavius’s deal before anything else

happens. It was a promise that he had to keep to himself. He had the
sneaking suspicion that he was already too far into the rabbit hole of
the mating to be able to slow it now. The only kind of resistance he
could muster would be in the form of being completely honest with
Cassisus about his motivations and trying to guard his heart from the
needs of his body.

Cassisus reappeared from the mist. “Come on. They’re giving us

the changing room.” No doubt the guards didn’t want a mouse to rile
up all the cats. They may have been men, but there was a feral side to
them that defied the logic of most humans. The cats may have known
not to attack, but they would pace, get agitated, and pick at Tobias if
he got near them.

Tobias pushed himself off the bench and followed after the

gladiator. The steam made his clothing stick to him uncomfortably,
and he felt like he couldn’t breathe because of the heat. There was just
no reason for people to subject themselves to this kind of environment

Cat and Mouse

in Tobias’s mind. Cassisus reached his hand back as the steam
thickened toward the back of the room, and Tobias took it gratefully.
The instant their fingers connected it was like an electrical pulse shot
up the mouse’s arm. He shuddered as the arousal sharpened to almost
unbearable proportions. They passed the two Ludus servants who
acted as escorts for the gladiators. They were more like bodyguards to
keep the others in line, but it wasn’t polite to point that out.

He was intensely grateful when they cleared the steam room and

went into the dry locker room at the back. It was still warm, but at
least he could breathe. The room was full of red lockers like the ones
he’d seen in various high school movies on cable and had the distinct
odor of male sweat that lingered in the air. He wasn’t sure what to
make of it.

“What is the point of the lockers?” he asked.
“If Flavius wants to have us go directly from practice somewhere,

we stash our bags in here so we don’t have to waste time going back
to our cells. Plus if he ever decides to give us an exhibition match on
the grounds, the other gladiatorial schools’ things will be kept here,”
Cassisus said, tugging him to the far end of the locker room. It was
cooler there.

Tobias tugged his hand from Cassisus’s and tried to wrangle his

arousal back into the neat box he’d managed to stuff it in all his life.
Cass’s scent was driving him crazy.

“How do people deal with these mating hormones all the time?”

Tobias wondered aloud as he stared up at Cass’s beautiful face. No
wonder hordes of people fawned over him. He was beautiful and
rugged and…hmmm, covered in oil.

Cass’s eyes deepened to a dark blue. “I imagine they cope by

joining with their mate. It’s supposed to quell a little of the hunger.”

“But it makes us slaves to one another.” The want was already so

potent it nearly brought Tobias to his knees. He could only imagine
what it would be like to slake the lust bubbling through his
bloodstream.

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“Hm? Not at all. I think it will free us rather than imprison,” Cass

reasoned. “I mean, we could be ordered to breed with someone we
had no desire for. Our mates are the only thing that belong solely to
us. They are the one possession we own.”

“This is a philosophical argument,” Tobias muttered. In the end, it

didn’t make a difference. If a shifter was around his mate, he would
join with his mate. It was too instinctual to deny.

The cat chuckled, the sound a low rumble. “Yes, but it’s one that I

find extremely stimulating.” Tobias really wanted to hear him purr
again. The memory of the sound and the way it felt against his skin
just made Tobias want to evoke the noise again. Cass inhaled sharply.
“I’m trying to be a gentleman and all, Tobias. But you’re making it
difficult when your mind is in the gutter.”

Tobias shuddered, his want getting more acute. He did this. He

could drive one of the most powerful predators in the world crazy just
by being around him. The power was a heady thing. “Kiss me?” he
asked, looking up at Cassisus under his lashes. He wanted to drive his
mate as mad as Cass made him, disrupt his routine as thoroughly as
Cassisus had disrupted Tobias’s.

“I can’t. There are no bars here, Tobias. I don’t trust myself right

now.” Cassisus’s voice trembled as he spoke, and damn if Tobias
didn’t find that incredibly sexy.

“I’ve never had sex with anyone else,” Tobias offered up as Cass

turned his back on him in a visible effort to get his body under of
control. The words just seemed to incite the cat more. The low feline
groan did insane things for Tobias’s libido. “I don’t want like this.
I’ve never wanted to touch like I want to touch you. It’s terrifying.”

“Tobias, please, hush. Have mercy on me, little one,” Cass

begged, fisting his cock. Tobias sucked in a breath as the cat stroked
himself, his eyes screwed shut, and his other hand bunched beside
him in a tight fist. The sight was magnificent.

“I could talk you through your pleasure,” Tobias said huskily. His

hand went to the button on his pants, and he popped it free. It took

Cat and Mouse

only a few seconds for his dick to spring into his hand like an eager
display. He felt so wicked even making the suggestion. I have to tell
him. But it would ruin the moment. After, I’ll tell him after.

Cass groaned. “You already are. God, your smell, Tobias. It’s so

good.”

“I’m touching myself, Cassisus. I’m thinking about you.” Tobias

played with the head of his prick, smearing the pre-cum there down
the length of his shaft as he stared at Cass’s rock-hard ass.

He saw his mate’s back and flanks tremble as the words sank in.

“As fast or as slow as you want it,” the cat murmured, working his
length faster. He was being good, so good. Out of all the gladiators,
Tobias would never expect Cassisus the Vain to be a gentleman.

“What do you want to do to me?” Tobias asked, trying to keep the

fascination out of his voice. His cock was hard and hot in his hand,
images of Cassisus swirling in his mind in a never-ending
kaleidoscope of desire.

“I want to have you suck my cock while you play with yours,”

Cassisus rumbled. “Then I want to sink into your hot core, stretch
your virgin ass for me and me alone.” He swallowed, the muscles in
his throat working so his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Have you ever had
anything inside you?”

The question sent a rocket of want skittering up and down

Tobias’s spine. “No.” Not that he hadn’t been curious, had even
circled the entrance with his finger before. But he’d never gotten the
balls to press inside.

Cassisus groaned. “Mine. First. Last. Always.”
“Slow, we’re going slow.” Tobias didn’t start freaking out until

Cassisus started talking about forever. Forever was a very long time,
especially for a slave. His cock waved at him insistently. There were
more pressing concerns than the state of his relationship. Great. Now
I’m in a relationship. Christ on a Ritz Cracker. Why can’t I make this
slow down?

Jana Downs

“As slow as you want, Tobias. I’m not even touching you,” Cass

promised.

“But I want you to,” Tobias confessed, panting lightly. “I want to

feel you against me. I don’t want to want you, but I can’t help it.”

Cass growled. “Good. Want you to want me. Are you going to

come for me, little one?”

Tobias nodded but then realized that Cass couldn’t see him. “Turn

around. Let me see,” he begged. He wanted to get more than glimpses
of Cass working his hard cock.

His mate obliged him. Tobias’s mouth went bone dry at the sight.

“Beautiful boy,” the cat murmured. “You’re a damn tease, though.”

Tobias licked his lips. “Not.”
“Prove it.”
It was always a challenge with Cassisus. The cat was always

pushing him into independence, into aggression. It was bizarre and
wonderful and empowering. It was like Cass wanted him to think for
himself.

“Put your hands on your head then,” Tobias said. He was going to

prove to Cass that Tobias was not someone to be toyed with.

The cat quirked an eyebrow up at him and a slow smile stretched

his face. “Showing me who is boss, little one?”

“Do you want me to prove it or not?” Tobias asked boldly. He

wasn’t just a mouse to the gladiator. He was a man. He always felt
like a man with Cassisus. In a way, it was as freeing as Cassisus
claimed.

“Yes,” Cass rumbled. He raised his hands and put them on his

head, leaving his hard cock hanging free. Tobias slid off the bench
and to his knees. This couldn’t be too difficult. Cass had managed it
through iron bars. He could do this. Cass’s eyes shot wide as he put
his hands on the gladiator’s thighs. “Have you ever done this before?”

Was it that obvious? “No.” He was kicking his own ass for being

a virgin and a prude all his life.

Cat and Mouse

Cass’s cock jerked. “God, boy, you’re trying to kill me. Virgin

ass, virgin mouth, all mine. Fuck me.”

“I’m trying. Do I just lick it?” Tobias strained his brain to recall

what his cousins had said about intercourse and blow jobs. He
certainly wanted to lick it. He wanted to lap the head of the cat’s cock
and taste the pre-cum decorating the mushroomed tip.

“In the name of all that is holy!” Cass cursed, his cock jerking.

“You kind of lick it and suck it and stuff.”

“Well, you’re informative,” Tobias muttered. That was about as

instructional as a Tootsie Pop commercial. He took a deep breath and
opened his mouth. The last time he’d caught a glimpse of a porn vid
he’d been thirteen years old. But he remembered the bare bones of it.
He wrapped his lips around the head and lapped at the pearled tip.

“Jesus,” Cassisus moaned. He kept his hands above his head

despite the increased trembling in his thighs. “Hmm, that’s it. Good
boy. Right there. Deeper, baby. Suck it just like that.” Tobias bobbed
his head, following Cass’s rumbled instructions with enthusiasm. The
salty-sweet taste of Cass played over his tongue, and his animal all
but whimpered his approval. This was his mate, the one man on the
planet he could be with for nothing but pleasure.

Cass whispered Tobias’s name like a prayer. Tobias only wished

he could take care of his own hard length that was throbbing for
attention. Though, sucking Cass off was almost as good as jerking his
own cock. With every noise the gladiator made, Tobias felt more
empowered, and he got harder with every second that passed.

“Tobias, I’m close.” The warning just made Tobias groan around

Cass’s dick. He wanted to taste Cass as he came down his throat.
Tobias sucked harder, his hands digging into the hard muscle of
Cass’s thighs. God, he’s vocal. Cass’s purring had turned into a very
feline sound of pleasure. The rumbling happiness was just another
turn-on designed to twist Tobias’s cock into a hard knot. “Tobias!”

Jana Downs

He pulled back and looked up at Cass. “Cass, let me have it.”

Cass’s hands tangled in his hair and forced his head down onto the
pulsing arousal.

“God, yes. Mate. Mine. Tobias. Christ!” Cassisus stammered as

he choked Tobias on his cock. The gagging wasn’t pleasant at all, but
the wild look on his cat’s face was enough that Tobias didn’t care.
Tobias took a hand off Cass’s thigh and wrapped it around his own
weeping erection. He jerked in time with Cass’s thrusts, eager to fall
off the precipice of pleasure with his mate. Does this count as a
joining? He hoped not. He wasn’t ready for that, but God knew he
was ready to come.

“Now, Tobias,” Cass gasped. “Coming now!” His hands tightened

painfully in Tobias’s hair, and as the first splash of semen hit Tobias’s
tongue, his own arousal jerked and spilled the sticky proof of his
pleasure into the circle of his fist. His eyes crossed as his sac was
wrung out, and he came so hard spots danced in his vision.

Cass’s grip eased a second later, but Tobias was too caught up in

instinct. He continued to lap at his lover even as he softened in his
mouth. So good. It was so good.

“I’m going to say your first blow job was a resounding success,”

Cass panted, pulling his dick from Tobias’s still-suckling mouth.
Tobias whimpered at having his new favorite toy taken away. He
looked up into the cat’s beautiful blue eyes and saw the animal staring
down at him. The cat’s eyes were slit like they would be in feline
form. The partial shift was significant. A male would really have to
lose control of himself in order to achieve that kind of reaction.

Tobias didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t intended for this to

happen, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. What was he
supposed to say to the man who just blew his mind? Thank you? That
sounded terrible.

“Say something,” Cassisus demanded. “Please don’t tell me

you’re going to freak out. Because I really enjoyed it, and I don’t
know if my ego can take you hating it.”

Cat and Mouse

Tobias blinked. Was that insecurity in his voice? “I didn’t hate it.

I loved it.” Why is it always awkward afterward?

He must’ve noticed the confusion on Tobias’s face, because Cass

said, “Because we don’t know one another well enough for this much
physical interaction. Having sex isn’t the same thing as loving
someone.” Was he a mind reader now? “You said that out loud,
goofball. Come on. Let me get you up. Your knees are probably
wrecked from this floor.” The gladiator pulled the smaller man to his
feet. Sure enough, Tobias’s knees protested the movement. He’d have
bruises and an aching jaw tomorrow. Great.

“I want to know you,” Tobias said. He had been allowing himself

to get to know Cass, but he hadn’t actually wanted to know him until
that moment. The cat wrapped his arms around his waist and drew
him into his chest. It was nice, more than nice really. It was fantastic.
Okay. I’m a cuddler. There is one aspect of my sexuality that I now
know for certain. He breathed in the scent of his cat and the pleasure
they’d shared.

“That’s what the whole taking-it-slow thing is for, little one,”

Cass murmured, kissing the top of Tobias’s head. “I hope you like
me.”

“I hope I like you, too, because I want you a whole lot,” Tobias

admitted, resting his cheek against the oiled pectoral muscle in front
of him. He sighed as he realized that he was smearing the stuff all
over him. “So much for subtlety. Everyone is going to know exactly
what we were doing.”

Cass snorted. “Let them know. They’ll just be jealous that I am

the best fighter, the best looking, and the only male mated to such a
fine specimen of manhood.”

“Did you just call me a ‘fine specimen of manhood’?” Tobias

asked dryly.

Cass chuckled. “Yes. Yes I did.”
“Cassisus the Vain, you earn your reputation fairly,” Tobias said,

running his teeth down Cass’s pec before nibbling on the exposed

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nipple. The cat jumped, and Tobias laughed. They touched easily
enough. A contentment came over him. He could see himself doing
this more often.

“I do. I make no qualms about that.” The gladiator sighed and

pulled Tobias down on the bench beside him with half the mouse’s
body in his lap. “I like touching you, little one.” He smiled, and it was
dazzling. No wonder people flocked after him. He was gorgeous and
so genuine. “I feel like I can finally let my guard down. You are mine,
and you’re mine because fate and you have decided to be mine.” He
paused. “Right?”

Shit. I should tell him. “I decided to give this a chance.” Shit. Why

didn’t I say anything? He didn’t want to hurt him, and he strongly
suspected that he would if Cassisus found out about why Tobias had
agreed to go to him to begin with and what he was getting out of it
when Cass left for Europe.

“That’s all I want is a chance. It’ll be fantastic, Tobias. I’ll be a

good mate, I promise.” He chatted on, oblivious to the turmoil that
was circling through Tobias. “Will you travel with us to Louisiana? I
don’t want to interrupt this whole mating process.”

Tobias hesitated. “Maybe we’ll need the time apart to think things

over.”

“I’ll be gone to Europe for the circuit almost three months. I don’t

think an extra week of noncontemplation is really going to add
anything to our mating,” Cassisus argued. The gladiator frowned.
“Why are you pulling away from me?”

“I’m not,” Tobias hastened to say. “I just don’t want to rush this.”
Cass sighed like he wasn’t happy about it. “Being a mate is a

frustrating experience.”

“Being a shifter is a frustrating experience.”
A voice from the doorway made him jump. He turned and saw the

lanista standing there. “We’re ready to go, Cass. Have your mate re-
oil you with the bowl in the shower room. The escorts will take you to
the exhibition hall when he’s finished.” The bear pushed off the

Cat and Mouse

doorframe. “Cassisus, your mate can attend you in the photo session,
but I would ask that you both have supper in your cell after. Tobias’s
presence is agitating the other cats. I’ll have food arranged. Master
Flavius will be along within a few moments, so hurry up.”

“Sure thing, Corbin,” Cass said, moving his body subtly in front

of Tobias. “We’ll be along in a moment.”

The bear nodded and walked back into the steam room.
“Do I really have to oil you down?” Tobias asked, half teasing.
The cat looked him in the eye when he spoke. “Of course. It’s

your duty to. I mean, Flavius gave you permission to attend me.
Oiling me down is part of that.”

Tobias was shocked for a full half minute. “Are you serious? I

came to you because I wanted to. I came because I was giving this a
chance. You can ask me to oil you, but you will not order me to.
We’re equals, remember?”

Annoyance flashed on the gladiator’s face. “I remember. How can

I forget? You keep reminding me. I was just teasing you anyway.”

“It didn’t sound like you were kidding.” It would take more than a

few pledges of equality to get it in this relationship. Tobias stood and
tucked himself back into his pants before buttoning them back up.
“Come on. I’ll get you oiled and ready for your shoot.” He wasn’t a
Ludus servant, but he would do it for his mate.

Cass grabbed his arm before he could walk toward the steam

room. “Hey, Tobias?”

“Yes?”
“Thank you, you know, for everything, little one.”
The words warmed him, and he nearly kicked himself for it. Short

sentences like those shouldn’t have impacted his emotions so
absolutely, but they did. His chest tightened as Cassisus stood and
twined their hands. I’m so utterly screwed.

Jana Downs

Chapter Eight

Cassisus gripped the shined sword in his fist and tightened every

muscle in his body. The bulb flashed, and his eyes instantly started
hurting. He hated photo shoots. He didn’t feel like a rock star so much
as a very expensive show dog. The pictures were great, and he felt
like a god afterward, but during…not so much.

His eyes constantly strayed to the mouse sitting quietly on the

chair Corbin had brought in for him to sit on. It was unusual that
Cassisus was the last gladiator to get his pictures taken, but the rest of
the room was devoid of gladiators where they usually stood along the
wall. Corbin must’ve been serious when he said that Tobias’s
presence was upsetting the other fighters.

“Cassisus, give me more face, please,” the photographer, a skinny

little human named Zac, said. “I mean, the muscles are great, but the
ladies are going to want to see those baby blues.” Cass raised his chin
and looked into the camera as the lights flashed. Fuck, that hurt.

“Don’t you have light enhancers for those nocturnal species?”

Tobias asked from his chair. “Cats have sensitive eyesight.”

“I didn’t even think about it. Tobias is absolutely right. Dim the

lights and rearrange your equipment. Cassisus, it isn’t like you to
suffer in silence,” Flavius cut in from his position in front of the
laptop at the desk.

“I didn’t even know they had that stuff,” Cass muttered, his eyes

screaming in relief as the lights were dimmed and Zac started
rearranging his things. Tobias had an excellent attention to detail.
When Flavius had showed up with an extra tablet so that Tobias could
work while Cassisus posed, he’d expected Tobias to become

Cat and Mouse

engrossed. He admitted to being a little disappointed that he wouldn’t
have Tobias’s full attention. However, he’d been pleasantly surprised
with Tobias’s ability to multitask. Tobias managed to make pose
suggestions, correct the photographer, correct Flavius, and still work
on his tablet without seeming to be stressed by any of it.

“Master, the Juliets have requested the fourth for a dinner with

you at the Jordinia. Should I inform them that you will meet them at
the casino in New Orleans since you will be in Louisiana? The
restaurant attached is rated one of the best in the state,” Tobias said,
continuing to type on his tablet.

“Fine, Tobias. Just make sure I have an engagement right after.

Daniel is obnoxious and grabs my thigh constantly under the table,”
Flavius replied, not missing a beat. They had quite the business
relationship. They worked in unison, each knowing the other well
enough to know the other’s reactions and wishes before either of them
spoke. Cassisus would’ve been jealous if he suspected anything
between them. However, there was nothing but friendship there. He
could smell it.

“I’ll make sure we have something pressing in your schedule for

the night we have dinner,” Tobias said, making a note.

“We?” Cassisus asked. Hope soared. Was that consent to coming

to Louisiana with them?

Tobias looked up, his dark eyes as mysterious as the night sky. “I

think we’ll spend enough time apart when you depart for Europe. We
shouldn’t waste time. Of course, that is if the master has no objections
to me accompanying the Ludus.”

“Of course not, Tobias,” Flavius agreed almost instantly, “I expect

that I would lose my head if you decided to stay. We’ll have to
discuss which of the servants to leave in charge of the house while
we’re gone. The last time we left and you left Herc in charge, we
returned to the house in shambles. Never again. One of your uncles,
perhaps?”

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“One of the mothers would probably be best. We tend to listen to

the reason of women over men in our culture,” Tobias said, shutting
off his tablet.

“I need your attention here, Cassisus,” the photographer said,

pointing a camera at the gladiator. “Without your shield. Cross your
arms over your chest and look intimidating.”

“Just frown a lot, Cassisus. When you scowl your face gets

decidedly less pretty, and if these posters are for advertisement, we
don’t want them having the opposite effect on the viewers,” Tobias
interjected.

Cass looked up. “You’re really good at this.”
“The master keeps me around for a reason, Cass,” Tobias said in

amusement. “I actually enjoy this part.”

“God above, an opinion,” Flavius said, laughing. “You must be

good for him, Cassisus. He never says what he’s thinking or feeling
about a subject.” They talked to one another in the same way that
Flavius’s father had talked to his business partners when he’d brought
them around the gladiators.

“He’s my mate, Master,” Cass said. He looked up in time to see

Corbin staring at the back of the master’s head like he was going to
eat him alive. He blinked, unable to make a connection until Flavius
turned his head and caught Corbin looking. Flavius’s scent changed,
an edge of lust permeating the even scent of human. Tobias raised his
head and saw what Cass did. No way. Was the lanista involved with
the master? It didn’t seem possible. Maybe it was an urge that hadn’t
been acted on. Cass wasn’t so sure given the way they were
hyperaware of one another. There hadn’t been any rumors circulating,
and this was something huge. He met Tobias’s eyes and the slight
shake of his mate’s head said he wanted Cass to keep quiet. Cass cut
his eyes back to the photographer.

“Master, that looks fantastic,” Corbin said, nodding toward the

computer screen. “I imagine your backers will want that pose as an

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insert in the invitations next summer. We’d do well to do a few
exhibition matches on the estate to keep interest.”

“I’ll take that under advisement, Corbin. Thank you,” Flavius

said. “Cassisus look at the camera. The shots are getting sloppy.”

Cass went back to posing and turned over the possibility in his

mind. Maybe the house of Flavius had more secrets than he thought.

* * * *

“Hi,” Tobias greeted as he sat in front of Cassisus’s cell. They’d

been meeting every day for the past week. They were scheduled to
leave tomorrow for Louisiana in the morning, and he and Tobias had
spent a lot of time together. It had started in the afternoons, but now it
was twice a day at least. Tobias seemed to be weakening to Cass’s
charm, and the cat really couldn’t wait for him to fully commit to this
courtship between them.

“Hi, yourself, little one,” Cass said warmly. He hadn’t bothered to

dress after showers. Though Tobias claimed to be scandalized by his
nakedness, Cass saw the looks that he gave him every time the cat
changed positions. The hunger between them was growing with each
second they spent together. It wouldn’t be long until Tobias agreed to
be with him in all ways. So far they’d confined their sexual
interactions to blow jobs and hand jobs, but the time was coming for
more. “Did you bring a snack?” It had become a tradition of sorts.
First they’d eat together, then talk for a little while, then the night
would end with an embrace. If nothing else, it was a nice way to
unwind after a stressful day. Even Corbin had commented on his good
mood at practice the past two days. It seemed now that Cass was
mated, his temper was evening out somewhat.

Tobias shook his head. “I didn’t have time. Master kept me in the

study until almost eleven. Since I was already late, I figured that
you’d rather me just come anyway.”

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“You’re right. I wasn’t that hungry anyway.” He eyed the other

man beneath lowered lashes. Would tonight be the night Tobias
stayed? He’d gotten a privacy partition from the master for good
behavior, and it had arrived this morning. What would the little mouse
say about such a thing? “So what was the master having you work on
until this late? It’s my understanding that he never works after
supper.”

Tobias shrugged. “New Orleans is a fish of a different flavor. He’s

very nervous about your matches. The school is expensive, and the
only way to keep up with costs is to perform well.”

“He shouldn’t worry. We’re going to win in New Orleans and in

Europe. There is no one in the American circuit who can compete
with Flavius’s gladiators.” It may have been an arrogant thing to say,
but it was truth. He couldn’t think of a better group of men. “So are
you looking forward to coming with us?” It would kill Cassisus at the
end of the week to leave Tobias behind. It was the reality of his job,
but it was one he wasn’t looking forward to. He was beginning to
realize that Tobias had a passion for his work in the same way that
Cassisus did. They were well matched in that.

“I am. I think it’ll be a nice little jaunt from the familiar,” Tobias

said, repositioning himself so that his shoulder was pressed against
the bars with his face in profile. He stretched his arms out by his side,
and Cass admired for the millionth time the beauty that fate had given
him. Tobias wasn’t flashy like some of the other gladiators that Cass
had tangled with in the past, but he was certainly a tempting morsel
nonetheless. Cass reached through the bars and entwined their hands.

“It’ll be a honeymoon of sorts,” he murmured. “Will you come

into my cell tonight, Tobias?”

The mouse turned his head so that they were looking at one

another eye to eye. “Not tonight. Master has promised a private cell
when we reach Louisiana.”

“So we’re going to be together then?” He didn’t want to seem like

he was impatient to have Tobias under him. He understood that as a

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virgin, Tobias didn’t have the experience or the knowledge to
understand exactly how much closer joining with Cassisus would
make them, but he would in time.

“I want to. I mean, you are beginning to mean something to me. It

is the next logical step.” Still, the hesitation that Tobias displayed
stung.

“If you’re not ready, we don’t have to. I just want you to know

that I do desire you in all ways.” Tobias had the power in this little
dance of theirs whether he knew it or not. Cass was all right with that
for the most part. He had been selfish with lovers in the past, and that
ruined a lot of those relationships. With his mate, he didn’t want to
fuck up.

Tobias smiled, the expression soft and amused. “You’re very clear

about your wants, Cass. I am lucky to have a mate who is so
understanding. You really don’t mind waiting on me, do you?”

Cass shook his head automatically. “Of course not. I want this to

be right between us.” He tugged on Tobias’s arm to bring him closer.
He pressed a kiss to Tobias’s lips and nose.

“I’m getting spoiled on your understanding,” the mouse

murmured, pressing his face against the bars. “You don’t ask a lot
from me.”

That was true. Cass only wanted his mate and the relationship that

came with the title. He wanted something that was his, and he wanted
something that came without a price. Tobias didn’t need him for
anything, and Cass knew that they were at the point in their courtship
where Tobias spent time with Cass because he wanted to, not because
he was ordered to. If he was ordered to spend time with the gladiator,
he’d only come at designated times. Tobias snuck into the Ludus
more often than not because he had a spare moment between chores.
It exasperated and amused Corbin, because while Cass showed off his
skills in the practice arena, he also tended to preen whenever Tobias
was near.

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“Sweet boy, you give me a lot more than I had hoped for.” Cass

had assumed from the beginning that their courtship would be
difficult. Oddly enough, it seemed that things—no, his end of
things—had fallen right into place. The other gladiators still razzed
him for being with a mouse, but for the most part they’d just accepted
it. Most likely because of how the master and the lanista had treated
the situation. Corbin was understanding about their desire to spend
time together, and Flavius was actually accommodating as well. It
brought him back to the subject he’d been meaning to ask Tobias
about since the photo shoot but hadn’t actually had the time to do so.

“So are Corbin and Flavius involved or something?” Cass asked

casually, leaning against the bars.

Tobias hesitated. “I wasn’t sure you noticed at the shoot. Don’t

tell anyone your suspicions. You know it’s forbidden for humans to
be with our kind. They’re usually more discreet, so much so that I can
barely tell that they have any sort of feelings beyond the professional
kind. Lately it has been more pronounced. That’s between you and
me.” The look the mouse gave him said that he would bite the hell out
of the cat if he so much as muttered a syllable about them being
involved to anyone else.

“How long have they been together? Do you think they’re

mates?” Cass was fascinated. He’d never seen a human and a shifter
together as a couple, so the idea seemed bizarre to him.

“I have no idea, but I’m not going to bother Master with questions

about it. He doesn’t think anyone knows, and I think I’m the only one
who really does. Flavius and I grew up together. I probably know him
better than his own parents. All I can tell you is that one day he came
back from his meeting with the lanista disheveled and smelling too
strongly of bear for them to have been touching casually. Every once
in a while I’ll catch the scent of their coupling, but for the most part,
they somehow mask the smell. It’s odd.”

Cass shook his head. “Not as odd as you think. I know of some

gladiator masters who use their gladiators as an in-house harem. They

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cover it up with a spray serum that you can buy online. It’s illegal in
the states, but anyone can get anything if they have enough money
and influence.”

“Why the curiosity over the master?” Tobias asked, jealousy

flickering in his brown eyes. Cass’s body jerked. He loved when
Tobias went all jealous. It let the gladiator know exactly how much
Tobias wanted him for his own.

“It’s a vague curiosity, I assure you. You seem to be close, that’s

the only reason I ask.” He’d learned a lot about Tobias in the past few
days. The oddest fact being that Tobias shared a friendship with the
man who owned them, and just as odd as that, that Tobias had this
strange sense of justice that flew in the face of all conventional
wisdom. He thought like a free man. The mask of civility and
subservience was just that, a mask. Cassisus loved inciting his temper
over and over again and seeing the real Tobias beneath the calm
exterior.

Tobias shrugged, and the action raised his shirt just a bit to expose

a thin strip of his back. Cass’s eyes widened at the ugly bruise that
marred the skin. Without thinking, he grabbed the hem of his mate’s
shirt and raised it up. “What the hell is this?” He growled. How dare
someone hurt Tobias!

The mouse jerked his shirt out of Cass’s hands and glared. “It’s

fine, Cassisus. Nothing to worry about. It was an accident.”

“What was an accident?” Cass demanded. He needed reassurance

and answers. If the answers weren’t what he wanted to hear, he would
have retribution.

Tobias hesitated. “I just ran into the side of the table, Cassisus.

Please, calm down. Your cat is practically pacing in your eyes.”

“Uh-huh. Why don’t I believe you? Did someone hurt you,

mate?”

“No,” Tobias said stubbornly, sliding backward out of Cass’s

arm’s reach.

“Tobias, don’t lie to me. Did someone hurt you?”

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“No. Stop shouting at me, gladiator. You’re going to wake the

whole cell block!” Tobias hissed, his eyes going to the darkened cells
on either side of the gladiator.

“I don’t give a fuck. Tell me. Now.”
Tobias sighed like the whole thing was vastly inconvenient to

him. “The kitchen is run by a flock of bird shifters. I went to grab a
snack from there for you, and they told me that they didn’t have
anything to give a traitor. When I asked them what they meant, they
were all too happy to inform me that my mating to a predatory shifter
was radically outside the social norms and would not be tolerated by
them.”

“They hate me because I’m a predator?” Cass asked, shock

circling through him. “But we’ve always existed in harmony with one
another!”

“It’s not you. They think that I’m elevating my position in the

slave hierarchy and bucking their system. Flavius hasn’t really
addressed it, but the others are jealous of my special privileges. With
you gladiators, it makes sense. With me…not so much,” Tobias
explained.

“But you’re Flavius’s right hand!”
Tobias shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. As far as they know I’m

his personal assistant and a slave just like them. They think I’m taking
advantage of my mating.”

“How are you taking advantage? If anything you’re getting more

work than you had before you knew me. I mean, you’re coming to my
cell and fetching food for me and all sorts of things that involve my
personal happiness and not yours.” The gladiator frowned. “It doesn’t
make sense that you would be hurt because of that.”

Tobias sighed. “They feel like I have advantages. To name a few,

personal freedom. I get out of my chores at times, and I’m allowed to
wander about the house and grounds unescorted at your bidding. Not
to mention the fact that I am accompanying the Ludus to Louisiana.”
He paused as if thinking about something. “Honestly, the bruise was

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an accident. I did in fact back into a table. The head chef was giving
me a talking-to about the whole mating business, and I got a little
intimidated by some of his underlings. I backed up into the kitchen
table. You don’t need to worry about the rest of the servants.”

“What about your family? Do they feel the same way?” Cass

asked. He knew that Tobias’s family was important to him. They were
a fundamental part of his mate’s identity. When he spoke of them it
was always with affection, and his uncles, cousins, and siblings
played a huge role in how he lived each day. Everything Tobias did
was in pursuit of their comfort and security. The mice may have been
the house servants, but with Tobias’s quiet influence, they were happy
in their positions. He’d even shared about how he’d gotten his
youngest nephew a job helping out in the gardens because he was
fond of the outdoors. It would kill Cassisus to know that their mating
was causing his little mate difficulties.

“They think I am following orders, so the point is moot right now.

If you return from Europe and we continue our affair, it might be a
different story. But for now they are content.” Tobias reached his
hand through the bars and grasped Cass’s. “Seriously, don’t worry
over it.”

Cass’s frown deepened. “What do you mean if? We’re mated.

That can’t be undone.” Once they were joined they would always
crave one another. It wasn’t a hunger that could be slaked with one
brief encounter. Their animals would bond and be bound until they
died.

Tobias went to pull his hand back as he realized what he said, but

the gladiator didn’t let him go. “I don’t know, Cass. I mean, so long
as we’re around one another from time to time, our animals should be
content.”

The tiger inside Cass growled in anger. There was no way that his

Beast would be content if given only a crumb of affection. “You
weren’t planning on continuing where we left off when I got back
from Europe?” The question was quiet, but it was also deadly. He

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hoped Tobias really considered his answer before he blurted it out,
because from where Cass was sitting, there was only one correct
answer to his question.

“I had thoughts about it,” Tobias murmured. “It was before we

started to get to know one another. I had different plans initially.”

It was like someone struck Cass in the gut. “But you weren’t

speaking in past tense. You were speaking like leaving this mating
alone after I went to Europe was still a possibility.”

“Well, I don’t want to rule out anything at this point.” The words

were like cold nails being driven into Cassisus’s heart.

“You know, I may be arrogant, but I’m not cruel,” he said, pulling

his hand back. “You treat me like a yo-yo. You tell me that you’re
giving this a chance, and then you tell me that it is possible that I
won’t even get the opportunity to be with you past the next week. We
like one another, we have a good time, enjoy each other’s company.
But that isn’t enough. No. You still want the ‘freedom’ to walk away.
So here you go, walk. I don’t want to see you again until you can tell
me for sure what it is you want from me.”

“But, Cass—”
“No buts, Tobias,” Cass interrupted. “You are playing with me,

and I don’t like it. I’ve told you from the beginning that I am in and
that I take this fated mating seriously. But you haven’t been serious
all.”

“I am serious. Cassisus, listen to me!”
The cat hissed, his lips curling back to reveal his fangs. “You

walked away from me once, and I forgave you. I won’t forgive you a
second time, Tobias. It isn’t fair that you get all the power, and I have
none of it. Maybe I took what you said to me too far and let you
control the course of our relationship—”

Tobias made a noise of frustration. “We don’t have a real

relationship! Don’t you see, the only reason we’re even talking is
because we’re mated. We have nothing in common!”

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Cass turned his back on the mouse, fury coursing through his

veins. “Yeah? Then why the fuck did you waste my time for the past
week? You don’t like what you see? Then why didn’t you say
something?”

“I like what I see!” Tobias shouted. “I love it!”
Cass sighed. “You need to figure it out, Tobias. Seriously. If you

want this, really want this, then I will give you the moon, stars, and
everything in between. But if you don’t, walk away now and stop
using me to get whatever power high you seem to get from being my
superior.”

Tobias snorted. “I’m your superior? What about ‘It’s your duty to

oil my body,’ or ‘Go fetch something’?”

“You really don’t get it at all do you, silly mouse?” Cass rumbled

a little bitterly. “I ask things of you, and sometimes I ask wrongly.
However, I have never ever made you do something you didn’t want
to do. Anytime you pointed out a problem, I have fixed it with little to
no questions asked. A superior is someone who has the power to hurt
you, and you have that. No more. Not until you find what it is you’re
looking for in this. I’m no one’s bitch.”

Tobias didn’t say anything for a minute, and Cass was half-afraid

that the mouse had gone. He swallowed and tried to breathe past the
crushing panic that the thought brought with it. Tobias would figure it
out. He had to. They were mates. He’d read the book that Tobias had
brought him, and in Cass’s mind Tobias was no different than
Angelus, the human mate of a lion shifter from the ancient legend
Tobias had shared, in that neither male could recognize when they
had won. The lion shifter, Antinious, had been slow to trust, but once
he was committed, he was all in. Cassisus felt the same way. He could
call it mating, fate, whatever he liked. Cass had genuine affection and
feelings for Tobias that were developing at an astronomical rate.
Maybe it was too soon, but when fate handed him limes, by God he
made mojitos.

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The soft hand that touched his back made every muscle in his

body tense. The touch was soft, light, but the feeling of Tobias’s
hands was unmistakable.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. Servants wear many faces, Cass.

Sometimes I don’t know which one to wear where,” Tobias said,
pressing a kiss to Cassisus’s bare shoulder. “I wish I could wear the
same face with everyone, but it just isn’t practical.”

“What is practical, love? Hurting your mate? Alienating the one

man who doesn’t ask you to be anything but yourself?”

Another kiss was placed on his back, this time on his spine.

Electricity followed the movement. “You’re right. I know you are.
I’m afraid that our mating will bring change. Already, it’s harder to be
the dutiful servant. Flavius is a great master, and he treats me like an
equal as well. I wish we lived in a time when shifters were free.”

The mouse had to have shifted and shifted back to get in here.

Cass’s body was hyperaware of the fact that his mate was finally in
his domain and naked to boot. He swallowed and tried to keep his
mind on the topic at hand. “Maybe someday we will be. Humans like
Flavius obviously know that we are as worthy of affection, love, and
freedom as any other man.”

“I don’t have enough faith to make that possibility a firm reality. I

wish I did,” Tobias whispered.

An idea started to form in the back of Cass’s mind, a crazy insane

idea. “Master Flavius is a man with many secrets, Tobias.”

“Yes,” Tobias agreed carefully. His arms wrapped around Cass’s

waist and started playing with the ridges of his abdomen at the same
time the mouse rested his forehead against Cass’s back. “And?”

“Perhaps there is another way. Perhaps we can create our own

freedom in a world that would have us all slaves.”

They could run the house like a community. They’d all have jobs

and pay for the services they did for the community. Nothing would
change, but everything would change. They would have the freedom
to go where they wanted on the grounds. Those who wanted to change

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occupations could. Anyone who wanted something wouldn’t have to
ask permission but instead earn a commission and buy it for
themselves. They could be people again.

Silence reigned for a good minute. “Cass, it isn’t possible.”
“But it is. Flavius has secrets, and if he has secrets he has

weaknesses. What if we revolt quietly and gain the house?” Cass
asked excitedly. There were already possibilities washing through his
mind. A door. That was the first thing he was going to get. He was
going to get a real door so that he and Tobias could go into his cell
and shut out the whole world.

“Cassisus, that’s madness! The master is a good man, and what if

you succeed? What then? We’d have to keep up the charade or else
the authorities would get involved. The only thing the master has to
do is place a phone call, and everything is over. Don’t you see? It’s
crazy!” Tobias protested, biting the shoulder he’d kissed. “Cass, think
about this before you get riled up. He could sell us. I mean, he would
sell us. Servants who are disobedient don’t last long in prestigious
households like Flavius’s. You know that.”

Cass was too far gone for Tobias’s logic. Why hadn’t he thought

of this before? “I bet you anything that Corbin is his mate. What if we
convinced them to be together and negotiated additional freedoms for
everyone? That way we’d all be equals and no one would be
threatening you about elevating your station.” Tobias bit him again,
harder this time. “Ouch!”

“Stop acting like a crazy person!” Tobias snapped around a

mouthful of Cass.

Cassisus laughed. “Don’t you see, Tobias? If Flavius gets mated

to Corbin, then he won’t have much of a choice but to go along with
this or give up his mate.”

“Humans don’t see mating like we do,” Tobias reminded.
“But that is the beauty of it, you see. I think Flavius does. You

saw the way they were looking at one another. They were taken, and
they both have the hunger. Don’t you see? It’s perfect! We just have

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to convince Flavius that running the house in a purely facile fashion is
the best way to go. That will be the hardest part,” Cass said, his
wheels already turning. What would he have to do to convince Corbin
to essentially betray his mate so that they could have their freedom? It
was all about the pitch. As long as they were slaves, Flavius wouldn’t
and couldn’t acknowledge mating a shifter.

Corbin just needed the opportunity to understand that he would

only be able to fully be with his mate if he went along with the plan.
Tobias’s hand wrapped around his cock and squeezed. It wasn’t
painful, but it certainly got his attention. “God, Tobias!” he grumbled.
His arousal started to fill as the mouse’s hands worked his length.

“The things I have to do to get your attention,” Tobias muttered,

continuing to stroke his and press kisses and bites to his back.

“What are you doing?” Cassisus asked, his voice getting huskier

by the second.

“I’m distracting you of course, cat. You are being ridiculous, and

if this will get you to see reason, then I am not above using my wiles.”
Something about the way Tobias said “wiles” had Cass cracking up.
Tobias’s spare hand poked him in the ribs. “Knock it off. They’re
good wiles.”

“Hmmm, you’re certainly getting better at it,” Cass contemplated,

letting himself be swept up in his mate’s touch. “Is this a pledge to
commit to this mating of ours and an acknowledgment that there will
be conflict involved?”

“Will it keep you from being insane and taking over Flavius’s

house?” Tobias countered, rubbing the head of Cass’s prick in the
same circular fashion that he’d taught him. It made the cat’s eyes roll.
Man, his mate’s hands felt fantastic.

Cass’s breathing started to hitch. “Baby, if you keep stroking me

like that, I’m going to promise you whatever you want so I can come
by your hands.”

Tobias chuckled, the sound low and aroused. “When I’m with you

everything makes sense, Cass.” The whisper was at odds with his

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seduction. There was a vulnerability in the words that Cass couldn’t
remember hearing in his mate’s voice before. “When I’m away from
you it’s harder. Cassisus, I’m scared. Things are going to change.”

“The only constant in life is change, little one. I will take care of

you, and I will love you if you let me, but you’re going to have to let
me. This might involve conflict with the other servants, but mixed
matings have happened before, and they will happen again. Maybe
it’ll be good to shake up the house dynamics a bit.” Cass was
thoroughly enjoying having his body brought into lusty awareness by
his Tobias. Thoughts of rebellion started to fade. If Tobias would be
with him and love him and be his mate, there was no reason for
extremes. Tobias was right. Flavius was a good master. If Tobias was
really going to try and make this work, it only made sense that Cass
wouldn’t risk it.

“Cass, I want this to work out. I want to be with you.” The way

Tobias said “be with you” made parts of Cass really stand up and pay
attention. Did he mean what he thought he meant?

“Now?”
“I want it so bad,” Tobias admitted. Relief washed through Cass.

He had thought for a little while that he was the only one who wanted
to join in this mating. Tobias was always extremely cautious when it
came to being alone with him, like he didn’t trust Cass to not ravish
him if given the opportunity, despite Cass’s promises. Maybe it had
been the other way around. Maybe Tobias didn’t trust himself. “You
always push my buttons, and maybe I’m a masochist, because I find
that incredibly sexy. You push me to be more than what I am.”

“Yeah, well, I’m your mate. I want what’s best for you.” Keep

going. Stroke me. Just like that. Tobias’s hands were surprisingly
steady given the conversation they were having.

“I like it. I want to rub against you and mark you with my scent.

There are times when I know it’s all animal instinct, but there are
aspects of our mating that I want you completely as a man.”

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Cass was loving this confessional. Maybe he’d finally gotten

through to Tobias. It had certainly taken long enough. “I want you,
too, Tobias. I want to take you into my bed and leave my mark on
you. I want to fuck you and fill you so that you’ll know beyond a
shadow of a doubt that you belong to me.”

Tobias groaned. “Yeah. I want that, too.” He paused. “Do you

think you’d ever let me fuck you?”

Cass’s eyes flew open, and he looked over his shoulder in

surprise. Among gladiators, yielding just wasn’t something one did. If
two gladiators wanted to fuck, they usually wrestled for top position
and the loser let the winner top him. Cass had never lost. But, this was
his mate they were talking about…He bit his lip as Tobias’s
confidence seemed to falter. Crap. “If you prove to me that you’ve
actually committed and that I can trust you with my heart, then yes,
Tobias. I’ll let you fuck me.”

Tobias’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yes,” Cass said, nodding. “I’ve never let anyone else inside me,

and it’s a privilege I would only give my mate.”

Tobias looked touched. “Okay. I think that’s fair.” He grinned

suddenly, an unfettered smile stretching his lips wider than Cass had
ever seen them.

“What?” Cass asked, turning around so that they were face-to-

face.

“Hmm, I was just thinking that it’s only fitting that we take one

another’s virginity,” Tobias said sweetly. Cass grunted. He was not a
virgin. It didn’t matter if no one had ever screwed him in the ass, he
had experience in spades. Tobias tsked. “There, there, gladiator.
Don’t get offended. I think it’s sexy that I get to…” He frowned.
“What do you call it when a male takes your virginity?”

“If you say anything about popping my cherry, you are in big

trouble, mister. I am not above bending you over my knee and
spanking your ass,” Cass rumbled.

Tobias winked. “If I say please?”

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Cass groaned. He was so lost when it came to Tobias and his

whims. “You are trouble.” He bent down and claimed the other
male’s lips, eager for a taste of what had been denied him the past few
minutes. Tobias gasped into his mouth as their bodies came flush
together for the first time with both of them utterly unclothed. The
smaller man wound his arms around Cass’s neck and wrapped his legs
around the gladiator’s lean hips. Cass couldn’t believe that Tobias
was actually letting this happen.

He carried them both over to his bed and laid Tobias down on its

surface with Cass’s body positioned between his legs. “You don’t
have to sleep with me, Tobias. We can just get off together like we
have the past few weeks.” It wouldn’t bother Cass in the least bit.
Well, he amended internally, it would bother him but only in the fact
that he wanted to be as close as possible to his mate, and having sex
with him was about as intimate as they could get.

“I want this. I want it before New Orleans and before you fight,”

Tobias said firmly. “I don’t just want this because I don’t want you to
do something stupid, either. I just…can’t wait anymore.”

Cass understood completely. There was nothing he’d rather do

than lose himself in Tobias’s sweet body, and denying his impulse to
fuck had become a test in sainthood over the past week. He was
Tobias’s, and Tobias was his. It was that simple to the animal he
shared a consciousness with. There was no reason, not even the
reasons that they hadn’t known one another long and they were
rushing into things, could convince his animal otherwise.

The cat would give his mate a time he wouldn’t soon forget.

“Then hold that thought,” he murmured, rolling to his feet. Tobias
was in his bed, waiting for him. A shudder of finality went through
him. No turning back in mating. Their fates had been sealed from the
moment Tobias had entered the Ludus on business for Flavius.

“Hurry, Cass,” Tobias whispered. Cass turned his head to nod and

nearly swallowed his tongue for his trouble.

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His mate lay on his bed, stroking his cock in slow, easy motions

that were designed to tease rather than push toward orgasm. Ever
since Tobias had discovered Cass had a penchant for watching Tobias
masturbate, he’d done it to tease him and wind him up before they
finally were able to touch and achieve pleasure together.

“Cock tease,” Cass quipped, dragging the privacy partition to the

front of the cell and positioning it over the door.

“I learned from the best,” Tobias said, groaning. “Always running

around your cell naked, cock just out there for the whole world to see,
ass so fine that I just wanted to sink my teeth into it. God, Cass, I feel
like every second since I met you has been a tease.”

Cass puffed up with pride over Tobias’s admission. He liked that

his soon-to-be lover found his body appealing. He was finally going
to get to be with his mate, and the beauty of the moment finally sank
into his being. The fight from earlier was all but forgotten. After all, it
wasn’t like it would be their last fight. All things considered given
their differences, it was a miracle they didn’t fight more often.

He crossed to his dresser and fished in the top drawer for a bottle

of lube. He hadn’t taken a virgin ever, so it was a new experience for
the both of them. He imagined that he would just have to go slow and
hope for the best. He took a deep breath in an effort to calm his
thundering heart.

“Tobias, if anything feels uncomfortable just tell me. We’ll work

it out together, baby.” He felt high, like he was about to get a hit off
his own personal cocktail of drugs designed just for him. He turned
back to Tobias and looked over his lover’s perfect form.

“Hurry, Cass. I want you.” Those chocolate eyes were full of raw

lust, and Cass growled in desire. His cat purred loudly, the sound
filling the room. Tobias shuddered. “I love when you do that. I can’t
wait to feel that against me everywhere.”

Cass had to put a restraining hand at the base of his cock to keep

from shooting at the words. If he didn’t take the edge off his own lust

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he was going to be ravaging Tobias with all the feral hunger
percolating through his bloodstream.

“What do you get from being with me?” Cass asked. What had he

done to deserve this beautiful man in his bed?

Tobias swallowed and licked his lips and a slight scent of unease

filled the air. “Just you, Cass. You’re more than enough.”

He was probably nervous. I’m such an ass. I should’ve been more

considerate. “Don’t worry, little one. I’ll take care of you always.” He
crawled onto the bottom of the bed and put his hands gently on
Tobias’s knees. “Spread for me, baby. Let me get you ready for me.”
It would probably be easier the first time if Tobias went on his
stomach, but Cass didn’t want to deny him the intimacy that making
love face-to-face would give him.

“O–okay,” Tobias murmured, spreading his legs. His mate

trembled, and Cass felt the power and privilege of his position. The
trust was a heady thing.

He rubbed Tobias’s tight thighs, massaging the tension from the

muscle in an effort to calm the other man somewhat. The slick he kept
waited patiently on the nightstand. He reached for it and smeared his
fingers with the substance.

“Cass,” Tobias whispered as Cassisus’s slicked fingers massaged

his eager entrance, circling and dipping inside to tease the nerve
endings into relaxing.

“That’s it, baby. Relax for me.” Cass rubbed against his pucker,

circling, before pushing one finger inside to the first knuckle. Tobias
gasped and clenched down on his finger. “Push out, Tobias. Just
relax. Let me in. This is right. We’re mates. Everything we do
together is right and perfect.” He hoped the encouragement would
anchor the other man so that he wouldn’t get too upset. Cass couldn’t
say he’d ever taken a virgin before, but he knew from his own
experience that it was a frightening one just because it was so new.
Tobias groaned and pushed back, squirming. Hmmm, eager mouse.

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Tobias would match him hunger for hunger. Cass knew it by the
already-thirsty expression on his face.

He worked one finger in, pushing and withdrawing it in mimicry

of what they would be doing just as soon as Tobias was ready for that
next step.

“More,” Tobias begged, his hips starting to move in counterpoint

rhythm to Cass’s. Hot arousal drew Cass’s balls up tight. If he didn’t
get inside his mate soon, he was going to blow. Another finger added
to the first along with more lubrication. He was surprised when
Tobias’s body swallowed both fingers eagerly. “Fill me, please,
Cass…”

“Don’t want to hurt you, sweet,” Cass murmured, adding a third

finger. He was well endowed, and the last thing he wanted to do was
accidently injure his Tobias by being overeager. If only there was
some way to keep from losing his mind between now and then.

He fucked his mate with his fingers for what seemed like eternity

before he was finally satisfied that the smaller man wouldn’t be hurt
by their joining. By the time Tobias was at that point, Cass was
sweating profusely and hard enough that he could fuck through
cement block and not strain anything. “Ready, baby?” Cass asked,
surging up Tobias’s body and positioning himself between his spread
thighs.

“Yes!” Tobias cried out, obviously as eager to get to their joining

as he was.

Cass positioned his legs on either side of his hips before stuffing a

pillow under Tobias to elevate the mouse’s ass so he could get a better
angle. The entire time, Tobias watched him with hungry eyes, panting
softly.

As he got everything into place and took himself in hand, he

looked down at Tobias’s beautiful body, soaking in the image. His
mate was finally in his bed, in his domain, and he’d come there of his
own volition. The idea filled Cass with pride. He had always wanted
to be the type of man who his mate would be proud to call his own,

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and Cass knew by the way Tobias was looking at him under his dark,
lowered lashes that he had indeed become such a man.

He probed Tobias’s entrance with his pulsing, pre-cum-slicked

prick and groaned when his mate’s body opened to accept him. He
trusted him to not hurt him, and Cass would be damned if he broke
that trust. He was careful as he worked his hips forward in slow
increments in order to seat himself in Tobias’s hot body. No one else
has been where I am. And no one else would be there again if Cass
had anything to say about it.

“Cassisus, move! I’m not going to break!” Tobias snapped,

pushing into Cass’s hips to afford him deeper penetration.

Cass’s eyes flew wide in surprise. “Eager, mate?”
“Yes!” Tobias growled, moving restlessly on Cass’s length.

“Need you. Come on, Cass. Give me all of you.”

The words snapped something inside Cass that pushed him over

the edge from man to Beast. His cat screamed his desire and Cass’s
now-claw-tipped hands gripped Tobias’s hips in a brutal grip.

“Mine!” he snarled, thrusting forward into Tobias’s passage

almost violently.

“Yours,” Tobias snarled right back, meeting him thrust for thrust.
I am so lost. It was the last coherent thought he had before he lost

himself completely in Tobias. The hot cavern squeezed his prick so
hard that he was pretty sure the top of his head was going to blow off
any second, and the noises of need Tobias was making in regular
intervals were doing a good job of stealing his sanity away.

It wasn’t long before orgasm was only a few thrusts away. He

could feel it burning up his spine and clenching his sac into a tight
ball of want. “I’m close,” he rumbled, sweat dripping down his neck.
He closed his eyes in an effort to forgo the inevitable. However, the
sound of their joining flesh just seemed to wind him that much tighter.

“Cass!” Tobias yelped, his back bowing at a nearly impossible

angle before he shot the hot, sticky proof of his desire in the valley
between their joining bodies.

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Cass groaned as Tobias’s ass pulsed and gripped him as his mate

shuddered through his pleasure. The scent of his spunk filled the air,
and it threw the gladiator headlong into his own orgasm. He thrust
forward once, twice, three times before groaning out his release and
filling Tobias’s body with Cassisus’s cum. The mouse’s eyes widened
in surprise, and he groaned as his body was pitched into another
orgasm in time with Cass’s. Together they were spent.

Cass’s body trembled with an effort to keep from collapsing

against Tobias as utter exhaustion took the place of the intense desire
of before. Had pleasure ever felt so good? He doubted it. He was
pretty sure that he had busted a lung a second ago from panting so
hard.

Tobias looked up at him, his brown eyes filled with a sense of

wonder and no small amount of contentment. “Is it always like this?”

“Better,” Cass rumbled. Though, God help him if it got much

better. He would probably go insane from it if that happened. He
wondered if he would survive sex like that for the rest of his life. He
chuckled at the thought.

“I feel funny,” Tobias said, stretching a bit before rubbing Cass’s

hips with his legs, which were still wrapped snugly around Cass.
“Almost drunk.” He yawned. His mouse was feeling the same
exhaustion as he was.

“It’s probably a combination of the best sex ever and the

pheromones in my cum,” Cass said, pulling out of Tobias with a
groan. He felt a little pang of protest as he did so from his cat, but that
was all right. They would do it again soon. “When I release inside
you, it’s like mate overload from what I’ve read.”

Tobias grunted out something, but his eyes were already sliding

shut in sleep. Cass chuckled. He’d worn his mate out. He glanced
around his cell. It was filled with his things, most of which he didn’t
really own. He looked back in his bed. Tobias was really and truly
his. With a smile on his face, he rolled out of bed and went to clean
up.

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Chapter Nine

Tobias woke to the sound of echoing footsteps. He frowned in his

sleep. It wasn’t unusual for him to be woken up on any given morning
to his family chattering or the guards changing shifts, but the echoing
threw him off. What were they walking on to produce such an effect?

“Tobias, sweet, let’s get some clothes on. Corbin will be here in

just a minute and I don’t want to have to bust my lanista in the face
for looking at your gorgeous body without a stitch on it,” a familiar
voice said, calling him out of the realm of dreams. It had been a
pleasant dream, too. He had been at the far end of the estate at the
cabin that Flavius had promised him, sitting on the front porch while
he watched his Cassisus tend the small vegetable garden he’d had him
plant a few months previously. It had been full summer, and the heat
had been perfect. He was still warm, as matter a fact…Then the words
penetrated his mind, and his memory replayed for him every detail
from the night before. He had spent the night. Damn. I’m probably
late. He was sure Flavius wouldn’t be mad at him for staying with his
mate, but still.

“Where are my clothes?” he asked, his voice filled with gravel

from sleep. He slowly opened his eyes to see Cassisus lying beside
him, his head propped up on his hand with a soft expression on his
face.

“You may have left them outside the cell,” Cass said, looking

amused. “However, I’ve got a T-shirt you can wear until you are able
to retrieve them. I also might have a pair of sweatpants we can rig up
to fit you, but you’re going to look like a little kid playing dress up.”

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Tobias nodded, but his mind was stuck completely on Cass’s face.

Fate had given him a mate worth more than anything. Last night had
been the most magical experience of his life, and he had Cassisus to
thank for it. “Last night was amazing,” he whispered as Cass bent
down to press a reverent kiss to Tobias’s cheek. I’m well and truly
yours now. That part may have gone unsaid, but it was true. Already
Tobias’s animal was bonding to Cass, solidifying their mating and
making it impossible to think of any possible future that didn’t
include Cass in it.

Cassisus’s smile widened into a grin. “Yes, it was. Thank you.”

He pressed their lips together, and Tobias’s arms immediately wound
around his neck.

A harsh knock against the iron bars made them jerk apart.

Tobias’s eyes flew to the privacy partition that the cat had
thoughtfully put up. At least he didn’t have to worry about people
seeing him naked. His heart warmed. His mate may have been big and
bad, but the guy was a veritable teddy bear in the way he treated
Tobias.

“Come on, Cassisus. Get up!” Corbin’s voice barked from

outside. “We’ve got a ton to do and little time to do it.”

“I’m up, Corbin. My mate is here. I’ll say good-bye and then

come out,” Cass called back. He pushed himself up and crawled over
Tobias’s body. It was a wonder Tobias had slept so well with Cass.
The bed was only an extra-long twin bed. They had to have slept
excessively close in order to be able to even fit on the bed they’d
shared.

“All right, but hurry it up. I want you to have a good breakfast

before we start training.” With that, the footsteps walked away down
the corridor.

Tobias remembered the warmth of the sunshine. It had to have

been Cass’s body heat. The dream itself had been beyond beautiful.
His mind turned to the future. Now that he was fully committed to his
mating with Cass, it only made sense that he would include Cass in

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his plans for the small living space that Flavius was granting him. He
smiled at the idea. How wonderful would that be? “Hey, Cass?”

“What sweet?” The cat was digging in the wardrobe that was

pushed against one wall, searching, no doubt, for clothes.

“Do you think the master would let us live together?”
Cass turned his head and raised his gaze to meet Tobias’s. “I

would hope so. We’re mated now. There isn’t anything technical
about our joining. It would only make sense that we would grant us
the opportunity to comingle. I can’t live with the mice, but perhaps
he’d let you live in my cell.” He glanced at the bed. “I’ll see about
getting a full-size mattress from the lanista.”

He must’ve done as Tobias had asked and forgone any thoughts of

rebellion against Flavius. It was a relief. Flavius was a good man, and
Tobias wanted to disrupt as little of their life as possible in their
joining.

Cass held up a pair of gray sweats and a black T-shirt with

triumph. “It is my lounge stuff for when my brother comes over and
watches TV, but it’ll do.”

Tobias nodded. “Maybe the master will grant us our own space on

the estate,” he said, getting a feel for how Cass would react to such a
thing.

The cat laughed. “I don’t know, sweet. Flavius doesn’t even let

his gladiators wander around the school unescorted. I seriously doubt
he’ll let me run the grounds.” He paused. “Have you given any
thought to whether or not you would be willing to travel to Europe
with us? I know traveling is hard, but I would miss you terribly if you
weren’t with me.”

The admission of affection warmed Tobias exponentially. He

would have to talk to Flavius and see if he could work something out
about the cabin. After all, when Tobias had negotiated last time,
Flavius had accepted his terms readily. Just to be on the safe side he’d
keep the cabin reward to himself until he knew for sure, but the
prospect was still pretty exciting.

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“I will go to Europe with you if Master Flavius lets me,” Tobias

said, catching the clothes that Cass pitched to him. “I could help out a
lot with Flavius’s affairs while I am there, so it shouldn’t be too hard
to convince him.”

Cass nodded and pulled on the cloth that he wore to gladiatorial

practice. His firm buttocks encased in the strip of cloth just made
Tobias hungry. He was lucky to have such a gorgeous mate. He’d
known a few of the house servants who hadn’t been so lucky. Beyond
his beauty, Cass was a good man.

“Admiring what’s yours?” Cass teased as he adjusted the side

straps on his clothing.

“Absolutely,” Tobias said, licking his lips. If he had an eternity of

free time, he would love to spend it exploring every gorgeous inch of
Cass.

“You can take your ungodly handsome mate for another test drive

after supper tonight,” Cass said, grinning. “I know it’ll be hard to wait
that long, but I have confidence in your ability to survive a few hours
without looking at my gorgeous bod.”

Tobias rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you’re pretty until you open your

arrogant mouth, cat.” He didn’t mean it by a long shot, but that was
beside the point. He didn’t need to feed his lover’s ego by agreeing
with him.

“I’m wounded, Tobias,” Cass quipped. He went over to the

partition and folded it up and tucked it against a wall. “At least the
privacy wall worked well enough.”

Soon we’ll have a whole cabin to ourselves. That will work even

better. Tobias smiled at the thought. Life was definitely looking up.
He went over to his mate and wrapped his arms around his waist
before looking up at him. “I’m a lucky man.”

“Hmmm, likewise. I hope you’re not still waffling about us,” Cass

murmured, kissing the shell of Tobias’s ear.

Tobias shivered. “No way.”
“Good. Then I am a happy man as well.”

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“Come on, bro. Corbin is waiting, and Flavius has sent for

Tobias,” Faustus said from outside the cell. They both jumped at the
sound of his voice. The other gladiator chuckled. “Good lord, you
guys. Get the lead out. It’s just a few hours.”

He was right. It was just a few hours. Tobias kissed Cass’s cheek.

“I’ll see you later, mate.”

Cass winked. “Counting the seconds, lover mine.”

* * * *

Tobias made his way back to the main house with a swing in his

step. Life was good. He’d finally made peace with the idea that
Cassisus was his mate, finally given in to the sexual urges where he
was concerned, and finally felt like he was right where he belonged.
As soon as he convinced Flavius that Cass would behave if he was
allowed to live at the cottage with him, life would be damn near
perfect.

Giotto stepped out from one of the servants’ halls with three other

house servants. “You’ve got some nerve swaggering around the house
like you own it.”

Instant unease blossomed in Tobias’s chest. Crap. He’d forgotten

about Giotto’s disapproval of his joining with Cassisus. “I’m late to a
meeting with Master Flavius.”

“Don’t patronize us, Tobias. We saw you sneaking out of the

gladiator’s cell this morning like a meat-whore,” one of the kitchen
falcons spat.

Tobias gasped at the insult. A “meat-whore” was a really nasty

name for a shifter who prostituted himself for in-house favors with
higher shifters and humans. They were considered race traitors by
nonpredatory shifters. He gritted his teeth. “Get out of my way.”

Giotto spat. “Or what? Are you going to sic your cat on us?”
“What is this about, Giotto?” Tobias demanded, glaring. He’d had

about enough of them looking at him like he was scum on the bottom

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of their shoes. A muscle in his jaw twitched. They called me a fucking
meat-whore.

“We know you actually mated the cat,” Giotto said. “The Ludus

servants were all too eager to share about your little exploits.”

“It’s none of your business, cousin.” Tobias hoped by invoking

their blood relation that Giotto would back off. If his mama heard
about Giotto basically getting a gang together to kick Tobias’s ass,
Giotto would get it from Tobias’s uncle. They were a tight-knit family
group, despite Giotto’s apparent break with sanity.

Giotto sighed. “It is our business. I told you about the trouble you

were causing in the hierarchy.”

“Who gives a damn about the hierarchy?” Tobias snapped.

“Maybe if we stop putting one another in boxes and lines of hierarchy
we wouldn’t be slaves!”

The whole group of shifters paled. Tobias swallowed hard,

realizing what he’d said. He was talking about disrupting their entire
way of life.

“God, listen to you, cuz,” Giotto whispered. “You’re buying into

this.”

“Into what?” Tobias asked, eyeing the other house servants. He

could smell the nervousness coming off them in waves. If he didn’t
calm them down, they were going to beat him and the last thing he
wanted to do was cause an uproar in the house. It wasn’t even about
the pain that would inevitably follow being the subject of a beat
down.

The falcon crossed his arms over his chest. “You really believe

you’re as good as the predators and humans.”

Tobias opened his mouth to protest but then reconsidered it. “I do.

I don’t think there is any real difference between us. We’re men.
Nothing more. Nothing less.”

“We’re not really men though, are we?” the falcon asked, looking

perplexed.

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“We’re nonpredatory shifters,” Giotto said, looking uneasy.

“We’re below humans and predators.”

Tobias shrugged. “Whatever. Giotto, get out of my way. I’m late.”
“Say we’re not above them, Tobias,” Giotto demanded. “You

can’t just say stuff like that.”

He shrugged. “Fine. I’m wrong. Get out of my way.”
Giotto took a menacing step in his direction, but the falcon put a

restraining hand on his shoulder. “No,” the falcon said. “We’ve
delivered our warning sufficiently enough. If we attack him, Master
Flavius will punish us.”

Giotto glared. “We haven’t delivered anything.” He jerked his

hand out of the falcon’s grip and stepped toe to toe with Tobias.
Tobias looked up and glared, refusing to be intimidated by his cousin.
If his huge predatory mate wasn’t going to intimidate him, his fellow
mouse sure as fuck wasn’t. “Tobias, this is your warning. Break it off
with the cat and get back in your place.”

Tobias pursed his lips. “I’m not going against Flavius’s wishes,

nor am I going against my own instincts to deny my mate.”

Giotto looked like he’d been slapped. “Do you see how he calls

the master by his first name like an equal? It seems my cousin has
picked up arrogance from his cat as well.”

One of the other men cracked his knuckles. “Then you need to

find somewhere else to sleep and eat, man. If you’re not one of us,
you can’t take shelter with us.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. There is no way the older house

servants are okay with this,” Tobias said. There was just no way.

The one who had spoken snorted. “Who do you think asked us to

speak with you?”

Tobias’s jaw flexed. “Fine. Then I’ll find accommodations

elsewhere.” Bastards. He had the urge to rub the center of his chest as
a dull ache formed there. He’d never dealt well with rejection, and
this was rejection of the most profound type. “So I’m exiled then?”

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“You can appeal the decision to the matrons. I’d speak to your

mother for a meeting, but as of this moment, no one in the house will
acknowledge you as anything other than a stranger from this moment
on,” Giotto said. “Until you come to your senses and ask for
readmittance into the group, we’re done with you.”

A impolite “Fuck you” was poised on the tip of his tongue, but the

other men chose that moment to turn around and head back down the
corridor the way they’d come. The falcon hesitated before he went
through the doorway.

“You mean it when you say that you think we’re equals to any

predator?” he asked.

Tobias nodded. “My mate is a predator, and he says I am his

equal.”

The falcon nodded but said nothing else, leaving the way he’d

come.

Tobias breathed out, his anxiety leaving him shaking. Why was

this so important? It seemed bizarre to him. They were all slaves in
the end. Didn’t that bond trump all others?

He turned down the hallway that led to Flavius’s study. It was

high time that he got to his job. He’d be lucky if Flavius wasn’t pissed
at him for making him wait so long. There were a million things to get
accomplished before his afternoon meetings. He deliberately turned
his mind to his job and away from heavier topics like freedom and
equality.

* * * *

Cassisus’s mind was not on task for most of the morning, though

he thought that Corbin forgave his lapse in concentration. The
knowing looks the lanista kept throwing his way let him know what
Cass had guessed at before. Corbin knew what it was like after the
first night with his mate.

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“Break time, boys,” Corbin announced as the clock on the far wall

displayed lunch hour. Cass stretched out his muscles, which were
cramped from Faustus throwing him to the sands for the past three
hours. He hated throwing drills. Corbin looked up as he approached.
“Not hungry, Cass?”

Cass shifted from foot to foot. He usually had more leverage than

“please” when asking a favor. “Starving actually. I just wanted to ask
you if it would be possible to get a full-size mattress in my cell if I
win New Orleans? Tobias has agreed to live together, and I’d like for
him to have more comfortable accommodations if I could manage it.”

Corbin crossed his massive arms over his chest. “I don’t know,

Cass. I can check the budget and see what we can do. If you win in
New Orleans, I imagine the master will be more inclined to grant your
request. However, you need to realize that the mouse might not be
staying with you full time. He’s a house servant after all.”

Cass nodded. “The new mattress request will of course be

contingent on the master’s approval of Tobias moving in with me.”
He gave him a knowing look. “You seemed to have sway over the
master’s decisions when it comes to matings, so I figured you could
talk to him about it for me.”

Corbin’s eyebrows shot skyward. “Uh-huh. You want to explain

to me exactly what you’re getting at?”

Cass glanced around and made sure everyone was well out of

hearing range before he spoke. “I know he’s your mate, Corbin. I
understand the need for secrecy, but I know you understand why I
want to stay with Tobias.”

Corbin looked furious, his entire face turning bright red. “You

don’t get to come in here and ask me for favors while talking about
my mate. What? Did you think you’d drop the knowledge and I’d
cave to your requests? I won’t be blackmailed, Cassisus.”

“No, no, that’s not what I was getting at!” Cass said in protest,

backpedaling. “I only mentioned it because I figured you’d

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understand my need to be close to him. That’s all. Jeez, Lanista,
switch to decaf, man.”

Corbin took a deep breath, reigning in his temper. “Sorry about

biting your head off, Cassisus. My mating is…complicated. I’ll see
what I can do about the mattress. Though I’m surprised that you are
asking for one now. After Tobias is granted the cottage, I figured
you’d have a laundry list of things to ask for. If that’s the case, just
wait until after you get a full list complete. The paperwork is a pain to
fill out for a whole laundry list of items. I’d rather just fill out one.”

Cassisus frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well, the master’s promise to Tobias to give him a cottage at the

edge of the estate if he allowed you to court him until after New
Orleans. I assumed from this morning’s display that you two are past
the need for forced comingling. I thought Tobias might’ve been
planning to ask Flavius to let you move with him when it’s
completed.”

Everything in Cassisus froze. “He promised Tobias a cottage to

talk to me?”

Corbin nodded. “Of course. Did you think he just changed his

mind all of a sudden? He needed a little prompting to seek out the
companionship of a predator. No worries, though. Now that you’re
bonded, I’m sure all that is forgotten. I’m surprised he didn’t mention
it, though.”

What are you getting out of this? The question had been simple

enough. Tobias’s reply had been perfect. “You. Just you.” Anger
rocketed through Cass’s chest and dove into the pit of his stomach.
“He didn’t.” It was all he could manage to say as his emotions
fluctuated wildly. He was never really mine at all.

“Anyway, I’ll put in this request for you. I hope that Master

Flavius gives you the space, though. It would be good to see someone
in this life with a happy independent mating. Flavius is a romantic at
heart. It was probably why he gave Tobias the cottage to begin with.”
Corbin shook his head and grinned, oblivious to Cass’s rioting

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emotions. “Go eat, gladiator. These happy tidings need to be
discussed with your mate at a later date. Go.”

Oh, this definitely will be discussed with my mate later. He

clenched his fists, betrayal making his stomach roil. We will discuss it
in great detail, especially the bit about Tobias being a two-faced liar.

* * * *

Tobias was having the worst day of his life. He’d underestimated

the ability of the house staff to make his life miserable. After the
confrontation in the hallway, he’d assumed he’d at least have until
Flavius went to bed before any of the household tried to make him
miserable. Emil from the kitchen had “accidentally” spilled Flavius’s
steaming-hot mug of coffee down Tobias’s back, necessitating a
return to the hall he shared with his family to get new clothes and an
angry red burn down his spine.

When he’d arrived at the quarters he’d shared with the rest of the

mice, he found a duffel bag of his things in the hallway with a note
that said he wasn’t allowed there until after he appealed to the elders
of the house for readmittance into the fold. He’d changed in the
downstairs guest bathroom and had stashed his bag in a spare closet
until he figured out what to do with it.

If the house had turned against him, he couldn’t get anything

washed, get himself some food from the kitchen, or even take a bath
in the communal showers. He could ask Flavius to interfere, but that
would only incite the ire of the shifters who had voted against him.
There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Giotto and his goons had called
a meeting when Tobias hadn’t come home last night.

“Everything all right, Tobias?” Flavius asked from his desk. “If

that burn is too bad I can get a medic here to look at it.”

Tobias sighed but didn’t look up from the spreadsheet for the

Europe budget he was working on. “I’m fine, Flavius. No thank you.

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Is it okay if I travel with you all to Europe? Cassisus wants us to stay
together.”

“And how do you feel about it?”
“I want it as well.” Cass seemed to be the only bright spot in his

life right that second. Of course, he was the reason that they were
turned against him to begin with. He pictured Cass’s warm embrace
and took a measure of comfort from that. It wouldn’t be long before
he was able to escape reality in the gladiator’s arms.

“Then I see nothing wrong with it. However, I want you to know

that I can’t approve him living outside the Ludus, so get that out of
your mind.” Flavius’s words were unexpected. Tobias raised his head
and looked at Flavius. This was the part where he lowered his eyes
and said, “Yes, Master,” but that wasn’t happening.

“Why?” he asked before he could stop himself.
Flavius looked up, a surprised expression on his face. “Isn’t it

obvious? He’s a gladiator, a predator. If I show him such marked
favoritism, the others will demand it. I need the Ludus to be a unit and
all of one mind.”

“He’s my mate,” Tobias said. “We want to be together.”
Flavius sighed. “Trust me when I say it’s better this way. I mean,

this is a vastly different tune to be singing after only a week’s
difference to sway your opinion. Besides, the cottage was your
compensation for keeping him company until we left for Europe. Now
that you’re happily mated, it’s not much an incentive, is it? You’d do
it regardless.”

Tobias was shocked. Was he wearing a sign that said “Be an

asshole to me” on his forehead today? “Flavius, you are a liar.” The
words were out of its mouth before he could think of the thousand
reasons why he shouldn’t say them.

“I beg your pardon?” Flavius asked.
“You. Are. A. Liar.” Each word was forced through clenched

teeth. Anger unlike anything he’d experienced before twisted his
insides into knots. “You say I’m your friend and that you want us to

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be on the same level when we’re alone, but you don’t mean it. You
promised me a cottage if I did as you asked, but now I’m actually
enjoying the task given me, and you’re punishing me for it.”

“I hardly think that’s the case—”
“Well, it certainly feels that way,” Tobias interrupted, shoving to

his feet. “I’m done for the day, Master. I’ll take my leave now.”

Flavius’s eyes widened. “But, I didn’t say you could go!”
“So punish me, Master. Otherwise I’m walking out the door. I’m

done.”

He turned from the astonished gaze of his master and took a step

toward the door.

“Tobias,” Flavius said. “Wait. Let’s talk about this.”
Tobias whipped around, the anger inside him swarming over him

like ants on a dying insect. He wanted to hurt something. The violent
impulse wasn’t like him, but damn if he could help it. In the entire
time he’d been alive, he’d never felt more like a slave. He
remembered now why he had been so determined to keep from
experiencing any type of emotion when it came to his captivity.

“What?” he asked, trying to keep his voice even. He’d been insane

the past few weeks to feel like things could finally be different for
him. It had started with a dream about having his own space. All his
problems stemmed from the need to have just a little something for
himself, just a little something. He hadn’t thought it was too much at
the time considering he was still going to be doing his duties for
Flavius, but apparently he’d been mistaken. It was better not to hope
for any form of elevation of status.

“We are friends. We are. I know I didn’t talk to you like one just

now. But I understand your dilemma. Please, understand my position,
though. I have a dozen gladiators who want their own space and who
already feel like I give Cassisus too much sway when it comes to
getting his way. I thought you’d want to take a few of your family to
live with you at the cottage. I thought it would help with the backlash
with the servants. You think I didn’t notice how everyone is treating

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you like you don’t exist? I’ve never seen someone of your nest who
snubbed anyone so hard as they did you today. So, stop getting all
bent out of shape and come compromise with me. I’m willing to
listen.” Flavius smiled a little self-deprecatingly. “It is easy to fall
back on our familiar roles. At least it’s easy for me. You, on the other
hand, have been given a little measure of freedom, and you’re not
letting it go, are you?”

Tobias shook his head. He couldn’t. Now that he had tasted a little

equality, it was hard to suppress his needs. “I have enjoyed the leeway
I’ve been given, Flavius. My mate treats me like I’m his equal and so
do you. I think that is significant, don’t you? I mean, if I can be your
equal and the world didn’t fall apart, why can’t we be that way all the
time?”

Flavius shrugged. “I’m one man, Tobias. I can’t change the world,

but I agree with you that the current system is broken. However, we
can’t change the fabric of society overnight. Let’s talk it out and see if
we can come up with a compromise so that you and Cassisus can live
comfortably with one another, hm?”

Tobias wasn’t entirely sure that this solution was the one he

wanted, but he was willing to listen to Flavius’s compromises. If
nothing else, they would at least be able upgrade to a space big
enough for Cass and Tobias to not fall over one another. He needed a
new place to sleep anyway.

He nodded and sat back down, exhaling loudly. “Sorry I freaked

out. I’ve seen people exiled before, but it feels significantly less
pleasant than it looks.”

“I’m sorry that they’re doing this to you. May I ask why?”
Tobias swallowed. “They think it’s unnatural for me to be with

Cass because he’s a predator. It violates the hierarchy that we’re
taught from a young age. They think I’m whoring myself out to get
more out of my position in life.”

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Flavius frowned. “What the hell? He’s your mate. Don’t your kind

believe in destiny or something like that? The gladiators seem to be
accepting of your joining.”

“They are to a certain extent. It’s just that they feel like fate is

mistaken in this instance for whatever reason. It all goes back to the
system. All servants are taught from an early age our ‘place,’ as you
well remember. Violating that seems very threatening to them,”
Tobias explained. He sighed and rubbed his temples at the headache
forming there. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. What are your
counter terms?”

Flavius’s business expression slid neatly into place. “Very well. I

think it would be fair to give you two a cell roughly double the square
footage Cass’s cell is now. It would still be in the Ludus, but you
won’t be tripping over yourselves, and I’ll upgrade the furniture
accordingly.”

It didn’t make Tobias happy, but it was at least something beyond

the firm “No” that Flavius had offered the moment before. “You
know, it wouldn’t kill you to let us make our own decisions, Flavius.”

The human snorted. “Yeah? Tell that to your family. Tell the

house servants that I am full of shit and that they can run this place
better. Even if I allowed it, the authorities wouldn’t. It would take one
misspoken word for every one of you to be sold off and my estate and
all my holdings seized for violating the shifter acts. The government
would have to fundamentally change for such a thing to take place.”

“You could make us a sanctuary, Flavius. You have the power and

influence. Or you will when we win the Olympics,” Tobias said, his
thoughts drifting down the same dangerous path his mate’s had the
night before. It was crazy, but it could be done.

“You have that much faith in our Ludus?” Flavius asked,

amusement creeping into his tone.

“I do.”
Flavius chuckled softly. “You have always been a dreamer,

Tobias. How are my terms for you? Acceptable?”

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“I’d also like to be able to walk with my mate outside. The

gladiators are pretty strictly monitored, as you know. Other than to the
pit and back, they get little freedom to move about. If you let us walk
the side yard, the living space is acceptable,” Tobias said, forcing his
mind back on topic.

Flavius nodded. “I think that can be done. You’ll have to allow an

armed guard to follow you around, and if you two try anything that
would compromise the safety of the estate, they will be authorized to
use force.” Tobias looked at him strangely. He’d never known Flavius
to fear his servants. The way he said it smacked of fear.

“Why?” he asked. He hadn’t asked “Why” his whole life. Now he

wanted to know the thoughts behind the decisions that governed his
life. Cassisus, you’ve gotten me thinking like you.

The human sat back in his chair and looked Tobias in the eyes as

he spoke. “Because your dreams are dangerous things. Dreamers are
always the most dangerous people in society because they imagine a
world can be made better by the intentions of ordinary men. I don’t
have your faith, and I fear that your desire for freedom will lead to
bloodshed and heartbreak that I would avoid at all costs. We have a
happy life here, Tobias. I treat you and the rest of the shifters right.
There is no reason to change what we are.”

Tobias raised his eyebrows. “Does Corbin feel like there isn’t a

reason to change the way things are?”

Flavius’s cheeks colored, and the acrid scent of unease filled the

air. “The lanista is an idealist like you, Tobias. Be careful you don’t
fall into his fantasies. It is best not to dwell on dreams.”

Tobias disagreed, but he didn’t say so. He’d probably pushed his

luck enough today. Instead, he opened his laptop and scrolled back to
his budget and got back to work. He shouldn’t have mentioned
Flavius’s relationship to Corbin, and he was just speculating. There
was no reason to incite the master’s wrath over the subject.

Cassisus’s words came back to him then. If he has secrets, he has

weaknesses. A quick glance up revealed Flavius buried once again in

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his paperwork with a sour expression on his face. He’s as miserable
as we are. It was clear to Tobias in that moment. The master was just
as trapped by this situation as they were. It was something to think
about at a later date.

“Master, may I dine with you before I go to my mate?” he asked.
Flavius nodded, not looking up. “Absolutely. I’ll have the kitchen

staff bring enough for two. Do you want me to speak with the staff
about your treatment?”

“No. That’s all right. I have a meeting with the elders where I can

dispute the exile. If they cannot accept my mating, then I will figure
out something else. I just have to change their minds somehow.”
Tobias didn’t know how he was going to, but he had to do it. He may
not have been in love with Cassisus just yet. But, he was definitely
interested in something long term with him. They were mates, and
while mating didn’t necessarily guarantee a love match, now that
Tobias had made up his mind to be with Cass, he was going to do
everything in his power to make sure they were happy. That included
being together. He wasn’t a fan of the looking-but-not-touching thing
that the mice wanted him to do. He had mated a cat, and by God, he
was going to be with him.

* * * *

It was later than expected when Tobias managed to leave Flavius

in his study still working on the last-minute preparations for New
Orleans. His muscles were cramped from sitting at his desk too long,
and he was sleepy from his large meal with Flavius. The man had
asked for enough food to feed an army. And Tobias was grateful for
his sharing. The kitchen staff may not have liked it, but they didn’t
have much of a choice.

He crossed the courtyard between the house and the Ludus,

looking forward to some time with Cass. He knew it was selfish to
ask after Cass’s hard day of workouts, but he could really use a back

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rub to get the knots out of his shoulders. The guards nodded to him as
he passed their post at the entrance. Flavius had basically given him
carte blanche when it came to the Ludus. Now if only I can get him to
do the same for the rest of the people under his care. He imagined his
people would have significantly less to say if they were allowed the
same privileges Tobias got. He didn’t think the problem was
necessarily the freedoms themselves. It was the inequality of
treatment between Tobias and the rest of them. He understood it even
if he didn’t like it.

The corridor where the gladiators slept was already dimmed for

the night, and Tobias was pretty sure he’d missed the snack time. He
hoped Cass wasn’t too annoyed over the fact because if one more
person yelled at him today, Tobias was going to lose it.

“Hi, Cass,” he greeted as he came to the front of his mate’s cell

and began to strip off his clothes so he could shift and get through the
locked bars. “Sorry I’m late. I had a hell of a day. I hope you are in a
listening mood because I need to vent like nobody’s business.” No
answer accompanied his statement. He frowned. “Cass?”

He quickly stripped the rest of his clothes and placed them close

enough that Tobias could collect them through the bars afterward.
With a thought, he brought the animal to the forefront of his mind.
The entity rubbed against his mind in greeting, anxious over being
kept suppressed so long. I get it. You get put in a box all day, too,
huh? The integral part of himself nodded its agreement in his mind
before it blended with Tobias. He inhaled slowly as his scent changed
from man to animal and his body flashed from human to mouse. He
sat outside the bars and smoothed two paws over his whiskers before
ducking between the two iron bars and into Cass’s cell.

The gladiator had already put up the privacy partition, so he had to

dart around it in order to get into the main part of the cell. It was dim,
and his eyesight wasn’t fantastic in the soft golden glow of the side
lamp. However, Cass was easily visible lounging on his bed, staring

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at the small TV as it flashed colors from whatever show he was
watching.

Tobias shifted back. “Hey, why didn’t you answer me?” he asked.

Still the tiger ignored him. His frown deepened. “Cassisus?”

“What?” the gladiator asked at last.
Tobias couldn’t help the flicker of annoyance that went through

him at the “fuck off” in the tone. “What is your problem?”

“Nothing.”
“Right,” Tobias drawled. “You’re acting perfectly normal. You

always sound like someone pissed in your cornflakes. Did you get
your ass kicked at practice or something?”

Cass snorted. “Hardly. I just found out some news today that I

wanted to discuss with you.” He raised the remote and clicked off the
TV. “You want to explain to me why you failed to mention the fact
that you had to be bribed with a goddamn cottage in order to come to
me?”

Tobias looked at him. “Uh, I was going to after I made sure it was

all right with Flavius that I brought you along. It’s not a big deal,
Cass. You knew I wasn’t exactly happy to be mated to you in the
beginning, but I promised last night that I was in now.” Still guilt ate
at him. He should’ve told him from the beginning. “I am sorry,
though. I should’ve told you sooner.” He hoped that it would soothe a
little of the cat’s pride and express the fact that Tobias may have
started out feeling that way but he didn’t anymore.

Cass didn’t say anything for about twenty seconds. Then without

warning he chucked the remote in his hand at the wall. It shattered on
impact. Tobias jumped. Fuck.

“Yeah? You don’t get anything out of being with me, huh? How

long were you going to use me to get your way with Flavius? Did you
expect me to just shrug and say, ‘Well, gee, thanks for bringing me
along with you, Tobias’? Do you think I’m stupid or something?”

Tobias shook his head. “No, Cass. It’s not like that. I was fully

prepared to stay with you here in the cell after last night—”

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“Well, if fucking was all you needed to feel like you could

commit, I should’ve tried that sooner instead of, you know, being a
nice gentleman and all that. You just needed a little animal incentive
right?” The gladiator rolled to his feet and took two menacing steps in
Tobias’s direction. Instinctual fear had Tobias shrinking back away
from his mate. He was a predator, and Tobias wasn’t. There was
nothing he could do to suppress the utter terror wrought by a
predatory being coming at him like he was about to hit him.

Cass’s eyes widened. “You think I’m going to hit you?”
“Well you certainly don’t look like you’re going to cuddle me,”

Tobias snapped, angry that he’d been afraid to begin with. “I
should’ve told you. I get it. But you are way overreacting.”

“I just wanted someone to want me for me. Forgive me for being a

little disappointed that you were getting something out of the deal.
What do I get, Tobias?” Cassisus rumbled. He looked really tired, like
he was fighting the urge to say “Fuck it” and failing miserably at it.

“You get me,” Tobias said.
Cassisus snorted. “Right. I get you with certain terms and

conditions.”

Tobias shook his head. “No terms. No conditions. Just me, Cass.”

The weariness he’d been fighting all day replaced the anger almost as
quickly as it had flared up. He looked up into his mate’s blue eyes and
begged him to understand, to give him a break, just this once. “I am
giving up everything. I wanted us to have a life separate from all
this,” he motioned to the cell, the Ludus, and everything that
accompanied it. “That’s why I still wanted the cabin, but it doesn’t
matter because Flavius isn’t going to let us live together, so I said
screw it.”

“What?” Cass snapped. “What do you mean he’s not going to let

us live together?” Tobias saw the fury building again, and he shook
his head quickly in an effort to stop the inevitable eruption.

“I mean, he won’t let us live outside the Ludus together. He’ll

give me the cottage, but he won’t let me stay there with you, so I said

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forget it. He’s going to let us move into a new cell that’s bigger and a
little more private.” He hoped that that would be enough to comfort
Cass over his keeping the absolute truth from him.

“You gave that up for me?” Cass asked, suspicion thick enough to

cut in his voice.

“Of course I did,” Tobias said, closing his eyes and wrapping his

arms around his middle. He was so tired of people yelling at him
today about all the ways he’d fucked up. Between his family, Flavius,
and Cass, he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. “I told you
that I was in, Cass. I know that it doesn’t seem like much after
hearing what Flavius was going to give me, but I genuinely like you
and I hope to fall in love with the man that fate gave me. I want to
have a life that is filled with something only free men can really
have.”

Cass sighed. “It’s all about freedom to you, huh? This life is worth

less than it should be because you feel trapped. I am just another cord
used to tie you down.”

“No, you stupid cat,” Tobias said. There was no fire in his voice

when he said it. “You are the thing that sets me free.”

He didn’t want to look up, didn’t want to see Cass’s scorn or his

suspicion. He wanted to see acceptance and was afraid that he’d see
rejection.

The scent of his mate surrounded him an instant before he was

ensconced in Cassisus’s strong arms. “You certainly know how to
charm your way back into my good graces.”

Tobias leaned into his touch. “You are an ass, and I have no idea

what you’re talking about.”

Cass’s arms tightened, and the cat nuzzled the curve of Tobias’s

neck. “You really like me.” He sounded far too smug about the fact.
“I mean, I’d get it if you got something out of it even if I didn’t like it,
but you seriously like me.”

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“Yeah, yeah, don’t get all Miss America about it, asshole. You

like me, you really like me.” Tobias grumped, tilting his head to the
side to give Cassisus better access to his erogenous zone.

Cass barked out a laugh. “I think you just achieved a new level of

sarcasm, mouse.”

“I rely on sarcasm to deal with your smug face, cat,” Tobias

muttered, trying very hard not to sound like he was thoroughly
enjoying the attention his neck was getting. How did Cass know every
sweet spot on his body?

“Hmmm, you want to talk after we have makeup sex?” Cass

asked, licking Tobias’s pulse.

“Makeup sex?” Tobias managed to gasp as his body reacted to

what Cass was dishing out.

“Oh, yes, baby. It’s the best part of fighting,” Cass rumbled.
“We were fighting?”
Cass nipped the place he’d licked. “What would you call it?”
He had a point. “How does this makeup sex work exactly?”
Cass’s chuckle sent a chill down Tobias’s spine. “First I worship

every inch of your gorgeous body.” He demonstrated by running his
hands slowly down Tobias’s sides, teasing the flesh he found there.
The benefits of being naked after shifting were fabulous.

“I felt you all day,” Tobias admitted. He swallowed as Cass’s

hands kneaded his buttocks. “I wanted you beside me. Every time I
felt the soreness in my muscles, I wanted you.”

“I like where this is going,” Cass said, smirking. “You’re not

helping that ego you’re teasing me about.” He lapped at Tobias’s
pulse, instigating a wash of sensation up and down Tobias’s spine.
“Let’s take this to the bed, lover mine.”

The most animal parts of Tobias were very all right with that idea.

Whether he realized it or not, Cass awakened the hungers his kind
were known for. As a mouse, sex and sensuality were common.
Tobias had been the exception rather than the rule when it came to his
desire of pleasure. That was until last night, when every hunger he’d

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ever had sharpened enough to slice through any sexual suppression
and turned Tobias into a tight ball of want. He hadn’t been kidding
when he’d said he’d wanted Cass throughout the day. Despite his
crappy day, there had been many moments when the urge to lose
himself in sex had crossed his mind and hardened his body in
preparation for the act. He’d thanked God that the desk had hidden his
reaction for the most part.

“Okay.” He let his mate lead him over to the bed and push him

gently down on the narrow surface. His heart pounded as he looked
up at his mate. I get to do this every night. He shuddered at the
thought. He hoped that every night was as sharp and wonderful as the
first one. “You’re an addiction that I could get used to craving,
Cassisus.”

The cat winked. “Likewise.” He really was a handsome man, tall,

broad shouldered, beautiful skin, light eyes, and lighter hair. He was a
human reflection of his animal self, and that made for one incredibly
alluring predator. Mine. His animal was right on target.

“Sexy boy, let me touch you. Hands above your head and don’t

move them,” Cass commanded, his blue eyes heated to almost liquid
mercury.

Tobias hesitated before doing as he was told. He wasn’t sure

where Cassisus was going with this, but he was game. The cat
growled something low and complimentary under his breath as Tobias
stretched his body out to accommodate his request.

“Like this?”
“Perfect, baby. Spread your thighs for me. I want you vulnerable,”

the gladiator rumbled.

Christ. Wasn’t it obvious that he was vulnerable to his mate

already? It didn’t matter that his whole world was getting turned
upside down when he was with Cassisus. It was too soon, but damn if
he didn’t feel like destiny had done its job and given him a man that
he could be proud to call his own, all six-something, arrogant, pushy
inches of him.

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Cassisus ran his hands down Tobias’s chest, tweaking the nipples

hard enough that Tobias arched into the touch before continuing his
slow glide downward. “God yes!” Tobias gasped. He wanted his mate
to hurry the process along, but he was curious as to what he was
doing. Cass took his time tracing the hard lines of Tobias’s abdomen
and teasing his inner thighs while completely ignoring the hard cock
that wept for his attention inches from his fingertips.

“From now on you’ll be truthful to me?” Cass asked, twisting his

nipples with one hand while simultaneously massaging the tight
globes of Tobias’s sac.

“Forgiven so easily?” Tobias countered, determined to not be

dominated during this moment of sex and forgiveness.

“Forgiven easily enough. So long as you talk to me, love me, and

stay with me, Tobias. I can forgive you anything.” The words wormed
their way into his chest and set up shop in the part of him Tobias felt
was too soon to experience. Words like those should be illegal. His
lines are getting to me.

“I will be as truthful with you as I can,” Tobias promised past the

lump in his throat. He wanted to say so much more than that. He
wanted to thank Cass for being his mate, for being himself, for just
being at this point. After the rejection he’d suffered today, his
acceptance and forgiveness meant so much more and was so much
sweeter than it would’ve been otherwise.

“Good.” The rumbled agreement was the perfect response. Cass

knelt beside him on the narrow mattress and started the same path
he’d traced with his fingers but with his tongue this time. Tobias let
his eyes slide shut as he fell into the madness of Cassisus’s touch. Yes.
Yes. Please.

“Mine,” Cass murmured a second before Tobias’s nipple was

engulfed in the wet, hot cavern of his mate’s mouth. “All mine.”

“Yes!” Tobias yelped as the flesh was kneaded with his mate’s

tongue and the hard press of the cat’s teeth made the threat of harm
ratchet up the tension that much higher. “God, more!” The nerve

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endings in his nipples seemed intimately tied to the one throbbing in
his groin, and all he wanted was for the pleasure to get sharper, for the
touches to get harder, for more of the delicious attention that Cassisus
was raining down on him.

The warm, wet tongue went to the other nipple and gave it the

same treatment sucking, licking, and biting the tip until it was a faint
cherry red and was beaded for his attention. Cass had some serious
skills with his mouth, and Tobias could only pray that his cock got
some of that hot touch before Cass got down to the more serious
aspects of lovemaking.

“That’s it, Tobias. Come alive for me.” The deep note of his

lover’s voice just wound him that much tighter. He needed Cass in a
way he’d never needed anything before in his entire life. The cat’s
mouth went southward, leaving a trail of heat in its path. All Tobias
could do was gasp and arch into it, begging silently for what he
wanted. By the time Cass finally made it down to suck on his hip
bones, he was coming off the mattress in want.

“Cassisus! You’re a tease!” Tobias groaned as he switched hips

and began sucking on the other one instead.

“Best things come to those who wait,” Cass said, obvious

amusement in his voice.

“I’m waiting, but I’m not being patient about it. Damn, Cass, want

you so bad,” Tobias managed in a tone that was more of a whimper. It
was considerably less steady than he’d intended it to be, but it
couldn’t be helped.

“Easy, lover. I’ll never leave you wanting.” Of that he had no

doubt. The cat was something out of Tobias’s most erotic wet dream,
and he could only want more when he was around him.

He gasped softly as Cassisus lapped at and sucked on his balls.

Tobias’s head kicked back, and his heels dug into the mattress. “Stop
teasing, put it in your fucking mouth, Cass!” he moaned, his hand
drifting down on its own accord in an attempt to give some relief to
his weeping erection. The gladiator smacked his hand away.

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“Not yet,” Cassisus said, going back to his suckling. Fuck me. Is

that too much to ask? He was going to go insane by the time Cassisus
managed to get around to putting Tobias’s cock in his mouth. He was
about to demand more touch again when a lubed finger suddenly
pushed up into his unstretched body. He yelped, the burn instant and
not unpleasant.

“Fuck! Cass!” Immediately his body spasmed around the thick

digit before adjusting to the invasion. The head of his cock was
engulfed by the hot mouth that was just suckling his balls, and then
the finger stretching him began to fuck him in earnest. “Yes!” It was
the only thing he could manage to articulate given the riot of
sensation that was assaulting his body.

“Mine,” Cass rumbled as he came up for air. Tobias trembled as

his mouth sank back down on his prick.

The torment continued for an endless moment as Cassisus worked

two and then three digits into Tobias’s still-tight body. By the time the
third finger fucked inside him, Tobias was ready to beg. He needed
Cassisus’s hot cock stretching him and spilling his liquid pleasure
deep into the confines of Tobias’s needy ass.

“Ready, baby?” Cass asked, his voice a breathless whisper of

sound. Tobias couldn’t speak, but he managed to nod his head in the
affirmative. He hoped that was enough.

Turned out it was because Cass reared back a split second later

and slathered his thick rod with more of the lube that he kept stashed
by his bedside table before he put both of Tobias’s legs on his
shoulders, forcing his ass up. It was a completely vulnerable position,
and that was all right with the mouse. He just needed his mate, and
whatever way he could get him was all right.

Cass probed the entrance to his body one last time with his fingers

before he took the head of his cock and pressed it inside. Tobias
gasped at the stretch. He’d thought that because of the rough loving
from the night before he would have gotten used to the rougher
attention by now, but it turned out that it would take more than one

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round of Cassisus pounding inside him for his body to adjust to it.
That was all right with Tobias because he loved the slow burn.

“Fuck me, Cass,” Tobias begged, squirming as best he could in

the position the other man had put him in. He wanted Cass to give it
to him rough. “Making love was yesterday. Fuck me now.” The
words seemed to illicit the sort of response that he was looking for
because Cass growled and did as Tobias asked. Tobias murmured the
predator’s praises as he was fucked mercilessly. Makeup sex was the
best invention ever. He was going to have to incite Cass’s temper in
the future just so they could do this again.

“You like it rough, huh, Tobias?” Cass rumbled, growling low in

his throat. The purring that Tobias loved so much filled the air in the
cell and the sound of their smacking flesh was a symphony of delight
to Tobias’s ears. This was pure fucking magic.

“I like you rough. Gentle sometimes. I need rough today.” How he

managed to make that sentence make sense was anyone’s guess
because he honestly wasn’t sure how he did it.

Cass chuckled. “I get it, lover mine.” Then there was no more

room for words as Cassisus pulled almost all the way out of Tobias’s
body before thrusting forward quickly. He set a pace that was deep
and hard and perfect. Tobias’s eyes rolled into the back of his head,
and he could only moan his thanks as he was transported into outer
space by the man in his bed. His body cried out its satisfaction with
every feral lunge. The cat had amazing aim because he managed to
score Tobias’s pleasure spot with every movement of his hips and
seemed to anticipate just what would take Tobias to the next level. He
was glad Cass was his forever because otherwise he was ruined for all
future prospects.

Tobias came suddenly. The bark of surprise issued out of his

mouth the same moment that his sticky cock erupted in a fountain.
His oversensitized body continued to throb, ratcheting up the intensity
to a level Tobias was pretty sure should be illegal.

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“Again, Tobias,” the gladiator demanded, pushing his hips

forward faster as his body lost his rhythm and orgasm swamped him.
He didn’t want to come again, didn’t think it was possible to come
again, but come again he would, just because Cass wanted it, and he
knew the second he felt Cass’s warm seed fill him that he would do as
his mate commanded. Two thrusts later, Cassisus gave a cat scream of
satisfaction and pulsed inside him. Tobias grabbed hold of his own
cock and jerked it in time to Cass’s movements. The first spurt of
liquid splashed against his inner walls and it was all over. Tobias
screamed so loud it echoed down the corridor, and his body trembled,
jerked, and spilled yet more pleasure against his stomach and chest.

Finally, they collapsed together, spent.

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Chapter Ten

“Good God. I’m dead,” Cass said as he gently pulled his body out

of Tobias. “I don’t know if I’ll ever have sex again.”

Tobias forced his eyes opened. “Amen.”
“Keep it down!” someone shouted from down the hallway. “Some

of us are trying to sleep!”

Tobias’s cheeks heated. Damn. He’d been really loud.
Cass chuckled. “Easy, Tobias. The Ludus has no real walls.

They’re jealous of me.”

“With sex like that, they have good reason,” Tobias said before he

thought better of it. His cheeks got hotter as his mate’s big belly laugh
caused more shouts from the neighboring cells. “Shh! You’re going to
wake the whole block.”

“I suppose,” Cass drawled. He drew Tobias into the circle of his

arms with Tobias’s cheek resting on the firm muscle of his chest. “So
you want to tell me about your terrible day?”

Tobias sighed. “I did, but the sex cured me of the need to share.”
“Well, I’m not sleepy yet, so you might as well tell me. Besides, I

want to know about what you worked out with Flavius.” Cass traced
circles on Tobias’s arm as he spoke. The gladiator smelled like a
pleasant mixture of sex and contentment.

Tobias pressed his ear to Cass’s chest and listened to the

comforting thud of his heartbeat. “My family exiled me.” The weight
of the admission sat on chest like a fifty-pound dumbbell.

Cassisus tensed. “What the hell? What does that mean?”
“In shifter groups like ours, it means that all the house servants

aren’t talking to me. I can’t go back to the hall we share to sleep, and

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I’m not allowed in the kitchen unless I have been officially asked to
be there. I’m excluded from their lives until my appeal,” Tobias
explained, snuggling in closer to his mate.

“Why would they do this? You haven’t done anything!” Cass

protested.

Tobias shrugged one shoulder. “Being with you is seen as

disrupting the natural order of their world. My new ideas of equality
are seen as radical and dangerous. They figure if they cut me off from
the rest of the house servants I’ll either go away or break it off with
you.”

“And are you?” Cass asked.
“Am I what?”
The gladiator squeezed him tighter. “Are you going to break it off

with me?”

Tobias shook his head, anger firing through his chest. “No. I’m

not going to be bullied into leaving my family or giving you up. I’ll
go appeal to the elders and try and make them see reason. If they’re
really so stubborn that they want me excluded from their community
because of who fate chose to make my mate, then that’s their
problem.”

Cassisus considered him for a long time, his fingers still tracing

the circle on his arm as he waited. Tobias was lulled into the rhythm
of that circular movement, eased by the calm that was created by
being with his mate. “Maybe I should come with you,” Cass said just
as Tobias was about to drift into dreamland.

The words penetrated his haze of tiredness. “Uh, I don’t think

that’s a good idea, Cass.”

“Why not? Wouldn’t it be good to see your mate supporting you

and standing by you?” Cass asked.

“Yeah, if I wanted to intimidate the hell out of the entire house.

Bringing you would be like someone bringing a bomb to a peace talk.
It doesn’t send the right message.” That was the most eloquent way
Tobias could phrase it. If he wanted to appear threatening, of course

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he’d bring his six-and-a-half-foot gladiator predatory mate along. But
it wasn’t about that. He needed to put his case to the elders and hoped
that they would see reason. He knew his mother and father would
probably back him up, but he needed the support of the other heads of
household, including his aunt and uncle, as well as the kitchen staff’s
elders, and the grounds staff.

Cass chuckled. “I suppose you have a point. Still, they won’t hurt

you, will they? Because I will not be okay with that.”

“My kind isn’t known for their violent tendencies, Cass. Honestly,

the worst they will do will be to toss me out of our meeting.” He
hoped so anyway. He remembered the anger rolling off his cousin in
waves a few hours before. Almost immediately he banished the
concern. Fear didn’t mean that someone was going to try and hurt
him.

“I want you to be careful, either way. People get a little insane

when you threaten their beliefs,” Cass said, kissing the top of Tobias’s
head.

Tobias sighed, loving the fact that someone was so protective over

him. This being mated thing is nice, he thought, snuggling into the
gladiator’s warm embrace.

“How do you feel about cleaning up before round two?” the cat

wondered as Tobias started to drift.

Tobias raised his head and looked into Cass’s face. “Are you

serious?”

Cass looked at Tobias with a smug expression locked firmly in

place. “As a heart attack, lover mine. I like makeup sex, but now I’d
like slow and dirty sex. There are different types, you know.”

Tobias groaned. His mate was trouble. Not to mention insatiable.

He was going to be sore again tomorrow. But, somehow, he couldn’t
bring himself to care.

* * * *

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The next day, Tobias made his way into the servants’ part of the

house as quietly as possible. As one of the exiled, it was technically
forbidden for him to enter here without an official reason to be, but he
had reason. One of the gardeners had sent him a note that instructed
him to come after working hours and meet with the heads of
household. He was going to be given a chance to state his case.
Though he imagined that no one would necessarily try to hurt him for
having the audacity to come at all, he could do without the withering
stares since he was nervous about his meet and greet to begin with.

He’d gone to the Ludus to tell Cass that he would be late tonight,

if he came at all, and the cat had reluctantly agreed. It hadn’t made his
lover all that terribly happy at the prospect of sleeping alone, but that
couldn’t be helped. Tobias had to do what he could to mend the
fences. It was becoming increasingly hard to do his job since none of
them would speak or acknowledge his presence. Getting a note from
Flavius for every little thing he needed was getting tedious, and
though he didn’t mention anything, Tobias knew Flavius was getting
annoyed with the necessity as well.

As much as he liked to think that he and Flavius were friends of

sorts, he didn’t want to push his luck when it came to the things that
Flavius would put up with. He was already having a new cell
constructed for him and Cass that would be ready when they got back
from Europe, but still.

The narrow hallways to the servants’ quarters were just as he

remembered them, cramped, poorly lit, but with the same elegance as
the rest of the house, including a very long floor runner that carried
down the very long hall at the back of the house. The mice could
reach any part of the house from this hallway. The various holes and
doors that lined either side were convenient places to either hide or
travel through, and Tobias knew every one.

Typically, this hall was bustling with people traveling to and from

chores and various duties in the house, but the hall was empty at this
time of night. The servants were early risers due to Flavius’s

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schedule, and though they preferred to keep nocturnal hours naturally,
they didn’t unless they were on duty on the night staff.

He ducked into the doorway that was open on his left. This way

led to the heart of the servants’ quarters, and if he wasn’t mistaken,
Master Flavius nor his father before him had bothered to venture this
far into their territory. The mice had been very proud of that fact for
whatever reason. His father had told him more than once about the
significance of the fact that even in a human-run household, the mice
ruled the walls. Of course, Tobias didn’t imagine that the birds or the
yard shifters had any say-so in the matter.

At the far end of the hall was a door that led to the meeting place.

If anything important had to be discussed it was there the shifters
went to talk about it. He swallowed as the plain oak came into sight.
He wasn’t sure how this was going to work, and the speech he’d put
together during the day now seemed superficial and somehow less
important than when he’d written it.

With a deep breath, he pushed open the door. He wasn’t sure what

he’d been expecting, but this wasn’t it. He was surprised that the
room was mostly empty. One of the kitchen birds, a hawk by the
smell of him, and another bird of prey that Tobias couldn’t place,
were sitting closest to him around a pull-out table that someone had
set up with a bunch of lawn chairs around it. The elders were playing
cards, and it looked like poker. His elders, the two oldest women in
his nest, sat beside the birds, and then, continuing around the table,
two of the outside staff, the stable manager, a retired race horse, and
his son.

“Um, I’m here for my meeting?” Tobias managed, trying to figure

out what their angle was. None of them seemed overly concerned
about his presence. They all looked like grandparents. It was hard to
be overly intimidated. Well, he amended, with the exception of the
stable master’s son. He looked like he was maybe a few years older
than Tobias.

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“Yep. I imagine you are. Take a seat at the table, son. We’ve got

some things to discuss with you,” the hawk said as he lit up a fat cigar
that was probably from Flavius’s “secret” stash.

Perplexed, Tobias went over to the table where a spare chair had

been left out and sat down. It was the strangest thing that had ever
happened to him, and that included finding out he had a cat for a
mate. What was going on? He’d imagined a hearing where his whole
clan was assembled and there would be debate and arguing and all
sorts of heated discussion. This was weird and oddly informal.

“So, how do we do this?” Tobias asked. Confusion was probably

written all over his face, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He was
beginning to feel like they weren’t taking this seriously, and that was
not okay.

“We deal you out five cards, goofball. You know how poker is

played with a five-card draw, Tobias. I taught you when you were a
pup,” Elder Julia said in her cigarette-sweetened voice. She was the
oldest person in their nest, and she was also the type of person who
would bake him cookies but still beat him senseless if he deserved it.
Sweet but fair was her way of life, and Tobias had felt the sting of her
hand on his backside more than once growing up.

“What about the meeting?” Tobias was beyond confused.
“We’re in the meeting, dummy,” Elder Julia quipped, shuffling

the card deck in slow, practiced movements. “We’ll start the hard part
in a minute. Let’s start with the easy bit. Do you know what you’re
accused of?”

Tobias frowned. “Uh, I’m not sure. All I know is that Giotto and

his buddies called me meat.”

A disapproving murmur circled the table. Elder Julia shook her

gray head, looking furious. “You aren’t accused of being a race
traitor, Tobias. We’re all well past division among shifters, and if you
are sleeping with Master Flavius, lord help you when your cat finds
out. No. You are accused of failing to bring your mate before the

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elders for an official blessing. Therefore, you rejected your nest and
therefore the way of life for nonpredatory beings.”

“What? That’s what this is about?” Tobias asked incredulously.

“You’ve got to be joking. I didn’t know until the other night that I
was even going to stay with him!”

The stable master snorted. “I don’t know if I buy that. The

gladiator, Cassisus, is your fated mate. What did you think was going
to happen? No. The proper course of action was to bring it to our
attention the moment you decided to enter into a relationship with the
cat on any level. We knew you were brooding about finding out, but
you didn’t follow the proper channels before you went back to him.”

“However,” Elder Julia interrupted, “we’re willing to give you a

chance to rectify your mistakes.”

“So, wait, let me get this straight. The moment I found out about

Cassisus being my mate, I was supposed to tell an elder? How come I
was never informed of this?” Tobias asked. He thought they had to be
making this stuff up. He’d never heard of such a thing in his entire
life.

Elder Julia answered, her brown eyes glittering with something

that looked like amusement. “Not necessarily an elder. We don’t have
time to hear out everyone all the time. Usually, it’s all right so long as
it is reported to your immediate elder. Your mother or father
would’ve done nicely.”

Tobias swallowed. All this trouble because I didn’t tell my mom I

mated a cat? Oh boy…It annoyed him to no end that he hadn’t been
informed of this beforehand. It seemed ridiculous to him.

The stable master spoke again. “In all honesty, I can understand

why you didn’t tell anyone about your mating. If I mated a human, for
example, I would be reluctant to tell anyone. But this is your family
group. As nonpredatory shifters, we rely on our family groups to keep
us safe and uplift us in the times we need it. They should be the first
place you turn when you’re feeling conflicted. The other predators are

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kept solitary, but we have managed to remain united during our
oppression.”

“So what do I have to do to get out of exile?” he asked. “I mean, I

already broke the rule I had no idea about, so I don’t want to fuck up
the rest.” Sarcastic and annoyed? Me? Nah. It seemed stupid to him.
Why in the world would anyone make a rule like that?

The stable master’s son’s eyes narrowed. “Watch it, mouse.

You’re in the presence of the elders.” Elders or not, they were getting
on Tobias’s last nerves. Cass was probably pacing his cell, worried,
and he was here playing poker with a bunch of old shifters who were
pissed because he didn’t shout to the rooftops that he was joined with
a cat before he slept with said cat. Unbelievable.

“It’s all right, Dyend. He’s just being snippy because he feels like

we’re being frivolous,” Elder Julia said, looking amused as she dealt
out the card deck. “To be welcomed back into the fold, you must get
your cat and have him be among us. We’ve never adopted a cat into
the family before, but I imagine it’s much the same as welcoming a
hawk, for example.” She looked over at Dyend and smiled gently.
“Our boy, Dyend, here, just got betrothed to one of us. So it isn’t as if
we haven’t joined families before.”

“Cassisus is a predator, though. He won’t understand our ways,

and he really won’t understand why he has to jump through hoops to
be with his mate without a million road blocks in the way,” Tobias
said. Though if he were being honest with himself he would note that
he would probably just do exceptionally well on any test they gave
him for spite. Despite the fact that Cassisus was a very physical man,
there was a brain beneath that beautiful body.

“We can teach him. After your stubborn youth, we shouldn’t have

any issue,” Elder Julia said firmly. The last bit stung. Tobias hadn’t
thought he’d been an overly unpleasant child. He just liked to
question the normalcy of their hierarchy and want to know “Why”
more often than most children, which was a feat in itself. “If you want
to throw off your verdict of exile, bring Cassisus to us before you

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leave for New Orleans on Friday. We can arrange for you both to be
out of the cell and in the servants’ quarters for one hour to greet the
nest. After that, we’ll consider this nothing more than water under the
proverbial bridge and you can go about your life.”

To say he was shocked was an understatement. That simple? All I

have to do is let him talk with my family? He’d gotten worked up for
nothing. “All right. I’ll bring him. Just send a note via e-mail memo
and I’ll make sure Cassisus is ready.”

“Excellent,” Elder Julia said. “Now that business is taken care of.

Let’s play some poker.”

* * * *

Corbin kept Cassisus company while he waited on Tobias to get

back from his appeal. It was unusual for Corbin to keep the gladiators
company, but tonight was an exceptional case. Despite the fact that
the lanista typically disappeared to his own quarters on the second
floor right after lights-out, he hadn’t wanted to have to come back to
let Faustus into his own cell if Cass invited him over. Cass was
grateful. If the bear hadn’t been there, he would’ve been agitated
beyond what he could stand. His mate shouldn’t have had to go face
potential hostility alone.

“You’re starting to lose it again, cat. Get your mind back on the

topic at hand,” Corbin said, drawing Cass out of his spiraling
thoughts.

He blinked. “Which was?”
“We’re analyzing your competition in New Orleans. Look at your

vid screen.” Corbin’s patience was the stuff of legends. Cass had a
notoriously short attention span, and the fact that the bear put up with
him at all was a miracle.

“I’d rather talk about something else. I’ve done drills and crap all

day. I’m talked out about the other gladiator schools. Give it a rest,
Lanista. I need to unwind, not contemplate the probability of getting

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my ass handed to me,” Cass said, leaning against the bars of his cell
much the same way he had when Tobias had still been sitting outside.
Corbin had dragged over a fold-out chair, which he reclined on.

“What do you want to talk about then?” Corbin asked.
“Hmmm…” It was really hard to come up with a conversation

topic with Corbin. He was their trainer and kind of their boss. The
title and the job description did not make Cass want to confide any
vulnerable information in him. “Well, have you seen the new place
that they’re putting Tobias’s and my new cell? I’d like to hear how it
was going. I heard from one of the Ludus staff that they were tearing
down a wall between two of the guest cells and making a bigger room
out of it. The bathroom will be the same size, but at least we’ll have
better living space.”

Corbin frowned. “That’s odd. I would’ve thought that you and

Tobias would’ve chosen to move out to the cottage in the estate. I
hadn’t even heard of the construction going on in the Ludus itself.”

It was Cassisus’s turn to frown then. Corbin knew everything that

went down in the Ludus. In fact, he had to approve most of it. “We
weren’t given a choice. Master Flavius said that he couldn’t allow a
predator outside the Ludus, so Tobias negotiated the two-cells-made-
into-one deal.”

Something that looked a whole lot like irritation flickered over

Corbin’s face. “He couldn’t allow a predator outside? You may be
stubborn sometimes, but you have never been a threat to anyone.” He
wasn’t looking at Cassisus anymore but instead was looking down the
darkened hallway toward the exit where the guards stood. “None of us
have been. It isn’t right to deny you comfort and privacy. You’re
mates.”

Ah, I know where this is going. “He trusts you, Lanista. You’re the

only one allowed to wander the estate. He’s human and fragile.”

“He’s from an arrogant and disrespectful breed.” Corbin growled.

He shoved himself to his feet. Okay…Someone is being a little
sensitive tonight. I thought I was supposed to be the one who got all

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brooding and pissed. He didn’t see what Corbin had to be upset
about. It wasn’t like he was the one who wasn’t trusted to wander
around.

“Corbin?” Cass asked as the lanista stalked down the hall in the

direction of the door. “Corbin?” he called a little louder. Great. Now
I’m alone. He sighed.

“He just wants to protect you. He’s dedicated to his gladiators,”

Seneca, his neighbor and fellow gladiator, said. He shared a cell wall
with Faustus on the other side. He wasn’t really close to Seneca, but
they’d been in more than one tournament together and had lived next
door to one another since they were teenagers.

“I suppose.” Nothing ruffled the lanista but their master. It made

Cassisus wonder just how long it would be before Corbin snapped and
he tried to take Flavius in hand. The idea didn’t amuse him nearly as
much as it should’ve. Tobias had cautioned him about change, and
Cass had soothed his fears and encouraged him to think differently.
However, Cass had his own reservations about the whole hierarchy
thing. Of course, he couldn’t really tell Seneca the reason he was
disturbed by Corbin’s behavior as it concerned their master. Things
were always in delicate balance at the Ludus and the house. Cass
wouldn’t mind if things were permanently fixed for the better, but
rocking the boat unnecessarily seemed like a bad idea.

“You think the rest of us could have mates in the house?” Seneca

asked from the darkness in his cell.

Cass leaned on the bars, hanging his hands through as he rested

his forehead on the iron therein. “I don’t know. Maybe, but things
with nonpredatory shifters are difficult.”

“I don’t care,” Seneca whispered. “I would give anything to have

something as great as a mate to call my own.” He shifted on his
mattress, the springs squeaking as he repositioned himself.

Seneca wasn’t a slacker by anyone’s judgment, but he didn’t make

as much as Cass and Faustus did. Whereas their winnings gained
them more privileges, Seneca’s got him the necessities and a little

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extra if he had a particularly good showing. It didn’t take a genius to
figure out that if it wasn’t for his breeding, Seneca wouldn’t be a
gladiator.

For the first time in his life, Cass saw something wrong with that.

Gladiators weren’t allowed many personal possessions, so it made
sense that all of them hoarded what they had. Since they were all cats,
the impulse was even stronger than it normally would’ve been. If
Seneca had been allowed to make his own decisions about his life,
maybe it would’ve been different. Maybe he would’ve chosen a
different profession. Cass loved the arena, but what became of a
gladiator who didn’t? A squeaky mattress, for starters. Maybe he had
been a little selfish with his winnings.

“When I move into the bigger cell with my mate, you can have

my mattress. I’ll talk to Corbin about it tomorrow,” Cass offered.

“Really?”
“Yeah. Why not? I don’t have a use for it, and Faustus has a better

one, so he won’t want it.” He could always give it to Mal, but Seneca
needed it more.

“We’re not exactly friends, Cassisus. Why are you giving me

something so hard to earn?” Seneca asked.

Cass sighed as the reason slid into place. “Because it shouldn’t be.

Would you choose this? To be a gladiator, I mean.”

There was a long pause from the other cell, and Cass was pretty

sure that Seneca had fallen asleep until he spoke. “You and your mate
are well suited. I hear you guys talking some nights about things only
free men should talk about. It’s cool. I wish I could think like that
sometimes.”

“Nothing is stopping you from thinking what you want to,

Seneca,” Cass said, surprised. He hadn’t realized that the other
gladiators had been listening to their conversations during their long
chats.

Another pause answered his declaration, but it wasn’t nearly as

long as the first. “I think I’d like to have been a bookkeeper. You

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remember last year when we went to Memphis and visited the
library?”

“Yeah.” Cass had been in a pissy mood that day because Faustus

had fallen during their exhibition match and lost them critical points
that had cost them the match. It had been before they were official
gladiators and touring the circuits and hadn’t been able to even fight
publically but at a few select events. The loss had been more than
aggravating. He hadn’t wanted to accompany their former master to
the huge domed building that boasted about having the largest
collection of paper books and manuscripts in the world, even more
than the library in Alexandria, Egypt. Most paper texts had been
eliminated and replaced with digital copies long ago. So it was a treat
to see physical books in this day and age.

“When we were on the tour, do you remember the sorting room in

the back?” Seneca asked.

“Sort of. That was where those six guys were entering data into

the computers and putting the books on carts to be reshelved right?”
Where was this story going?

Seneca continued, his tone dreamy and excited. “Exactly. I would

love to work in a records place like that.”

God, why? That sounded like the most boring thing on the face of

the planet. “Wouldn’t you miss the arena?”

“Not really. Sometimes when I sleep, I imagine that I’m living a

simple life that requires no travel and includes a mate who is gentle
and loves me more than he loves anything else in the world. You are a
lucky man, Cassisus. You love to be a gladiator, and you have a mate
who loves you deeply. I envy you,” Seneca admitted.

Cassisus snorted. “It hasn’t exactly been an easy row to hoe, man.

I would be careful what you wish for. Tobias is a handful. I don’t
know what you’ve heard about nonpredatory men, but they are not all
soft, cuddly, and submissive.”

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“Soft, cuddly, and submissive?” a familiar voice asked dryly. “I

was unaware you were under that misimpression to begin with,
Cassisus.”

Relief washed over the gladiator. “Sneaking up on me, mate?”

Cass asked, smiling. Tobias had come down the opposite direction in
the hallway. He typically came through the main doors, but
apparently tonight he’d come through the servants’ entrance at the
other end. He looked tired but otherwise intact. The mouse was just as
handsome as he always was with his mussed brown hair and wide
brown eyes. Cass’s reaction was immediate. He wanted to pull the
other man through the bars and into his arms.

“I’ll let you two get to it. Good night,” Seneca called from his

cell.

Tobias smiled up at him through the iron. “Making friends,

Cass?”

“I was chitchatting to keep from going insane waiting on you. I

don’t think I can do the separation thing again. Bad message or not. I
will come with you next time,” Cass said firmly. There was no way he
would be left at home like an anxious housewife while Tobias was
elsewhere in probable danger.

The mouse pulled his shirt over his head and toed off his sneakers.

“Good. I was hoping you would say that because you are going to
have to come with me tomorrow and meet my family.”

Cass blinked. “Um, what?”
Tobias popped the button on his jeans, and Cass nearly lost his

train of thought. “The elders said that I have to bring you tomorrow
after lights-out to meet the nest and the rest of the representatives
from the house staff. They’re willing to adopt you, but you’re going
to have to play nice first,” Tobias said. He was teasing him with his
slow stripping. Cass bristled at the knowledge that the other gladiators
could potentially see his mostly naked mate.

“Hurry and get in here, mate. I don’t want anyone to see you,”

Cass rumbled. Then what Tobias said penetrated. “How am I going to

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meet with your family after lights-out? Corbin always locks us in the
cells.”

Tobias sighed like Cass was being difficult. “We’re going to

sneak out of course.” Cassisus’s mouth dropped open, and Tobias
shifted from his human form to his feral form in a blink of an eye.
The little mouse looked up at him and preened, smoothing his tiny
paws over his whiskers and carefully crawling from the pile of
clothes.

“Get in here and shift back, Tobias. What the hell do you mean

‘sneak’?”

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Chapter Eleven

Cassisus was pretty sure he was a dead man. Of all the stupid

things he’d done before, this was probably the most idiotic. Tobias
had gotten a set of master keys from one of the house locksmiths and
stood outside his cell as the guard changed at a quarter after twelve.

Cass had gone to bed as he normally did and had bid Corbin good

night before going over to his television and watching some mindless
reruns of last year’s gladiatorial finals in Washington, DC, as he
waited for his mate to get there. No one seemed to suspect anything,
but the nervousness still ate him alive.

He wasn’t scared about what would happen to him so much as

what restrictions would be placed on the time he spent with Tobias
should they be caught. He’d given Faustus a heads up just in case he
needed a cover for the other gladiators. His brother had agreed the
plan was crazy and had called him an idiot. Cass couldn’t help but
think his brother had a point.

Tobias swung the door open and motioned him out into the

hallway. For the fiftieth time, he wondered why he hadn’t just asked
Corbin to let him out for a few hours. “Hurry up, Cass. I don’t want to
leave this door open too long.”

“Yeah, yeah, got it.” It felt weird to wear his full clothes without

getting on a bus or having a travel bag in hand. He wore some loose,
black track pants and a printed T-shirt with Flavius’s family crest and
Cassisus’s name and gladiator number on the back. It was a pretty
standard uniform when they were traveling.

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He stepped out into the hallway and watched as Tobias shut the

gate behind him as quietly as possible. He didn’t lock it back. Cass
swallowed hard. “How much time do we have?”

“Not long. About two minutes. Come on. We’ll go through the

servants’ entrance and out the back. We’ll go round the backside of
the house and enter through the service entrance. We’ve been over
this,” Tobias whispered, all but dragging him down the hall toward
the servants’ door.

Cass snorted. “Yeah. Easy peasy. Steal key, sneak past guards,

sneak into house, meet your mother, and sneak back without anyone
finding out. Yeah. Sounded real easy when we went over it earlier.”

“Good luck, bro!” Faustus whispered as they passed, extending a

hand through the bar for Cass to shake.

“No time for brotherly hugs.” Tobias hissed, “Let’s move.”
Faustus chuckled as Cassisus sighed heavily. “He’s going to be

the death of me, Faustus.”

“What a way to go, brother,” Faustus said with a wink. A pinch to

Cassisus’s arm drew his attention back to the hall and his furious-
looking mate.

Cass rubbed the place Tobias had pinched. “All right, bossy. I’m

coming!” When they got back to his cell he was going to fuck him
stupid and show him exactly who was boss in this relationship. If
Tobias was particularly bad, there was a spanking in his near future.

They navigated the hallway to the service entrance and followed

the narrow path to an exit door. The back of Cass’s neck itched, and
he expected the angry shouts of the Ludus guards behind them at any
minute, but they never came. He wasn’t even dealing with the fact
that he was meeting Tobias’s family in just a few short minutes.
Given their initial reaction to finding out their son had mated a
predator, he didn’t have high hopes for their acceptance or approval.
He sighed. When he’d imagined being mated, he hadn’t imagined it
coming with this many complications.

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“Thank you for doing this, Cassisus,” Tobias said as they crossed

the wide meadow between the backside of the house and the Ludus.

It was then Cass looked at his surroundings. He’d seen this field a

thousand times when they’d practiced outside but had never been
through it. He looked up at the full moon and felt a sense of rightness
settle into his marrow. This was living, walking unencumbered
beneath the night sky with the man he loved.

Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed Tobias’s arm,

pulling him to a stop. The mouse looked up at him in question, and
since Cass wasn’t eloquent enough to tell him in words what he was
feeling, he leaned forward and captured his lips in a kiss. Tobias
automatically opened for him, so trusting that Cass was taken aback
all over again. How had he gotten so lucky? Their tongues mated, and
Tobias stepped into him so that they were pressed together tightly.

After a long moment of moving together, Cass pulled back

slightly. “I love you, Tobias. I don’t care if it’s too soon.”

“Cass,” Tobias whispered, his eyes shining with an almost-magic

quality. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t know
if it’s love yet, but I think I’m well on my way.”

The cat nodded. It was enough for now. They would have all the

time in the world for words. If Tobias wasn’t ready, Cass wouldn’t
push it. It seemed to be the trend in their relationship. Tobias was very
cautious about what he did, whereas Cass was definitely the one to
plunge headlong into whatever he did. He supposed that was one of
the reasons that he was so unnerved by the fact that he was actually
going through with this and meeting up with Tobias’s family. It
wasn’t something crazy that he cooked up. Rather, it was a piece of
insanity cooked up by someone else.

“We’re almost there,” Tobias murmured, reaching up and running

his hands through Cass’s hair. Cass started purring low in his chest at
the motion. He loved when Tobias petted him like that. Their breath
rose in clouds of steam around them as the chill of the late season
sank into their bones.

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“I’d love to walk with you every night. I imagine the snow is

beautiful.” He was tempted to strip off his clothes and shift into his
cat form. The tiger would love the chill and the opportunity to run in
the meadow with his mate.

“It is. Maybe we can do this again sooner than you think,” Tobias

murmured. “Come on, Cass. We’re wasting time. I don’t want to keep
them waiting.”

“Time with you is never a waste of time, Tobias. Ever.” Cassisus

thought about the months that stretched ahead of him and the hotels
and travel that would accompany them. It seemed daunting in
comparison to the quiet of the estate and the familiarity of the
grounds.

Tobias smiled gently at him. “Flatterer. If you hurry and get done

we’ll have longer to make love before we have to sleep…”

Cass laughed. “Sold. Let’s go.” The prospect of getting his lover

home and naked was infinitely appealing.

The house’s entrance was in sight when a group stepped out of

said entrance in front of them. “Great,” Tobias muttered. “This is not
the welcome party I wanted to see first.”

“Who are they?” Cass asked.
“Bigoted idiots who think our mating spells the end of life as we

know it.” Tobias sighed. “They got in my face before I met the elders.
Just ignore them.”

“Okay…” Cass frowned as they swaggered up to them. He caught

flash of a metallic object in the moonlight and took a protective stance
in front of his mate.

“Hey, cousin,” the center man greeted as he came to stand in front

of Cassisus. “It’s a little hard to talk to you through a wall.” He
wasn’t armed that Cass could see, but the others were definitely
carrying weapons. Two of them had baseball bats, and he could’ve
sworn he saw the sheen of a knife a minute ago.

“You aren’t going to talk to him at all.” Cass growled. “In fact,

why don’t you move out of the way? We have a meeting with your

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elders and don’t want any trouble.” I really, really don’t want to go to
your elders with your blood on my knuckles.

“Giotto, we have permission,” Tobias piped up from behind him.
The man made a tsking sound. “I know that. Everyone is all

assembled and ready for you guys to get in there and start creating
equality between the species. We feel like that kind of thinking is
dangerous. Don’t we, boys?”

The others nodded, and a few gave gruff sounds of affirmation

while gripping their toys in nervous fingers. Cass was tempted to shift
and really scare the hell out of them. “Look, I don’t care what you
have a problem with. Move or I will move you.” It was that simple.
One of the men took a step toward him on the left, and Cass hissed.
“Back the fuck off, now.”

“Giotto, don’t do this,” Tobias said. “This is stupid, and if the

elders catch you going against their orders, they’ll exile you next. It’s
not fun. Trust me.”

The leader of the bunch grinned. “Yeah? Well, la-tee-da, my

cousin is giving me sound advice. Let’s show them what we think
about that.”

Tobias let out a muffled shout that had Cass whipping around to

see him being dragged backward by another three men who had
somehow gotten behind him. He growled and stepped in their
direction, hauling his fist back and letting it fly against the face of the
guy who was holding his mate’s neck with a baseball bat.

He felt a pinch on his side and looked down to see the hilt of a

blade protruding from the space just below his ribs. Motherfucker. It
was a sharp blade. He hadn’t even felt it penetrate, but he definitely
felt the low throb now. If the adrenaline hadn’t been flowing so much,
he would probably have been incapacitated at this point.

One of the men jumped on his back and the fight went into full

swing.

“Where’s your swagger now, cat?” Giotto sneered as Cass tossed

one of them over his head and drove his fist into the other one’s

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throat. Tobias was fighting like a madman, managing to ward off his
attackers now that one didn’t have him by the throat.

All that mattered to Cassisus was getting to his mate. In a free

fight he could’ve killed any one of them without much effort, but
eight on two wasn’t exactly fair odds when one was unarmed.

Another blade was produced from somewhere, and though Cass

dodged, it still caught him in the ribs, and he felt a curious pop when
it penetrated his flesh. A gunshot went off somewhere, but Cass was
too focused on the fact that he suddenly had a very difficult time
breathing. Shouts and feral growls filled the night as they were
surrounded by the wolves who guarded them, and Corbin stepped into
the fray. Cass’s knees hit the ground as he body weight wouldn’t hold
him up anymore.

“Round them up. Every single one of them. Someone’s head is

going to roll for this!” Corbin was shouting to the wolves as the mice
scattered. Corbin grabbed one that tried to dart around him and he
slammed the mouse to the ground before pinning him there with one
massive foot.

Cass opened his mouth to say thank you, but he couldn’t quite get

enough oxygen to do so. Flavius was going to be pissed. They were
supposed to leave for New Orleans sooner than he would heal from
this. Tobias threw himself to the ground beside him, and Cass realized
he’d gone from his knees to his back. Terror swam in his mate’s eyes,
and he gripped the handle of the blade protruding from his chest. Cass
tried to shake his head. Don’t. Don’t do that.

“Cass, I love you. Here. I’ll help,” Tobias said, his voice

trembling. “Don’t worry, mate. I’ll take care of you.” His breath
hitched, but Cass was proud of his mate for fighting the panic and
keeping it together. Don’t pull it out, lover. I know that’s the first
instinct but don’t. He tried to tell him, but he just couldn’t breathe.

“Tobias, no!” Corbin shouted from somewhere to their right as

Tobias pulled the blade from Cassisus’s chest. It made a terrible
sucking sound as it was pulled from its fleshy sheath, and blood

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erupted from the wound like a geyser. Fuck. Cass screwed his eyes
shut as Tobias screamed.

“Cass! No!” Tobias’s panic was full blown now. “Don’t leave me,

please, I love you, too!”

It was nice to hear. In fact, it was the nicest thing Cassisus had

ever heard. He tried to whisper “I love you” back, but he descended
into darkness and did not dream.

* * * *

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Flavius asked as he came into

holding cell where Tobias was being kept. The other man was
covered in his mate’s blood and trembling uncontrollably. “Why
didn’t you tell me? For God’s sake, Tobias, I could’ve given you
permission. I could’ve helped.”

Tobias’s trembling increased and his skin paled impossibly

further. It was his eyes that frightened Flavius the most. They were
feral and seemed lost in a faraway nightmare. Cassisus had been taken
by helicopter to a hospital in the city a few minutes ago. Flavius had
given Corbin the authority to act in his stead, and they were waiting
for word to get back to them.

“Shouldn’t have to ask permission to let my mate meet my

family,” Tobias croaked. He sounded like a frog.

Flavius sighed and turned to the guard posted at the door. “Go get

a bottle of water from the kitchens.”

“But, Master Flavius, what about the hostile?” the guard asked.
Flavius snorted. “I’d trust him with my life. Move. Now.” He

turned his attention back to Tobias, sure that the guard would do as he
was told. “Tobias—”

“Don’t fucking lecture me!” Tobias shouted suddenly, standing

and moving at him so quickly that Flavius startled.

His eyes widened. “Tobias!”

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Tobias’s breathing was coming out in harsh pants. “No! You don’t

get to ‘Tobias’ me! You’re my fucking friend. Act like it! M–my mate
just…oh God…” He turned his head and upchucked all over the floor.
Flavius immediately gripped his shoulders and petted his back as he
heaved. The house staff weren’t used to seeing violence in anything
but the gladiator games on television. Whereas even Flavius had seen
a bloody fight up close, Tobias probably never had.

“Easy, Tobias. Take it easy,” Flavius said, leading him back to the

bench he’d been sitting on when he’d come into the sparsely
decorated room, which included one small round table and a long
bench along the far wall. “He’ll be okay.”

“What if he isn’t? Oh God, Flavius, I love him. He’s my mate. My

one and only.” Tobias hiccupped as the sobbing began. “How can you
stand it? How can you stand to be around Corbin and not give him
everything?”

Flavius felt the blood drain from his face. He really didn’t want to

talk about his own situation with one particularly stubborn shifter.
“I’ll give you the cottage and grounds privileges if you promise never
to pull something like this again,” he offered recklessly. If his father
heard he was letting the animals run free, he would get a hell of an
earful, but it couldn’t be helped. This whole situation had spiraled
well beyond Flavius’s ability to control it.

“Cassisus is everything. He’s my everything, Flavius.” Tobias was

definitely in shock. He didn’t even acknowledge Flavius’s offer.
Things were going to have to change around here if he allowed
Tobias to have his freedom to live with his mate. Flavius swallowed.
This was in unfamiliar territory, and he wasn’t sure what was enough
and too much. Most masters would’ve just punished the lot of them,
but the truth was that Flavius believed much the same way that Tobias
did. He honestly didn’t see the difference between humans and
shifters other than a few quirks.

“I’ll fix everything, Tobias. It won’t be everything you want. It

won’t be freedom. But it’ll be damn close.” His father’s shoes had

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never fit right to begin with. This incident proved what he had known
on some level from the beginning. Things were going to have to
change.

It was many long minutes before Tobias stopped trembling and

was breathing more steadily. Flavius continued to stroke his back and
murmur promises of a life together with Tobias’s mate.

“Flavius, do you mean it?” Tobias asked as Flavius ran out of

things to say.

Flavius nodded, though Tobias probably couldn’t see it. “This

house is embedded with my father’s ideas of hierarchy and separation.
This only proves that the system is too fragile to sustain itself under a
less strict hand. I am willing to bend in order to create a greater
harmony. I think I was deluding myself in thinking I could live under
my father’s rules. You and I are going to sit down when your mate
gets back and have a long chat on how to do that without breaking too
many laws.”

“He’s going to be all right,” Tobias said, a thread of steel entering

his voice. Flavius knew that stubborn tone.

“Of course. You know shifters can heal a great deal of damage,

and Cassisus is the most stubborn cat in the house. I imagine his
nurses will want to be rid of him days before they are. You can’t visit
him because of hospital regulation, but I promise you a cell phone to
talk to him whenever you want once he gets into his room. With his
healing capabilities, he shouldn’t be more than a day or two.
Afterward, his care will be up to you.”

Tobias swallowed and nodded. “What about New Orleans?”
Flavius sighed. “I’ll travel on without him. We will still have a

decent showing without him. Maybe I can take the opportunity to
showcase Faustus as a solo fighter in a match or two. I’ll have to look
and see what I can rearrange. I’ll just have Corbin fly and meet me
there. You’ll be in charge of the house while I’m gone.”

“And the men who attacked us?” Tobias demanded. There was

murder in those normally soft brown eyes.

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“They will be punished and dealt with accordingly,” Flavius said

grimly. His father’s solution would be to sell them, but they couldn’t
really be sold off. They knew too much about the tensions in the
estate, and he’d rather not have rumors circulating about what inner
turmoil was taking place in his home.

Tobias relaxed a smidgen. “I’ll trust you with it, Flavius. But so

help me, if I see any of them, I will kill them.”

“So noted, Tobias.” His cell phone rang, and he pulled it from his

pocket. He checked the caller ID before hitting the “talk” icon.
“Yes?”

“Hey, cub.” Corbin’s gruff murmur sent a shudder through

Flavius’s body. It didn’t matter how grave the situation, he couldn’t
help but get a little thrill out of hearing his lover’s voice. Get a grip,
Flavius. Concentrate.

“How is he? I have a very anxious mouse with me who needs to

know.”

Corbin chuckled like he knew what Flavius was thinking and was

amused by the fact. “They powdered his ribs with those bats and
punctured a lung, but everything else was relatively minor. He’s
pretty busted up, but he’ll heal in a week or two. He’ll heal the worst
of it in the next forty-eight hours, but he’ll need care after. Thank God
the guards started patrolling the perimeter.”

They’d started patrolling after the same gang of shifters had

beaten one of the wolves who had been on rendezvous with one of the
kitchen staff in the adjoining meadow. The wolf had reported the
incident, and for the past three nights they’d been patrolling trying to
catch the bastards. It may have seemed ridiculous for a bunch of
nonpredators to go around in a gang and beat the hell out of people
who they disagreed with, but it had happened.

Corbin had been in Flavius’s room when the alarm had gone up in

the main house, which was the only reason he’d been able to get there
so fast. Flavius was surprised that the scent of their sex hadn’t
declared rather loudly where Corbin had been. He supposed all the

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confusion had helped mask it, but Flavius had all but drown himself
in the shower worrying over it before coming downstairs to see what
was going on. He felt terrible that it had been Tobias and Cassisus to
be the ones to suffer.

“It was fortuitous. I believe they would’ve killed them otherwise,”

Flavius said. He listened to Corbin breathe on the other end of the
phone and longed for the feel of the bear’s strong arms around him.

“Are you missing me yet, Flavius?” Corbin rumbled.
Flavius swallowed. “Not yet.” He was a liar. It had only been a

few hours, but he was already feeling the dull ache in the middle of
his chest that signaled any sort of separation from Corbin. He
should’ve resented the fact that he couldn’t be away from the man for
more than a few hours without an almost-crippling depression and
pain, but he didn’t. So long as he knew he was on the estate, it wasn’t
so bad. But knowing that he was away from their home didn’t sit well
with him.

Corbin chuckled like he knew exactly what Flavius was thinking.

“Why don’t you come down to the hospital? I can’t ease you, but I
can at least spend some time with you.”

“No,” Flavius said firmly. He needed to take control of the

situation with Corbin, needed to reestablish who was master and who
was slave. It was difficult, but for the betterment of the house it was
necessary. If he was going to lead them into a bold new era, he had to
be able to stand on his own two feet. “Look after Cassisus. Install
Cassisus in the India room and put Tobias in charge of his care. I’ll
leave an airplane ticket for you on my desk for when you return with
instructions on where to deliver you in New Orleans.”

A long pause on the other end of the phone answered his

declaration. “Why are you punishing me?”

Flavius sighed. “I’m not. It’s the only proper thing to do.” He

glanced at Tobias, who was looking at him with a strange expression
on his face. He cleared his throat. “I’ll talk to you about it when you
get to New Orleans. We’ve got a lot to discuss.”

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“Yes, cub. We do.” Corbin growled. There was something in his

tone that sent a shiver down his spine.

Flavius cleared his throat. “When Cassisus gets back to his room,

give him your cell phone. I’m getting Tobias one so they can talk over
the next two days.”

“Fine.” A light click let Flavius know that Corbin had hung up on

him.

“Is everything all right?” Tobias asked.
Flavius turned and gave him what he hoped was a reassuring

smile. “Yes. Everything is perfect. As soon as you get back to the
room, you’ll be able to call him. I’ll go grab you a spare cell phone
from the security room.” Corbin had made sure that they were fully
stocked on everything after he’d gone through the supply list last
month in one of his nightly visits. He may have resented the fact that
Flavius had power over him, but he wanted the human to have the
best top-notch security money could buy for his protection. He sighed
as his thoughts returned to Corbin. He was like a drug that he just
couldn’t get enough of.

“Thanks, Flavius,” Tobias said. He seemed to hesitate a moment

before he spoke. “You know, it wouldn’t be so bad if you actually
acknowledged your mate. I mean, it might actually give you credence
with the other shifters and make them more likely to live in harmony
if they knew that you had vested interest in their concerns.”

“That didn’t work out so well for you, Tobias,” Flavius reminded.
Tobias shook his head. “There will always be extremists who hate

things that are different. But my mating with Cass did result in
something good for the species. My kind invited a predator back to
our nest, and they agreed to betroth one of their own to a bird of prey
from the kitchens. They are trying to accommodate change and are
willing to meet us halfway. You could bridge the gap between shifter
and human the same way that we crossed the divide between predator
and nonpredator. You have the opportunity to do great things.”

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“He’s not my mate,” Flavius whispered. He had to believe that.

There could be no other possibility. Tobias didn’t say anything, but
Flavius felt the weight of his disapproval all the same. He cleared his
throat. “I’ll just go get that cell phone now.” He walked over to where
the guard had returned and took the bottle of water from him before
tossing it to Tobias. “Drink your water while I grab you an icepack
for your eye and that phone. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Tobias’s silence followed him out of the room and down the

hallway. His words trickled into his consciousness, following him like
a ghost. “You have the opportunity to do great things.” He’s not my
mate. He’s not.

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Chapter Twelve

Cass growled as they fussed over him. Two days with very little

sleep, a hole in his chest, and a million IVs in his arm did absolutely
nothing to put him in a good mood. Couple that with the fact that he
had only been able to talk to his mate an hour at most led to him being
in a really foul mood. Apparently running a household took a lot of
maneuvering, and while the elders were supporting him, the wolves
had given him a little trouble when Tobias had changed the shift
schedule to accommodate the now-empty Ludus. Damn wolves were
creatures of habit who didn’t like their schedules interrupted for
anything.

When he’d arrived half an hour ago, he’d expected to be greeted

by his mate. Instead, he’d been cooed over by some very large mice
who all but carried him up to the upstairs bedroom in the house where
they would be staying until the Ludus’s men and attendants got back
from New Orleans. If they showed well enough there and continued
on their circuit in Europe, it would be even longer. He still didn’t
know where his mate was, and his text messages to Corbin about how
his brother was doing had gone unanswered. He hadn’t been able to
talk to him yet, though he’d been informed that Faustus had been told
of his impending recovery. Still, he was used to watching over his
brother and spending a lot of time with him. He needed to know that
he was doing all right in Cass’s absence. The whole universe was out
to piss him off today.

He looked around the room they’d installed him in. Any other

day, he would definitely be impressed with the very Bollywood feel
of the space. Rich fabrics in red, gold, and purple gave the space a

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theatrical flair, and the thick Berber carpet littered with pillows called
to mind a sensual harem of some kind. The matching Indian motifs on
the walls added to the feel. It wasn’t really Cass’s style, but it was
quite beautiful.

A soft knock on the door had him turning his head toward the

sound. The heavy oak door swung inward to reveal an exhausted-
looking Tobias carrying a tray of something that smelled delicious.
The bruises on his neck and the left side of his face made Cassisus’s
cat want to take a swipe at someone, but he forced the reaction and his
temper down. He didn’t want to make his mate uncomfortable.

“I hear you’ve been giving the people I sent to help you a hard

time,” Tobias said as he moved into the room and gently kicked the
door shut behind him. “You were early, and I wasn’t ready yet.
Seriously, Cass, I know you’re a cat and all, but could you have at
least let them do their jobs? I asked them to get you up here, in bed,
and fed so I could get my work done.”

“Fuck work. I missed you. Food can wait.” Yes, he admitted to

being a little bit of a sullen asshole, but damn it, he’d needed his mate
for the past two days, and stupid shifter laws said that he wasn’t
allowed there unless he was a patient or an official representative of
Flavius. Since Corbin had taken the job already, Cass had been SOL
in that department.

Tobias huffed. “You have to eat to take your medicine. Do you

want to get an infection that could put you out of the circuit for
months? I had the chef make your favorite.”

Cass sniffed, inhaling the scent of food. His stomach immediately

growled. Not fair. How was he supposed to resist stuffed Alaskan
salmon and rice? “How did you know what my favorite was?”

Tobias rolled his eyes. “How could I not? You let everyone and

their mother know exactly what you like and don’t like. I can ask the
Ludus servants, ‘How does Cassisus the Vain like his bedsheets
folded?’ And they’ll know the answer. You’re a bit high maintenance,
Cass.”

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The gladiator’s lips twitched. “I missed you, too, Tobias.”
Tobias brought the stray over and put it over Cass’s lap where he

was sitting in the middle of the bed with a half a dozen pillows
cushioning his back. “I’m glad you’re okay, Cass. I was really
worried.” The mouse sounded almost choked when he said it, but
when Cass looked up, Tobias had smoothed over his expression to
something neutral. His little mate had been traumatized but was being
a hard-ass about it. That was okay. He admired his mate’s strength
and his ability to compartmentalize things in order to get a job
accomplished. There would be time later when they were in bed
together and having one of their long chats that they would talk this
out.

“Eat,” Tobias commanded, sitting on the edge of the bed and

looking at Cass expectantly. Cass picked up his fork obediently and
forked a piece of fish into his mouth. His cat purred in appreciation,
and he couldn’t help but to agree. The stuffed salmon was probably
the best thing man or Beast ever invented.

He finished his food quickly, and Tobias nodded in satisfaction as

Cass all but licked the plate clean. He moved the tray to a nearby
dresser before crawling in beside Cass and laying his head on Cass’s
naked shoulder. The first thing that had come off when he’d gotten
into the room was the stupid hospital gown. He was buck naked and
didn’t give a damn who cared about it.

“I’m all right, Tobias,” Cass said, putting his arm around Tobias’s

shoulders. “If you’ll believe it, I have had a few close calls being a
gladiator.”

“But that wasn’t a game, Cass,” Tobias murmured, rubbing his

face against Cass’s exposed skin. “You could’ve died.” He didn’t
know if Tobias realized it or not, but he was marking Cassisus with
his scent. It amused the cat to no end.

Cass kissed Tobias’s head. He felt a slight pinch as the motion

pulled at the stitches in his chest, but it couldn’t be helped. He needed
to reassure his mate. “It’ll be all right, Tobias. I’m home now, and I’m

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safe. Did Flavius say what he was going to do with those assholes that
attacked us?”

Tobias shook his head and looked up to meet Cass’s gaze. “He’d

said he’d deal with them and left it at that. I don’t care what the hell
happens to them so long as they’re far away from us.” Cass nodded.
He could see that. He really didn’t want to deal with them, either.
“Flavius wants to restructure the house to accommodate some greater
freedoms between the house and Ludus.”

“Corbin mentioned something about it, but we’re supposed to

keep it under wraps until they get back from New Orleans,” Cass said.

Tobias smiled. “Naturally, everyone already knows about it.

Secrets don’t last long in this house. The elders are pretty enthusiastic
about it, though some people are understandably nervous. We’ve
never really had the kinds of freedoms that Flavius is talking about.”

“I don’t care about all that. I just want to know that you’re all

right, baby. How are you holding up with all this change?” Cass
asked.

“I’m excited actually. I think we’re going to make things better

with this.” Tobias pressed a kiss to Cass’s lips. His fingers trailed
along the edges of the gladiator’s chest wound. “Does it hurt?” he
asked, pulling back slightly.

Cass shrugged. “A little. It’s not so bad, though. I should be right

as rain by the end of the week.” He searched Tobias’s face for the
need that was circulating through his own skin. “I would feel a lot
better if I could make love to you.”

Tobias licked his lips, and the instant scent of lust surrounded

them. “Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Cass snorted. “Hush. I need this and so do you. Tell me your

animal doesn’t need the affirmation, and I’ll call you a liar.” He
smiled and motioned to the dresser. “I’m 90 percent sure one of your
mouse friends slipped a tube of slick in there when they dropped me
off.”

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179

Tobias burst out laughing. “They would. They’re the Dean

brothers. They tend to do all the heavy lifting for the nest.”

“Oh, I’m heavy lifting, hm?” Cass asked, winking at his lover.
Tobias grinned. “The best kind, cat.”
Their lips met in a kiss, and Cass pulled his lover into his lap. The

sheet acted as a barrier between them as Cass worked on stripping
Tobias down to nothing, but it would be cast aside easily enough.
“You’re going to have to do a lot of the work so I don’t bust my
stitches, baby. Think you want to go for a ride?”

“Oh, yes,” Tobias said breathlessly.
Cass kissed down the side of Tobias’s neck and chest as the

smaller man worked the button of his pants free. “If my stitches are
better this weekend, you want to fuck me?” Cass asked, nibbling first
one of Tobias’s nipples before turning his attention to the other.

Tobias gasped. “You’d let me?”
“You love me right?”
Tobias nodded, blushing lightly. “I didn’t think you’d heard me.”
“I did. I think that fulfills the ‘in for good’ requirement for

popping my cherry, don’t you think?” Cass asked, smiling. He’d
given the fact that he’d promised to let Tobias top him ample thought
when he’d been in the hospital. It might be kinda fun, a good way to
spice up things between us.

Tobias cupped his cheeks and forced his head up before pressing a

gentle kiss to Cassisus’s mouth. “Whatever happens between us, I am
grateful that fate gave me to you, Cassisus. I don’t need to top you to
know we’re equals.”

A grin stretched Cass’s mouth. “Good to know, lover mine.

Though it might be fun to switch it up someday.”

“Someday,” Tobias agreed, giving Cassisus another heated kiss.

The gladiator pushed him gently backward so they could work off
Tobias’s pants and push the sheet off Cassisus’s hips. Cass grabbed
Tobias’s forearms to haul the smaller man back up so that he
straddled the cat’s waist once again.

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He tilted his head toward the dresser. “Grab the lube your friends

left and ride me like I’m dying for you to.”

Tobias let out a low moan at Cassisus’s words and reached over to

the side table while Cass held his hips in a firm grip. The mouse’s
breath was coming out in soft pants as he pulled back with a thick
tube of lubrication.

“Slick me up, baby,” Cass rumbled as Tobias unscrewed the cap

and put a generous portion in the palm of his hand. He hissed as
Tobias’s careful hand wrapped around his hard length and began
stroking him in a way destined to drive him insane well before he was
ready to fall off the precipice of pleasure.

Tobias surprised him when he didn’t hand over the lubrication but

instead put more on his hand before tossing the tube beside them on
the bed. He gathered some of the slick up on his spare fingers and
reached behind himself. Cassisus’s mouth went dry at seeing his
beautiful mate with his face filled with pleasure as he simultaneously
jerked Cass off and fingered himself. I am the luckiest man on the
planet. My mate is the most beautiful surprise fate could give me.

“Hurry, baby. I need you,” Cass all but growled at him. It had

been two long days in the hospital, and he and his cat needed to claim
Tobias in the worst way.

“I’m hurrying,” Tobias murmured, his eyes filled with the same

hunger Cass felt. Three more pumps of Tobias’s talented fingers on
his cock had Cass’s eyes rolling into the back of his head. The sight in
combination with the scent of his lover was almost too much. He
gripped the smaller man’s hips and squeezed.

“Now, Tobias,” Cass commanded. The mouse whimpered and

withdrew his fingers. The gladiator held his dick steady as Tobias
slowly lowered his tight body on his rock-hard length. “That’s it,
baby, take all of me.”

“You’re deeper like this,” Tobias gasped, his body trembling as he

fully seated himself on Cass. Cass’s body throbbed inside the viselike
sheath that held him.

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181

He took a deep breath and tried to calm down his rioting pulse.

“Up and down, baby. Move where it feels good.” He would never get
tired of this, never get tired of showing Tobias all the wicked things in
his arsenal. Tobias had a natural sensuality that was more stimulating
than any well-trained shifter that Cass had ever had a tangle with. The
man erased everyone but himself from Cassisus’s mind.

“Mine,” he growled as Tobias obeyed his directions and started

fucking himself on the gladiator’s hard cock. “Like that, baby. Good
boy.” Fuck. So good. The deep-rumbled purr started up in his chest as
he moved into an increasingly deeper realm of pleasure.

“Don’t hurt your stitches,” Tobias gasped. Leave it up to Tobias to

try and boss him while riding him like a dirty pony. Cass swatted his
backside in punishment, and Tobias’s eyes shot wide, and his rhythm
faltered.

Cass winked. “Like that?”
Slowly Tobias nodded. “Yeah. Stung a little bit.”
Oh God, you are my dream come true. “Then ride me and hush

the bossing, and I’ll spank your ass while you do.”

Tobias blushed to the roots of his hair. “Is that all right?”
“Between mates, everything is all right, Tobias,” Cass reassured.

Tobias nodded again and got back to work. Cass took one of Tobias’s
hips in hand to encourage him into faster rhythm. His balls drew up
almost painfully. It wouldn’t be long until he fell headlong into
orgasm. It seemed his mate felt the same way because he was
plunging down harder on Cass’s body, chasing that same high.
Apparently the idea of Tobias getting his ass warmed did good things
for his mate. Cass smacked his butt twice in fast succession before
switching his grip from Tobias’s hip to his prick as it bobbed between
them, weeping for attention. Tobias’s hands went to the tops of his
shoulders as he bounced up and down on Cass. Cass continued to
spank him and jerk his cock as his mate rode him.

Tobias gasped. “Yes!”

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“I love fucking you, Tobias,” Cass rumbled. “Love being with

you. God, just love you.” Tobias went rigid and slammed down again
before liquid pleasure erupted from the tip of his already-sticky cock.
The smell of his spunk mixed with the treatment his cock had just
received had Cass pushing Tobias backward and following him down
so that he was still inside him and repositioned above him.

“Cass! Your stitches!” Tobias yelped as Cass pounded his ass,

seeking his own release.

“Fuck. Stitches. Fix ’em later.” It was the most articulate thing he

could manage as he lost himself in his lover’s still-clenching body.
“Mine!” The low growl was the last thing he said before pleasure
burned up his spine and he fell over the precipice.

Tobias screamed as his insides were bathed with Cass’s cum. The

shifter jerked and, as had become typical for them, he came again as
Cass spent his pleasure.

They lay together in the aftermath, both panting hard. As Cass

floated back down to earth, he felt the dull ache in his chest and side
where his stitches had pulled. He put a hand to them and checked to
see if he’d busted any of them.

“Fuck, yeah. Didn’t even break a stitch,” he said triumphantly.
Tobias sighed, contentment saturating his voice and taking the

sting out of his words. “Not for lack of trying.”

“Hmm, would’ve been worth it.” Cass pulled back and carefully

repositioned himself on his pillows. It took considerably more effort
than he was used to to move this much. By the time he got himself
situated, he was panting lightly.

Tobias sat up, concern flickering over his face. “You shouldn’t

have overdone it, Cass. Here, I’ll clean up. You just get comfortable.”

Cass nodded, grateful that he had a mate who didn’t judge him for

his weakness. His Tobias was good to him. “Say it,” he said as Tobias
rolled off the bed and took off toward the adjoining bathroom. “I need
you to say it when I’m not dying.”

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183

Tobias turned. “I love you, Cass. Too soon, too much, and too

often are adjectives that just don’t apply to our relationship. If I knew
you five minutes or five million years, I would love you the same.”

Cass grinned. His mate was really something with words. “Love

you, too, Tobias.” His mate’s cute ass disappeared into the bathroom.
He listened as Tobias rummaged around in there for a minute or so
before returning with a couple washcloths, one wet and one dry,
clenched in his fists.

“By the way,” Tobias said as he tossed the wet washcloth to Cass,

“we’ve rescheduled the meet and greet with my parents and the elders
for Monday.”

Cassisus groaned. “It’s too soon. I’m too ill. Can’t a man recover

first?”

Tobias snorted. “If you’re feeling well enough to fuck my brains

out, then you’re well enough to meet my family. Be lucky they’re
giving us a reprieve for the rest of the week and the weekend.” He
chuckled to himself. “They don’t have a lot of patience when they’re
curious about something.”

Cass sighed dramatically. “Well, I’m going to need a lot of

incentive to be a happy camper about this situation.”

Tobias gave him a droll look. “Uh-huh. What kind of incentive?”
“It involves you, a bottle of lube, and several themed outfits.” He

was already thinking of some creative ways to get said outfits.

Tobias cracked up. “You are insane. How about just me at your

beck and call and copious amounts of sex while you’re
convalescing?”

“Hmm, that’ll work,” Cass agreed, opening his arms so his mate

could crawl into bed beside him. They might not always have the
easiest road ahead of them, but at least on this one, they had a certain
freedom that only seemed to be getting more expansive as time wore
on. With the changes Flavius made, who knew? Maybe true freedom
was much closer than he thought. He kissed the top of Tobias’s head.
The freedom to be with Tobias, to love his mate, and to live a life

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dedicated to his mate was a dream worth fighting for. Tobias would
always be his touchstone, and he would forever be Tobias’s gladiator.

THE END

WWW.JANADOWNS.BLOGSPOT.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jana Downs lives in the beautiful mountains of western North

Carolina with three cats, one dog, several dozen fish, and a very
understanding partner in crime who hates to read but makes
exceptions for her stories.

You can usually find her either watching bad reality TV, buying

way too many books on Amazon, or dreaming up another man or two
to occupy her time, because life is good, but several drop-dead-
gorgeous, nonexistent men is just better.

For all titles by Jana Downs, please visit