The Werewolf Order (Erotica)

When she wakes, her head is resting on Vadim’s lap, his fingers gently stroking her red hair. Her torn dress is covering her nakedness, tied together by a ragged strip. There is no one else there but them.

She slowly sits up, shock still overtaking her. Her body aches, everywhere. She can feel Callen’s seed still oozing out of her. Tears start to fall from her face.

Vadim slowly wraps his good arm around her, drawing her close to his chest, “Shhh,” he coos.

She looks down at his mangled arm, pushing down the panic, trying to shove aside everything else so she can focus on just that. Coral doesn’t want to leave the safety of his embrace but she pulls away regardless and shakily rises to her feet. Walking to the metal bars, her tiny hands frantically grab a hold of them to steady her form. She stumbles down the length of the cell, her eyes scanning the ground within her reach to try to find something that will help her set his broke bone.

At the far corner of the cell where the iron bars meet the raw stone walls, she spots several pieces of broken cane reed just beyond the enclosure. She wobbles while crouching down, sliding her arm between the bars and stretching as far as she can. Her fingers fumble to grasp them but finally do and she pulls them towards her body. Losing her balance she topples over onto her ass, her eyes catching sight of what lies beyond the bars-various chains, restraints, whips, flogs and torture contraptions that she has no knowledge of. Her breathing starts to increase when her attention is shifted to the implements; she feels her head getting warm, tightness in her chest, anxiety welling up in her stomach. Leaning over, she vomits on the ground-whether from shock or morning sickness, she doesn’t know. Not that it matters anymore.

Coral forces herself back up again, her entire body shaking, her chest tight, finding it hard to breathe again. She puts her hand against the damp raw stone of the cave, trying to stop it from moving around her or her from swaying when she feels the coldness of panic at the back of her head. She bends in half, attempting to draw in slow deep breaths to stave off the light headedness when her eyes brush past a patch of familiar mushrooms. Piers’ voice echoes distantly in her thoughts, When the time comes, you put one of them in your mouth. Chew on it and hold it between your cheek and gums; it will numb your mind and your body, then you won’t have to suffer as much. There should be no pain.

Without hesitation, she crashes down to her knees, plucks one and crams it into her mouth, chewing it up a bit before tucking it in between her gum and cheek. The earthy, dirt taste contrasts the spongy squeakiness of the mushroom against her teeth. Clutching onto the cane reeds tight, she crawls the remaining way back to Vadim, the stone scraping her bare knees though the torn front of her dress. She stops at his right side and sits back on her heels, her breathing still frantic. With shaking hands she reaches down to the hem of her torn, gray dress and rips several long strips of cloth from it.

As the effects of the mushroom start to seep into her body, she feels a calmness wash over her, her objective self completely removed from her emotional distraught; her breathing slows, her hands stop shaking. It feels almost as if she is floating in the pool in the castle bathhouse, relaxed, everything muffled and distant like through water.

She reaches out indifferently feeling the break in Vadim’s arm, not even thinking to remind him to brace for it when she sets the bone back into place. When he screams through gritted teeth, she looks at him, remembering that pain hurts, “Sorry,” she mumbles. Placing the broken canes parallel to his forearm, she snuggly wraps the strips of fabric around it, securing them tightly to immobilize the break. Then, she sits back down on his left side. She leans her head against his shoulder.

“Are you really pregnant?” He asks quietly.

“Yes,” her voice is indifferent. It used to bother her so much before-she was worried, she thought about inducing the contractions to get rid of the foal, but why? Apathetically she prods through her memories until she recalls, “Quell doesn’t know.”

“Oh, Coral,” he says, a sadness in his voice.

Quell was so upset when she was simply going to help women bare foals-he was mad at her. No, he was broken at the thought of losing her like he lost his first mate and bairn. She continues, “If we get out of here, don’t tell him. If-if the foal survives, then I will let him know. It would ruin him to know what he lost otherwise.”

He pulls her close, “I am sorry, Coral.”

“So am I, Vadim.” She should have told him, she should have been honest from the moment she knew. There should be no secrets between mates, no matter how painful. With a sigh, she stares off into nothingness, her eyes seeing things but not bothering to focus, the eerie calm of the mushroom permeating her entire body. It is a while before either of them speaks, though they still remain nestled closely in each other’s arms.

“Quell will come, Coral,” Vadim says to reassure her.

“I know he will-I am not worried about that; what I wonder is how long it will take him to figure it out,” her voice is flat, devoid of expression. Freed emotionally from her mind, it is so clear now why the women were afraid of Quell-his eyes. Those piercing, blue eyes that he shares with his cousin.

“I had a feeling something was off with Callen; I should have said as much. I should have forced Junta or Tomir out of that room last night to come with us to our chambers,” Vadim’s voice is bitter, angry at himself.

What he says is true but he is hardly the only one guilty and she freely admits it, “If I would have just stayed and watched the mating, this wouldn’t have happened. It is my fault. It is all my fault. They were after you and you were being a gentleman and escorting me. If I hadn’t made too much of the base elixir, if I wasn’t so stupid as to put it in my case instead of dumping it out, if I would have just told Quell I was pregnant, I wouldn’t even be here. You would be safe.”

“This isn’t your fault, Coral. They would have gotten to me somehow-I’m the easy target to grab.”

“Well,” she says, glancing around, her eyes falling on the now dark streak of blood leading towards the exit, “at least we know who the guilty centaurs are and one of them is already dead. That only leaves two. The odds are better that way.”

Vadim looks at her somewhat aghast, “What?”

She turns and stares into his dark eyes, seeing the surprised look on his handsome brown face. She struggles to make the leap as to why he is confused by her words, they were the truth-then, she recalls that she is drugged. She spits the half dissolved mushroom out into her hand, wondering if she is supposed to leave it in there forever, swallow it or just suck on it for a while. She knows that Piers uses dried mushrooms, crushes them and mixes them with water to form a paste that is applied to a cow’s tongue; making the mental adjustments she realizes that she only needed half of the mushroom and after holding it in her mouth for a while, she should have swallowed the rest.

“What is that?” Vadim asks.

“Piers always called them the ‘hooded harbinger,’ I am not aware of what their actual name is. During the Battle, he used them to ease the pain of passing for many dying men and we used it often when he would have to perform a surgery on an animal. I’ve never had it before but Piers warned me that I should take it when a centaur decided to mate me so as to cut the pain. It does as he says.” She flicks the mushroom out of her hand, continuing, “I was surprised to see them growing over there but I suppose that makes sense; this place is old and was clearly used for torture. A smart man, knowing he was about to meet a gruesome death probably brought some with him. Their spores spawned more and after years they made a nice residence in this cave. Just as well-anyone locked in here no doubt has reason to use them.” Turning to Vadim, she remembers to ask, “Are you in pain? I can get you one.”

He shakes his head, “No, Coral. One of us should have our wits about and I certainly do not blame you for electing me.” Vadim tilts down onto his left side, pulling Coral with him and into his chest, resting his damaged arm over her waist. He nestles his face into her hair, “Let us get some rest while we can.”

Coral tucks her arm under her head, feeling the warmth of Vadim at her back helps with the chill. It doesn’t take long before her eyes shut and she drifts off into a dreamless sleep.

…

Neither of them hear the approaching clop of hooves on the stone; it is only when Coral is yanked up by her arm that they wake. Vadim immediately jumps to his feet and tries to come to her aid, only to trip when the chains cobble his feet together; he falls to the ground, cursing at Callen.

When Coral realizes what is happening, she starts fighting again. She pulls against him, trying to push him away with her free arm only to get that one grabbed too; sobs rack her body and panic starts to set in as the mushroom wore off in her sleep. She can hardly choke down any air, frantically trying to get away as her hands are chained to the mounting stand.

Callen looks over her form, “Will you give me the recipe?” He pulls out the vial, uncorking it to release the dark, mysterious scent. It sends a shiver down his shaggy palomino back, his eyes hazed over with lust, “The recipe for this version?”This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.

Coral’s body sags down to the ground, her hands bound above her, “Let me go,” she whispers.

He smiles darkly at her, reaching out and wrapping a hand around her waist. Though she fights, it does no good because he soon strips her bare just as before and has her buckled into the stand. He runs his hands over her naked back, leaning down to whisper into her ear, “Please-keep fighting me, Coral. Not only do I enjoy your resolve almost as much as I do mating with you, but the challenge of breaking your spirit is one that I haven’t encountered yet.” His tongue flicks out and he tastes her skin, trailing it down her spine.