Shifter - Infinite Transformation-Chapter 42: Love & Beating?

"You fought a young Forest Drake?!?" The scream escaped my throat without warning.

Fern raised an eyebrow at me. She’d never seen me scream or shout, and, honestly, I couldn’t remember the last time I screamed either. But how could I not after hearing something so exciting.

"There are Drakes in the Eserian?" My heart raced like crazy and resisted my attempts at calming it. "Where? How? When?"

"Calm down, Xavier." Fern chuckled, grimacing as she looked down at her bloodied clothes. She motioned me to turn around and scowled a little when I stared at her like a deer caught in glowstone light.

I clicked my tongue in jest, which earned me a wink. Then I was told to turn around while Fern changed her clothes. The sound of her armor clattering to the ground stirred something within me. My lower body, precisely. Imagination ran wild, and my heart drummed even louder than before.

"You can turn back." She whispered in a sultry voice that made me swallow hard.

Trying to keep my heart in check, I turned to see Fern in a nightgown. We hadn’t done all that much in the last few days and kept it civil. Other than a few kisses that fanned the fire burning in my heart and a little bit of cuddling, we held ourselves together.

But how was I supposed to keep holding back when Fern looked like that? Her nightgown was see-through in most spots. Woven from a kind of silk I had never seen before, I could only stare at her barely covered figure, my crotch ready to pitch a tent. Her intimate areas were covered in foliage I’d never seen before either. It fit perfectly with the forestry nightgown, yet I couldn’t help but feel a little odd.

All those clothes made from the forest and its inhabitants were taking a little time to get used to.

However, that didn’t mean they were ugly. Quite the contrary, actually. I had never seen clothes as beautiful as the sets crafted by the fae. They were master artisans and would earn a fortune from the empire’s merchants. Alas, they were enemies and would never trade goods. Before that happened, either the Forea Alliance or the Zetrian Empire would have to fall.

"Don’t distract me." I grunted, all while savoring the sight before me.

"Distract you? I don’t know what you’re talking about." Fern’s smile was mind-boggling, and so was her physique as she walked over to the bed, hips swaying.

"You evil little fae." I snickered, closing the distance between us in an instant and bent down to kiss her on the lips.

She reciprocated the kiss, her arms coiled around my neck. Fern let out a gasp when our lips parted and pulled me closer to the bed, but I managed to resist.

"Tell me about the Forest Drake. What happened?" I asked even when I felt my willpower fade.

Fern’s lips met mine again. A fight ensued, which neither of us lost, but I felt my mind turn into mush as her golden eyes met mine.

"Nothing much happened. Honestly, it was not even a real Forest Drake. We would have been killed if it had been a true Drake" She sighed, slumping back into the bed’s embrace, her arms wide open, waiting for me to join as well. "Maer reported an anomalous evolution. The sixth in the last two days. This time, however, a Greenhorn Salamander mutated during his evolution. It somehow consumed the blood of a much higher-ranked monstrosity when it was on the verge of breaking through."

She turned onto her back when I didn’t jump into bed right away. "The forest’s Essence contributes to all the changes happening, but they’re only part of it. Something is happening, and we were ordered to find out."

"I guess you haven’t found out what’s causing all those evolutions?" I asked, slipping out of my clothes in one smooth motion. The sound of the swords and my other belongings clattering to the ground caught Fern’s attention. She turned beet red, her eyes lingering on my lower body.

"Oh my~" She exclaimed, eyes growing wide.

Her reaction was not as intense as I expected. Fern appeared shyer at first glance. Then again, silent waters were oftentimes the deepest.

The golden sea in her eyes shimmered in lust, while her features were caught between looking shy and excited.

Fern’s body turned red, which only made her more alluring. She was not the most experienced lover, but that only made her actions more lovable.

"You are amazing." I joined Fern in bed, our earlier conversation completely forgotten.

What exactly did we talk about earlier?

***

The next day, I felt like a different person. Fern was snuggled against me, her nightgown torn from last night’s activities.

Life in the Eserian Grove was really something. None of the things that were happening had been on my wish list, yet I couldn’t really complain, could I? Life was great.

"Is someone here?" A familiar voice rang from outside the hut.

Fern’s eyes snapped open at once. She leaped to her feet and rushed around in search of more suitable clothes.

"Clove? What’s going on?" She asked while putting on her combat wear – the same she had forgotten to clean the night before. "Did the Behemoth make a move? Or did Maer report another anomalous evolution?"

"It’s none of that." The familiar voice called out. "I was actually searching for your mate."

Fern stopped dead in her tracks, her tone low – threatening. "What do you want from Xavier?"

"Calm down a little, will you?" Clove chuckled. "Can I come inside or do you want to go for another round with your mate?"

"Shut it." Fern snapped back before resuming changing her clothes. She turned to me with an apologetic look. I dismissed her with a wave, already putting on my pants when the owner of the familiar voice stepped inside.

It was the young wolf-man from the day before. He lifted his head, his nostrils flaring.

"As expected. He is not human." Clove nodded energetically, "But he is no eunuch either. Good, good. He smells like a fae and loves like one."

He then turned to look at Fern and then at me, his smile only growing wider. "I wonder if you will have as many mates as a real fae, or if you will fall short. Maybe you won’t even be able to satisfy little Fern now that you plucked her flower."

Clove let out a laugh even as Fern growled at him.

"What do you want?" She hissed, and the hut trembled as she stepped forward.

The emerald glow beneath her skin intensified, which only resulted in a gleeful smile from Clove.

"You still don’t know how to take a joke, little Fern." He sighed exaggeratedly. A fraction of a second later, he pointed at me. "I am here for your loverboy. I was curious about his talents. Other than being able to satisfy you, of course."

What an obnoxious guy. I liked him a lot more the day before. His attitude had actually been likable.

"So, what do you want me to do? Use Shift to satisfy your curiosity?" I asked back, unable to fully conceal the hostility I felt.

"Yes, but no." Clove gestured behind him to the entrance. "While I can smell how well you use one of your blades, I was more interested in your steel swords. If you can wield them half as well as you wield your little friend down there, I’d be impressed."

He spun around, ready to walk out. "Meet me at the training grounds. Don’t disappoint me, loverboy."

That said, Clove stepped out of the hut, leaving me alone with Fern.

"What a piece of shit." I blurted out, while my mate sighed deeply.

"He is a jerk," She agreed, but there was more to it.

"But?"

"But he usually needs quite some time before he starts joking around like that." Fern looked at the entrance with a thoughtful expression. "He doesn’t warm up to others that quickly. And, honestly, usually he only warms up to those much older than him. I’m probably the youngest of his victims, and even I am several years older."

I could summarize that real quick: Clove didn’t have any friends. He was a pain in the ass and only liked those stronger than him. I... was not stronger though.

"How old is he exactly?"

"15."

"And he wants to be friends with me? So he acts like... that?" I couldn’t quite believe it.

"I don’t want to lie to you." Fern shrugged. "I have no idea what’s going on in his mind. But for him to act like that is quite unusual. He’s not a bad kid, just a lonely one. In the Eserian Grove, he is the only one of his kind."

I felt like there was more to it, but I let it be. I finished putting on my clothes and prepared myself for a beating, for I did not believe for one second that Clove wouldn’t beat the living shit out of me.

As young as Clove was, he was definitely stronger than I was.

"As long as he doesn’t kill me, I will be fine." I joked, but the way Fern looked at me told a story I didn’t want to be part of.

"I’ll search for Elder Taria." She said instead and rushed out of the hut, her words hanging in the air. "Maybe the Dryads as well. The more the better."

Great. Was that how I was going to die?

Killed by a fae after spending my first night with Fern? Honestly, I could imagine worse. Then again, I didn’t plan to pass away anytime soon in the first place.