The town restoration was coming along nicely. Kieran had been working diligently assisting everyone he could, doing a lot of heavy lifting. At nights, he would come home, eat a hearty meal, try to relax with Teu before crashing hard for the night. For now, he was assisting the carpenter make furniture to replace that of a house which had burned down. He picked up the ruler and charcoal, going to measure out a piece of wood. Yet, when he went to make the marks, his fingers cramped up. Kieran frowned at his hands as he flexed them. However, every time he attempted, his hands became more claw-like in their protests.

In frustration, Kieran threw the charcoal across the room, grumbled an apology to Olanson as he stomped out. The noble squinted at the sun and growled lowly to himself. Did it have to be so damned bright out today? Kieran absently scratched at his shoulder as he made it to Teu's store, mumbled something unintelligible to whichever family member happened to be in the storefront stalking straight through to the living area in the back. He closed himself in the bathroom, leaned heavily against the wall and stared into the mirror.

What was wrong with him? Lights bothered him, headaches were becoming a frequent state of being. Something was wrong with his fingers, but he couldn't tell Teu. Kieran did not want to worry her until he knew what this was so he could approach her properly.  Plus, he had never been one to make a big deal out of anything. However, this was starting to happen more and more often, and his usually non-existent frustration spikes almost daily. The shoulder he had been scratching burned. Removing his shirt revealed that he scratched himself quite raw, even breaking some of the skin. It wasn't enough to bleed, but it still would not feel good to have anything touched it.

With a sigh, Kieran splashed his face and went to their room. Topless, he sat at the edge of the bed, elbows on knees while his head hung low. He closed his eyes as he sulked. Everything was beginning to feel like it was burying him. Being home early was cause enough for them to worry, but if she was to come into the room to find him laying down would bring the healer out. Did he want the healer? No, he just wanted everything to go back to normal. Kieran pinched the bridge of his nose. What was going on?

Days had become long with the restoration well underway. Everyone in the city of Mamlak did what they could to aid the moving forward. Much had been lost in the battles that took place within the city limits. Death had run much of the days during the fighting as well as the days after. People often forgot that it was not just a sword that could kill, but disease that was left behind. Teu and her family worked diligently to make sure that the clean up on the biological end was kept up. Bodies of the dead were carefully found and properly taken care of upon finding. The Balatro family teamed up with other healers to make sure that the contamination was kept at a minimum. Fallen buildings that were pulled away would leave sadness in their wake as other missing people were slotted into a different category.

Even with the sadness, there was hope that started to spark within the people. Thankfully, the leadership of Mamlak was gracious. Supplies were in no chance of shortage as they did what was needed to help the healing move along. Teu made sure that her focus was upon the more common folk as they could not afford the healers that were higher up on the hill. A bartering system had started up out of her shop for those that could not give her proper payment. This would go on for some time, but Teu was not concerned. She smiled at her children as they worked to handle a new set of patients. Dae was setting a bone while Alairia was giving doses of medication to an elderly woman. Both were well trained, and now grown well.

Teu stood up straight from restocking one of the lower shelves of bandages. She was certain that it would be needed again within the day, but at least a full cabinet could be seen for the moment. The shop was buzzing with customers when a rather hurried figure walked through the front door, through the shop to the back and into the house. The healer frowned as herself and her children stopped their work in an attempt to figure out who it had been. ”Keep up the work, I will go check on him.” It did not take the three long to realize that it was Kieran that had stormed in. The actions of her fiancé were certainly out of his character.

Quickly she slipped into the home portion of the building. She made sure to remain quiet while moving through the home. The house had become more of a home as the years had passed; even more so with the addition of Kieran to their family. She smiled at the recent portrait that had been commissioned of all four of them together.

Turning the corner, she could see Kieran sitting on the edge of their shared bed. For a moment Teu stood in the doorway watching with concern. Her fiancé certainly was not feeling himself. Everything in her told her to check him from top to bottom as a healer. The other part of her told her to be there as a lover. Finally, Teu moved into the room to kneel on the floor with both hands placed on the side of his knees. ”My love, what is wrong?” She avoided the health questions even if it was difficult for her to do. Hand lifted to lightly touch the side of his face. ”You haven’t been yourself lately.”

He sensed her standing there long before she entered. Somehow, feeling that she was assessing his condition made him feel worse. Kieran should have told her long ago when the symptoms were becoming prominent. But, that would be making a fuss over small things. Teu’s footsteps seemed to echo loudly, an eternity stretching out each sound and between each step. He ground his teeth.

Then suddenly, there she was, her tender hands on his knees. While his heart beat with joy at her voice, his stomach sank, and he heaved a sigh. It wasn’t until he felt the gentle touch on his cheek that he even opened his eyes. The hand that pinched his nose moved to cup her hand, pressing it into his cheek. Icy eyes explored the beautiful jade pools gazing at him, searching and begging for answers. ”Nothing should be wrong, yet everything is.”

Kieran threw himself back with a turn to sprawl out on the bed, his arm closed to Teu blanketing his eyes. ”I don’t know what’s wrong with me! Lights are too bright, sounds too loud, headaches galore, and now my hands aren’t working right!” He laid out his complaints with far more irritation than he intended in a huge rush. With a sigh, Kieran moved his arm to his chest to glare at the ceiling.

”I threw a charcoal pencil across the shop today. It’s getting to the point where I want to punch something all the time.” The noble lapsed into silence for several long minutes before turning to his beloved. Such fear filled his eyes as worry creased his forehead. ”I don’t want to be like this, Teu.”

The elf had learned how to sense her mate’s moods some time ago, but she had not figured out how to soothe them yet. Kieran tended to keep himself blocked off when it came to anything that could disturb the family. Teu wanted him to feel comfortable with telling her what was wrong, but he always tended to hold off. She was unsure of when he would finally open up fully to her. Hypocritically, Teu knew that she had not opened up her woos to him as well. There were mountains of them that could not be fully explained. The last thing that Teu wanted to do was open up the despair that she had finally been able to put aside.

Brows knit together in concern as she knelt in front of her future husband. She spoke and made sure not to speak further to ensure that she did not cause him more pain. There was certainly something wrong and she needed to find out what it was. All her instincts told her to wrap Kieran up in her arms to hold him tightly against her chest. His body language told her differently. A smile lit her lips as he finally registered her presence. When their eyes locked with one another Teu could feel more at ease. There was saddens and concern in the gaze that he returned to her. His answer made her feel even more concern. It was not a normal Kieran reply.

”What do you mean?” Teu leaned back as Kieran threw himself back on the bed. The healer stood up to look down at him. This was complexly out of his normal characteristics. Though he complained, Teu was glad to hear it. Finally! He was making concerns audible. So his senses were heightened beyond the normal capacity? Teu frowned for a moment as he admitted the irritation.

”You got angry, love. Nothing more. We have been going at a constant rate for a while now. We haven’t been able to rest or enjoy a day off for some time. Not only that, there have been some new information in regards to who you are.” The half elf moved to the bed and crawled on to it. She smiled fondly down at her fiancé. Fingers lightly brushed away his hair that covered his forehead. ”You are an irritable dragon. I think that your blood is starting to awaken, my brooding dragon,” she teased. Leg moved so she could sit atop of the man as he lay on the bed still attempting to brush away his mood.

Teu pressed both hands onto her bare chest. Lightly she traced symbols on his skin. ”If your senses are heightened, then we need to work on how to process them. Maybe we can find something to help shield your vision? We can most certainly get you some medicine for your headaches.” Leaning back slightly while still sitting on top of him, Teu tilted her head to the side. ”Why haven’t you said anything about this before? I am here for you. We are to be husband and wife.”

Kieran lightly scoffed at Teu’s simple brush off of his problems, chucking his temper to mere anger. He was never angry, always careful about it. The desire to not be like his brother required Kieran to keep things in check. But she was right about their constant workload. As she moved to the bed, the irritation shifted to something else just as primal. Hunger filled his eyes.

”I don’t brood.” Kieran countered, the sound of a smile in his words made it sound as if he was almost laughing. Teu now straddled him and his hands lightly gripped her thighs in a claiming fashion. ”Oh? And do you propose I walk around with sheer fabric acting as a blindfold but only blocking out half the light?” She tilted her head, that quizical concern was irresistibly sexy.

With a playful growl, Kieran wrapped his arms around her and rolled over so that he pinned Teu to the bed. Then, holding himself with a single elbow, he lifted his free hand to smooth her hair. Kieran gazed down at her, lost in the swirling love he held for his mate. ”Because I couldn’t find the words,” he whispered. She should have been consulted sooner. ”I feel… as if these emotions are not mine. They wash over me, and I am drowned by it.”

Kieran lowered his head to nuzzle at Teu’s neck. ”Then you come in, like a shining light. Anger melts away, and desire… No, a burning need takes its place.” Being this close made it nearly impossible to control his urges. Thus, Kieran gave a rolling growl as he lightly bit at Teu’s neck with only enough pressure to make his teeth’s presence known, but not harm, quickly replacing his teeth with lips that began kissing up to and along her jaw.

Something had awoken in her fiancé. There was no denying that there was something fundamentally different with Kieran’s demeanor. He had been acting differently for some time even if he could control it around the family. Teu had no concern for his temperament with the children or even herself. What concerned her was the overly critical turned on himself. Kieran always put himself last in his own mind. It was endearing even if it was detrimental to his mental health. Despite what he might concern himself with, Kieran could never be like Elwin. Teu knew that was the number one worry.

A slight smirk twitched on her lips as she saw the change of look in his eyes. ”Oh, no? You are misinformed on that account sir. You do brood.” Teu shifted her weight while straddling him to sit more comfortably. She spared no glance at the touch that now held her thighs. This was a perfect way to change his mood. ”Why not a blindfold? Or possibly we can find something else…but at the moment I am enjoying the thoughts of a blindfold,” she purred through a laugh.

She let a small yelp as she was maneuvered to be pinned to the bed. A mischievous smirk was given in return while she leaned into the ministrations he gave her hair. ”I understand, my love. Not that I have experience in what you speak of…unless it is my time of the month,” she joked. Teu lightly stroked his cheek and then the back of his neck all while gazing up at him. ”This is all new, correct? After what we learned from your mother…maybe we should consult her? Possibly?”

Thoughts of talking to anyone else melted away as she felt Kieran’s heated breath against her neck. It was her weak spot. There was no strength in her to speak further on the subject as he admitted a reflected emotional state that she had. A gasp was given as the bites were made, but it was not out of pain. Far from it. Hands reached up to coil in his hair to pull him away from her neck in order for their lips to meet. With all that had happened their personal meetings had been left for rest and recuperation. A light nip as made on his lower lip

Teu removed one of her hands to throw something at the door in order to force it closed. The engaged couple needed some well-deserved privacy.

Kieran lingered on the thoughts Teu hinted at with blindfolds. That could be devilishly fun. She also suggested they confer with his mother, a thought he stuffed to the back of his mind. This was not a time to entertain ideas involving that particular woman. Fortunately, Teu was easily distracted by any actions to her neck. He lost himself in that kiss, finally feeling as if both sets of emotions were in synchronization.

The noble held his lover close, trying to drown in her scent. He had needed this far more than he cared to admit. ”Teu…” Thoughts drifted from her enticing flesh back to his problems. ”What if… You once spoke of your inner wolf before… So what if… my problems stem from that? A restless dragon?” The line of questioning opened up countless possibilities. Teu could switch from elvish to wolf at any time.

If he was a dragon, as they say, could he turn too? Kieran suddenly feared the idea of changing. What if he couldn’t control himself? Would he attack his family or the city? He gripped her tighter, holding her closer as if she was his anchor. Never had he been so stressed and uncertain over any one thing. The unknown of who and what he was loomed over him like a shadow. All he knew was that Teu would bravely stand by his side the whole way. Kieran only hoped her faith doesn’t get her hurt.

She tucked her body tightly up against Kieran with a contented smile on her face. They fit together perfectly in every which way that she could think. Teu happily nuzzled her face against Kieran’s perfectly sculpted chest as they revealed in the actions just completed. Hopefully, his emotions were a little less frazzled for them to have a conversation on what was bothering him. The dragon was certainly awake within her fiancé. Everything that he portrayed told her that it was a fact instead of a speculation. The diowolf was worried for her mate. She was concerned that he couldn’t handle what was boiling up inside.

As he began to ask her about her wolf, Teu propped her chin up on his chest to look up at him. Brow lifted as she attempted to formulate an answer. Diowolves were not like werewolves. ”Well, there isn’t really an inner wolf. I am the wolf. Werewolves can have two sides to them. One being the original human, and then the infection that causes them to turn. The infected describe it as if they have a wolf inside that is separate from their own identity. That is not how it is for me.” Teu wondered if she was describing it correctly. ”You are a dragon. That was not awakened in your blood until recently. I think the sooner you realize that there is no separate dragon in your head, the sooner you will not be as plagued by this.”

The elf sighed heavily while wondering if anything actually being said would help her beloved. Teu looked at him with a worried expression when he gripped her tighter to him. Looking at him and that worried expression, she could read him like a book. In a blink of an eye she was propped up to look at him dead in the eye. ”Kieran Niel Rothslin, you stop your thought pattern immediately! You are doubting yourself and this new change, am I correct? Mister…you are not a danger to any of us. Do not think for one second you are capable of hurting us. There is too much of your love and adoration for myself and the family for that to happen.”

Teu cupped his face gently though enough to get her point across. ”You are the best man that I know. You are strong outside and inside. Stop doubting yourself, and your self-control will come back. All you need to learn is what is going to happen, and how.” She sighed heavily again with a mother like annoyance. ”We used to have the Pack practice their changes when the adolescences were of age to change. The difference was that they were told what was to happen and how to do it. You need education. Which brings me back to your mother.” Teu realized that as she spoke about all this that they were still not clothed again. Talking about his mother while in such a state brought a blush to her cheeks, though she made no move to get dressed. ”We need to talk to her.”

She was the wolf?  Kieran tried to understand what she was saying, but it was almost difficult to believe that a wolf would have a human mindset. "So… Just because I didn't feel it before, doesn't mean it wasn't always there? That I am the dragon?" He shook his head, trying to understand, wondering if they were actually the same in this manner like she was trying to say. Suddenly, she was over him, almost glaring down at him as she began chastising him. Kieran felt an inexplicable urge to tuck his head, flinch and back away as a child being reprimanded, but he knew better as he looked guiltily into her eyes.

This woman could read him so well. Teu was confident in their love to know that he would not harm them. Everything about her was like a perfect match for him. She was the confidence when he doubts, the strength when he was weak, and the tender love for him to melt for. Kieran sighed. "If I promise to write her about it, would you promise never to bring her up again while we're naked?" Just thinking about her made him nervous as heck, suddenly defensive as if she was to burst in through that door at any moment. But he knew what she was saying. He needed information.

Gazing up at his beloved, Kieran reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, gently cupping her cheek as he did. "What did I do to get lucky enough to find you?" He pushed himself up off the bed to catch her lips with his, almost hoping for another round. Regardless of whether or not he got his desires, Kieran eventually released his wife so she may return to her duties, and he spent the rest of the day around the house, taking care of little things after writing that letter to his mother. He tried to keep himself busy and too preoccupied to ponder too heavily on his dragon self that when he lay down next to his wife at the end of the night, they could enjoy the comfort of each other.


When Teu woke up the next morning, she would find her bed empty and cold. A commotion was beginning to reach cacophonous levels as the sun was rising. The shepherd was missing a sheep, the butcher had a break into his wares. There were footprints of a beast found here and there throughout the town. Some say it was lizard-like, others said it was the clawed print of a demon. Others complained about something having dealt some constructional damage, nothing major, just noticeable. Yet, during the ruckus, Teu's entire household only knew that Kieran was not turning up.

No, Kieran was not to be found inside of town at all. In fact, he was fast asleep, blissfully unaware of everything going on. The young noble was sleeping on a pile of leaves, raked together by the same claws that marked the town, somewhere in the middle of the forest. He was completely nude and splattered in dried blood that was not his own. Nothing covered him as little bits of frost appeared to be crystalizing around him, a bit early in the year for such weather.

There was a light chuckle as Teu read the confusion on Kieran’s face while he attempted to digest the words she had said. Not many understood the concept. To be inflicted with a curse or disease was more often the case of how one would transform into another creature. Werewolves were the best example. Yet, that was not what diowolves were. While werewolves were born a two-legger and then bitten to be turned into a different creature, diowolves were born in wolven forms; at least the pure born. Teu had been a fraction, and yet she still was a wolf. Few truly knew the lineage of her family as they were a hidden race back on DaeLuin. Never did they mingle with the general population except for her great aunt and great uncle. They had made a decision to venture out into the world. That was how Teu’s father, Kiba had come to be born.

She smiled at the man who had stolen her heart while lightly tracing his jaw line. ”Yes, you were always…will always be a dragon. You are not possessed by a spirit or inflicted by it. Dragon’s blood flows in your veins from your lineage. It is not as crazy as it sounds,” she said with another laugh. What changed her features was the look upon her fiancé’s face. He always threw inner doubt and hatred that she could see from a mile away now. Thankfully, this time he did not fight her. He became submissive immediately on the topic.

A mischievous and victorious grin spread on her lips as he sighed. ”I’m sure that I won’t need to mention her in the future if we are in such a state. But I can’t promise anything. I will always use any kind of arsenal at my disposal to deal with your brooding,” Teu teased while placing a kiss on the tip of his nose.

The elf woman looked lovingly down at Kieran. Whenever they were together she could see as well as sense the utter love he had for her. The warmth of his hand on her cheek made her nuzzle into him. ”Well…you were attacked and bleeding all over my store. It was a back handed sort of luck.” Before another round of teasing could be made, Kieran was upon her once more.

This time, they took their time. Few moments were afforded the couple to absorb into the other. Teu at times regretted the responsibilities that had fallen upon them. She wanted to ravish her intended whenever possible, and yet people always found a reason to need either one of them. The world was getting to know their little family. They were being found useful. A home full of more and more people that needed shelter provided by Kieran and Teu.

For now, Teu let herself completely sink into the heat that was radiating off of her dragon. They would figure out what was going on, but for now it was just the pair of them.

When morning dawned, Teu was not very surprised to find that Kieran had left. Emotions had been running high for him. That was common lately even if expected. Teu grabbed up her form fitting robe to wrap it about herself before heading into the living space. It was there that she found Dae already in his white fighting leathers. Quick fingers braided her long disheveled hair while looking up at the storm gray eyes of her son.

”It seems as if there was a dragon attack” he said in a low even tone. Teu knew what her son was doing when not in the shop helping. His demeanor had shifted while looking at his mother in that moment. Dae was a hunter in that moment. ”So, the shift finally happened for him,” she spoke softly. The assassin nodded solemnly before pulling up his hood to put shadow across his features.

”We will find him to make sure he is safe. Shifts are dangerous even in the best of conditions. Gather as much information as you can and then meet me at the southern gate.” Teu’s tone was direct as she was not going to let Kieran deal with the aftermath alone. Hopefully, he had shifted properly. From her experience, sleep was the biggest draw afterwards. Turning on her heel, the woman went to her room to get dressed in her leather armor. If he had not shifted back to human form than there was a chance there would be disconnect of who she was to him. She lightly bit her lower lip thinking about it all. Teu was going to protect her mate. Now was the time to get everything figured out before anything could get worse.