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  DARKWOLFE

  A Medieval Romance

  Book Five in the de Wolfe Pack Series

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  © Copyright 2017 by Kathryn Le Veque Novels, Inc. DBA Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

  Kindle Edition

  Text by Kathryn Le Veque

  Cover by Kim Killion

  Reproduction of any kind except where it pertains to short quotes in relation to advertising or promotion is strictly prohibited.

  All Rights Reserved.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  License Notes

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or borrow it, or it was not purchased for you and given as a gift for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. If this book was purchased on any unauthorized platform, then it is a pirated and/or unauthorized copy and violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Do not purchase or accept pirated copies. Thank you for respecting the author’s hard work.

  Kathryn Le Veque Novels

  Medieval Romance:

  The de Russe Legacy:

  The White Lord of Wellesbourne

  The Dark One: Dark Knight

  Beast

  Lord of War: Black Angel

  The Iron Knight

  The de Lohr Dynasty:

  While Angels Slept (Lords of East Anglia)

  Rise of the Defender

  Steelheart

  Spectre of the Sword

  Archangel

  Unending Love

  Shadowmoor

  Silversword

  Great Lords of le Bec:

  Great Protector

  To the Lady Born (House of de Royans)

  Lord of Winter (Lords of de Royans)

  Lords of Eire:

  The Darkland (Master Knights of Connaught)

  Black Sword

  Echoes of Ancient Dreams (time travel)

  De Wolfe Pack Series:

  The Wolfe

  Serpent

  Scorpion (Saxon Lords of Hage – Also related to The Questing)

  The Lion of the North

  Walls of Babylon

  Dark Destroyer

  Nighthawk

  Warwolfe

  ShadowWolfe

  DarkWolfe

  Ancient Kings of Anglecynn:

  The Whispering Night

  Netherworld

  Battle Lords of de Velt:

  The Dark Lord

  Devil’s Dominion

  Reign of the House of de Winter:

  Lespada

  Swords and Shields (also related to The Questing, While Angels Slept)

  De Reyne Domination:

  Guardian of Darkness

  The Fallen One (part of Dragonblade Series)

  With Dreams Only of You

  Unrelated characters or family groups:

  The Gorgon (Also related to Lords of Thunder)

  The Warrior Poet (St. John and de Gare)

  Tender is the Knight (House of d’Vant)

  Lord of Light

  The Questing (related to The Dark Lord, Scorpion)

  The Legend (House of Summerlin)

  The Dragonblade Series: (Great Marcher Lords of de Lara)

  Dragonblade

  Island of Glass (House of St. Hever)

  The Savage Curtain (Lords of Pembury)

  The Fallen One (De Reyne Domination)

  Fragments of Grace (House of St. Hever)

  Lord of the Shadows

  Queen of Lost Stars (House of St. Hever)

  Lords of Thunder: The de Shera Brotherhood Trilogy

  The Thunder Lord

  The Thunder Warrior

  The Thunder Knight

  The Great Knights of de Moray:

  Shield of Kronos

  Highland Warriors of Munro:

  The Red Lion

  Deep Into Darkness

  The House of Ashbourne:

  Upon a Midnight Dream

  The House of D’Aurilliac:

  Valiant Chaos

  The House of De Nerra:

  The Falls of Erith

  Vestiges of Valor

  The House of De Dere:

  Of Love and Legend

  Time Travel Romance: (Saxon Lords of Hage)

  The Crusader

  Kingdom Come

  Contemporary Romance:

  Kathlyn Trent/Marcus Burton Series:

  Valley of the Shadow

  The Eden Factor

  Canyon of the Sphinx

  The American Heroes Series:

  The Lucius Robe

  Fires of Autumn

  Evenshade

  Sea of Dreams

  Purgatory

  Other Contemporary Romance:

  Lady of Heaven

  Darkling, I Listen

  In the Dreaming Hour

  Sons of Poseidon:

  The Immortal Sea

  Multi-author Collections/Anthologies:

  Sirens of the Northern Seas (Viking romance)

  Kindle Worlds (Kathryn Le Veque World of de Wolfe Pack):

  River’s End

  The Wedding Fountain (Bella Andre’s Kindle World)

  Note: All Kathryn’s novels are designed to be read as stand-alones, although many have cross-over characters or cross-over family groups. Novels that are grouped together have related characters or family groups.

  Series are clearly marked. All series contain the same characters or family groups except the American Heroes Series, which is an anthology with unrelated characters.

  There is NO particular chronological order for any of the novels because they can all be read as stand-alones, even the series.

  For more information, find it in A Reader’s Guide to the Medieval World of Le Veque.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Kathryn Le Veque Novels

  Author’s Notes

  The next generation Wolfe Pack

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Epilogue

  The de Wolfe Pack Series

  About Kathryn Le Veque

  Excerpt from ShadowWolfe

  Author’s Notes

  Finally, the last of the older sons of William and Jordan has his story!

  Much as Scott in ShadowWolfe went through an evolution, so does his twin, Troy. If this is your first de Wolfe Pack novel, then know this book is a stand-alone just like all of them, but after you read this one, make sure to read ShadowWolfe, Nighthawk, and The Wolfe to get a feel for these powerful English knights. The older sons of William and Jordan are Scott, Troy, and Patrick – Scott and Troy are twins and Patrick is not quite two years younger than the twins, so they are a trio of very powerful, very closely-knit brothers and it has been an absolute pleasure to tell their stories.

  What’s cool about this particular story is that we get a glimpse at James de Wolfe, the fourth br
other, who ends up dying in Wales about ten years after this book is set. Although I would love to do a story for James, I can’t bring myself to do it, knowing that the man dies young. I can’t give him a wonderful story and a happily ever after only to know that he is destined to lose it all in Wales, but this is a nice glimpse into the man he is. He’s very much his mother’s son, gentle and kind. There’s even a scene in the book where he discusses the future, not knowing of course that he won’t be around to see it. It’s sort of heartbreaking. I’m starting to wish I hadn’t killed him off so young! Boo me! But never say never – you just never know what will happen in the world of de Wolfe Pack…

  On to more pleasant things. A few old friends make an appearance in this book – William de Wolfe, Paris de Norville, Kieran Hage, Michael de Bocage, and a few others you will recognize. You will also get to meet Sable de Moray de Shera, who married Cassius de Shera at the very end of The Thunder Knight. If you’ve read the Lords of Thunder series, then you know that Cassius is Maximus de Shera’s bastard son, a handsome and noble lad with a speech impediment who marries Sable de Moray, Bose de Moray’s (THE GORGON) daughter. Sable is not only the daughter of Bose and Summer, but she’s the granddaughter of Garret and Lyssa from SHIELD OF KRONOS. She has her grandmother’s beauty and her mother’s sweetness. Lastly, you’ll catch a glimpse of Brodie de Reyne, the grandson of Creed and Carrington de Reyne (GUARDIAN OF DARKNESS). Brodie is a prime candidate for his own story at some point.

  Something that’s noteworthy – cotton is mentioned in this novel, briefly. At this point in the High Middle Ages, cotton was around but not widely used. It was thought to have been brought back with the Crusaders returning from the Holy Land. In fact, it seemed as if no one really knew where cotton came from because it wasn’t grown in England during the period when this book is set. A writer in 1350 commented that cotton was grown in India by plants that had tiny lambs at the end of its branches, so cotton was from animals that were “plant-borne”. Weird.

  And what can I say about Troy and Rhoswyn, our hero and heroine? Only that I think you’re going to love them both. Troy is quick to temper, but he has his mother’s gentle streak in him, making it an odd combination. He’s aggressive, but oh-so-patient with Rhoswyn, whose life is in upheaval since meeting him. She’s a fierce lass but she also has the capacity for understanding and compassion. It was a joy to get to know her and I think she’s more than worthy for a wife of de Wolfe.

  Read and enjoy!

  Hugs,

  Kathryn

  The next generation Wolfe Pack

  (Issue = children)

  Scott (Wife #1 Lady Athena de Norville, has issue. Wife #2, Lady Avrielle Huntley du Rennic, has issue.)

  Troy (Wife #1 Lady Helene de Norville, has issue. Wife #2 Lady Rhoswyn Kerr, has issue.)

  Patrick (married to Lady Brighton de Favereux, has issue)

  James – Killed in Wales June 1282 (married to Lady Rose Hage, has issue)

  Katheryn (James’ twin) Married Sir Alec Hage, has issue

  Evelyn (married to Sir Hector de Norville, has issue)

  Baby de Wolfe – died same day. Christened Madeleine.

  Edward (married to Lady Cassiopeia de Norville, has issue)

  Thomas

  Penelope (married to Bhrodi de Shera, hereditary King of Anglesey and Earl of Coventry, has issue)

  Kieran and Jemma Scott Hage

  Mary Alys (adopted) married, has issue

  Baby Hage, died same day. Christened Bridget.

  Alec (married to Lady Katheryn de Wolfe, has issue)

  Christian (died Holy Land 1269 A.D.) no issue

  Moira (married to Sir Apollo de Norville, has issue)

  Kevin (married to Lady Annavieve de Ferrers, has issue)

  Rose (widow of Sir James de Wolfe, has issue)

  Nathaniel

  Paris and Caladora Scott de Norville

  Hector (married to Lady Evelyn de Wolfe, has issue)

  Apollo (married to Lady Moira Hage, has issue)

  Helene (married to Sir Troy de Wolfe, has issue)

  Athena (married to Sir Scott de Wolfe, has issue)

  Adonis

  Cassiopeia (married to Sir Edward de Wolfe, has issue)

  The Darkest Wolfe

  From the Chronicles of Brother Audric, 13th c.

  Discovered in Jedburgh Abbey’s archive

  Original text:

  Whyth th blud uf Saracyns, hs vane,

  Premier uf th Wolfe.

  Ayes uf gilt, hare uf night,

  A hart uf stel.

  He is bekum Legynd.

  Translation:

  With the blood of Saracens in his veins,

  The boldest border Wolfe.

  Eyes of gold, hair of black,

  And a heart of steel.

  He is become legend.

  PROLOGUE

  April, 1270 A.D.

  Castle Questing, Northumberland

  She was cold to the touch.

  She was also wet, wrapped in a blanket with the twins, who were also cold and wet to the touch. But it was more than the coldness and the dampness of their flesh; it was also the color. Gray, like the color of stone. There was an odd quality to it as well. It wasn’t the flesh he knew. It wasn’t the warmth of Helene as he knew it, and the faces of his children weren’t the lively and smiling faces he recognized.

  Acacia was the older twin by several minutes. Her face was pressed into her mother’s torso and he couldn’t see it, but Arista – his blond, vivacious Arista – was lying next to her sister, her sightless eyes half-lidded, staring up at the ceiling. As he stood there staring at them, his father reached down and closed the little girl’s eyelids.

  “I am so sorry, my son,” William de Wolfe whispered hoarsely, tears trickling from his one good eye. The other eye, patched, was something he’d lost years ago. “It was an accident. A terrible, terrible accident…”

  His handsome face was lined with the fatigue of sorrow, something Troy had never before seen on his father. At least, not like this. Perhaps that, more than anything else, disturbed him because it conveyed to him the hopelessness and grief of the situation almost more than anything else could. If his father was in tears, and the man was the strongest man he knew, then surely the situation was as horrible as Troy’s disbelieving eyes were telling him.

  Dead.

  They were all dead.

  An odd buzzing filled Troy’s head. It made the room swim. When he looked at the bodies of his wife and two younger children, his stomach started to lurch. Behind him, on the floor and lying on wet blankets, were the wife and two younger children of his twin brother, Scott. He’d seen the three of them when he’d first entered the stale, warm solar. In fact, he’d seen them before he ever saw his own family. Scott’s wife was lying on her side as if she were sleeping, her children lying right next to her as if they, too, were sleeping. But they were all wet, much as his wife and children were. They were all wet because not three hours earlier, they’d all drowned.

  Troy’s knees buckled.

  “God,” he groaned, gripping the nearest chair as if it could support his substantial weight. Hands were holding him steady, the hands of his parents, but he didn’t notice. All he could see was the lifelessness before him. “Nay… it cannot be. Tell me this is not true.”

  William had a tight grip on his faltering son. “It is true,” he said, his voice hoarse as his emotions got the better of him. “It was purely by accident, Troy. No one is to blame.”

  Troy still couldn’t grasp the situation, not entirely. “What happened?”

  He spoke harshly and William glanced at his weeping wife before continuing. This was such a horrific moment for all of them, the death of children and grandchildren, and it was only by God’s good grace that William was able to keep his composure. He’d been the first to see the bodies of his daughters-in-law and grandchildren when they’d been brought back by their escort of soldiers, men who were weeping even as they told him the appa
lling story of what had happened.

  As William listened in horror, he noticed that all of the soldiers were soaking wet to varied degrees. They’d all tried to jump in to save the women and children after the bridge collapsed and the carriage was washed down the rain-swollen creek, but their efforts had been futile.

  Now, the dead had been returned home.

  Therefore, William was prepared for Troy’s question, a father demanding the reasons for the precious lives of his family that had been suddenly ended. The husband who was now a widower. William could hear the anguish in Troy’s tone and it cut him to the bone.

  “Your wife and her sister were traveling this morning to see Patrick and Bridey’s new son,” he said, trying to remain calm. “They have been planning it for weeks. You know this, Troy. That is why your wife came to stay with us last week and brought the children, so she could travel with her sister to see your brother’s newest son.”

  Troy wasn’t getting the answer he wanted; his big body tensed. “I know,” he rumbled. “Stop telling me what I already know. Tell me what I don’t know, Papa.”

  William sighed faintly, feeling his son’s pain through his words, through his tone. It was only growing worse. “They wanted to take the enclosed carriage because of the children and the cold weather, so I permitted it,” he said. “Scott was here this morning before they departed and he assigned a contingent of soldiers to go with them, so they were well protected.”

  Troy was staring at the gray face of his dead wife, his hands quivering violently where they held on to the chair. “Scott?” he repeated. “Where is he? Did he go with them? Oh… my sweet God, Papa, tell me that Scott did not meet the same fate.”

  William shook his head. “Nay, he did not,” he said quickly. “He is fine. I sent him on business to Northwood Castle this morning after the women left because I needed him to relay counsel to the commanders of Northwood. He was there the entire time.”

  Troy didn’t know if he felt better or worse about that. His brother was safe, his wife was dead… he was being torn into a thousand pieces of pain, in all directions. “Then he does not know?”

  “Not yet,” William said quietly. “I have sent for him. Troy, we did all we could to protect the women as they went on their journey, but there are things we could not have known. All of the rain we have had this spring has made the creeks and rivers very swollen, but that was not a concern where it should have been because…”