Moonlight Revelations
Really now. He should have known better than to tempt fate and the Maker. He had already encountered several roaming wild dogs, cousins to the northern wolves. Luckily, their pack was small and he had managed to take all of them out but not unscathed apparently as his leg throbbed from the dogbits that peppered his calf and ankle. His chest felt like it was on fire and Alistair didn't have to see claw marks across his now bare chest to know they were there. Great, the last thing he needs is something even bigger to attack him. The Hinterlands were known for having great southern bears that would often run around, at least until the latter months of the winter season.
He groaned as he limped his way to the river, which he knew was close by by the soft sounds of water flowing by. He really should have taken at least one health poultice. At least one...
He winced as he bent over and moaned as rocks pushed against his wounds. He needed to clean his wounds. That's what Duncan had taught to him in his first class of survival. Always go in search of water, especially if you are wounded.
Alistair greedily drank in the cool spring waters, uncaring if the water was polluted by the wildlife.
Another growl could be heard and he whirled around, thinking that it was another pack of wild dogs come to finish him off. What he found instead made him wish otherwise.
A wolf of an immense size was watching him, its blue eyes looking curiously back at him.
If someone had asked Alistair what happened next, even he couldn't fully explain the next events.
When their eyes locked, it felt as if time stood still and his hand burned hotly. He grasped at it in pain and eyes stared in horror as a star appeared on his palm, traced in blood before suddenly glowing in blue flame.
What was going on? He thought that to be a dream but it clearly wasn't.
A loud howl reverberated throughout the entire woods and Alistair watcher with terrified eyes as the wolf charged at him, its intent to kill him clear in the piercing eyes. He took a step back further than he intended and slipped backwards with a pained yelp. Stars crawled all over his vision as the breath was knocked out of him upon the hard landing and for a brief moment, everything darkened before brightening again. Savage snarls and growls could be heard and he saw two blurred figures thrashing around each other. There was an agonized yelp and one of the blurred figures fell back into a motionless heap.
The bigger of the two reared its head back to let out a victorious howl of triumph over his downed enemy. Although his eyes were unfocused, he intrinsically knew that it was the wolf he saw earlier that won this strange skirmish.
When he saw the wolf stroll towards him, he again gazed at those startlingly familiar blue eyes and wondered if he was going to be eaten. The wolf got closer to him and he felt it sniff him, its nose blessedly cold against his hot skin. His consciousness was slowly slipping away but he saw at the last minute the wolf morphing into someone he had been looking for all this time. His eyes fought to stay open, to make sure he wasn't on drugs which Morrigan may have slipped into his drink. However, the darkness called out to him and he finally gave into it, never seeing a dismal expression that had crossed his friend's features.
-o0o-
Hadrian truly hoped that no one noticed anything unusual but Alistair, ever the curious one, had to go looking for him. What had tipped him off?
He cursed inwardly at his lack of vigilance. Now, he was going to be responsible for another innocent man's death.
A hand cupped the unconscious man's cheek, the thumb rubbing away the dirt and grime. As he admired the form lying beneath him, a ghostly apparition took form and then solidified. It sat on its haunches, the head looking down at the Warden for a moment before pulling its gaze to Hadrian's, an amused twinkle shining in its eyes.
He is to be an exception.
Why? Why him?
The blood of the ancient ones flows through him and is most suitable for your needs.
My needs?
There has always been an Alpha in the Cousland Family…An Alpha and a Beta…two of the same coin and yet so entirely different as well.
Hadrian didn't like that statement. He wasn't suited for either role. He liked making his own decisions but is open-minded to listen to others. If other ideas were more appropriate, he had no qualms in following them. However, he was no submissive either. He was his own person, strong and independent.
Being submissive doesn't mean groveling in front of others. That is unmeaning for anyone.
No, I can't. He doesn't even like men and every time I see him, I see Cailan. It was true, too true for him. He didn't want to go through those heartbreaks again. He couldn't be distracted from his lifetime goal, which was seeing Howe's head on a spike.
Such vengeance will burn you and only your soul mate can curb the fires of righteous anger before it takes you..
He felt as if the wolf was chiding him, in a way his own mother scolded him lightly for a minor mistake. He did notice that as soon as he touched his friend, the fires that raged inside of him had considerably decreased in their intensity, leaving behind a calmness he had not felt in a long time.
The man moaned and stirred underneath his hand. Hadrian looked up to Zarieth, to ask him for guidance, only to find his Wolf Protector disappeared. Damn wolf. Giving me riddles and then disappearing to who knows where!
Alistair, for his part, did not rouse and it allowed Hadrian to do what he needed to do, although with great reluctance.
-o0o-
Alistair was having the most wonderful and yet odd dream again. A soft, velvety tongue was touching him, licking all over his body and yet not covering his most private areas, including his nipples. It felt as if the person was deliberately teasing him, avoiding those pleasurable areas. The tongue burned him in a way he had not felt before and he was immediately ashamed of it.
The Chantry had taught their novice Templars that the pleasures of the flesh were a sin. Anyone caught masturbating in a bed or anywhere were severely punished with ten lashes from a whip and a month's duty of cleaning weapons and dishes without a break. Their punishments, instead of discouraging the disciples of the Maker from doing it, only made it worse for now it was done in the most discrete manner, hidden in the shadows and with a guilty conscience. It helped the boys bond together even more for no one wanted to be caught and often times, one would actually stand watch while letting his friend relieve himself with his hand. Seeing such actions though sometimes prompted the two to couple eventually, especially upon reaching their final years of manhood.
Alistair had never regretted leaving the monastery. When Duncan had appeared at the front and almost demanded that Alistair be released for recruitment purposes, the young blonde felt so relieved at this opportunity to escape that horrible prison.
"Alistair, you can wake up now," Duncan had said to him. Suddenly, the memory of his mentor, the burning sensation of that wet organ, disappeared in a rush as he opened his eyes, only to have daylight sending daggers of pain. He closed them shut, groaning.
"Alistair?" A shadow stood in the way of the sun and Alistair's eyes carefully slanted open, revealing dazed brown eyes.
"Hadrian, he's awake," a feminine voice shouted out, causing the patient to wince at the loudness of her statement. Maker, I am now!
He opened his eyes all the way and was shocked to find himself lying in their cave, on a thick bedroll that shielded his back from prodding rocks. A small fire was crackling quietly in front of him and, despite the heat emanating from the hearth, he felt oddly cold and bereft of something.
Morrigan was tending to the fires, a knowing smirk on her pale face. She looked like she knew a secret of Alistair's but was unwilling to tell him. The sounds of someone approaching him, however, diverted his attention. His brown eyes focused on a familiar figure, the one he had been looking for all night.
"Hadrian!" Alistair bolted out of bed and then the blankets fell to his waist, revealing tanned skin and toned chest. The older Warden blushed as he knew that he was naked underneath and were the blankets to fall completely further down, it would revealed dark brown hairs that covered his lower part of the body.
Morrigan's gaze drifted downwards and Hadrian's own eyes gazed appreciatively at his friend. A smile curled on his lips when he saw Alistair fumbling with the blankets, trying to cover himself from prying eyes. Hadrian had to admit, though, that Zarieth really had good tastes. Damn wolf could have given me a much uglier partner. Ughh!
Finally tired of seeing his friend fumbling with himself and of Morrigan still staring at his friend lewdly, he knelt at Alistair's side. He effectively blocked the witch's view of his blushing friend as he gently pushed Alistair down on the blankets.
"How-what? I thought-"
"I found you injured and brought you back here," Hadrian answered simply. He really hated lying to his friend, but what could he say? That I turned into a wolf and licked your wounds? That would go really well, especially considering how skittish Alistair is when dealing with human contact, particularly from him.
"Really? I...I don't remember." Alistair's hand covered the right part of his face, his eyes closing shut as he tried to remember what exactly happened. Images of a blue wolf flashed in front of him but that was it. Why couldn't he remember? Was he concussed?
"You hit your head. Must have caused you to pass out back there. Don't worry, though," Hadrian assured his friend. He brought a cup of hot tea to his friend and supported him as Alistair sipped gingerly at the drink. "It'll come to you later." And give me time to deal with this.
Alistair's eyes blinked rapidly at him before the eyelids slipped shut, closing over those handsome brown eyes. There was a relieved sigh and not before long, soft, slow breaths could be heard in the cave.
"What did happen to you out there?" Morrigan asked the silent watcher.
Their unexpected appearance at dawn took them by surprise and raised many questions. Leliana had woken them all up with her loud exclamations. Even Sten jerked awake, his given sword already unsheathed and ready to kill. However, they were not greeted with an enemy but two disheveled figures, one carrying the other.
When Hadrian laid his charge down unto thick blankets that Morrigan was ordered to set up, the witch saw no visible wounds. Thus, it struck her strange that Alistair was unconscious for no apparent reason. She reined in her questions, however, until now, when it was just her and the Warden.
The man, Hadrian, did not answer her question though. Then, just when she was about to prod him again, determined to get some answers out of this strange man, he turned to her and was taken aback by seeing fierce blue eyes glaring at her as if she was an enemy. Just like back in the Kacori Wilds, the visage of the wolf snarled at her. Her mother's stories, apparently, were not just bedtime stories for her. Animal spirits were lingering remnants of the Old Gods, according to the legends, but not all were friendly to mankind. What spirit possessed Hadrian, her friend? Yes, she can call the man her friend, despite his unusual roughness with her. He had never hurt her or anyone else. It was as if he was afraid of getting close to family.
The witch still hadn't known Hadrian's last name but she figured she would find out in due time.
"Calm yourself, Hadrian," Morrigan soothed the man in a neutral tone. "I was merely wanting to know the details of what occurred. 'Tis strange to have Alistair come to us, unconscious, but with no apparent wounds on him. He is, in fact, in perfect health."
"Like I said, Morrigan," Hadrian growled at her. "I found him like this."
Morrigan threw her hands in the air out of frustration. She was never going to get any answers from him.
"Whatever you say, Hadrian," Morrigan said in an exasperated tone. She turned to rummage through her things, clearly ending the conversation.
It was this point Leliana walked in, carrying more dead rabbits in her arms. The odd silence perplexed the redhead but the concern of Alistair overrode it at the sight of Hadrian sitting by his friend's side. Her sharp eyes did not miss how Hadrian rubbed gently at a slack hand, how carefully he tended to the man when he thought no one was looking. She smiled gently and came to the fireside, placing the dead rabbits by her side.
"Is everything alright, here?"
"Yes," was a simple reply from Hadrian. "Everything's just fine."
With the way Hadrian was hunched over Alistair and the agitation of the witch, it didn't take brains to know that something was up. Leliana put this memory aside and she hummed softly as she prepared dinner for the party.
-TBC-
Review responses:
Youko'sgirl16: As much as I would love to have a Zevran threesome, I think Fergus would be OOC since he appears to be a very faithful husband to his previous wife and would probably be not in favour of sharing anyone that he loves. However, that is a good idea for my collection of one-shots called Black Book. :D
the kid: Hmm. Maybe, it depends on how many readers want it. I'll keep an open mind about it in the meantime.
YoshisSupport: I love cliffies. It makes you want to read more and more until the story's finished. I will be starting school this August, so I will do my ultimate best in finishing the majority of my stories by that time.
Swallows a lot: Yep, I think Alistair's a very hawt man and, while I think he's good with a woman, I much prefer him to be with a man. Maybe that's just the fangirl in me. :D
Aki: No cliffy this time! But it does raise more questions about our favourite couple and how Alistair will react to his new destiny.
Aki and YoshisSupport: Your request fics will be uploaded in a new fic called The Black Book. Check it out!
A/N: Thanks to all those who took their time reading this story. The poll is still open and displayed on my profile. If you are anony, just vote in your review. If you have an opinion and/or an idea, please say something! Flamers are fed to the darkspawn while those who leave a review may get a request fulfilled for the Black Book fic.