The Werewolf Order (Erotica)

Vadim’s mind is distant as he wanders through the castle towards the dining room; his thoughts are of Coral, always of Coral and try as he might he cannot get his sister off of his mind. He desperately wanted to see her today but he forced himself to keep his distance. He spent the morning with Pelium, using the excuse of his arm aching to seek the doctor’s company. Though neither one of them outright spoke about her or what happened in Centurion, they somehow managed to communicate the desperate need for a solution. Pelium showed Vadim the books with the very few written accounts of women being assaulted by a centaur though the details were vague and no follow up was documented. It left a bad taste in Vadim’s mouth-he knows that thousands of women have been forced upon in their history but all were either too ashamed to speak up or too ashamed to record it down.

He left the doctor shortly before mid day meal, skipping it so as to avoid the possibility of seeing his mother or Lynette or worse yet, Quell. Instead he sought solace in his father’s study, meticulously going through each book on the full shelves, trying to find anything that might help shed light on a solution to Coral’s fear. Yet in the end, all he obtained was a deeper seeded hatred of his own kindred; how quick they are to overlook and hide their own shortcomings, sweeping all secrets under the rug to be forgotten-a foolish gesture in Vadim’s opinion, as history is bound to be repeated if mistakes aren’t learned from.

When he enters the dining room he is completely oblivious to everything until he hears a deep voice speak to him.

“Hello son,” Rainer says, standing at the head of the table.

When Vadim looks up he realizes he is the last one to dinner, aside from the absent Coral that is. He offers a smile to Rainer, “I am glad you are home, father.”

Rainer nods, patting the table next to him. Vadim sits in between his father and Quell-his brother looks sullen and distant, just as he has since their return from Centurion.

Looking to the empty seat that Coral usually occupies, Rainer sighs, “How is my daughter?” When no one answers and everyone avoids his gaze, he doesn’t press the issue.

“Did you leave my brother’s head attached to his body?” Kiera asks flatly; Vadim looks at her, he can’t tell if she is being sarcastic or not. His mother’s usually bright, clear and cheerful eyes seem to be red and bloodshot, her face appears slightly puffy as if she had spent a considerable amount of time crying, yet aside from that she wears no expression, her face as stoic as a statue.

“For now,” Rainer growls. The tone of his voice as he utters those two simple words carry a weight which makes his hatred as clear as day.

Kiera nods slowly, showing no inclination one way or the other. Vadim looks at his father and asks, “Will this end with Callen? Will Centurion change?” He desperately wants to find hope in the future, to believe that all of the suffering Coral went through-that all of those women went through–wasn’t for nothing. He clings to that hope tightly, though it is but a thread to keep him from falling into the vastness of his growing hatred.

His father appraises him for a moment, as if trying to discern his son’s desires in regards to it. Rainer is a wise centaur and has seen his fair share of evil in all creatures. It is almost like he can sense Vadim’s struggle because he shares it one in the same. “I left Yulnar alive with very harsh conditions in place; should he choose to ignore them, I will return and finish what I started. The first condition is this: absolutely no more forced matings and no more obtaining dowries for women-any centaur discovered in violating this will be sentenced to death.”

Vadim nods slowly, “That will definitely be a deterrent, assuming they actually get punished for their crimes-but what of the women? Is the offer of the elixir still available to them?” He has mixed feelings about it; part of him wants women to be able to discover love for their mates and to be able to lie with them easily, to share the bond that making love can bring… yet the other part of him wishes for all knowledge of the elixir to be destroyed so that the human women will leave, so that Centurion will die out. He knows eventually that Centuarna will as well and frankly, the extinction of the centaurs doesn’t bother him in the least.

Rainer frowns, “Yes, though the stipulation I put forth was no elixir shall be given out until spring. Not only does that force them to wait, it also gives Coral time to…” he trails off before lifting his glass of wine and drinking it all. “My second condition was Callen’s mate and son.”

Kiera’s voice is quiet, “You would see them killed?”

His brows furrow and he clicks his tongue on his teeth, “Kiera-no. It was not her fault nor the foal; my condition was they move to Centuarna and live in town. It would do both of them some good to learn humility and compassion by living alongside our people.”

She breathes a sigh of relief, “Thank you, mate.”

Quell shifts uneasily; his plate is still full and he has barely eaten anything, “All things considered, father, your conditions are rather generous.”

Vadim can feel the tension in the room; he glances to Lynette, who keeps her head down and eats in silence. Wistan hesitantly looks between his family members but also does not speak.

“What would you rather I have done, Quell?” Rainer asks, though the tone of his voice is quiet, dangerous.

“I don’t know,” he mumbles. He drinks his entire mug of ale and grabs a single slice of bread from his plate before turning and leaving the room.

Looking at Wistan, Rainer softly says, “Why don’t you take your plate and eat in my study, son? I will be there shortly.”

Wistan nods, thankful that his father provided him with an out because he is eager to leave. When the colt is gone, Rainer turns his attention to Vadim, “Will you please explain to me what is going on?”

Vadim rubs his face; he is tired, worn, bruised and in pain and above all else, he is sick of having to talk about it all the time, “Coral-she can’t be around centaurs. When she woke up and saw Quell she panicked-he can’t be near her. Pelium tried to give her some medicine to calm her down and she damn near destroyed her chambers. Mother can’t even get near her.”

“I spent the afternoon with her,” Lynette says softly. Surprised, Vadim looks at her, waiting for her explanation. So lost in his own desperation he was that he barely even thought about his mate throughout the day. She catches his eye and continues, “Her friend Margaret came and got me after lunch. The maiden warned me to be cautious around Coral and you are correct, she started panicking when I walked in. I think it was the sound of my hooves that caused it; I knelt down and made sure my rear wasn’t visible to her, the rest of me was covered by my dress. Then she was all right.” She glances over to Kiera, “I am sorry, mother, I do not know why she finds it difficult to be around you.”Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.

A growl from Rainer draws everyone’s attention, “If Callen wasn’t already dead I’d kill him myself.” It is a sentiment all of them share.

No one speaks for the rest of the meal as no one really wishes to say anything. Kiera decides to venture into town to secure lodgings for Callen’s widow and son. While she seems a bit more upbeat now that she has a purpose, she still finds it difficult to look into her husband’s eyes. Vadim knows how she feels-she feels torn between her loyalty to her own family, to her brother and her nephew but she cannot overlook the atrocities that were committed.

As Rainer walks past Vadim, he gently squeezes his shoulder, unable to find any words to offer in comfort before he retires to his study to spend time with Wistan.

Vadim continues to pick at the food on his plate, not really hungry but eating anyways. He makes the effort to speak to his mate, reminding himself that none of this is her fault and she shouldn’t be ignored or forgotten because of it. “What did you do with Coral all afternoon?”

Lynette looks at her mate when he speaks, offering a kind smile as she always does, “Margaret thought it best to keep her mind engaged so that she didn’t spend all day remembering… there is a book of herbs that she was in the process of updating. I picked up where she left off and I read each entry out loud to her; if there was information missing, she told me what to write down. For a few there were no drawings and Margaret took note of it; she is going to see if she can find any of them still growing, if not then the sketches will have to wait until spring. Coral is very lucky to have a friend in Margaret,” Lynette says softly.

“I think it started the other way around,” Vadim replies off handedly. When he gets a curious look from Lynette, he adds, “Margaret is from the same town as Coral but unlike Coral she hated centaurs. It is a personal mission of our sister’s to see that there is peace between our kinds. When she met up with Margaret after their arrival here, the maiden’s attitude had caused her to be secluded. Coral took the time to speak with her and ease her out of her hatred.”