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
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 Twelve
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.