Wolvren

Apologies for taking so long to upload. Thank you to all the feedback from previous Chapters. I hope you are enjoying the exciting world of Wolvren. All disclaimers from prior chapters still stands.

*****

Paws tender from pacing up and down the cliff side of the alcove, Fluffy sat at the edge and stared out into the snow. For the last twelve hours, he searched the area for Keen. His two-legged friend was nowhere to be found and Fluffy's fur bristled with worry. His pack was resting and healing surprisingly well after their battle with the creatures and Fluffy was glad that none of his kin was killed during the encounter. He huffed loudly as he thought the events of the last twelve hours. The human male sacrificed himself to save the pack and fell off the cliff with the creature. He whined to himself as the image of Keen being tackled and falling to certain doom burned into his memory. When Shadow and he went to investigate the small canyon below they found no Keen, just the rotting stench of the black sand and some of Keen's blood.

The early morning sun did nothing to take his mind off his lost friend and not even his mate Breeze could not console him. From their first encounter he knew that Keen was not like the other humans who chased them away and set traps to kill them. Keen rescued him from the trap and even saved him when the first creature attacked. As a wolf, he knew it was not right to have this feeling of kinship with a human but Keen felt like wolf kin. On the outside he was human but his scent was wolf. He felt like pack and Fluffy would gladly give his life to protect his pack.

It was strange how his thoughts that seemed one tracked in the past now found different complex paths. Before he would only think of the hunt. The kill of his prey. The joy of rutting with his mate. The warmth of his pack. Since meeting Keen, he started to think differently and his mind was confused by these new thoughts. Thoughts of preparing for the next creature attack. Thoughts of hunting more prey to sustain them throughout the winter. Thoughts of mating for more pups to replace the older members of the pack. The last thought brought a different sorrow to Fluffy. Two winters of mating and he and Breeze had yet to have pups. Pups were essential as they brought renewed life and strength to the pack.

The wolves decided to take up residence in the warm barn of Keen's den. They sniffed through all of Keen's belongings to get a sense of where he went. All nine wolves felt sorrow in losing their human pack brother, but all they could do was wait. Fluffy could not. He felt the need to find Keen. Something was not right. Those creatures were not right. He should of done more and it hurt that he could not protect Keen. He came alone to stare over the cliff and search the clear blue sky for answers.

His sorrow building, he stood and raised his muzzle to the sky and let out a mournful howl. Asking the wolves of old to give him answers. The wind whipped at his fur and he sat back down in sadness as no answers came and stared out at the expanse of forest in front him of once more.

He closed his eyes and thought of his human kin, focusing on his scent like the suns warm rays on cold sand. How his brown eyes sparkled when they stared at Fluffy. The saltiness of his skin and the metallic tang of his blood...Fluffy's ears perked up at the thought of Keen's blood. The taste of Keen's blood made him dizzy. It was as exhilarating as any hunt yet Fluffy found strength in the taste. Keen's blood was below in the canyon.

He did not know why this thought excited him, but he needed to investigate once more. He quickly found the trail down to the canyon and sprinted past the rancid black sand of the creature. Sniffing the air, he came to the place where Keen's scent was strongest. The dark patch in the snow was Keen's blood and he whined softly at it.

Sniffing the patch, he felt his body thrum with renewed strength. The smell of Keen's blood made him feel like he could defeat any enemy.

Puffing warm air through his nose to melt it, he gently licked the cold blood. Instantly his mind whirled. He felt like he was running through a dark cave with the light at the end guiding him through. The light felt so familiar...

Fluffy did not notice the wisps of black smoke circle around him as his mind tumbled around. The shadow enveloped Fluffy as black jaws swallowed him whole. He pushed through a last thought before the black took him...

..."Keen".

***

"Fluffy!" Keean screamed as he bolted up straight from his sleep as his hand burned and Fluffy's voice echoed though his skull.

"My mate! What is wrong? Are you alright?" queried a worried Dax, as he held onto his smaller mate to keep him from falling.

Three hours into their ride back to the castle and several hundred questions later by his smaller mate, Dax was very pleased as Keean gently rested the back of his head against his bare chest and fell asleep. Revelling in the exquisite feeling of his mate's ass plastered and bumping against his aroused groin, Dax lead the soldiers and party with a big dumb grin on his face.

"Fluffy! Something happened to Fluffy! Fuck, my hand is burning! Stop the horse! Please...I'm gonna be sick," ranted a queasy Keean.

Dax brought the pitch-black gelding to a stop and hopped down with his smaller mate. The soldiers and a concerned Alistair watched as Keean emptied his lunch on the side of the road with their alpha rubbing the small man's back.

"Ugh, my head...my hand...something's wrong Dax...ugh thanks," said a shaky Keean as Dax brought a water skin to his mate's lips.

Keean gulped down the water and blinked back the piercing headache. He leaned on his knees as another wave of nausea hit him and buckled out of Dax's hold to spit up more water. His hand burned profusely and he dropped to his knees as the burning pain blinded his vision.

"My mate! Kari! We need a healer. Now!" boomed the big alpha.

Kari ran forward with her pouch and gently placed a glowing hand on Keean's back.

"Wait, no. I don't need healing. Something's wrong with Fluffy. He spoke to me. Ugh! My hand is on fire!" screamed Keean as he stumbled against the back of a tree.

Kari reached for the hand that Keean was clutching and as soon as her healing magic touched it, she screamed in pain. Alistair caught the small healer just in time as she fell back. Staring in shock both men and Kari watched as black filled veins snaked out of Keean's hand and ran up his arm to his neck as Keean went limp and fainted into Dax's hold.

"By god's fur! What is this!" asked Dax in disbelief.

"Please my mate, please snap out of it...Keean? Keean!" Dax hugged Keean close and prayed to all the gods to stop whatever was happening to his mate.

The blackness in Keean's veins pumped and visibly started to coat Keean in a wolf-like shroud. Nine tails emerged from behind Keean as they wrapped around the two mates. The entire party heard the roaring howl rip out of the wolf shroud and immediately disappeared, leaving Keean slumped against a worried Dax.

"My mate! Keean! Keean! Are you all right? My mate, please wake up!" Dax begged frantically, sitting on his knees and holding his small mate to his chest. The black veins now lessened to thin lines and slowly pulsed with Keean's heartbeat.

"My lord, may I?" asked a small voice. Dax turned to Kari and nodded. Kari walked up to the two and place a cold blue hand on Keean's forehead.

"He is passed out. His breathing is laboured but it looks like whatever that was is over for now. My blessing is not being repelled as before. My lord, we need to get to the castle. This black affliction is beyond my skill. We need an experienced healer," said Kari.

Alistair came and steadied his alpha as Dax climbed up on Midnight holding his mate.

"Get goin'. We'll catch up te ya soon enough. It'll be faster if ya go on ya own," advised a worried Alistair.

"I'll go too, my Lord's. I will need to debrief the Chief Healer and Master Keean may need my blessing on the way," said Kari. Dax nodded and Alistair smiled as he helped the small healer to sit behind Dax. She gripped the saddle hard as Dax maneuvered the big horse forward.

"Make haste Midnight, to the castle!" boomed Dax and Midnight snorted. No horse was more powerfully built and faster with cargo than the First Battalion's prime warhorse. Midnight galloped at ferocious speed as Kari held onto the big alpha's waist for dear life.

"My mate..." whispered a shaking Dax as Midnight thundered down the path towards the castle.

***

In under an hour the trio was inside the castle stables with Dax carrying a passed out Keean. His mate moaning in pain as the veins pumped along his arm and neck. Not knowing what to do, he was quite surprised to see the small healer take charge and bark orders at the stable attendants. Clutching his smaller mate, he ran with Kari to the healer's quarters in the west wing of the castle as Kari shouted to soldiers and servants alike to make way for the alpha.

Kari burst into the healer's wing and ran toward the main room, instructing Dax to go into one of the healing rooms. Dax gently placed his mate onto the healing table and kissed his mates forehead. Feeling his protective mode kick in and eyes shifting yellow, he growled a deathly warning to the four healers that came in a few minutes later, not taking note of who they were.

"My Lord Dax, Adept Kari has informed me that your friend is afflicted with something odd. May I ask you to kindly step back so that I may examine him," said a calm and softly spoken old man.

The old healer wore dark blue robes with three gold trims on his hood and the cuffs of his sleeves, bearing the mark of the Chief Healer of Wolvren. A round gentle face, grey beard and smiling eyes signaled Dax that this man was not a threat as he regarded Lord Barros. He looked back down at his small mate passed out on the table and grumbled to himself as he let the old man passed as his eyes shifted back to their black brown.

"My granddaughter did mentioned you were quite protective of this one. Fear not my Lord, I shall take every precaution to ensure that your...uh...friend, is taken care of," smiled Lord Barros.

"Granddaughter? Kari is your granddaughter?" asked a surprised Dax as he stared from Lord Barros to the seemingly embarrassed Kari.

"Ah yes, fills me with pride that at least one of my grandchildren followed in my footsteps. Naturally gifted in the healing blessing, I say if she practiced, a bit more she could surpass me. In twenty years or so," laughed Lord Barros as he placed a cool blue hand on Keean's forehead.

"Grandpapa! Please pay attention, Master Keean has been through a trauma," scolded Kari to her grandfather.

"Yes, yes. Fetch me some Nightshade powder, Bluebell extract and Pineweed syrup. Distill for ten minutes. He has a fever and there is a strange essence emanating from his hand that is blocking my magic. We need to get his fever down and I need some Nightshade to relax the hold of whatever this essence is," said Lord Barros calmly.

Kari and the other two healers hurried away to gather and prepare the ingredients, leaving Dax and Barros alone with Keean. Lord Barros placed a hand on Keean's chest and the other holding his affected hand. Sapphire blue light shone brightly as the older healer narrowed his eyes.

"Your mate, hmm? No need to look surprised, Lord Dax. Kari did not mention anything to me. I have been around many a werewolf and I can always sense when they are with their true mates," smiled Barros to Dax.

"Yes, Keean is my mate. Lord Healer, what is happening to him?" Dax asked with concern.

"I am not sure, but my guess would be that something is trying to take hold of him. From what I can sense is that this black affliction is trying to fill Master Keean's life force with its essence. If it is a good or bad thing, I cannot say. The black shroud that Kari spoke of, it repelled her magic as if trying to protect Master Keean from intrusion. Even now, the affliction is trying to repel me from healing Master Keean. The Nightshade will help in diminishing any foreign magic in a body and guide healing magic. Normally it is very dangerous as the Nightshade can extinguish a person's life force but I am hoping it will lower the black essence instead allowing us to heal the fever. Now Lord Dax, could you explain to me how you came to find your mate? Leave out no detail as any bit of information may prove valuable," asked Lord Barros to the big alpha.

Dax relayed in detail of the past few week's dreams and his yearning search for something. He told Barros of how he came to find Keean bleeding in the forest clearing and Keean's recount of getting to Wolvren and of this "Fluffy", his mate kept referring to.

"Interesting. He can talk to you when you are in werewolf form and he said he could talk to wolves. I have heard of monks being able to communicate with wolves but that magic has been lost after the Fenrir Temple was destroyed a hundred years ago. If I am not mistaken the monks were said to be able summon ethereal wolves to protect them during times of danger," said a curious Barros as he continued healing Keean.

"Keean might be a monk. As in from the Wondering City? Is that what you are saying? That is not possible. The monks died out long ago. I thought I met one when I was young, at least he said he was one. He was a crazy fool that harassed me about my black skin and rubbish talk about Fenrir. He must have lost his mind in the desert," said an agitated Dax. Dax did not like where this theory was going, and he was increasingly worried about his mate.

"It is true that most of the monks died out after the fall of the Fenrir Temple. Most people now worship the Goddess Luna, and Fenrir himself has few followers. The only people to worship Fenrir are the few that have chosen to remain in the Wondering City. Yet I do not think that Master Keean is from there. In my long time as a healer, I have been fortunate in encountering many different people. Master Keean does not have the life force signature of a Wondering Monk. His life force seems very much like a wolf. Not werewolf like you or many others in Lycra, but as a natural wolf... Maybe if I changed my healing to that of healing a wolf...Let us see if that helps," said Barros calmly.

The sapphire magic turned into light green as Barros healed Keean as wolf rather than human. The change in Keean's state was instantaneous. Keean started to groan and the black veins pumping from his hand started to diminish. A few more seconds of concentrated healing and Keean slowly opened his eyes, hand back to normal.

"Dax?" asked a weary Keean. "Where...what happ-," asked Keean dryly.

"My mate! You're awake. Thank the gods. You're going to be just fine, my mate. Just fine," said Dax gently as he settled on his knees next to Keean and gently touched his forehead. Dax was unsuccessfully trying to sound brave as his voice cracked with relief.

"Nice of you to join us, Master Keean. I am Barros, a healer here at the castle. You gave everyone quite a scare. Easy now, don't get up. There is still some fever I need to burn through," said Barros in a typical doctor's voice, which brought a smile to Keean's lips.

"Just relax and let the healing soothe you. My granddaughter did a fine job, but she missed the infection that was in your hand," smiled Barros to Keean and Dax.

"Slowly now, can you tell me the last thing you remember? Take your time," asked Barros gently to Keean.

Dax held Keean's hand in his and squeezed it gently to reassure his mate. Keean slowly sat up and took the cup of water that Kari and the other healers came back with. Lord Barros sent a sideways glance to the two healers and they swiftly left the room. Kari stood next to her grandfather as she took the cup of water. The Chief Healer and Alpha did not chase her away. She was as much a part of this and deserved to know as well.

"Fluffy...something happened to Fluffy. I could feel Fluffy in my head. It was like I was...him. Like I was...Fluffy... God the howling! It was right in my head and my ears. I was back in the canyon for a few seconds. Fluffy was surrounded by this black cloud of smoke. He was trying to get to me and pushing through the smoke and I reached for him. My hand was burning and it felt like something was tugging at me to get to Fluffy. It made me feel nauseous but it wasn't painful. It wasn't... scary. Fluffy reached out and bit into my hand. Immediately it was like my mind and Fluffy's mind were one. The howling stopped and these black tails made of the same smoke came and wrapped around Fluffy and me. When I reached my other hand to touch his muzzle, I looked into his yellow eyes and then everything went blank. I could feel Dax holding me and I just wanted to sleep. Then nothing. I woke up here," finished Keean breathing heavy.

"Hmm, interesting. You said the black smoke did not hurt you. This Fluffy, he is a wolf you know. There seems to be a connection between the two of you," said Lord Barros as he rubbed his beard.

"But why did it repel my magic?" asked Kari. Keean looked over at her and frowned.

"I'm so sorry Kari, I hurt you-" began Keean apologizing.

"Not to worry Master Keean, I am fine. The black affliction just repelled my magic, not me," said Kari reassuring Keean she was fine.

"I think the fever is what caused the mayhem. You are recovering and to protect you it created a ward of some sorts. As Lord Dax is Master Keean's mate, it allowed him access, as he is not a threat. However, strong healing magic meant for humans can be viewed as dangerous to a...wolf. Hmm, this is quite an interesting case. I will need to consult my old lexicons to make certain. I have a few hypotheses, as my magic did notice the wolf's essence in your life force. Now it would seem you are back to your human life force with a dash of wolf intermixed," said Barros squinting in thought, almost ignoring the others in the room.

"But why would it hurt him like that? He was screaming in pain from his hand. If what you say is true, that this shroud was trying to protect my mate...why was he in pain," asked Dax to the older healer.

"As I mentioned, it is just a hypothesis. I will need to do some research. My ultimate guess is that this Fluffy and Master Keean are connected by similar summoning magic as the monks from the Wondering City used to use. I am to guess it is because you two are not in the same place. Your minds connected but your bodies are far apart," hypothesised Lord Barros.

"Doc, what did you mean when you said my life force is mixed with wolf?" asked Keean sitting up and staring at the old man.

"Grandpapa can determine the life force of all living creatures and beings by mere touch. Being able to heal any animal, human and werewolf to full health is the requirement of becoming the Chief Healer. Grandpapa is only one of two Supreme class healers in the entire Wolvren," said Kari proudly.

"Yes yes. I am not one for bragging Adept Kari. Nevertheless, I think what Master Keean is asking is why does he have the life force of a human and wolf. In all honesty, I do not know. That is something I will need to research," said Lord Barros gently. He put a soft hand on his granddaughters shoulder and guided her to the healing stations.

"For now, Master Keean needs ample rest and some medicine to help regain his strength. Let us leave these two alone while we prepare the Nightshade mixture," said Barros with a smile on his face as Kari rolled her eyes and knew she about to be mixing more salve and syrups.

Keean and Dax watched the healers walk away. Keean turned to Dax and was about to apologise for causing trouble when Dax pulled him into a bear hug.

"My mate! Don't you ever...ever scare me like that again! I thought I lost you. You would not wake up. I thought I lost you...," continued Dax as he rocked back and forth holding his small mate.