The Werewolf Order (Erotica)

Vadim scrubs his body, wishing there were some way to avoid it, but he knows that Quell will not let it go, “After we left the mating, Coral and I were walking down the hall to our room. I was knocked out. The next thing I recall was being chained in a dungeon and seeing Coral laying on the floor. It was Callen and the two centaurs who greeted us upon our arrival to the Centurion castle. Callen had instructed them to grab me and only me-but seeing as how I was never alone that was virtually impossible. When one of the guards saw that Coral was with me he took us both and that decision cost him his life. Callen thought that I knew the recipe for the elixir as well as you, but seeing as how I am just a man, I was the easy target.” He pauses, dunking his head under the water to get it wet. Slowly he lathers up the soap into his thick dreads, trying to loosen up the grim and dried blood from his attack.

Quell’s voice is quiet, “What did he do to her?”

Tossing the bar of soap towards the stone shore, he snaps, “You know exactly what he did to her, Quell. He raped her-repeatedly. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop him.” His voice shakes as he screams, the full force of his agony and outrage unchecked, “I tried, I fought, I begged, I pleaded-if I would have known the recipe I would have given it to him but I didn’t! Coral was the only one who could have stopped it but she never broke-she suffered more than you will ever know and she stayed strong because she knew that if she gave that piece of shit anything no woman would ever be safe!”

He wants to hurt something. He wants to punch his brother, he wants to kill every centaur he sees because if they hadn’t existed, Coral would have been safe. Vadim clenches his hands into fists and dives under the water to rinse his body off. He swims back to the ramp and climbs out of pool, his entire body shaking. He slumps down onto the stone bench and drops his head into his good hand; finally the tears flow free, his voice aching, “Where were you brother? We waited-she waited-and you never came.”

Quell stands in the middle of the pool staring off into the darkness of the cavern. He shakes his head, “When you and Coral were not in our room, the rest of us immediately searched the castle but by then it had been hours since we saw you last. I sent word to our father and he showed up the next morning. We scoured the town, we went to every outpost, I forced all of those women to speak to me-I demanded they tell me who was responsible. I almost hurt one of them but Junta and Tomir pulled me off of her. I never stopped looking. Callen,” he spits the name out as if it leaves a sour taste in his mouth, “led us on a wild goose chase. He told us false rumors and we found the body the dead centaur guard near the shore of one of the small villages. We thought that perhaps the others were holed up in a cave near there, but we discovered nothing and returned to the castle-that is when I saw our father with his sword drawn on Yulnar, threatening to murder him and his entire lineage. I was the one who pulled him off. That is when he told me that you and Coral were back and to leave at once. He never said who took you-if he had, I’d have killed Yulnar with my bare hands.” His voice is low as he struggles to get a hold of his anger. “How did you get away?”

Vadim has never lied to his brother before and it pains him, but nowhere near the amount of agony of the past nine days, “I managed to get the keys from the guard without his knowledge before he left. Callen was focused on Coral when I unlocked my shackles, got out and killed him. I shot the guard with a crossbow when he came back and Coral fainted from being overwhelmed.” Vadim knew the punishment-outside of war, if a human killed a centaur they were immediately sentenced to death. He doubted that the law would stand in Centuarna with all that she had gone through but he knew what kind of centaurs ran Centurion and he would not see his sister survive everything that she had, just to be killed for it. Part of him wished that Yulnar had the courage to slay Vadim on the spot and end his suffering.

Silence sits over the brothers. Neither of them knows what to say to each other, how to offer comfort for what has happened and both of their minds are focused on Coral. When Quell walks out of the pool and shakes his hide off, Vadim follows him out of the bathhouse.

He stands naked in the hallway, watching his brother drip a trail of water onto the carpet as he walks back to the room where Coral sleeps. Vadim wants to follow, to lay by Coral’s side, to never leave her again but he knows that he cannot; if his heart weren’t already broken it crumble in despair. Instead, he turns and goes the opposite direction to his room; he notices Pelium standing outside with a small satchel, no doubt containing what he needs to bind the Prince’s arm. Drawing in a deep breath, he opens his door for the doctor, following him in.

Lynette immediately rises from the stack of pillows near the fire; her face is blotchy and wet from tears. She almost tackles Vadim, her arms wrapped around his neck, her tears now of joy. He holds her tight with his left arm, wincing when she brushes against his right, “Calm down, Lynette, I am here now.”

She hesitantly pulls away, letting him go-when her eyes fall upon his naked body, the bruises and how he cradles his right arm, she starts sobbing again.

Vadim kisses her on the forehead, wiping away her tears, “Shh now. Would you please get me a robe?”

When she nods and rushes off, Vadim makes his way to the tall table at which Pelium stands. The doctor tends to his arm without saying much; he spreads the comfrey paste on Vadim’s skin before wrapping it in a clean muslin bandage, then he splints it and wraps it again. After he packs up his things, he says, “I’ll have someone fetch some food for you and Lynette.” The old centaur slips out without another word.

Lynette helps Vadim into a robe and follows him to the loveseat where he drops down into the soft cushions, realizing how nice they feel when he’s spent over a week laying on stone. His mate tips down onto her knees in front of him, her hands placed on his legs. When her brows crinkle, Vadim can see that she wants to know what happened. She opens her mouth, hesitates and shuts it again. Drawing in a deep breath, she simply says, “Coral?”

He is thankful that his mate is one of the most perceptive creatures he knows; with all that her parents have gone through, she is able to understand that there are some things that are better left unsaid. “Our sister is alive,” he offers, not sure how to word it otherwise.

“Will she be all right?”

He sighs-he does not think anyone would be all right after going through that, “I do not know.”

Lynette fights back tears, rising and going to the door when there is a knock. She comes back with a platter of food and sets it next to Vadim before kneeling back down. She rests her head on his knees and Vadim understands her desire to simply be close to him, as it is the same desire he has towards Coral.

He eats in silence, though not much as his stomach is so used to being empty that very little fills it to the brim. With the warmth of the fire, his full belly and Lynette’s soft hands stroking his calves, he drifts off into a dreamless sleep.

…

Vadim jerks awake when he hears a scream, his eyes wide, his breathing already frantic. When he looks around he sees Lynette walking towards him, worry on her face. She hands him a pair of pants and a shirt, her voice shaky, “It is Coral.”

He rushes to pull the clothes on, barely buttoning up his pants before he goes bursting into the hallway, running barefoot down the carpeted length, Lynette at his heels. Outside of Quell’s room stands Kiera at the door. The Queen is usually so reserved and collected-nothing jars her-yet when he sees the expression on his mother’s face, he sees a look he doesn’t recognize, reminiscent of fear, shock and sorrow. Vadim hears a loud crash of something breaking followed by Quell’s pained voice.

“Coral calm down!”

When she shrieks, her words are full of trembling terror, “Get away from me!”Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.

Vadim pushes past his mother into the room. Furniture has been over turned, broken bits of pottery and glass litter the floor, his brother stands on one side of the bed trying to get near Coral but she cowers in fear against the wall, a wild look in her eyes. Vadim can see her panic rising and he knows that soon she will be catatonic, just as she had been many times before. He quickly rushes forward, stopping Quell from rounding the bed. He braces his shoulder into his brother’s chest and pushes against him.

“Outside Quell!” Vadim whispers harshly.

When Quell looks down at his older brother and sees the urgency, the pleading in his expressions, he lets himself be pushed out of the room.

Vadim looks to Lynette-she should not be here, she should not see any of this. He tries not to yell at her, though his voice is more firm than he ever wishes it be towards his mate, “Go get Pelium and then return to our room.”

Lynette’s brows crumple and her gaze drops; she doesn’t fight him, she nods her acceptance and leaves.

“What did you do to her?” Vadim growls at his brother.

Quell’s eyes grow wide, “I didn’t do anything! I was by her bedside. She started tossing and turning in her sleep so I pulled her into my arms to comfort her.” His shoulders slump when he recalls what happened, “She nestled against me and embraced me. She started crying and told me she loved me. When I cradled her face and kissed her forehead, she opened her eyes-when she looked at me all I saw was fear in her face. She broke free of my hold and-” He starts trembling, tears welling up in his eyes, “She told me to leave her alone, she wouldn’t look at me and kept throwing things when I tried to get near her to calm her down-I-I don’t understand.”

Vadim’s fists clench despite the pain in his broken arm. His blood boils inside of him. If Coral were his mate, none of this would have happened.