Disclaimer: I do not own the characters as they belong to Gail Carriger and Orbit publishing. I hope they don't mind me playing with them.

Summary: This is my first story for the set of 5 books which are known as the Parasol Protectorate. I don't know if I'll write more but this one begged to be written. I've read the first three and fallen in love with them. The last two are waiting for me. This story comes out of the third book as previously Biffy, a would be vampire has instead become a werewolf rather than die, converted by Lord Maccon, alpha of the most important pack in England. This is set in a steampunk version of Victorian England where vampires, werewolves and ghosts are accepted. The main character in the books is Alexia Tarabotti, a preternatural who can neutralise a supernatural through touch. I would recommend these books to anyone. I don't think this relationship will be canon but Biffy/Lord Akeldama is. But as I haven't read the next book I don't know.

Suddenly in What? Love?

Chapter 1

Professor Lyall looked on as Lord Akeldama pulled his former drone into his elegant velvet clad arms. He caught sight of the rove's face and realised two things. The first was that Akeldama was truly in love with Biffy and the second realisation, which came as far more of a shock to the Woolsey pack beta, was that he was jealous of the ancient vampire.

Over the last twenty four hours he'd cared for the newly metamorphosed cub; he'd fed him and watched as he transformed, holding him close. He'd admired both the turn of his human calf and the softness of his lupine fur. He'd watched him sleep and hoped that he would wake. He'd carried his prone body across town to the BUR headquarters and laid him down and now he wanted nothing more than to be where Lord Akeldama was seated with Biffy in his arms. It wouldn't do; it wouldn't do at all. He wasn't as old as his pack alpha and he certainly was nowhere near as old as the rove vampire but he'd put any romantic feelings he might occasionally entertain behind him. This was far too complicated. He'd always liked women, hadn't he? Alright there'd been the odd passing fumble in the dark with a willing claviger over the centuries but nothing that required him to think with his heart and yet here he was wanting to do nothing more than pull away the immaculately dressed Akeldama to claim Biffy as his own. He swallowed the desire to growl and was thankfully disturbed by the announcement of the arrival of Queen Victoria at the BUR headquarters. There was nothing like the visit of the monarch to make you come to your senses, although apparently it wasn't enough to make Lord Akeldama remove his hands from his former drone. It was almost territorial the way he kept those fingers on his knee. Perhaps the Lord could sense Lyall's discomfort. Could vampires smell testosterone? Lyall shook himself and stood to greet his Queen. Akeldama did the same bowing just at the right angle, no more or no less. Biffy, unable to move without showing rather more of his body than he would have liked, stayed as he was.

'You will have to forgive our young friend, your majesty. He has had a rather trying night,' Lyall explained.

The queen took it in her stride more concerned with other matters. 'Ah, so this is the drone in question. Is it true what I hear from the Dewan that you were stolen from Lord Akeldama here by the Potentate?'

Biffy managed a nod to acknowledge the fact. After some discussion Lyall was relieved to find that Akeldama and the Queen agreed that Lord Maccon had acted reasonably when he had killed the Potentate.

'Good, well another recruit to the pack,' the Queen said absentmindedly which meant that Lyall was shocked when the vampire hissed and declared, 'but he is mine!' Akeldama must have strong feelings to say that in front of the Queen. He didn't look any happier when the Queen noted that Biffy was one amongst many drones that he must have. Before anything else could be said the discussion turned to Alexia's condition and the condition of her child.

'The best term to describe the offspring would be a soul-sucker,' Akeldama declared and suddenly there was nothing else to say.

When she'd departed it was difficult to tell which of them was more shell-shocked. Lyall had successfully dealt with the issue of Lord Maccon killing the Potentate which was fortunate. As to how both Lord and Lady Maccon would feel to find that the new Potentate was Lord Akeldama was to be decided, should either or both of them return from Italy that was. The Professor wondered whether it was possible for a vampire to get paler than his usual colour but judging from Akeldama's current facial expression and colouring it was.

'It looks like we've both got a lot of work on our hands, my Lord,' Lyall said. His ire once again rose when he saw the vampire return to his previous position with his arms around the young man. 'He's staking his claim,' the beta thought in no uncertain terms.

'You'd better go and gather your boys together and let them know of the good news. It's going to take you some time to organise them again I fear. Biffy will be in good hands here. He's of the Woolsey pack now and he needs to learn our ways. You have to understand that.' Lyall wanted to go over and pull them apart there and then.

'Dolly, you can't possibly understand the impossibility of what you are asking me. I won't leave him. I'm going to take him back with me. He will be fine. I'll sort out something for the full moon. I have several cellars he could use.' The wolf felt at a disadvantage. He wished that the vampire would not use that name and that he could think up something equally inappropriate for him. Why wasn't he called something like Brian or Jack something ordinary and masculine? He stood up and walked over to the couch where the two men were seated. Dragging his chair he sat down in front of them and placed a hand upon Akeldama's shoulder. The velvet felt soft under his touch.

'My Lord, you know that is impossible. You're going to have to face facts. Biffy is a new cub. Every transformation he makes for several years will be painful. He'll need the security of the Woolsey pack clavigers, who are trained for this. They will know how to help him; they will make sure that he is well fed. He will have to learn the ways of the pack and establish himself in it. He's a werewolf now, a pack animal by nature.' He stopped for a moment, leaned in and whispered. 'His feelings for you many alter in the same way as his nature has been altered. It has simply never been done before – a werewolf and a vampire. You have to give him the chance to be who he is.'

'I can't. We were going to be together forever, he and I, when he was ready to join me. Now all trace of what he was has gone. There's not a mark on him. I don't think that I can bear it.'

Biffy stirred once more pulling the blanket around himself. The exhaustion caused by his metamorphosis would last many more days. Like a newly born child he would need feeding little and often to begin with. His eyes opened wide.

'My Lord, Professor, I'm sorry how remiss of me, I must have dozed off again. I'm so tired.' He sat up abruptly. 'The Queen was here and I didn't bow. Oh my Lord, you will explain won't you?' He looked down at himself. 'I have no clothes either.' He looked at his wrists. 'And no marks. Professor?'

'We had no choice, Biffy. You were going to die. Lord Maccon turned you to save you. You are a werewolf, part of the Woolsey pack. It will be better for you if you join them. I will take you there myself this evening when I have finished with BUR business.'

'But Lord Akeldama….' Biffy protested.

'Will have to learn to do without you,' the Professor explained.

'It is true, my angel boy. It is not what either of us would have wanted or indeed what we planned. It doesn't mean that we can't be together but you need to get used to who you are.' The vampire withdrew a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and dabbed at the young man's eyes. 'I wasn't sure if they'd made the right decision – if you'd rather be actually dead. So many new things to get used to my sweet one, for us both.' He turned to face the Woolsey beta. 'You had better take care of him Dolly, or you'll have me to answer to. I will have his clothes sent over or goodness knows what garb he'd end up in.' He looked Lyall up and down and shivered.

'Now my beautiful Biffy, I must love and leave you.' Without embarrassment he took the other man in his arms and kissed him tenderly on the lips. He stiffened slightly as he did obviously working to overcome his own body's natural reaction to kissing a werewolf. Lyall tried to look away but instead watched fascinated until they moved apart.

'I will take care of him personally,' he said. 'Then he can make a choice about where he wants to be.' He watched the new Potentate leave the room, turned to Biffy and said, 'Now my boy, we'd better get started.

Chapter 2

The first full moon came two weeks later. The pack gathered in the lower chambers of Woolsey Castle. Clavigers ran around preparing each cell for its occupant ready to stand guard. For many of the older werewolves the transformation could be done without too much pain or suffering. Lord Maccon could transform at will, very smoothly, but for newer werewolves their metamorphosis was excruciating.

For a change Professor Randolph Lyall was early. He wanted to check on the newest recruit to the pack. Biffy was pacing in his new cell, a claviger fussing round him, when Lyall arrived.

'I've put him in the cell next to yours as you requested, Professor,' Tipton said. He was an acting friend of Tunstall who'd now left the pack since his marriage to the friend of Lady Maccon.

'Thank you, Tipton. His first lunar induced transformation is not going to be easy for him. You can leave us now.'

'If you're sure, Professor.' Tipton hesitated for a moment.

'What is it?' Lyall asked impatiently.

'You can't stay in there with him, Sir. He has to do this by himself. Don't leave it too long. If you stay with him you might end up tearing him apart.'

'I don't know what you mean?' Lyall replied. It took all of his control not to blush. The claviger took one step back as the beta glared at him.

'I meant nothing,' Tipton said. 'You've always been very fair to us clavigers, Sir.' The Professor sighed and sank down onto the nearest chair.

'I just thought you should know that there's been talk about how much time you're spending with him. He used to be a drone and there's some resentment that Lord Maccon converted him before others were chosen. I know it's only been two weeks but he's having a bit of a hard time finding his place here. It hasn't helped that he's still seeing that vampire. The others don't understand that either. They don't trust him and they think that his loyalties are divided. I just thought I should say something to let you know.'

'Thank you, Tipton. I know that must have taken some courage and I know that when your time comes you will be even more of an asset to the pack than you are now. Biffy is an exceptional case. You want to become a werewolf; he wanted to become a vampire. It will take him some time to adjust to that and he and Lord Akeldama were very close. He depended on Biffy to collect information. Given time I'm sure that things will change.' Suddenly he felt tired which was unusual at this time of the month. Usually his adrenaline was pumping ready for the transformation. He should be annoyed at the presumption of this claviger but he knew that he was right: he had given Biffy too much attention. He couldn't explain it himself. The young werewolf was indeed something special, as Lord Akeldama had declared more than once when complaining loudly about his favourite drone being removed from his care. He had all these feelings for the young man that he couldn't explain. When he'd stroked his fur on that first night something had altered for Lyall; something had stirred within. He found that he wanted to take care of Biffy but it was more than that. He wasn't afraid that he would tear him apart if they shared a cell, he was afraid that he would be overwhelmed with the desire to mate with him somehow. He wasn't even sure that that was possible between two male werewolves. He shook himself out of his daydream.

'I'll just get undressed and go into my cell,' he said to Tipton.

'Right Sir, don't worry, I'm sure he'll cope. He seems like a strong young man. I'll pull the gate between you if things get too out of control.' Lyall was surprised to feel Tipton's hand on his arm. He looked at the young would be actor and saw something in his eyes he hadn't noticed before. Had he been blind to all this sort of thing until Biffy? Were there men feeling affection for men all over the place? Tipton was nothing like Lord Akeldama and his boys, all lace, velvet and flounces. Lyall was confused and then he felt the surge of change run through him and heard the first cries of agony from Biffy. He stripped quickly. Further down the corridor from these more private cells the noise of bones cracking and wolves howling began. He knew that there would be food prepared and ready for each occupant of the cells. Lord Maccon was elsewhere that night so he was the senior member of the pack; he set the standard. He stepped into his cell as his spine began to stretch. He sank to his knees. Next door Biffy screamed in pain. Lyall saw his face twisted with the agony of it all. He desperately tried to hold off his metamorphosis until the young man was completely changed. He watched as every bone in the other man's body broke and reformed; as sinew and muscle were stretched to their limits. He felt testosterone running through his own body and feelings of need he didn't want to identify. He could smell Biffy and it was intoxicating. He wanted to touch him; he wanted to do more. Finally the youngest werewolf of the Woolsey pack transformed and began to pace his cell. Tipton threw in the first of several chickens and Biffy fell on it as if he hadn't been fed for weeks. In no time at all it was gone; even the bones were crunched away to nothing. The last thing Lyall did was nod to Tipton who pushed the solid partition back into place and then he let himself take on his true form.

The next morning he entered the cell next to his with some trepidation. He knew that Biffy would be exhausted and hungry. Tipton had opened both cells and left food on the table. Their clothes were laid out neatly ready for them to dress. He noted that Biffy still tended to wear more lace than was normal for a werewolf and that he hadn't managed to wean himself off his passion for the cravat. Naked as the man lying on the floor, Lyall felt no embarrassment being so. He squatted down next to Biffy and touched his shoulder. His hand lingered and then moved to run through the other man's hair. He was truly beautiful. His skin was perfect. Lyall could find no blemishes and he looked carefully. He found himself wondering what it was that Akeldama and Biffy did together. No, that wasn't quite right; he knew what men did together. He'd been around long enough to know that in warfare men grew close, without the influence of women. Oh, there were always women about, pack followers who would offer their favours in exchange for payment, but this was different. He felt the young wolf move. Biffy stretched his limbs one by one and then opened his eyes wide when he saw the Professor kneeling next to him.

'Am I supposed to feel like I've broken every bone in my body?' he asked. 'Please tell me that this gets better.'

'It does,' Lyall explained. 'I shouldn't do this but I'll show you.' He transformed himself into his wolf form quite quickly. Years of experience allowed him to do this. Biffy looked astonished as he talked to him in his normal voice.

'You'll be able to control it eventually so you can change. Your strength will develop and you will have more stamina. You'll be able to run faster and jump higher and further.' Biffy reached out a hand and stroked the brown fur of his beta. Lyall felt a surge of desire run through him. He needed to transform back quickly.

'I never realised how soft werewolf fur was,' Biffy said. 'Is mine the same colour or is every werewolf different?'

'Yours is lighter than mine with tints of silver,' the Professor said. 'Quite beautiful.' He regained control and transformed back into his human form. Instead of withdrawing his hand Biffy stroked the other man through the change. Finally human again, Lyall was astonished when Biffy reached up his hand to behind the beta's head and pulled him down until their lips met. Something broke in him then. He fell on the younger man kissing him fiercely. Biffy returned every kiss and every touch. Lyall felt fingers pressing into his back and arse, pulling him closer. He had no control over his arousal and felt that he was suddenly harder than he'd ever been in his life. He could feel that Biffy was similarly aroused. He pushed his tongue into the younger man's mouth. He tasted of raw meat but instead of finding that unpleasant it made him more eager. Under him Biffy was giving as good as he got. His pelvis thrust upwards meeting Lyall pushing down. They built up a rhythm. He knew that he should stop this but the beta felt like he was falling over a cliff unable to do anything about it. He felt his orgasm beginning to surge through every vein, every sinew and every muscle until he lifted his head and howled his release. Biffy followed soon afterwards, warmth flooding between them. For seconds, which stretched into a few minutes, both men lay in the same position panting.

'I'm sorry,' Lyall said. 'That shouldn't have happened.' The other man smiled. 'I wanted it to, Randolph. D'you mind if I call you Randolph. I know you're my beta and I should respect that role but …..'

They heard footsteps heading their way, probably brought by the sound of their howling. Finding them both naked would not surprise Tipton but lying on top of each other, covered in the obvious result of their coupling, might. Lyall pulled himself off the man underneath him, and felt strangely bereft at their separation. He grabbed at the bedding in the corner and began to wipe himself down. Biffy did the same. Tipton, being the good claviger he was, coughed out of sight. 'Is everything alright, Sir? We heard noises.'

The Woolsey pack beta appeared at the cell door. 'Yes, thank you, Tipton. Biffy just had a few problems when he woke up. Everything is fine now. Thank you for your concern. You can leave us to dress.' He was thankful that Tipton did not have the sense of smell that belonged to a werewolf because the smell of sex filled the air. It was all he could do to stop his cock from swelling again. He watched the claviger walk away and turned back to find Biffy sat cross legged on the floor.

'Well, that was a bit of a turn up for the books, wasn't it?' he said looking at Lyall who felt totally exposed under the younger man's gaze. Biffy got to his feet and walked to stand in front of the other man. He kissed him gently. Lyall felt confused and somewhat at a loss. He had no idea how to handle this development.

'Can we do this again?' Biffy asked. 'Do male werewolves have relationships with other male werewolves? I don't know the etiquette here. Lord Akeldama and myself were intimate on many occasions but we weren't exclusive, either of us. I'm not sure that he'll entirely understand but he will accept my feelings for you.'

'You have feelings for me,' Lyall said, conscious that they were still both naked stood in front of each other.

'Oh yes. Don't get me wrong I enjoy sex very much but this is more than that. Is that allowed? I'm just a lowly wolf and you're beta of the most important pack in England. Will you tell Lord Maccon about us? Or….' He stopped suddenly. 'You do want to be with me again don't you?'

Lyall nodded. 'I shouldn't but I can't help myself. I've never felt like this about another man. It's been years since I felt this for anyone. I will tell Conall at some time and we will have to be circumspect in our behaviour, but yes I want to be with you again and again and again. The smile he was rewarded with made Lyall's heart sing. He had no idea how this was going to work out but he wanted to try.

'I'd better get back to work; BUR business never waits. I'll be back tonight though,' he said.

'And I'll be waiting. I'll write to my Lord and tell him that I need to devote myself to my studies. He'll be cross but understand. Things change. I'm a werewolf now and my life will be different.' He took the Professor's hand. 'But I think I may have the best guide I could possibly have.'

As he walked away Professor Randolph Lyall, beta of the Woolsey pack, realised that he'd never been more scared in his life, or more excited for the future. It was a good feeling.