WolfeLord: de Wolfe Pack Generations Read online

  WOLFELORD

  A Medieval Romance

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  Part of the de Wolfe Pack Generations Series

  © Copyright 2021 by Kathryn Le Veque Novels, Inc.

  Kindle Edition

  Text by Kathryn Le Veque

  Cover by Kim Killion

  Edited by Scott Moreland

  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:

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  It’s William de Wolfe’s (The Wolfe) eldest grandchild and namesake, William “Will” de Wolfe in an unconventional romance that is going to break your heart… and then put the pieces back together again.

  Welcome to the greatest de Wolfe Pack generation!

  William “Will” de Wolfe has the weight of the entire de Wolfe empire weighing on him. Perfection is key. Living up to the grandfather he was named for has been something he’s had to deal with his entire life. But Will is strong, noble, true, and powerful… everything a man named William de Wolfe should be.

  Except he’s living through a personal tragedy no man should have to live through.

  Will was very young when he married his wife, Lily de Lohr. As the great-granddaughter of Christopher de Lohr, the marriage forever linked the Houses of de Wolfe and de Lohr. The children born of the marriage are considered to have some of the finest bloodlines in England. But tragedy strikes when pregnant Lily is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

  And she wants to pick her husband’s next wife.

  More than that, she wants him to fall in love with her.

  When his dying wife plays matchmaker, how successful can the relationship be between Will and Adria de Geld, the daughter of a de Lohr ally? Lily is determined that Adria should replace her in Will’s heart and in his bed, something Adria is reluctant to do but she cannot help but feel the attraction to the handsome, tortured knight. She soon finds out that his torment is not only because of his dying wife, but because of a terrible secret that Lily hides. Will only found out by accident and it is that, more than anything, tearing him to pieces.

  A terrible secret that could tear apart two of England’s greatest families.

  Can Adria and Will’s love take flight in spite of the dire circumstances? Or will Will’s torment overshadow a truly gifted, intelligent, and beautiful woman who has managed to fall in love with him?

  De Wolfe Pack Generations/ Grandsons of de Wolfe series:

  WolfeHeart (Markus de Wolfe)

  WolfeStrike (Thomas “Tor” de Wolfe)

  WolfeSword (Cassius de Wolfe)

  WolfeBlade (Andreas de Wolfe)

  WolfeLord (William “Will” de Wolfe)

  WolfeShield (Ronan de Wolfe) (2022)

  De Wolfe Pack Generations

  The grandsons of William de Wolfe are referred to as “The de Wolfe Cubs”. There are more than forty of them, both biological and adopted, and each young man is sworn to his powerful and rich legacy. When each grandson comes of age and is knighted, he tattoos the de Wolfe standard onto some part of his body. It is a rite of passage and it is that mark that links these young men together more than blood.

  More than brotherhood.

  It is the de Wolfe birthright.

  The de Wolfe Pack standard is meant to be worn with honor, with pride, and with resilience, for there is no more recognizable standard in Medieval England. To shame the Pack is to have the tattoo removed, never to be regained.

  This is their world.

  Welcome to the Cub Generation.

  De Wolfe Motto: Fortis in arduis

  Strength in times of trouble

  Author’s Note

  Welcome to Will’s story!

  I thought it would be fun in the beginning to catch a glimpse of Will’s mother, Athena de Norville. If you recall, she was Scott de Wolfe’s first wife (ShadowWolfe). I don’t want to give too much away for those of you who haven’t read the book yet, but Athena and her sister, Helene, have been key figures (though we never meet them) in several de Wolfe novels. Though we haven’t really met Helene in full, you’ll get the chance to meet Athena. As my mother would say, she’s a pistol…

  It was actually quite difficult to write about Athena because she made a magnificent heroine. You’ll see what I mean when you read the prologue. Since I wrote ShadowWolfe and DarkWolfe well before this book, we already know her ending, but to see her alive like this is kind of a punch to the gut. But listen to what she says to her father… and how unique she is… and you’ll understand better why things happened the way they did at the end of her life. You’ll see why her departure left such grief in its wake and why Paris never stopped talking about her and her sister, up until the end of his life.

  Now, on to the story –

  This book discusses a serious medical condition for a pregnant woman, something that would have been deadly during this time – placenta abruption. That basically means the placenta pulls away from the uterine wall. Nowadays, it can be diagnosed and the survival rate for mother and child are excellent (which is a good thing because I had it with my second child), but in Medieval times, there was no way to treat such a thing. The signs were there, but nothing could be done, and it was always invariably deadly. A forerunner of a stethoscope is mentioned in this tale, but note that the “official” discovery of that instrument didn’t happen until 1816. That’s not to say that something similar wasn’t used as far back as the Greeks when the practice of medicine began in earnest.

  Now, some less heavy notes about this tale. Chris de Lohr appears, the grandson of Christopher de Lohr through his eldest son, Curtis. I need to make some family dynamics clear here – Chris appears in ShadowWolfe in 1281 A.D. and then makes another appearance in both A Wolfe Among Dragons in 1287 A.D. and The Red Lion in 1288 A.D. I was never clear on Chris de Lohr’s family – some appear in some books, while still others appear in other books, so to be clear on Chris’ family, he has six sons and one daughter.

  Chris’ wife was born Alys Kaedia de Titouan, a Welshwoman, and goes by Kaedia. She was mentioned in A Wolfe Among Dragons. What wasn’t mentioned was the family tradition for the women in the family to have English and Welsh names and then go by the Welsh name. Lily breaks the mold a little, not going by her Welsh name, but once Chris de Lohr married into a Welsh family, things became a little complicated. I’m not sure how thrilled Christopher would have been about Chris infiltrating the Welsh bloodlines, but I’d lik
e to think he would have been tolerant. I never really made all of this clear in the books where Chris appears, so now is the time to avoid reader confusion.

  But I digress.

  Our first mention of Will de Wolfe comes in Sword and Shields. That book was written several years ago and, at the time, I had no plans to ever write Will’s book, so there are some slight continuity issues between Swords and Shields and WolfeLord. Will also made a brief appearance in ShadowWolfe, and that’s the book I used for accuracy in this book – mostly how Will married Lily de Lohr very early in life (she was 16 when he married her). He did marry her, but now we find out how that marriage actually went.

  Swords and Shields really didn’t fit into what I wanted for Will several years down the road – so the years of his marriage to Adria are a little “off”. Not terribly, but a little. If I hadn’t mentioned it, you probably wouldn’t have even noticed. I desperately wanted to fit William de Wolfe, however briefly, into this novel, and he wasn’t alive in 1300 when Swords and Shields was set. So – don’t mind me. With the (literally) thousands of characters and timelines and worlds I have created, I have been known to screw up family ties and timelines on occasion but, in this case, it’s deliberate. Let’s just call it creative license!

  The usual pronunciation guide:

  Unusually, I don’t think there are any funky names that need clarification except for the heroine – her name is Adria. Basically, pronounced like Adrian without the “n” – so:

  Ā-dree-uh (Long “A”)

  And with that, I think I’ve covered everything, so I hope you enjoy the rather heavy, beautiful, and emotional tale of WolfeLord!

  Hugs,

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  De Wolfe Pack Generations

  Author’s Note

  Prologue: My Moon and Stars

  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

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue: My Moon and Stars Forever

  The parents, children, and grandchildren of de Wolfe

  Holdings and Titles of the House of de Wolfe and close allies as of 1293 A.D.

  Kathryn Le Veque Novels

  About Kathryn Le Veque

  PROLOGUE

  MY MOON AND STARS

  Castle Questing

  1255 A.D.

  “Does it fit?”

  She twirled the ring around her finger, a golden band with an unusual setting. It was set with a moonstone, reputedly from ancient Rome, in a star-shaped mount. Both the moonstone and the star-shaped mount had meaning to them.

  “It does. It’s so beautiful, but you know I cannot wear it until you speak with my father.”

  The softly voiced statement came from an elegant woman with hair the color of starlight. At least, that’s what her lover had always said – hair that glittered like the brightest star, a brilliant blend of red and gold. That’s why he’d given her the moonstone set in the star mount. You are my moon and stars, he told her. In fact, that’s what he’d had inscribed on the inside of the band – my moon and stars.

  It was a ring as magnificent as its owner.

  That’s what Scott de Wolfe thought, anyway.

  He’d thought that way since the day he realized Athena de Norville was something special.

  He wasn’t exactly sure when that was. A couple of years ago, at least. It was true that he was a few years older than she was, but not too many in the grand scheme of things. They were both adults. They knew their mind and their hearts. But now, they were facing a very real adult problem.

  Scott pointed to the great hall, across the bailey from the stables they were sitting in.

  “My brother just had to marry your sister for the exact same reason,” he hissed. “Your father, my father, Uncle Kieran… they did unspeakable things to him. God only knows what they are going to do to me.”

  Athena smiled faintly, looking at her big, strong, handsome lover. He was a de Wolfe, from one of the finest families in the north. More than that, he was his father’s heir, which meant he’d inherit the great de Wolfe empire. She put a hand on her belly. So would the child she carried.

  She was positive it was male.

  “I do not know how much longer I can hide my condition,” she said, standing up and rubbing her belly. “Helene is smaller than I am, so hers was quickly apparent, but me… I’ve got the legs of a deer and a long body, so I can hide it better, but not for much longer. Sooner or later, my mother is going to know and when she does, she will tell my father.”

  Scott grunted, wiping a hand over his face. In the distance, they could hear music and laughter from the wedding feast that was going on this night. A cold, clear night with a million stars in the sky presiding over the very happy union of two great families.

  “Come here, Tee,” he said softly.

  “Tee” was her nickname, spoken softly and gently. Athena moved in his direction, taking his outstretched hand. He pulled her against him, his face level with her belly. She was wearing a garment that was nipped under the breasts so the fabric draped over her torso. Nothing to bind. He put a hand on her belly, feeling the firm roundness beneath. He wrapped his arms around her, planting his face in her stomach and kissing it sweetly.

  “I know I should have told your father sooner,” he whispered. “I should have told him as soon as you told me, but then I was sent off to London and I spent longer than I had anticipated there. I had hoped to tell him before the babe was still visible, but five months in London prevented that.”

  Athena ran her hands through his dark blond hair. “Then you must do it now,” she said. “I know we have both been waiting for the right time and that time is now, now while he’s still drunk with happiness over Helene and Troy’s marriage. Mayhap he will not react so poorly. Besides, I want to wear my ring tonight.”

  Scott sighed heavily. “We shall see,” he said. “He showed up this morning and wanted to kill Troy, you know.”

  “I know.”

  “He is going to want to kill me, too.”

  Athena was trying not to grin. “You will not know until you tell him,” she said. “Truly, Scott, if you do not, I must. It would be better coming from you.”

  He knew that. Wearily, he stood up, towering over a woman who was already quite tall. “Shall we do it together?”

  Athena nodded. “I think we’d better,” she said. “At least I can stop him from trying to kill you. He wouldn’t dare do such a thing in my presence.”

  Scott cocked a dubious eyebrow at her. “You think so, do you?”

  She couldn’t help but smile now and he broke down, snorting, mostly because it was a ridiculous situation they’d gotten themselves into. While their fathers were focused on the other pair – Scott’s twin brother, Troy, and Athena’s older sister, Helene, who found themselves in the exact same situation with an unplanned pregnancy, what they didn’t realize was that Scott and Athena were in that identical situation themselves, only they’d been better at concealing it.

  Still, Scott was nervous. He drew in several long breaths – in and out, in and out – before turning towards the stable entry. Beyond was the yard and beyond that, the bailey and the massive keep of Castle Questing. As he gazed out at the activity, he caught sight of his Aunt Jemma heading in his direction.

  The little Scotswoman was his mother’s cousin, married to his father’s second in command, Kieran Hage. The woman had a heart of
gold but the temper of a banshee, as she was affectionately called. Kieran was an enormous man, the strongest man on the border as William de Wolfe called him, and along with that strength came a calm, calculating personality. Matched with Jemma’s fire, they were quite literally fire and ice.

  Seeing Jemma gave Scott an idea.

  “Aunt Jemma!” he called to her, waving her over.

  Jemma had a bucket in her hand, eyeing Scott with mild surprise as she headed in his direction. “What are ye doing out here?” she asked. “Yer brother’s wedding feast is that way.”

  She was pointing to the keep. Scott ignored the question, pointing to the bucket. “What are you doing with that?”

  Jemma was distracted as she lifted the bucket. “There’s no milk,” she said. “All of the kitchen servants are busy with the wedding feast, so I’ve come tae collect some milk for the bairns. They want warm milk with cinnamon before they’ll agree tae go tae bed.”

  Scott fought off a grin. “Since when do you give in to the demands of children?”

  Jemma scowled. “Yer own baby brother, Eddie, is leading the charge,” she said. “Ye know yer da thinks the sun rises and sets on his sons, so the other children are smart now. They let Eddie make the demands and we must all go along or there’ll be hell tae pay with yer da.”

  Scott chuckled, thinking of his baby brother, Edward, born a scant year before. But he was smart, verbal, and already walking, and their father put a good deal of stock in bright, loud Edward de Wolfe. But thinking about his littlest brother brought about the very reason why he was in the stable, so he took the bucket from his aunt and took her by the hand, leading her into the stable.

  “I must speak with you before you fetch your milk,” he said. “I need your counsel.”

  Jemma let the big, blond knight lead her into the confines of the stable. “Me?” she said. “What could I possibly help ye with?”