A Wolfe Among Dragons_Sons of de Wolfe
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.
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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?”