ENCHANTED WORLD SERIES BOOK 3: THE DRAGON'S KEEPER

Feror….

Feror pulled a large puff of the aromatic smoke and locked it in his lungs as he unconsciously rolled his arm. The scar was still throbbing and he never told anyone that at night he could barely sleep because of the pain. Somehow, Feror felt he walked away from the Mortal Lock attack with something extra. No one expected him to survive the attack and neither did he. He readily accepted his death that day of the attack but he was surprised when he woke up and found the pulsing wound on his arm, glowing like the dying cinders of a fire. It ran down from his shoulder to his elbow like fiery veins.

Feror exhaled the smoke and pulled yet another mouthful whilst leaning on the wall behind the training grounds. From where he was, he could hear the pained grunts coming from the males who were training. He could also here and smell the helpers who were watching the males with flagrant interest. Feror blew the smoke out and turned to the bright sun. That day, Drake had announced that Tegan was arriving in Tacinia that morning. Feror wasn’t ready to see the male after what had transpired between them but he was willing to tolerate the presence because Drake’s situation was dire. However, Drake assured him that he was coming with his mate and his sister and past wounds opened up and gaped at him.

Feror was definitely not ready to see her! His heart ached his his ribs as he placed the cigarette between his lips and sighed. He could make an excuse and not meet with them at all but he had no idea for how long they were going to be there. Worse thing was that she was going to want to find out how he was fairing. The truth was that since that faithful day with her, he had never been the same because he had given his heart to a female who later found a mate.

Tegan believed that Feror had done it on purpose and the two males, once closer than brothers, had a nasty fallout and never talked again. Feror left the Lore Highlands because he couldn’t bear to wake up every morning only to mourn the one true love he had. It was the perfect thing out of all the commotion that happened in his life on a day to day basis. He also didn’t want to stay around a male that didn’t believe him and thought him nothing but a rogue.

Feror turned his eyes to see several of the centaurs galloping down the yard. Remington and Vicious had pinned a younger centaur, reminding him of the attack strategy they used a lot back home when attacking the rebel groups.

Vicious’ jet black pelt shone in the sun like black magic. He had the biggest body among the centaurs although Feror was much older than him. Like his name, Vicious had a unique style of attack that left behind broken bones and open wounds. Remington was more swift and cunning in his attacks. He too broke bones when the need arose but he always caught up with the chased.

The two males pinned the younger centaur, Klark, and made sure that he didn’t have anywhere else to run then tackled him under his hooves.

A bitter smile appeared on his face as Klark rolled away to escape being trampled on. Vicious lifted his front hooves and thumped them beside Klark’s head, missing him by an inch.

“You’re dead!” He snarled.

Klark rolled his rose-brown body and got on his hooves, breathing like he had been running a marathon.

“Again!” Remington thundered, smacking Klark’s head and pushing him back to where they started but he caught sight of Feror and muttered something to Vicious before turning towards him.

Feror dropped his cigarette butt and stamped it before he got another one out and lit it. Remington shifted slowly, his bones popping and his hooves tucking themselves under him until finally he was in his humanoid form.

“The last time I saw you smoking like that, the Brotherhood had lost three males to the Niberius Clan.” He said with concern written on his face.

A sad smile appeared on his face when he remembered that night. The Niberius Clan kept on attacking villages around the highlands, claiming new pastures for their use. The Brotherhood thought they were ready for the attack but the Niberius Clan were a lot and they ended up losing three good males in the heat of the battle.

“Go easy on the foals, Remington. Crippling them will do us no good.”

Remington smirked. “I don’t remember you going any easy on me.” His pulled up his v-neck t-shirt exposed the silvery scar that ran on one side of his abdomen. “Remember this? You gave it to me on the first day of training.”

Feror flashed his teeth at Remington letting the smoke escape in the process.

“Get up, you sorry excuse for a centaur!” They heard Vicious yell and they both turned to find yet another young centaur toppled to the ground. “You should not call yourself a centaur! You are a pony!”

Remington and Feror winced at the demeaning label. Centaurs were a very proud race so being called a pony was unacceptable. Feror watched as the young centaur staggered up, his gait a little rusty because of the injury on his hind hoof and shook his head lightly. One would have expected this kind of treatment throughout but the strange thing was that right after practice, Vicious was going to take the foal to the infirmary and make sure he was alright.

Feror remembered carrying Remington to the infirmary himself after his injury wouldn’t stitch itself quickly enough. That was when they discovered that Remington was not a pure-blood beast. He was a half-blood with a Fae mother.

“I don’t know why these young warriors go through this. A good example is Herman. That shifter, with all the assault and immense training he goes through each day, he leaves the grounds with a fucking smile on his face!” Remington snorted.

Feror frowned as he looked around. “Where is the shifter today?”

“I guess Commander Drake must have given him an errand to run--did you know about the commander and the human female?” Remington asked warily as he took the cigarette pack from Feror’s fingers and placed one between his lips. He lit it and inhaled deeply before puffing out the smoke.

Feror nodded bitterly. “Yep. I had a feeling something like this was bound to happen from the very beginning. Drake is not a male to stumble upon himself for a female yet he was very concerned about her. Red too was getting very edgy every time I mentioned her.”

“What do you think will happen?” Remington asked. “My guess is that the female might have a heart attack at the revelation.”

Feror tossed his cigarette butt and sighed. “Drake can handle it. He always has a plan in that thick head of his, the fucker.”

Remington chuckled. “But you look like you’re being led to the gallows. What’s up?”

Feror’s fingers tangled themselves in his hair. “I wish I was heading for the gallows. It beats what I am about to face.”

Two half-shifted buffaloes smashed their horned heads against each other just a few yards from them. Their hooves dug hard on the ground until Feror thought they were going to crack the stone slabs. Their muscles bulged and sweat came down their skins in streams as they wrestled with each other. Suddenly Malaika and Tyfera joined the two. Black, raven-like wings tore from Malaika’s back and started beating hard, sending a gale towards the two shifters while Tyfera hunched down, fur rippling on his arms and legs then dashed towards the shifters and toppled both of them to the ground.

Malaika threw her head back and laughed as her wings took her to the sky.

“Better get control of these goons before they kill each other.” Remington muttered stamping his cigarette down.

Feror grunted and pushed off the wall before the two of them made their way towards the crazed warriors.

Feror’s body tensed when he heard a familiar sound of laughter filtering across the hallway. His chest clenched hard around him as the sound settled softly inside his gut. He knew that laugh from anywhere, even if the heavens robbed him of his sight and his sense of smell, he would know who it belonged to. His entire body quaked at the realization that she was under the same roof as him after such a long time.

Feror managed to make his feet move until he found himself standing in the room where the laughter came from. Her scent hit him like a brick wall, sending his thoughts scattering in his head. She sat down on the plush sofa with her hands on her lap. She had not changed at all. Her chestnut hair came down in broad locks around her oval face, her eyes still honey-brown and glimmering with mirth. Her lips were plush and pink. They brought all the thoughts he wanted to lock away, gushing out from that secret hole!

She tilted her head to the side as she talked to her sister-in-law and chuckled away, oblivious that he was there watching her. She wore a black camilan blouse and a pair and perfectly fitting jeans together with her signature black heels. As his hungry eyes drank her in, they settled on her fingers and his heart burst in his ribs when he saw the Union ring that was there.

Bitter bile boiled up his mouth but he was momentarily interrupted when a pair of gelid blue eyes snared his. Feror watched in remorse as the large male got up and approached where he was standing.

Feror ground his teeth as he laid his eyes on the male he had not seen for a long time. Tegan, too, hadn’t changed much though Feror noticed he had added a few more tattoos on his arms and neck. His tobacco-color hair was overly long brushing slightly on his broad shoulders. He was one of the lucky males that enlarged physically after his transformation. His mouth was set in a tight line and a soft growl was making its way up his throat as he stood in front of Feror. The two females behind him got up and gasped.

“Tegan, no!” Her voice came through and Feror felt it all the way to his groin.

Tegan pulled his arm back and punched Feror across his face. Feror’s vision was momentarily impaired as he sailed to the ground. He blinked away the stars and wiped away the blood trickling down his mouth. His bottom lip was slashed open.

“Tegan stop!” Both females tried to hold Tegan back but Feror knew if the male wanted to have a go at him again, the two females wouldn’t stand in his way.

“You dare show your fucking face after what you’ve done?” Tegan bellowed. “I told you to stay away, boy! I warned you!”

“Tegan, please stop.” Feror heard the tears behind her voice as she brushed past Tegan and knelt in front of him.

“Leanor, get up now! That worthless excuse of a male does not deserve your sympathy!” Tegan ground out. “Not after what he has done!”

Leanor ignored him and tried to help Feror up but Feror brushed her warm and soft hands away then got up and stood up straight. “You can pound me all you want, Tegan but I will not ask for forgiveness for what I had done.“He growled.

That made Tegan go mad as he lunged himself on Feror and the males rolled on the floor. Someone screamed and the other pleaded that they stopped the brawl but Feror knew Tegan’s anger. The male was not going to stop until he drew blood.

A mass of punches and kicks took place. With each blow Feror was able to exert, Tegan returned it a tenth-fold! He felt his ribs crack and in inside of his mouth tear but he didn’t stop. He managed to whack Tegan on his eye. The male grunted in pain. Feror took that opportunity to punch him on his kidney and rolled above him. Feror pinned the male under him and let him have several blows to his face before his body was effortlessly pulled away. When he turned, he found Drake was holding onto to him, his arms scaled and clawed.

“Enough!” He roared.

Shancy had created an invisible wall around Tegan.

Feror turned to the whimpering females, Leanor’s face pale with sorrow and regret as she looked at both males quietly.

“I can’t help it that I love her, you shithead!” Feror roared to Tegan.

“You slept with her when you knew she had a mate! You, me and Leanor were like siblings? How could you do that to my sister!”

“Fuck you, Tegan! Fuck you!” Feror attacked the invisible wall trying to kick the fallen male then stalked out.

Tears ran down Leanor’s cheeks as she watched the two males that were supposed to mean a lot to her and to each other destroy the last string of their friendship.

“Feror…”

Feror heard Leanor’s call but he was too worked up to even create a sound thought in his head. The moment he reached outside, he called for the change and galloped away from the house as fast as he could. He wasn’t prepared to hear a set of hooves pounding the ground behind him, eating up the distance and trying to catch up. Feror gave his chaser a side glance and noticed the chestnut pelt and the female with concern and determination etched on her face. Leanor was chasing after him. Feror gritted his teeth and increased his speed but this was Leanor they were talking about. She was one of the fastest centaurs Feror knew. She had been like that ever since she was young, even before she became a full fledged centaur. Her little feet always carried her around faster than the children her age.

“Feror!” She called. “Please stop!”

Feror stopped abruptly and turned to her almost sending her crushing into him. She had to dig her hooves hard into the ground to stop herself. Tufts of grass clumped around her hooves as she tried to control her racing heart.

“What are you even doing here, Leanor?” Feror asked her trying desperately to curb down the desire to bolt again.

Her beautiful face came down into a saddened frown. “I wanted to see you. I needed to know that you were alright. You left a long time ago without even a goodbye. I missed you.”

“Bullshit!” Feror snarled, the wound on his lip opening again. “You are mated now. Whatever happens in my life now has nothing to do with you.”

“Why are you angry with me? You are the one who left!” Leanor’s eyes churned.

“I left because right after I confessed my love to you, willing to leave the Brotherhood and make a good life for you, right after a claimed your body, you got mated! Now, why would I stick around and watch the only female I have ever loved stick on another’s side instead of mine?”

“That is not fair, Feror.” She said. “I loved you too. I still do--”

Feror chuckled bitterly. She had no idea just how much he had missed her and having her in front of him was doing nothing but hurt him even more. “How is that even possible?”

“Feror, you have been in my life since I could remember. Before I met Bane, you were my first crush. I have treasured all the moments I spent you, every single one of them and I will never change them for anything. I willingly let you have me because I never thought there was a chance for my real mate to show up!”

Feror glanced at Leanor for the longest time. She had unshed tears gleaming in her eyes and he caught the slight tremor of her lips. Even though he was devastated with her being there, the last thing he wanted was to make her cry.

“Why didn’t Bane come with you?” Feror asked quietly.

“I asked him not to. I needed to talk to you, to make you understand that Tegan’s anger towards you is only because we never explained to him what happened.”

Feror didn’t want to do that now. He was angry and hurt that Tegan would not trust him after all the years they had been together. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I just hope that Bane makes you happy.”

“It matters to me because you and Tegan are brothers whether you like it or not.”

Feror cringed at that thought. “Don’t say that. It will make what happened between us very awkward.”

Leanor’s laughed shook the very foundations of Feror’s soul. How was it possible that he felt so strongly for a female who was not his mate?

He loved the way light danced in her eyes as she laughed at him. Could there ever be another female in the world that would receive even a tenth of the love he felt for her? His heart clenched mercilessly his his chest. He shifted back to his humanoid form and watched as Leanor did the same too.

“Friends?” Leanor held her hand out before him.

“I will never be your friend, Leanor.” Feror shook his head watching as Leanor’s smile faltered. “Not with all this love I feel for you.”

Sadness entered her eyes as she cleared her throat. “Feror…”

“It’s the truth.” Feror tucked his hands in his pockets and walked around her towards the house. He was much calmer and ready to face Tegan again. Speaking of the male, Feror noticed that he was standing at the patio with his mate on one side and Drake and Remington on the other. Sophia, Tegan’s mate, was muttering something to him while rubbing his arm lovingly but Feror knew they were about to go for round two with the thunderous gaze he gave him.

“You didn’t get Tegan’s permission to follow me, did you?” Feror asked cautiously.

Leanor shrugged her small shoulders. “I don’t need to anymore. I am a grown female.”

Feror sighed heavily, feeling his body tense up as he got closer to the house. He once shared laughter with Tegan but now all the shared were punches and curses. He missed him a lot but he knew his friend’s temper and it was going to be a long time until he finally came around.

Just as they got there, Abigail came rushing out from the house with tears in her eyes, sweat on her forehead and her skin ghostly white.

“Someone please help my son!” She cried grabbing Drake’s arm.

Feror frowned. “What’s happened?”

“He--he is going through his first transformation!”

“What?” The conflict was momentarily forgotten as all the males turned to her.

She nodded vigorously as tears ran down her cheeks. “He is in so much pain.”

“Remington, go and get Tyfera!” Drake commanded. “He will know how to help a fellow shifter through the transformation.”

Abigail looked puzzled for a moment. “Herman is not a shifter--he is a pure-blood centaur. I am too!” She answered.

Feror’s face paled as he looked from Abigail to Tegan. Without another word, Feror and Tegan found themselves turning towards the door.

“Get clean towels and lot of cold water. Make sure the water is freezing!” Tegan took charge naturally because he was the oldest. “You two--” He turned to Remington and Feror. “--come with me.”

Abigail lead the way in, her fingers wrapped around her apron to the point they were white. Feror was glad that for a moment, he and Tegan were on a common ground as they all went into Herman’s quarters.