Feral

Chapter 33

And with each passing second, Adrian could feel fingers dance over his body before lingering on his mark. Hell, he could've sworn Darius chuckled over their link as he shivered in response.

Saliva flooded his mouth, breath hitching occasionally as it slowly picked up. His muscles strained as the young raptor struggled against his instincts and against the last remnants of his rut.

Even their teacher hummed before clicking his tongue in slight distaste. "Honestly, I think Darius' mind was muddled by his own rut when he came up with this idea. Subjecting someone to this strain when they're still Feral is dangerous at the very least."

Levi's head snapped up before muttering a muffled "Shit. Even I didn't think of that-" Glancing at his mate beside him, who was visibly sweating, perspiration trickling down Adrian's temples.

Actually, the elephant could almost swear he heard Adrian's molars grind together in an attempt to control himself. To not give into his instincts and shift, seeking out one of his mates.

The African Elephant had been with his family until exile and even then, he had been among peers. But Adrian had been wild, living on his own for his entire life.

For most of his life, Adrian had listened to his instincts whenever they had triggered. Had reacted on reflex, had never needed to pause and ponder about social rules.

To strain his instincts to this point, to deny what his very being was screaming to do, was borderline cruel.

Adrian's ability to adapt and learn had made the young Feral seem more than capable. Had the entire compound treat him as if he had spent several years there.

Hell, even Levi and Darius had been talking about life outside the compound with Adrian! Neither of them had even realized that Adrian hadn't really settled in compared to the others.

And now this young feral was struggling, shifted teeth grinding against one another as Adrian fought against his instincts.

For him, this felt like a test. To see if he was capable enough to control himself when needed, when it would be hard to do.

Adrian already knew what would likely happen if he were to shift and lose control. To ensure the safety of the other students, he'd be sedated and brought back to isolation.

It wasn't the teachers intention to use this as a punishment and Adrian realized that. They weren't punishing him by putting him in isolation when he was out of control.

They were protecting those who couldn't defend themselves against a predator of his size in the only way possible.

And even with that knowledge, he could start to feel feathers sifting through his hair while he struggled. His jaw aching with soreness from clenching his teeth together in an attempt to contain his shift.

Much to his frustration and disappointment, his shift retaliated with such force, Adrian shifted on the spot.

His clothes ripped and flung through the air while Adrian heard the teacher up front sigh, making him lower his head shamefully.

The entire room was messed up. Chairs and benches had been knocked over and Adrian's tail had managed to smack the bookcase, causing it to topple over and spill all the precious books over the floor.

I'm bad.

"You're not bad." Levi countered, making Adrian's sulking raptor slightly look up. The elephant slowly approached, hands held out in the open and a warm yet sad smile on his face.

"Boo. You're not bad. In fact, you're so good. So so good." Levi assured as Adrian's shift remained fully in control. Releasing a sad rumble before awkwardly scratching at its face, shaking out their feathers.

"If I was good, I would've controlled myself. Yet I can't even do something as simple as that."

"But you are good. Such a good boy, the best boy. Come here baby." Levi coed, sitting down and patting his lap. Adrian's raptor tilted its head, observing Levi for a moment and completely ignoring the teacher on the other end of the room, whom was talking softly with someone at the door.

The raptor took a hesitant step forwards and when nothing bad happened, a few more until it reluctantly laid down. Eying Levi warily for a moment before nuzzling closer.

"There you are." Levi coed, gently scratching through Adrian's feathers until a content cooing rumbled through his throat. "Such a good boy. And such a gorgeous shift. Both of you are so good."

The beast trilled happily, allowing Levi to guide its head to the man's lap. With each gentle pat and stroke, Adrian could feel his shift relax. Tension slipping from its body as it eagerly shifted closer, nearly enveloping Levi with their feathers.

"You don't even realize how good both of you are. You are so smart and so good at adapting, everyone around you forgets that you're extremely new to this." Levi crooned, fingers preening through Adrian's feathers as the raptor let out a soft chirp.

It was an infantile sound, one he hadn't produced in a long while. But his shift craved for affection and reassurance from its mates.

A soft sound at the door made Adrian's raptor offer a wary hiss, only relaxing when it realized Darius stood at the door. When their eyes locked, the man approached quickly, dropping to his knees beside Levi and Adrian.

"I'm sorry baby. I, it's not an excuse but I forgot. I forgot you've only been here for a few months after a lifetime of feral instincts." Darius confessed remorsefully, leaning down to scatter a few gentle kisses over Adrian's face.

Adrian inhaled deeply, feeling the tension in his stomach slowly relax as the soothing pheromones of his mates enveloped him.

He felt bad for ruining their mood, hell he could even smell that Darius hadn't found relief after teasing them.

"How could I?" Darius asked, genuinely distraught at the idea. "The second Levi contacted me, the second I felt your distress, I felt and still feel horrible for doing this to you."

"You didn't-"

"I did!" Darius snarled before letting out a low breath as Levi patted him on the shoulder. "Sure I meant it to be a tease but I was the one who forgot-"

Levi pressed a finger against Darius' lips, halting his words. "We all forgot." The elephant reminded, looking at the teacher in the corner of the room. "If you want to blame someone, it should be shared with everyone but Adrian."

They all remained in silence for a bit while Adrian's raptor slowly relaxed further, now enjoying the attention of both his mates.

Adrian accepted the multiple apologies he received, confused as to why nobody blamed him. He was the one who lost control after all.

Yet seeing the distress in his mates, Adrian kept that to himself, knowing that saying it aloud would only stress his mates further.

"So... I'm a good chicken?" He teased instead, relieved when both Levi and Darius snorted in unison.

"The best chicken." They echoed, making Adrian's raptor trill happily and nuzzle closer to them. The mood might have changed from amorous to distressed but the young raptor was more than grateful for the comfort he was receiving.

Levi grinned as if sensing his thoughts before patting Adrian on his flank. "Let's get our chicken friends out for a run to relieve some of that built in stress, shall we? We haven't really interacted with each others' shift all that much anyways."

Adrian slowly pushed on his feet, shaking out his feathers before heading to the door. He didn't feel interested in shifting and after a bit of squirming and flapping his feathered arms, he managed to squeeze through the door.

And hearing the soft laughter of his mates fill the room behind him, made Adrian feel proud of himself.

I'm a good chicken.