The rest of that weekend and through the week her dreams had been plagued by this beast. Each night it had chased her. Each night it had caught her, torn her clothes open and demanded that she give herself to it. And then each night she would wake up in a panic, just at that very moment. The dreams had been so vivid, getting back to sleep had been difficult, but she never dared to turn on her lights and consider getting a glass of water in the night, in case the creature stalked nearby.

She knocked on the door to the tailors shop, and pushed the door open to let herself in. The neighbouring shops were busy as usual, while this one was not.

Inside the lights were dimmer than she remembered on her first visit.

"Mel…?" She called out, as she spotted a note written on the counter.

Shohba -Lass,

I am expecting you, but finishing with another client.

Come straight through to the changing rooms.

Your dress is in a cubicle to the right. Try it on!

Will be with you shortly.

M

She took the note and walked through to the back, where the small shop front suddenly expanded into a much larger and surprisingly lavish fitting area. There were several sewing machines at work stations at the back and two sets of cubicles either-side with a pretty round sofa in the centre, and several large mirrors. And then she spotted her dress hanging in a cubicle. It was beautiful!

Walking straight in, she drew the curtain eager to try it. The blue silk had been stiffened a little with a soft lining, and it fit perfectly. She wasn't sure she could wear it to work at this rate, it looked far too pretty! The neckline, even with its collar, stopped teasingly above her cleavage, giving any viewer a very welcoming guide down towards her breasts, but requiring a decent ogle downwards to truly view the desired target!

As she buttoned up the dress, she suddenly stopped mid way unable to do up the last two! Try as she might the bust was too tight, and there simple wasn't enough wiggle room! Peeping out into the main area it still appeared empty, and so she stepped out.

"Mel…?" She spoke up, still unsure where the seamstress was, and so she stepped out into the main area walking over to the mirrors on the right.

If not for the buttons, everything else was perfect!

As she assessed the dress in the mirror, she spotted a figure standing behind her, and spun around. The brooding lord of Erebor, stood in the centre of the changing rooms, watching her with an unreadable expression that would scare anyone!

"Oh! Lord Oakenshield! You scared me.. where's Mel?" She blurted nervously, as he slowly walked over.

"She will be back down shortly. What are you doing here, Miss Seth?" He came to tower over her, the subtlest upending of the corners of his lips, indicating he was clearly happy at having startled her. "Do you make it a habit to help yourself…?"

"I… had an appointment –" she got out, as she watched his icy gaze rake over her, settling for a little longer than required at the V-neckline of her dress. He made her feel as though she had done something wrong. As though she were a thief! "Mel left a note –"

Shobha tore her gaze from his looking frantically for the note, and spotted it on the sofa, but he clearly stood in her way, blocking her escape out of the mirrored area. The only way she could get out was to brush past him.

"Are you sure that's your dress?" He let his eyes settle on her chest for longer before returning to bore into her eyes again, as he took another step towards her.

Her heart raced, and she felt her cheeks heating up.

"I made an appointment with Mel, and she had left me a note… asking me to try it on –" she took another step back to find herself backed against the cold hard mirror.

"Are you afraid of me…" he lowered his voice to a whisper. If she didn't spot the faint smirk on his lips, she would have thought he was threatening her. But she felt caught off guard nonetheless.

"Lass?"

The were interrupted by Mel who spoke from behind.

"You should be." He finished in his low tone, his face clearly serious. And then as though they had been conversing normally, he tilted his head before turning away. "I hope we find a solution, Mel."

And with that he walked away.

"I'm sorry lass. Did he scare ya? I had to sort out some paperwork." The seamstress explained gesturing in his direction, although he was long gone now. "I left you a note – let's see lassie…"

"It's perfect but a little tight up here…" as Shobha looked down at herself, she groaned, realising all this time her neckline was very open, revealing her soft, sheer, lacy bra. Luckily, the dress covered her nipples.

"Easily fixed lass," she fiddled about with the back. "How's the rest feel? Enough room?"

Mel moved her arms around checking.

"Really comfortable actually… I don't know how you've made it fit so well, but feel this good." Shobha turned to her. "What was that all about? Are you in trouble?"

Then seeing the older lady's face fall, she felt terrible for having pried.

"Sorry it's none of my business."

"Oh no lass! Yer alright. It's just that, my son is away in Edinburgh. He's doin a course on tailorin, and well, business hasn't been great for some time now anyway. I'm a little behind in me rent and bills." She fiddled with the hem and the skirt, before looking over at Shobha, her pale blue eyes watering. "Lord Thorin's given me time, but there isn't much more he can do. And I already took a loan for me son's course…"

"Can't he give you more time? I mean what will happen –"

"He has helped all he can, but they've got ta be fair by all the vendors. I am still fifteen hundred short. Me son has been working part time, he's saved up five hundred, the poor lad. But I have till the end of the month to get the rest." She sounded positive, as though she was simply due to pay. But Shobha could tell the seamstress was not hopeful.

"If you can't pay?"

"I'll have to give up me shop – and me house. Lucky for me, me sister lives in the Iron hills, she'll take us both in for now, until we can sort ourselves out… we've had our business for the last fifty years. We'll get back on our feet again."

Shobha watched as Mel pottered about tidying the pieces of clothes and patterns that lay on the sewing machines, bravely, while she returned to her cubicle, and then halted before drawing the curtain.

"I can give you the thousand." She concluded. It seemed unfair that this poor woman was to be thrown out of her business and home over such a small amount.

"I couldn't take that lass!" She looked shocked.

Drawing the curtains, Shobha quickly got changed.

"I insist." She carried on. It was true that she didn't have to pay rent here, and the wages were better. And she hadn't done any shopping for the last four weeks, except for when she visits the markets with Kili, but even then most of the things she came home with were gifts from her Ereborean patients who were happy to not have to travel to the nearest big unit for treatment. It felt like nothing, given she had only carried out minor operations on them. Suturing lacerations and wounds, treating a few infections and taking off a few moles. This could be her way to pay it forward!

Stepping out she handed the seamstress the dress.

"Lass… I wouldn't be able to pay ya back –"

"Consider it payment for your work!" She explained.

"Och no… I can't charge ya that fer this dress!" She frowned over her half glasses.

"I have trousers to alter…"

"Still…"

Shobha patted her arm gently before stepping away.

"I insist. Consider it an investment…"

"Tell ya what lassie. Can I make ye a ball gown for the a summer ball?" Mel offered. "In truth I would have ta make ye four more – I never charge more than two hundred for a balk gown with all the embellishments and stuff… but it was me boy that did all the fine work. He has a good pair of hands he has –"

"And that's why he needs to do this course without worrying about you…"

"Och! I know! When ye get married – ye come te old Mel! I will do ye wedding dress and the maids dresses too!" She smiled, her face cracking at the thought. "I haven't done one in a while. But the last one was fer the Lord's sister! It was a grand wedding, lass!"

"Oh no… I'm not ready for that – "

"A pretty lass like ye?! They'll be lining up fer ya!" She winked cheekily. "I would wager even the grumpy old Lord likes ya!"

"Ok, I don't need to make any more mistakes.." Shobha muttered under her breath, picking up her bag.

"Aye, he don't deal with people much. We have tailored for the Oakenshield family for a long time… I should know."

"Surely that should get you more clients?"

"Lass, the young lasses these days want all fancy open clothes. In truth ya couldn't call them clothes, they don't cover much." She chuckled. "And they charge em more. Ye see the shops next door. I can't compete with that lass."

Then Mel looked at Shobha closely, taking her glasses fully.

"Have they been workin ya hard there lass? Ya look tired." The way Mel looked at her then reminded her of her mother!

"Nightmares," she plonked herself down on the sofa, taken aback.

"Oh lass, are ya missing ye home?" Mel sat down next to her and observed her carefully.

Shobha held her gaze for a moment, but only seemed to find a genuinely concerned motherly woman, patiently waiting for her to talk.

"It's nothing…"

"If yer going ta help me, then let me help ye, lass. Talk te old Mel here." She added sincerely. "I won't tell anyone lassie."

Shobha paused for a minute, debating what to do, and then decided to just say it as it was.

"My dress. The one I lost – well I swear I was attacked at night last week! In fact on Thursday night before I came to see you!" Shobha watched her for any signs of reaction, but she remained silent, listening concerned. "But the weird thing was – it was a wolf! Well, not exactly a wolf. It looked almost like a man!"

Mel's eyes widened, but it was less with surprise and more as though a vital secret had been discovered!

"Please tell me I'm not mad!" Shobha exclaimed worried Mel would simply dismiss it. And to her shock the seamstress silently shook her head.

"Were ya bitten lassie?"

"No! Not a scratch." Shobha felt relief at having spoken to someone about it all finally. "But someone took me in, and took me out of my dress, but also took the dress away… I mean it's completely gone!"

"Oh lass." Mel whispered worried. "Are ya alright now? Ye weren't hurt though.. yer certain of it?"

Shobha nodded, surprised at her reaction.

"But it was there near the house, again last weekend… I keep dreaming about it." Shobha didn't dare reveal anymore. The sexual nature of the dreams scared her. And she was sure she had no innate kinky fantasies about having sex with animals. No, this thing was definitely some sort of freakish human. She had never seen werewolves before, but she imagined this was what it would look like. And yet they weren't real.. it was like saying she had been attacked by a unicorn! She would surely end up in the looney bin for saying this!

"What colour was the beasts fur…"

"Black. As black as the night! But it had these strange blue eyes." Her hands flew over her mouth as though she had let something slip that shouldn't have. "Do you think me mad for saying this…?"

Mel stifled a gasp at hearing the beasts description, as though she knew of this creature, and shook her head in reassurance.

"We should tell Oin, and have you stay here with me –"

"Oh God Please no. I mean thank you for your offer. But Oin would think I'm mad."

"Ye cannae stay out after dark on full moon nights, lass." Mel spoke sincerely, understanding her predicament. "And If ye ask anyone, they will deny it because yer an outsider. But I can tell ye that what ye saw was real. Ye must be careful."

Shobha took in the warning with complete shock. She had been expecting to have her worries dismissed, not confirmed!

"Oh lass, I don't think he will hurt ya. But ye need time to find out…"

Heart pounding she watched the tailor guide her over to where she began to make her a cup of tea. What did she mean?

…

Perhaps it was having spoken with Mel, or perhaps it was because the dreams and the noises had faded away as the week wore on, but she had felt much better. And sleep had become more restful again.

Fili and Kili had even popped in towards the end of the week to meet her for lunch. It seemed she had made her first friends here in Erebor already in the young councilmen. And they had invited her to join them on a picnic that weekend, but she had kindly asked to defer the treat to a future weekend so she could get some more rest that weekend, as she had lost much previously.

Her old life started feeling like a distant memory, and Mike a once useless nightmare.

Even sharing a house with the gigantic and silent Gorin was less daunting now.

That Monday, as she got ready for work, the sun shone brightly and the skies were a perfect blue!

Unexpectedly, the front doorbell rang, and so she walked through from her private living room to open it. Outside on the porch stood Lord Oakenshield, wearing his usual stony expression, in yet another deep blue suit.

"Good Morning," she began, a little uncertain and quite surprised to see him standing there.

"Miss Seth, I have a matter which needs to be discussed with you." He spoke flatly. "May I come in?"

"Oh! With me?" She clarified again. Up until now, she had little dealings with him, and still didn't understand what is could be that he wished to discuss.

"Aye," he tilted his head.

"Well, in that case, please do come in…" she stood aside and gestured, as he walked through, and straight into her own sitting room.

Outside, his old Land Rover, was parked in their drive way where Gorin usually parked his car, and next to it she spotted another equally tall, broad, burly looking man, covered in tattoos, leaning against it. He looked even more intimidating, until he spotted her, and then she couldn't help notice the slightest smirk on his face, as he carried on smoking his pipe!

Shutting the front door, and aware of the brooding Lord of Erebor still waiting for her in her sitting room, she hurried through to find him inspecting the fair number of books she had brought over with her. He immediately turned to focus his attention on her.

"Um… would you like a cup of tea or a seat…?" She began setting down her own cup of tea on a coffee table, and turning down the morning BBC news.

"That will not be necessary. I won't take up much of your time." He replied tersely. "It has come to my attention that you have loaned a large sum of money to the seamstress Mel –"

"Um, actually it's for services rendered."

"That dress suited you well, but was not worth a thousand pounds!" He cut in clenching his fists either side of him as he carried on. "And yet you had no agreement or contract in place for doing so."

"It was to help her. And we had a verbal agreement in place, that she would carry out some alterations for me in the future –"

"Miss Seth, once again, I appreciate as a female from outside of Erebor, you may have flamboyant tastes and a large wardrobe, but I cannot imagine you have enough for a thousand pounds worth of alterations!" He interrupted her again, beginning to sound irate. "Things around here are done differently, and as Lord of Erebor, I am both the rule maker and keeper –"

"Oh, that's funny, I thought that was our parliament and Queen actually." She answered back finding she too was now getting annoyed at how he was quite happy to pick a fight with her over nothing on a Monday morning! "And frankly, you have no business controlling who I give money to! I think that's up to me surely?"

"However you think things are done where you come from, it's quite different here. We are legally exempt from some of your parliamentary laws, and that is why we have our own council and myself as leader." He spoke scathingly, and apparently he had noticed she was barefoot, while getting ready, which appeared to irritate him further. "Do you wish to put on some shoes, Miss Seth?"

"No actually, I am getting ready for work. I will have a whole day in heels, I am in no hurry to put them on just yet. Besides, this is my home, I can walk around naked in here if I so wish!"

She watched him, as he fought momentarily to control the shock that flashed across his features, accompanied by a slight blush.

"Then I suggest you purchase some sensible shoes. Or perhaps you might be tempted to gift or loan out money to our cobblers too?!" He added angrily. "You simply cannot go about intervening like this. We have rules here –"

"So you would have had her business shut and made homeless over a thousand pounds of arrears?!" She exclaimed, unable to comprehend the harshness of his laws. "She's an older woman, with no husband here to help, and you, despite being the leader and law maker would chose to punish her for nothing! She has the money, I can settle it with her separately, and I am fine with that!"

"She has a very capable son! Who has taken a loan, against his mothers business, living beyond their means, to go and learn a skill in Edinburgh, which he could easily learn from the Iron Hills. He is unlikely to return, and she will be unable to support the running of her business on her own. The closure of which will be inevitable!" He came to stand close, towering over her. Suddenly, she wished she had the extra couple of inches from her shoes after all, for against his six feet plus height, she felt tiny at five feet two! "I have it on good authority that he has met a woman from outside, during his stay there."

"So, What makes you think she wouldn't want to come here with him? There is little work for tailors in big cities with high street shops and ready made cheap clothes! I am certain he will return to help and most likely take over the family business!"

"You have too much trust in people." He growled at her response.

"And you have too little!" She balled her fists by her sides angrily. And between her anger and his ability to ruin her perfectly good morning she carried on. "In fact I would think it a better use of your time and leadership to look into the animal control problem, and thievery that goes on around here!"

"What animal control problem would that be?" He stepped closer still, his entire frame looming over her.

"The constant howling that goes on. It's made sleeping and resting very difficult! And frankly I thought I would be attacked on Thursday night!" She didn't back away, despite how closely he stood, just to prove that he didn't scare her in the way he wished! "And when I woke up my dress had been stolen – stripped off my body actually! What kind of cowardly man would do that?!"

"These are wild lands, like I once told you, Miss Seth. We have foxes and wild dogs. There is little I can do to control their howls and barks. As for your dress, you have most likely misplaced it and you are too absent minded to recall. After all you have little regard of local laws, or customs!" He spoke through gritted teeth. "I imagine you will find it one of these days."

He bore into her with his sharp sapphire gaze, as she stood up to him. He expected most people to be afraid of him, but not her, and it clearly irritated him.

"We have already helped her. I have commissioned, clothing for myself, my nephews, cousins and sister through her already. We even moved the summer ball closer, with hopes that she would get more clientele, but she is unable to cope with delivering all the work on time without her son! I have even delayed her payment several times already. I cannot do any more, or all others would ask the same treatment. You have now intervened – but I advise you to stay out of council and state matters in future, and keep to your medical work instead!" After another long stare at her, he moved towards the door.

"Thank you for coming all the way out here to tell me that, Lord Oakenshield! But I would like to clarify that my 'Medical Work' as you call it, entails helping people. That is not always purely limited to treatment in the hospital. It can include intervening with social situations and work sometimes! And for your information, good clinical practice guidance is set by our own professional body, the GMC, not you!"

"I don't care! You are not to intervene again!" He raised his voice.

"Fine!" She replied back coldly.

"I will see myself out." He walked to the front door. "Good day to you."

"And you." She shut the door to her sitting room almost in his face as he turned to address her. And leant against the door, letting her breathing and adrenaline fuelled heartbeat return back to normal. He appeared to stand there unmoving at first, and then she heard him open the door and let himself out before shutting it rather hard!

They would both be fuming about this for a few days to come now. And it was becoming increasingly clear that neither would back down.

…

Thank you again if you are following so far. i will try to up date two chapters this week, so theres a bit more to read.

Until then let me know your thoughts xx

specially thank you to UnaLouise for your continuing support - am really grateful ❤️ hopefully its not too scary x