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  A WOLFE AMONG DRAGONS

  A Medieval Romance

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  A Sons of de Wolfe Novel

  © Copyright 2018 by Kathryn Le Veque Novels, 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, once purchased, 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 an 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)

  Godspeed (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

  A Joyous de Wolfe Christmas

  A Wolfe Among Dragons

  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

  House of d’Vant:

  Tender is the Knight (House of d’Vant)

  The Red Fury (House of d’Vant)

  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

  The Gorgon

  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

  Realm of Angels

  The House of De Dere:

  Of Love and Legend

  St. John and de Gare Clans:

  The Warrior Poet

  The House of de Garr:

  Lord of Light

  Realm of Angels

  The House of de Bretagne:

  The Questing (also related to Swords and Shields)

  The House of Summerlin:

  The Legend

  The Kingdom of Hendocia:

  Kingdom by the Sea

  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

  Pirates of Britannia Series (with Eliza Knight):

  Savage of the Sea by Eliza Knight

  Leader of Titans by Kathryn Le Veque

  The Sea Devil by Eliza Knight

  Sea Wolfe by Kathryn Le Veque

  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 Note

  The next generation Wolfe Pack

  A Night of Dragons

  Epigraph

  Preface

  Prologue

  PART ONE: RISE OF A LEGEND

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  PART TWO: A MAN AND HIS DESTINY

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  PART THREE: TIMES OF CHANGE

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  PART FOUR: THE UNWANTED

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  PART FIVE: DRAGON TAMER

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

 
Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Epilogue

  Post Script

  About Kathryn Le Veque

  Author’s Note

  This is the book that my readers have really been begging me to write.

  But how to bring back a dead man?

  I admit it; I kill off characters left and right. Hey! It’s Medieval times – and everybody dies! In this case, I killed off a character before anyone had ever met him. James de Wolfe was a mention in “Serpent”, which was the first sequel I ever wrote to “The Wolfe”. In it, I named off all of the de Wolfe offspring and James, other than a stillborn daughter, was the only de Wolfe child to die. It didn’t really matter much until I started to write the Sons of de Wolfe sub-series for the de Wolfe Pack and then we got to meet James and see what a great guy he was. He was featured the most in “A Joyous de Wolfe Christmas”, where he was marrying his love, Rose Hage.

  Well, my readers loved him, and I was repeatedly asked why I’d killed him off. We had Scott, Troy, Patrick, and then no James. So, I set about doing what only I, as the author, can do. I brought James back from the dead.

  Lazarus, rise!

  Now, understand that much like William, I, too, have a son named James, and it is true that I modeled William’s son after my own, never thinking I’d have to write about him, but here I am. That means this book is especially emotional for me because when I see James de Wolfe, I see my own son. The opening scene was done with tears. Way too close to home.

  The Welsh culture and country features strongly in this novel, so a few things to note – much like the Scots and the Irish did, the Welsh also has a particular way they did surnames – for example, sons had their father’s name as a surname (Angus, the son of Fadden, would be named Angus MacFadden), and with the Welsh, it was male/female specific. For example: Evan, the son of Rhodri, would be Evan ap Rhodri, while the daughter, Morgan, would be Morgan ferch Rhodri. “Ferch” means daughter or girl, as does “merch”. Kind of like the English language has several names for a female, so do the Welsh.

  Also, I’m going to give you, dear Reader, a pronunciation key because Welsh names can really be tough. In Welsh, the dd is a th sound, and the double ll sound is even weirder – a sound we don’t have in English. The best way I can describe it is if you put your tongue just behind your upper front teeth and blow. Air hisses out from either side of your tongue, but that’s how to pronounce the double ll sound. So, I’ve kept some of the spellings phonetic for the English-speaking reader. It’s easier if you know the phonetic sound:

  Blaidd – Blayth is the phonetic spelling.

  Fairynne – FAIR-in (not Fairy-anne!)

  Merch/Ferch – daughter in Welsh

  Ie – this means “yes” in Welsh, but for the ease of the reader, I have changed the spelling to Aye (which is more familiar).

  Teulu – (pronounced ty-loo) literally meaning “family”. These were the warlord’s bodyguards/personal warriors.

  Llandeilo – Pronounced with that odd “hissing tongue” noise for the double lls – so it’s essentially “hissing noise-an-day-low”

  I think the one thing you’re going to discover about this story is that it’s not simple. It’s several different factions, for different reasons, and their stories intertwine. Pay attention to the timelines, because some things happen concurrently, and then some things happen days or weeks later. But rest assured, it all makes sense and, in the end, you will come to realize that a great many people had a stake in James in this very complex and emotional tale. Although it is a stand-alone, it has much more impact if you’ve read “The Wolfe”, especially since the older knights of William de Wolfe and Kieran Hage figure in this book.

  Bring tissues and enjoy!

  The next generation Wolfe Pack

  William and Jordan Scott de Wolfe

  Scott (married to Lady Athena de Norville, issue) Second wife: Avrielle

  Troy (married to Lady Helene de Norville, has issue) Second wife: Rhoswyn

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

  James – Killed in Wales June 1282 (married to Lady Rose Hage, has issue). Second wife (as Blayth the Strong): Asmara ferch Cader

  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, has issue)

  Kieran and Jemma Scott Hage

  Mary Alys (adopted) married, with 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 Annavieve de Ferrers, has issue)

  Rose (widow of Sir James de Wolfe, has issue). Second husband: Gethin de Lara, grandson of Sean de Lara

  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)

  A Night of Dragons

  13th c. poem ~ by Fr. Jestin y Dale

  In the darkness, ’ere they came,

  Children of the night, known by name.

  A dragon’s call, so high the cost,

  A mournful cry, a son was lost.

  He died that night, the story told,

  But from the ashes, a warrior rose.

  A man of iron, of heart and soul,

  A man with a past no one could know.

  Joy and glee turned night to day,

  The Wolfe’s son has returned,

  With Dragons, they say.

  James could match any of his brothers’ prowesses in a fight, but he had something more that they didn’t – compassion for the enemy, a deep compassion that, at times, had turned him into a brooding and moody man. James felt more deeply than most, was more patient than Job himself, and would much rather negotiate his way out of a fight than quickly draw arms. They were such wonderful qualities and William adored his boy for them. He had a soft spot for James and his wise, gentle ways…

  ~ A description of James de Wolfe, from “A Joyous de Wolfe Christmas”

  PREFACE

  St. Jestin’s National History Museum

  Llandovery, Wales

  Present Day

  It was the Children’s Hour.

  The small museum of St. Jestin’s was a tribute to the national history of Wales, but it was mostly a tribute to the spirit and legends based in Welsh folklore. It was a very popular tourist destination because of the Medieval and Dark Ages relics, and it even had some Roman relics that held a good deal of fascination for the folks who came to visit on lazy days, either to get out of the rain or to bring the children for something to do. There was an entire children’s area to the museum where Mr. Nolwynn, a local historian known to walk down the streets of Llandovery in historic costumes, would tell stories of heroes or events long ago past.

  But he always put the Nolwynn spin on things.

  This week, it was stories of Llywelyn the Last and of the near cult-like status the man had earned following his death in 1282 AD. Mr. Nolwynn wore replica tunics worn by Llywelyn and men like him, and he told stories of the battles, bringing weapons modeled after those from the era that he’d made himself. They weren’t sharp, and the kids could touch them and get excited about their own history and heroes. Mr. Nolwynn’s Children’s Hour drew families from all across southern Wales.

  Today, he had an entire class from
the local preparatory school on a field trip to the museum. They were well-behaved for the most part, although they were a little noisy at times. The boys wanted to see the weapons and the girls were mostly bored because the relics didn’t interest them much. Mr. Nolwynn had walked them through the Medieval section of the museum on their way to the “story veranda”, so it was called, but he could see that he was losing about half of his audience. These were young adults, around thirteen years of age, so they were easily distracted and easily bored.

  But he had a plan.

  The story veranda was full of costumes and fake weapons and models of castles that he’d built himself. He even brought in Lego castles so there was something the younger kids could touch and play with, and he made a tiny dragon flag, the national flag of Wales, to fly on the battlements of the Lego castle. As the group of young people and teachers entered the story veranda, he had them all sit on the floor while he went to a cabinet and opened it up.

  Cloaks and costumes were stuffed into the wardrobe and, at the bottom, was a stack of small green and white squares that the kids could stick together with double-sided tape and then cut out a red felt dragon to paste on top of it and make their own dragon flags. But those were for the younger children he often entertained, as the older ones usually didn’t go for something so juvenile.

  Pushing aside the cutouts, he pulled forth an old woolen cloak that smelled of mothballs. He swung it around his slender shoulders, knocking his glasses sideways as he did so. As he straightened up his glasses, he turned to the fidgety group on the floor.

  “This will be an exciting time for you,” he told them. “Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Gwendraith Castle. It happened on this day in the year twelve hundred and eighty-seven. It isn’t far from us. Have any of you been there?”

  The students looked around at each other. One or two raised their hands as the teachers tried to shush those who were giggling. Old Mr. Nolwynn continued.

  “There was a very important battle at Gwendraith Castle in the Welsh quest for independence against Edward, who wanted our country for his own.” He could see that his words weren’t having any impact on the teenagers, so he decided to go for the dramatics. “Did you know that a wolf fought that battle? Have any of you heard of him?”