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  BlackWolfe

  A Medieval Romance

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  A Sons of de Wolfe Novel

  © Copyright 2019 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

  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:

  De Wolfe Pack Series:

  Warwolfe

  The Wolfe

  Nighthawk

  ShadowWolfe

  DarkWolfe

  A Joyous de Wolfe Christmas

  Serpent

  A Wolfe Among Dragons

  Scorpion

  Dark Destroyer

  The Lion of the North

  Walls of Babylon

  StormWolfe

  BlackWolfe

  The de Russe Legacy:

  The Falls of Erith

  Lord of War: Black Angel

  The Iron Knight

  Beast

  The Dark One: Dark Knight

  The White Lord of Wellesbourne

  Dark Moon

  Dark Steel

  A de Russe Christmas Miracle

  The de Lohr Dynasty:

  While Angels Slept

  Rise of the Defender

  Steelheart

  Shadowmoor

  Silversword

  Spectre of the Sword

  Unending Love

  Archangel

  Lords of East Anglia:

  While Angels Slept

  Godspeed

  Great Lords of le Bec:

  Great Protector

  House of de Royans:

  Lord of Winter

  To the Lady Born

  Lords of Eire:

  Echoes of Ancient Dreams

  Blacksword

  The Darkland

  Ancient Kings of Anglecynn:

  The Whispering Night

  Netherworld

  Battle Lords of de Velt:

  The Dark Lord

  Devil’s Dominion

  Bay of Fear

  Reign of the House of de Winter:

  Lespada

  Swords and Shields

  De Reyne Domination:

  Guardian of Darkness

  With Dreams

  The Fallen One

  House of d’Vant:

  Tender is the Knight (House of d’Vant)

  The Red Fury (House of d’Vant)

  The Dragonblade Series:

  Fragments of Grace

  Dragonblade

  Island of Glass

  The Savage Curtain

  The Fallen One

  Great Marcher Lords of de Lara

  Lord of the Shadows

  Dragonblade

  House of St. Hever

  Fragments of Grace

  Island of Glass

  Queen of Lost Stars

  Lords of Pembury:

  The Savage Curtain

  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

  The House of De Nerra:

  The Promise

  The Falls of Erith

  Vestiges of Valor

  Realm of Angels

  Highland Warriors of Munro:

  The Red Lion

  Deep Into Darkness

  The House of de Garr:

  Lord of Light

  Realm of Angels

  Saxon Lords of Hage:

  The Crusader

  Kingdom Come

  High Warriors of Rohan:

  High Warrior

  The House of Ashbourne:

  Upon a Midnight Dream

  The House of D’Aurilliac:

  Valiant Chaos

  The House of De Dere:

  Of Love and Legend

  St. John and de Gare Clans:

  The Warrior Poet

  The House of de Bretagne:

  The Questing

  The House of Summerlin:

  The Legend

  The Kingdom of Hendocia:

  Kingdom by the Sea

  The Executioner Knights:

  By the Unholy Hand

  The Promise (also Noble Knights of de Nerra)

  The Mountain Dark

  Starless

  A Time of End

  Contemporary Romance:

  Kathlyn Trent/Marcus Burton Series:

  Valley of the Shadow

  The Eden Factor

  Canyon of the Sphinx

  The American Heroes Anthology Series:

  The Lucius Robe

  Fires of Autumn

  Evenshade

  Sea of Dreams

  Purgatory

  Other non-connected Contemporary Romance:

  Lady of Heaven

  Darkling, I Listen

  In the Dreaming Hour

  River’s End

  The Fountain

  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

  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. You will notice that some series have the same books; that is because they are cross-overs. A hero in one book may be the secondary character in another.

  There is NO reading order except by chronology, but even in that case, you can still read the books as stand-alones. No novel is connected to another by a cliff hanger, and every book has an HEA.

  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.

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

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Kathryn Le Veque Novels

  Author’s Note

  The Next Generation de Wolfe Pack

  Holdings of William de Wolfe

  Edward’s Lament

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelver />
  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Epilogue

  From the Author

  About Kathryn Le Veque

  Author’s Note

  Edward’s story is here!

  Chronologically, this novel falls after A de Wolfe Joyous Christmas novella and before Serpent, but in the schedule of my writing, this is actually the last Sons of de Wolfe novel that I have written. It’s very bittersweet. In hindsight, I guess I should have given William and Jordan more kids!

  Interestingly enough, Edward seems to be more removed from the family than the others, probably because he’s in a rather awkward birth order. The older four brothers are very close in age, and then there’s an eight year gap before Edward. Then, Thomas and Penelope are five years after him, so Edward is somewhat the loner of the de Wolfe family. In researching him throughout the series, the only book he’s really part of is Serpent. He’s mentioned in almost all of them at some point, but he never plays a truly active role – until now.

  Now, we get to meet the elusive de Wolfe son.

  Something to note about Edward, appearance-wise: William de Wolfe’s mother is half-Saracen, which is why William was often described as having a darker skin tone. Troy, Patrick, Edward, and Thomas all have William’s nearly black hair, while Troy follows in his father’s footsteps with the genetic trait of having the darker skin, as well. But Edward really has the darker skin and hair, and could easily look right at home in The Levant as one of the natives. That may be one of the reasons why he’s the more elusive brother, because he simply didn’t fit in with the paler-skinned siblings. Maybe he simply knew he looked “different”. But that’s all something we’re going to explore.

  And then we have Cassiopeia, our heroine. She’s the sole surviving daughter of Paris de Norville and his wife, Caladora, after the deaths of her sisters in the beginning of ShadowWolfe and DarkWolfe. I hesitated to explore that event too much, but the truth was that it was inevitable with Paris and Caladora being part of this book, and Cassiopeia being their remaining daughter. We get a taste of just how badly the deaths of Athena and Helene affected the entire family.

  Something else that was just so fun about this book was that I got to write about all of the brothers for the most part, and especially James/Blayth before he was injured in Wales. We get to see James before he became Blayth (A Wolfe Among Dragons), which gives his character so much more added dimension. Scott, Troy, and Patrick all visit this novel after their own stories have taken place, so we get a brief glimpse of them during this time in their lives.

  I was also able to write about characters you came to know in The Wolfe – Deinwald Ellsrod, briefly, and Adam de Longley, who has been the Earl of Teviot and the owner of Northwood Castle, for many years. Readers tend to (briefly) forget that Northwood Castle does not belong to Paris – or any other member of the de Wolfe Pack. That’s a de Longley holding, although Paris is the commander. It’s still part of the family, however, since it was where everything got started.

  In the de Wolfe Pack history, Cassiopeia, our heroine, is the only surviving daughter of Paris and Caladora. That makes her a precious commodity to them. Fun trivia – William and Jordan had two sets of fraternal twins – Troy and Scott, and then James and Katheryn. Patrick was the only single birth in Jordan’s first three pregnancies. Five kids in three pregnancies – wow!

  Also, let’s talk about something I haven’t addressed in any of the de Wolfe Pack books – the fact that the de Wolfe, de Norville, and Hage families are all related, meaning cousins are marrying cousins. Back in Medieval times, that really wasn’t unusual, but rest easy – Jordan, Jemma, and Caladora are first cousins – their fathers were all brothers – meaning their children share the same great-grandparents, so they are second cousins. It is perfectly legal for second cousins to marry, back then and even now, because the gene pool is sufficiently diluted. Now, if Jordan, Jemma, and Caladora had been sisters, that would have been entirely different, but they’re not, so we’re safe on all accounts.

  The usual pronunciation guide:

  Cassiopeia – this name is pronounced two different ways, and I’ve heard it equally both ways: cass-ee-oh-PAY-uh and cass-ee-OH-pee-uh. I’m going with the latter pronunciation.

  De Troiu – duh TROY-you

  Deinwald – DINE-wald

  I hope you’ll love everything about this book because it was truly a joy to write. I loved writing about William and the gang, and introducing new characters that you should see later down the line when I start writing about William and Jordan’s grandchildren. The series is not ending with the last book – in fact, it’s just the beginning of everything else to come. Stay tuned!

  Now, without further ado, enjoy Edward and Cassiopeia’s story!

  The Next Generation de Wolfe Pack

  William and Jordan Scott de Wolfe

  Scott (Troy’s twin) – (Wife #1 Lady Athena de Norville, has issue. Wife #2, Lady Avrielle Huntley du Rennic, has issue)

  Troy (Scott’s twin) – (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 – (Married to Lady Rose Hage, has issue)

  Katheryn (James’ twin) – (Married to 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 – (Married Lady Maitland “Mae” de Ryes Bowlin, has issue)

  Penelope – (Married to Bhrodi de Shera, Earl of Coventry, hereditary King of Anglesey)

  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 – (Married to Sir James de Wolfe, has issue)

  Nathaniel – (Married to Lady Wynn St. Hever, has issue)

  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 – (Married to Lady Wesleigh de Lara, has issue)

  Cassiopeia – (Married to Sir Edward de Wolfe, has issue)

  (Issue = children)

  Holdings of William de Wolfe

  Seven Gates Castle (Kendal):

  • Seat of Edward de Wolfe’s Barony – Kentmere in Kendal that adjoins brother Scott’s lands at Castle Canaan (Not shown)

  • Isleworth House, Surrey

  Wark Castle (Wolfe’s Eye):

  Larger outpost for the Earl of Warenton, William de Wolfe. Literally sits on the border between England and Scotland.

  • James de Wolfe, commander

  Berwick Castle (Wolfe’s Teeth):

  Massive border castle, strategically important, de Wolfe holding.

  • Patrick de Wolfe, commander

  • Alec Hage, second

  Castle Questing (Wolfe’s Heart):

  Massive fortress, seat of the Earl of Warenton, William de Wolfe.

  • William de Wolfe, commander

  Rule Water Castle (Wolfe’s Lair):

  The largest outpost in the de
Wolfe empire, known as The Lair. Belongs to the heir apparent to the Earl of Warenton, Scott de Wolfe.

  • Scott de Wolfe, commander

  • Commanded at times by Kieran Hage (when Scott is away)

  • William “Will” de Wolfe, second. Will is Scott’s eldest son. Married Lily de Lohr, great-granddaughter of Christopher de Lohr, in 1281. Daughter Athena was born in 1282

  Monteviot Tower (Wolfe’s Shield):

  Smaller outpost in Scotland, strategic. Holding of Troy de Wolfe.

  • Brodie de Reyne, second

  Kale Water Castle (Wolfe’s Den):

  Larger outpost on the England side of the border, strategic.

  • Troy de Wolfe, commander

  • Cassius de Shera, second. Cassius is the son of Maximus de Shera (The Thunder Warrior)

  • Troy also commands Sibbald’s Hold, former home of Red Keith Kerr (his wife’s father). A minor property

  Castle Canaan (Kendal):

  Scott de Wolfe’s southernmost holding, not directly related to the Scottish border but a source of additional troops if needed. Inherited the property when he married the widow of Canaan.

  • Milo Auclair, commander

  Northwood Castle:

  Massive border castle, very important and strategic. Belonging to Adam de Longley, Earl of Teviot. Not part of the de Wolfe empire, but strongly allied to de Wolfe by marriage and blood.

  • Paris de Norville, captain of the guard

  • Michael de Bocage, second in command

  • Deinwald Ellsrod shares duties with Michael

  • Hector de Norville is serving with his father as the head of Northwood’s army

  • Michael de Bocage serves with his eldest son, Tobias, while his younger sons, Case and Corbin, have gone south to serve with the House of de Lohr and the House of de Winter, respectively

  EDWARD’S LAMENT

  (sung to the tune L’autrier m’iera levaz, 12th Century)

  The day he came,

  Through the rain

  A man of strength and breeding.

  A family to,

  For him, they knew

  A brother not among them.

  A different path,

  Said he

  I wander, you see

  My destiny is not that of my brothers.

  The king commands,

  A de Wolfe shall stand

  More brightly than all the others.