The Werewolf Order (Erotica)

When Searra died, Vadim witnessed Quell’s collapse. Quell had everything-a mate who loved him, a strong family, brothers to play with, a kingdom to rule one day and finally the promise of a foal yet it was the Fates that stole his dreams away just as dispassionately as they had cursed Vadim. His heart ached for his little brother and he silently thanked the powers that he would never find the love of a mate because he saw what losing it did.

Then, she arrived. A red haired maiden, an anomaly just like Vadim-she never fit in to her life and was equally hated by the Fates. He knew from the moment he laid eyes on her that she was meant to be a part of him and he a part of her. Their paths were woven together by destiny and maybe, just maybe they could find happiness in each other. But, alas, Vadim’s curse remained and she chose Quell.

Vadim struggled to remind himself to be thankful for what he had-he still had his family, his brothers and now he had a sister who loved him as earnestly as he did her. It did little to ease his suffering but it was enough to get him through the day. And with Lynette’s patient compassion, he started to feel like maybe life would be tolerable.

But now, all of that is gone. His heart and soul withered into dust having to watch Coral suffer. The looming curse that seems to follow the Prince wherever he goes finally breaks him. The buried hate in Vadim looms to the forefront; his brother had not one, but two chances at loving a mate. Quell didn’t know how lucky he was to have Coral’s love and he was too blinded by his past to realize that he never deserved it. Had Rainer a spine, he would have ended the hatred instead of leaving it to fester in the surviving human men. If Yulnar actually enforced the power he chose to flaunt, women wouldn’t be raped and stolen in Centurion. If centaurs didn’t exist-Coral would have grown up with a loving family and be safe.

Vadim knows he isn’t without his own fault-as was beaten into his head when he was little, he is a centaur through and through. For the first time in his life he finds that he is disgusted with them all, himself included.

By the time they reach the road leading into Centuarna, the party veers off to take the lesser used path through the eastern edge of town thereby skirting the main thoroughfare. While the centaurs continue trotting up the ramp and into the castle, Vadim dismounts his horse and leaves the reins with a stable boy before running after his brother.

Jogging up the ramp to the second floor, Vadim yells at one of the passing servants, catching the human completely in surprise at his harsh affect, “Get Pelium at once!”

With little regard for his own self, he follows Quell into his brother’s chambers and watches as he places the still unconscious Coral down on the bed. The centaur’s chest heaves with the pain of the long run and of seeing his mate in such a state. Hastily, he strips off his cloak and shirt, discarding the sweat soaked articles to the ground while he paces back and forth in the room.

His man servant, Oren, quickly slides in and builds the fire, not speaking a word. Vadim kneels near the bed, staring at Coral-he desperately wants to pick her up, to hold her close to his chest but he wouldn’t dare touch her in such an intimate way in front of his brother. Then, it occurs to him, that he will never touch Coral in such a manner again now that they have been saved from Callen’s clutches. The sorrow at knowing that and relief of being free battle deep within his mind.

Quell stops in the middle of the room once Oren has left; his wet body glistens in the fire light. Vadim glances at his brother and sees the wild creature that dwells deep within all of them, the beast that they try so hard to suppress, the truth of their history that is only ever told to the First Prince, something which Vadim knows but Quell does not-that despite all that Centuarna is, it was once just as wild as Centurion. That it is a constant struggle to keep it from returning back to the barbaric roots that lie hidden within their nation. That only five generations ago, those from Centuarna pillaged the human villages, stole hoards of women and raped them in order to stave off their own extinction. That regardless of the equivocations they exude, every centaur is a descendant of an animal, a predator, a horrific creature without remorse or empathy, solely driven by the primal need to exist.

His eyes wander over the beast that is his brother, seeing a glimpse into their ancestors, noting the way Quell has drawn himself up tall, the stiffness of his torso, the savage, wild glint in his dark blue eyes. Fleetingly, he thinks that Quell has the same eyes as their mother, the same eyes as Callen. The thought vanishes when Quell’s menacing voice growls out.

“Tell me what happened,” he demands.

It isn’t a discussion Vadim wants to have with his brother-not now, not ever. He doesn’t want to remember the sounds of Coral’s sobs or the way her moans of forced pleasure made his own cock harden and drew him to vomit in disgust because of it. He doesn’t want to remember how she sought comfort in his arms or how he was absolutely powerless to stop Callen from raping her.

“Now is not the time,” he reiterates, “right now we need to focus on helping Coral.” He knows Quell better than anyone else-he remembers the rage, the agony, the sheer insufferable pain his brother experienced when Searra and the foal died. He was the only one who was able to stop him from tearing the entire castle apart and stepping in front of the terrifying beast that Quell became almost cost Vadim his own life.

“Tell me!” Quell roars, his entire body shaking in rage.

Junta bursts into the door-quickly looking from Vadim to Quell, he steps in front of the younger Prince, speaking firmly, “Prince Quell, you must calm down.”

Quell looks to be moments away from fighting with Junta. He takes a step towards him and Junta tenses, ready to defend himself-but both centaurs are halted when Pelium walks into the room.

Though the doctor sees the danger, he quickly skirts the other centaurs and heads to the bed. When his eyes fall on Coral, he frowns. He reaches a hand out and plucks up her wrist, feeling her pulse; then he presses his hand to her forehead, “How long has she been out?”

“About three hours,” Vadim says quietly, rising.

Pelium glances at the Prince’s makeshift splint, “Has she been like this before? How long did it last?”

Vadim closes his eyes and swallows hard, “Yes, she passed out a few other times. It lasted a while, maybe overnight?”

Gently, Pelium sets her hand back down and motions to Vadim’s arm, “Broken?”

He nods, “She set it and put the splint on it-that was about nine days ago.”

Glancing from Prince to Prince, Pelium takes stock of the situation-he doesn’t need to ask what happened because he can smell enough of it from Coral to discern that he doesn’t want to know the rest, “I am afraid there is nothing we can or should do until she wakes up. I would like to put some comfrey on your arm, Prince Vadim. Thankfully I am confident enough in her to know that Lady Coral set it correctly-otherwise I would be forced to rebreak it and do it again. Centaurs heal much faster than humans and while we have never had cause to find out before if this was a trait passed on to you Prince, I dare say we will discover it now.”

He turns towards Quell, motioning to Vadim and Junta as well, “It is clear that you had a long and rough journey-all of you need to take this time to bathe. I will sit with the lady.”Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

“I will not leave her side again,” Quell growls out, though his demeanor has calmed somewhat from before.

Vadim knows that Pelium was a force to be reckoned with in his younger days-not only did he patch up centaurs and humans after the Battle, he did just as much damage during it. Though he has calmed a lot in his older years, the spirit of a warrior never dies, “It wasn’t a request, Prince Quell.”

Before Quell can yell back, Kiera’s gentle voice comes from the door, “Do as he says, my sons. I will also wait with my daughter.”

Quell’s jaw clenches, his eyes falling on Coral-Vadim’s gaze looks down upon her as well. Slowly, he rises to his feet and walks past Quell towards the door, “Come, brother.”

Kiera places a soft kiss on her eldest son’s forehead when he walks out. She doesn’t dare try to approach Quell, though, as it is clear he is still angry.

Inside the castle bathhouse, Vadim kicks off his boots. He sheds his shirt and pants before pulling at the tight knots of the splint on his right arm. He is still struggling to get the torn strips of gray fabric free when Quell walks in.

Quell doesn’t say anything, he just stands there, staring at Vadim. The older of the two doesn’t need to ask why, as he is pretty sure he knows the reason-the thick black bruises around his ankles, the slight weight loss that shows his hip bones, the hoof shaped marks along his chest and back from where the guard bucked at him each time he tried to fight to get Coral back from Callen. None of it would be visible if he were as dark skinned as their Moorish looking father, but since his flesh is a rich light brown it betrays the attacks he suffered. Angrily, Vadim manages to shred the fabric and watches it fall to the ground, bits of broken cane reed with it. His arm is dark as well, the skin slightly dented and wrinkled from the splint. Without saying anything, he grabs a bar of soap and carefully eases himself into the warm spring water.

Quell walks in behind him and dives beneath it. It is something Vadim rarely sees any of the centaurs do-though they are all strong swimmers, their large bodies make them awkward underneath the water. When he surfaces, he is only a few feet away.