The Beast's Beloved

by Amber Burns

  Olaf opened his mouth to add something to the conversation but stopped and sniffed the air instead before moving his head to look behind Klaryssa. “Your sister’s coming, M’Lady.”

  “Oh?” Klaryssa asked while turning in her seat as much as she was able considering that her legs were weighted down. Upon seeing her sister standing just outside one of the doorways and scanning the courtyard in search of her, Klaryssa waved a hand in the air to catch her attention. She smiled when Cerridwyn hurried over, and she could not help the small giggle that escaped her when her sister’s eyes widened upon seeing the large wolf sleeping across her lap.

  “Oh, my goodness,” Cerridwyn whispered while covering her mouth. “Is...is that a real wolf?”

  “Is there any other kind?” Olaf asked cheekily with an easy smile.

  Cerridwyn blushed. “I suppose not.” She looked to her sister. “Can I pet him?”

  “What do you say, Blizzard?” Klaryssa asked while looking down at the dozing wolf and continuing to stroke his fur. “Can my sister pet you?” She could not deny the excited flutter of her heart when Blizzard wagged his tail, and she smiled from ear to ear while returning her gaze to Cerridwyn. “Go right ahead.”

  “Told you so,” Wilem whispered with a smirk while giving Klaryssa’s side a gentle nudge with his boney elbow.

  “Shush,” Klaryssa whispered back while giving Wilem a small nudge of her own.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Cerridwyn breathed while slowly running her hand down Blizzard’s spine. “You’re sure he won’t bite me?”

  “He won’t bite you, lass,” Olaf replied with a smile as he watched the two sisters. “You’re part of the pack now. That makes you family,” he added with a friendly wink before raising both eyebrows as he saw two more wolves trotting over to Klaryssa. “By the Great Wolf’s tail,” he murmured while crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back on his heel.

  “Oh,” Klaryssa uttered when the first wolf nudged her left side. “Oh, well, hello,” she greeted when the second nudged her right. Her face was alight with her smile as she took her hands away from Blizzard only to begin scratching the two newcomers under their chins. “And who might you be?”

  “The one on your left is Quicksilver,” Wilem said with a smile. “And the one on your right is Fern,” he added while scratching Fern behind her ear.

  “I am very happy to meet you, Quicksilver and Fern,” Klaryssa said before giggling with mirth when the two wolves wagged their tails and licked her hands.

  “Incredible,” Olaf murmured with a smile. “Simply incredible.”

  13

  “I couldn’t be prouder of you, my love,” Dresdyn murmured with a smile as he held Klaryssa close and nuzzled into her hair.

  It was after dinner, and the pair of them had made their way to the library. A fire crackled in the hearth and added warmth along with extra illumination to the room. The combined glow of the hearth fire and the sconces added a captivating glow to the leather spines of the books and made them all the more inviting. It made Klaryssa long for the ability to curl up in one of the overstuffed chairs and read all the secrets that the pages held.

  “And you kept insisting that you were nothing special,” Dresdyn teased while lightly tickling his love’s sides. “I vehemently disagree with that sentiment.”

  Klaryssa giggled and batted Dresdyn’s fingers away. “Fine, fine, I stand corrected on the special part, but I don’t even know what this ability of mine truly is,” she remarked. “Clearly, I can talk to wolves, and be understood by them...but, I wasn’t talking to Fern and Quicksilver when they decided to come over to me, so, what prompted them? What prompted Blizzard, for that matter?” She sighed. “I don’t even know if this ability is limited to wolves, or if it extends to all animals.”

  “Well, think back to your life before I brought you here,” Dresdyn suggested thoughtfully. “Do you recall anything similar happening with other animals? Growing up on your family’s farm should have allowed for several opportunities, yes?”

  Klaryssa frowned and furrowed her brow in thought. “Now that you mention it, I was the only one who could get eggs from our chickens without being pecked or chased. I never thought anything of it then.”

  Dresdyn snorted softly. “Chased by chickens?”

  “Don’t laugh,” Klaryssa replied with a small shove to Dresdyn’s shoulder. “Cerridwyn got treed once by the biggest hen we had. Poor thing vowed never to fetch eggs again, and it then became solely my responsibility.”

  Dresdyn threw his head back with a laugh. “Treed by chickens, you say? Surely, you can’t be serious?”

  “Oh, it most certainly happened,” Klaryssa replied with a sage nod.

  Dresdyn chuckled. “Clearly, chickens are the most vicious of poultry,” he teased.

  Klaryssa gave Dresdyn another mall shove. “Let’s see how you react if you ever get treed by an angry clucking menace,” she retorted while fighting a smile.

  Dresdyn regarded Klaryssa silently, and then playfully flicked a lock of her golden hair over her shoulder before speaking. “Darling, look at me,” he said while gesturing to himself. “What chicken, in its right mind, would dare to chase me up a tree?”

  “I never said that chickens were smart,” Klaryssa said simply with the hint of a smile.

  His eyes twinkling in amusement, Dresdyn chuckled and brushed his knuckles gently over Klaryssa’s cheek. “Can you think of any other examples in which you unknowingly used your gift?”

  Klaryssa frowned in thought. “I suppose, I always had a knack for calming spooked horses,” she mused. “Yours wasn’t the first that I calmed and kept from bolting.” She sighed. “Everything happened so fast with the gnolls yesterday, that I didn’t get the chance to try calm the one Cerridwyn and I were riding, but other times, I was able to calm them without fail, now that I think about it.”

  “Well, then. I suppose you have just answered your question,” Dresdyn remarked with a smile while putting a hand at the small of Klaryssa’s back and guiding her towards a table where there were three chairs. “One of them in any case,” he added while pulling one of the chairs out so Klaryssa could sit. “As to just what your gift is, well, we have the rest of our lives to find out, my sweet doe,” he murmured while pushing the chair in close to the table once Klaryssa had sat upon it.

  “Olaf told me some things today,” Klaryssa said. “Wilem did too.”

  “Oh?” Dresdyn asked while sitting on the edge of the table. “What sort of things did they say?”

  “They told me all about the origin of the gnolls, about how everyone but the humans not sitting on the throne know about the existence of shifters.”

  “I see,” Dresdyn said simply.

  “All this time, humans simply thought that Cadarnle’s ruler would strike some form of bargain with the Great Wolf and the Great Dragon in times of war in order to call wolf-men and dragons to our aid, but...in reality, your people were simply answering the call to arms without humans being the wiser,” Klaryssa mused.

  “Cadarnle is our home,” Dresdyn replied simply. “Why wouldn’t we defend it?”

  “But, why fall under the rule of the Crown?” Klaryssa asked curiously. “Why not be a people unto yourselves?”

  Dresdyn sighed. “It was our ancestors’ way of promising humans that our future generations would never turn against them again,” he answered softly. “In return, the Crown gifted the head of each pack with a fief; and, as a sign of good faith, we were allowed to have humans work and live upon our lands, providing that we treat them fairly and allow them to remain free.” He sighed again and gingerly rubbed his forehead. “One of my duties as Thane is to ensure the promise is followed by all land-holders, and to punish those who have broken that promise.”

  “Have any broken it?” Klaryssa asked softly.

  “Not for many, many generations,” Dresdyn assured. “Those that did break that promise in the past though, were put to death.” He sighed softly. �
�Wolves are loyal by nature, my love. We do not tolerate behavior that would endanger pack and clan. We went down that road already, and we are not eager to repeat that part of our history.”

  “I can understand that,” Klaryssa replied with a small nod. “Tell me the truth, Dresdyn...are there really dragon shifters in Cadarnle, or were Olaf and Wilem teasing me?”

  Dresdyn chuckled softly. “Dragon shifters truly do exist, my love. They mostly keep to themselves though.”

  “That’s what Olaf said.”

  “And very rarely, do they gather together,” Dresdyn added. “They’re fiercely territorial, and they guard their treasure hoards quite vehemently.”

  Klaryssa slowly exhaled. “And to think that the mighty dragons heard about in songs are really just men,” she mused. “Dynol’s mercy, my mind has truly been opened since meeting you, Dresdyn,” she whispered.

  “What else did Olaf and Wilem tell you?” Dresdyn asked with a loving smile.

  “Wilem knows you’re worried about him,” Klaryssa said softly. She waited for Dresdyn to say something but her love only sighed and gazed into the fire of a nearby sconce. “Is the transition to adulthood really so bad for shifters?” she asked while lightly resting a hand upon Dresdyn’s knee.

  “It can be,” Dresdyn replied. “They don’t mean to lose control, but it always happens. All the raw emotions roiling within the young pup as he changes from a boy into a man make him all the more susceptible to beast awakening within him. That first shift is always the most difficult, and the boy has absolutely no control over it. It simply happens without warning, and the boy always succumbs to the pull of his wolf, rather than keeping a firm grip on his humanity. It then falls to experienced males to subdue him.”

  “Dare I ask how?” Klaryssa asked softly.

  “By shifting and overpowering him,” Dresdyn answered. “It can take anywhere from a mere moment, to an hour, depending on how agitated the boy was at the time of his first shift.”

  “They don’t hurt the boy, do they?” Klaryssa asked worriedly.

  “Not seriously,” Dresdyn answered with a small shake of his head. “Their primary purpose is keeping the boy from hurting himself or any mates and children who might be in the vicinity. So, the men keep him focused on them until he tires himself out.” He sighed softly. “That is why Olaf volunteered to shadow Wilem. So, he can intervene immediately when the moment comes.”

  “What happens after that first shift?” Klaryssa asked softly.

  “Once that first shift has been gotten out of the way, the boy is better able to control when a shift occurs,” Dresdyn answered. “While he is still not in complete control over when it happens, he nevertheless is able to maintain his hold of his humanity, and he is no longer a danger to those around him.”

  “I see,” Klaryssa remarked with a small nod.

  The sound of voices and footsteps prompted the pair of them to look to the door, and both Cerridwyn and Wilem entered the room moments later. Smiling, Dresdyn gestured for the two to sit at the table with Klaryssa.

  “Wilem, when the time comes, please help Cerridwyn,” Dresdyn instructed.

  “Yes, uncle.”

  “Now then, are you ready to begin?” Dresdyn asked while looking back and forth between Klaryssa and Cerridwyn.

  Klaryssa nodded then canted her head to the side. “You’re sure not too tired after all your duties today? I know you were busy with preparations for the gathering.”

  Dresdyn smiled and shook his head. “Never am I too tired for something so important, my lovely doe,” he murmured before leaning down and lightly kissing Klaryssa’s nose. “Besides,” he added with a wink. “I made you a promise.” He cleared his throat. “Now, then, he said while rising to his feet and moving around the table to the large chalkboard that was propped against one of the bookcases. Already, the alphabet was written across it, and Dresdyn picked up a long pointed before lightly tapping it against the letter ‘A’. “Let us start at the beginning.”

  14

  “Such a magnificent throne,” Klaryssa murmured as she stood at the bottom of the dais that held the seat of lupine authority.

  It was finally the night before the clan gathering, and Dresdyn had decided to show Klaryssa his throne at last. The maiden could not help but be in awe as she gazed up at the impressive throne that was carved from thick, heavy oak. Upon each armrest was carved a large wolf head with a snarling maw, and a third, larger snarling wolf head was carved at the very top of the throne. Unlike the first two wolves that faced outward, the third was bowed in a protective manner over the space in which Dresdyn sat.

  “It is,” Dresdyn agreed with a nod. “The third wolf at the top is meant to represent Blaiddwych, which is why it’s larger than the other two.”

  “And why it is bowed protectively over the one who leads his children here in our world,” Klaryssa mused.

  Dresdyn smiled. “Exactly,” he answered with a small nod.

  “And this is really where you sit while you deal with official clan business?”

  Dresdyn nodded. “As have countless Thanes before me. This is where disputes are settled, and where all business, both good and bad, is brought forth for discussion by the individual pack leaders in what we have come to call a conclave, so that any and all necessary plans can be set into motion.”

  Klaryssa nodded before frowning in thought. “Dresdyn, I’ve always wondered something.”

  “Such as?”

  “If you and your predecessors have worked so hard to keep your identities secret from the humans who work your land, how is it that whenever disputes or troubles arose within the fief, they would suddenly solve themselves as though by magic even though the people never had audiences with you?”

  Dresdyn smiled. “How do you know they didn’t?” he asked simply.

  Klaryssa blinked and canted her head to the side. “I don’t understand.”

  Dresdyn’s smile remained. “My love, just because I never met with the people of my fief here in the Keep does not mean that I never met with them at all. It was simply without their knowledge.”

  “The black knight,” Klaryssa whispered as realization dawned upon her face.

  “Sometimes,” Dresdyn replied while giving a small shrug. “But, he was mostly my executioner for the times I would hunt down brigands and others who would bring strife upon the people of my land.” He sighed. “My main way of gathering information was by way of my scouts, or by my disguising myself as a traveler. Any disputes I would learn of, I would mediate and solve without anyone being the wiser as to my identity.” He smiled. “All they would see was an impartial third party, and more often than not, that is all people need for settling a conflict.”

  Klaryssa smiled warmly. “You truly are an incredible man,” she murmured before melting into Dresdyn as he wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. “I am so fortunate that you found me.”

  “We are both fortunate,” Dresdyn rumbled before nuzzling into Klaryssa’s hair and then kissing the top of her head. “My sweet beloved,” he whispered as his arms tightened around his mate. “Tomorrow night cannot arrive fast enough. I ache for you like I have ached for no other,” he growled.

  “What if I’m no good?” Klaryssa asked in a whisper.

  “Pardon?” Dresdyn asked.

  “What if I’m no good?” Klaryssa repeated softly.

  Dresdyn gently pushed Klaryssa away so he could gaze down into her face. “What are you talking about?”

  Klaryssa sighed and shyly averted her eyes. “Dresdyn, clearly you’ve been with other women...and they couldn’t have all been virgins like me,” she began softly. “What if, after all the lovers you’ve had, I’m a disappointment?”

  Dresdyn raised a hand and gently tilted Klaryssa’s face up to his. “You could never be a disappointment to me, my beloved,” he uttered fervently. “For yours is the soul for which mine has been searching. Yours is the body that was made to receive mine as well as my seed; and, as such,
you and your perfect body will provide me with the utmost pleasure when we do finally mate.”

  “Really?” Klaryssa asked with a tentative smile.

  “Oh, yes,” Dresdyn answered with a nod and a loving smile. “And the pleasure you bestow unto me, I will give unto you as well, my beloved,” he murmured before leaning down and tenderly kissing Klaryssa’s lips.

  “It’s going to hurt, isn’t it?” Klaryssa asked once their lips parted. “I’ve heard that the first time always hurts for the woman.”