So it seems that our brothers have submitted to the power of the Moon. May they rejoice in their reunion and may our enemies tremble at their awakening.

- Lord of the Wolves, unknown verse in the 'Legends of the Old Gods'

Beneath the Silver Moon, part III

The forest was oddly peaceful for once but perhaps it was due to the presence of the mystic and the powerful. Shadows loomed around the slumbering pair that took refuge underneath one of the oldest Sylvan trees, the Great One as it was reverently named by the passing Dalish elves. Unlike its younger and more vicious offspring, the Great One allowed the two to rest undisturbed and it also noticed the presence of something far older than itself standing sentinel by the pair.

So, the time has come then. It seems as if this world is destined to end in fire and strife. The Great One addressed the shadows of its offspring and the blackness conglomerated into one shape.

Indeed it has, young one. The wolf could easily have over towered the tree but decided to choose a smaller form, more out of its desire to not frighten the two humans rather than respect for the Great One.

Much time has passed since your last visit. Is it because of these two who slumber at my heart, unknowing of the danger that lay above them?

The wolf knew that the Great One truly did not even dare to harm his chosen vassals but he allowed the empty threat to pass with impunity. Instead, the wolf simply walked closer to the pair and gazed curiously at the sight they made.

Alistair had curled around the smaller of the two, a muscled forearm wrapping around the torso and keeping his partner close to him. The Lord of Wolves growled softly at how his chosen one turned over and nuzzled sweetly into his lover's neck. The silver hair was starting to darken at last, a sign of coming of age, of the loss of innocence. It seems that the Blight was taking a toll on his young warrior and the wolf hoped the young Cousland wouldn't get lost in the political machinations of Loghain when something even more dangerous was coming.

He nuzzled the two men and pulled back suddenly as if burned by the contact. Then what could be taken as a smile appeared as lips pulled back to reveal rows of serrated teeth.

Seemingly satisfied with what he had discovered upon touching the two mortal bodies, the wolf walked back into the thick of the forest, fading into the blackness as easily as a ghost.

The Great One himself was largely confused by the wolf's sudden departure. However, having seen many strange things in his large lifespan, he did not question the wolf and the leaves on his arms and head rustled and quivered in the wind at the sound of a howl that reverberated through the thickness of his wooden skin and that of many of the forest's denizens. Even the werewolves and other monstrous atrocities that lurked in the dark haven trembled at the sound and all knew that they were not to disturb the two mortals on pain of death or perhaps worse.

Soon, the night fell to the impending dawn, if only temporarily, and the forest awakened to greet the new ruler in the sky. Dark creatures of the night scurried off to their hiding places as they found the light repulsive and painful to bear.

Sparrows and their much larger cousins, the hawks, chirped and flew restlessly from tree to tree, awakening the pair in the forest's heart. It was Alistair who roused first and brown eyes blinked until the world above him came into focus. Something shifted and moaned beside him as he slowly sat up, rubbing his forehead as he tried to remember what had happened a few candlelights ago.

Flowery aromas filled his senses as did something else, a smell of copper and sandalwood. Suddenly remembering the intruders that had invaded his makeshift camp and threatened his lover, Alistair quickly glanced over the person still sleeping beside him.

Hadrian moved closer to him and the blonde warrior sighed in relief when he could find no serious injuries littering the bare body. However, the skin on the other Warden's neck looked discoloured, more yellow than it should be and the blonde man growled at the memory of that intruder who dared to take away what's rightfully his. At his growl, Hadrian emitted a soft sound, almost a whimper and the other man instinctively bared his neck, as if asking for Alistair to claim him already.

The temptation to mark his lover was strong indeed and the tantalizing smell of arousal did not help either. However, despite the exotic aroma that emanated from his lover, Alistair somehow knew that the claiming would have to be done when both partners consented. He had won the chase last night, having followed his lover's trail effortlessly, even in the dark of night. Only his instincts guided him down the right path and now they were telling him to wait a little bit longer, if only to see the silver-haired man rouse from his sleep and realize that he was his.

He didn't have to wait long and he gasped at how his name slipped from Hadrian's lips upon the fluttering of those gorgeous cerulean eyes.

"Alistair?"

"You're safe," he replied, his voice so deep and gravelly that Alistair had difficulty in recognizing his own voice.

Hadrian's eyes widened at whatever he saw and then his cheeks blushed as the other man tried to turn away only for Alistair to gently cup his cheek and pull him back.

"Do you accept us at last?" Alistair asked seriously, the usual jest in his eyes and voice gone and replaced by something else entirely.

"At last? You mean..." Hadrian's cheeks grew even redder at the implication of Alistair's words and then his blue eyes darkened almost with anger. The change in Hadrian's attitude startled the blonde one and soon he found himself restraining his partner.

"No, you're not yourself, Alistair!" Hadrian cried out and he lashed out a fist only to have his hand caught in a much stronger grip. "Not since last night."

Alistair pinned his wrists above his head and merely waited until Hadrian tired himself out from the unnecessary exertions. Once his lover calmed down, he leaned forward and pressed their lips together gently.

"I am very much myself," Alistair whispered against his lover's soft lips and he pulled back to let his lover see for himself. Hadrian scrutinized him with a wary eye, his body still tense beneath him. The pale skin glistened with the sheen of sweat and his erratic breathing tempered into a steady one. Soon, the tension soothed as Hadrian sighed, blue eyes closing in a relieved fashion. Hadrian's lithe body relaxed somewhat but it was enough for Alistair to know that he wasn't forcing his lover into this, whatever this was.

"Show me," Hadrian dared him with a glint in his eye. "Show me that you are indeed the Alistair I know and then I will be yours, Alpha."

The title made Alistair growl in response and he kissed Hadrian again, this one more forceful and more demanding than its tender predecessor.

"You are the youngest son of the Couslands," Alistair said in a tender tone, the gentleness of it in sharp contrast to the strong kisses he bestowed upon his lover's pliant lips. "Vengeance rules your heart but your soul is kind and it lessens the hurt that still resides inside you."

Hadrian gasped at the truism behind Alistair's statement and allowed Alistair to slide his tongue in. The blonde warrior hummed in approval at the surrender and his grip around the wrists loosened to allow Hadrian clutch at his head and shoulders.

"You were already mine at first sight but only now have you accepted us," the soft whisper pressed against an earlobe. Hadrian groaned when Alistair gave his ear a sharp nip before continuing down that slender neck. Sharp canines worried the skin at the juncture where his neck and shoulders met before a velvet tongue licked down his sternum.

"I always thought you were handsome and strong, that your body yearns for this affection from me."

A small whimper escaped Hadrian's throat as a hot mouth covered his nipple and slender fingers threaded through the golden locks of his lover.

"But I never had the courage to tell you that you mean more to me than life itself," Alistair kissed the other pert flesh and his lips curled into a wolfish grin at how Hadrian arched into him, as if begging to be touched again when he withdrew from a nipple.

"What..." Hadrian tried to say, his coherency losing against the onslaught of Alistair's mouth and hands. "...finally had you say it?"

"Still coherent?" Alistair jested, ignoring the question that was asked of him. The blonde earned a soft gasp as he dipped his tongue into his lover's navel before travelling further down to the edge of the smallcloth.

"Alistair," Hadrian said, voice a little bit stronger and Alistair sighed from frustration. Knowing that he couldn't continue unless he answered the question, the blonde warrior finally looked up from where he laid between his lover's thigh.

"I could have lost you at any time," Alistair told him quietly, fingers skimming along the interior of the thighs that imprisoned him still. "To the assassin's poison, the undead of Warden's Keep, the dragon at the Old Temple...I could lose you still, but to the will of man, not of us."

Hadrian sharply inhaled at the realization that Alistair was referring to what had happened in Redcliffe Castle. Of Eamon's intention to use Alistair's blood as a crutch to depose Loghain of his regency. Eamon angered Hadrian to no end but the intelligent man had expected the Arl to make such a heinous suggestion. After all, it was his mother who had schooled him well in the politics of court, both the noble and the dirty sides of it. It was his mother who said that honour always wins when it mattered most, no matter the consequences.

"What you said to the Arl made me realize how much we've not said to each other. How you want to say 'I love you' but couldn't. Not to me, not to yourself."

"...Al-" Hadrian's mention of his name was cut short when Alistair kissed him, passionately and deeply.

"Say it," Alistair commanded gently, a whisper in his ear. "Say it and you will not lose me. Say it and I will stay by your side forever."

Hadrian's heart raced at how serious Alistair was, how genuine his promises were to him. These words weren't the empty ones of a temporary bedwarmer. The way way Alistair looked at him, how the love literally shone from those dark brown depths and how his hands caressed his body as if he were something to be idolized, to be worshipped. He had long stopped seeing the face of the dead King that still lay where death took him at Ostagar but it wasn't until now that Hadrian saw the real Alistair. The one man who could share his burdens, the one who didn't turn away in Hadrian's darkest moments but rather embraced his bestial side.

When he whispered those three words to Alistair, it was as if a sun literally seared him or maybe it was the light of the moon itself. After all, the moon is what gives him the power to run like his Wolf Protector, proud and free.

Hadrian moaned at how Alistair showed him how much he meant to him. Sword-calloused hands stroked along his spine and buttocks. Teeth raked none too gently against the side of his neck while a small appendage grazed along the cleft and then slipped inside him, wrenching out a heartfelt groan from him.

"Hadrian," Alistair sighed, his breath warm against his cheek. Soon, Hadrian was engulfed by the heat of his lover's mouth wherever it may land. His nipples, the skin right below his ribs, and finally where he most wanted Alistair to be at.

Little whimpers echoed around the area where the two lovers as Alistair proceeded to love Hadrian. The blonde, surrounded by his lover's salacious cries, swallowed Hadrian whole all the while letting his finger caress him. Soon, another finger joined followed by a slippery organ that teased Hadrian relentlessly, allowing him no respite.

Overwhelmed by the heat that scorched his senses anew, Hadrian could no longer fight the rising tide of ecstasy and he moaned out Alistair's name as his hips arched upwards. Wet heat splattered all over his stomach and he panted heavily, his chest heaving as he tried to recover some of his wits.

Alistair gave a smug chuckle at how responsive his Hadrian was. With his fingers now lazily stroking the insides of his lover, the blonde kissed and nipped his way up to Hadrian until he reached those red lips.

"My love," Alistair breathed hotly against his ear and he sat back, bringing Hadrian into his lap. The blonde groaned at how his lover's buttocks rested against his member until it slid along the wet cleft. Hadrian let out a strained moan and he kissed him, whispering, "ready?"

Hadrian gave him a nod and a pained whimper at the initial penetration. Alistair hissed against the side of his lover's neck, where the smell of the woods were strongest, at how tight his lover was. Knowing that he was Hadrian's first man who ever gotten this far with him, Alistair valiantly resisted the urge to impale his lover in one thrust, to have his way with this beautiful creature who quivered in his arms.

It felt like forever when Hadrian began to move, hesitantly at first before settling into a comfortable rhythm, with Alistair thrusting upwards and him moving down to greet his lover's powerful movements.

The silver hair soon darkened, the light hues giving way to the dark shades of black. Alistair moaned at how even more beautiful his lover looked and soon all he could hear was Hadrian's desperate sounds. Whimpers and cries surrounded him as did the scent of ever increasing arousal. Then, all of a sudden, he was gripped so tightly, so wonderfully that his world whitened around him. A hoarse cry of his name was the last thing he heard before it was accompanied by a shout of his own. In his haze of passion and love for this man, he licked over the juncture of where Hadrian's neck met the shoulder and penetrated Hadrian with his fangs as well as his erection.

"Oh gods!" Hadrian shouted again and the Cousland was taken over again by the unexplainable pleasure, this sensation of being loved and held by the strongest man he ever knew. Within this strong embrace, he knew Alistair would keep his promises and he fell limply against the man's chest, allowing Alistair to weakly thrust into him again and again until warmth flooded inside of him for a second time.

His eyes fluttered shut and, weak by their physical and mental connection, Hadrian tumbled over into a second darkness, assured by the indomitable presence of his Alistair that he would be kept safe and loved for as long as Alistair could manage.

The blonde warrior, noticing how his lover wasn't moving anymore, soothed the hurt with his tongue, delighting at how the bite mark closed up before leaving a half crescent moon behind on the pale skin. Too tired and perhaps a little concerned about his lover's well being, Alistair ignored the strange mark for now and gently laid Hadrian down on the soft grass before lying behind him. He nuzzled where he bit him and Hadrian moaned, his body shifting closer to him.

As the pair drifted into a much needed rest, two wolves appeared before them. The white one sat opposite to its black counterpart, each wolf sitting next to their respective hosts. As one they reared their heads back and sounded a triumphant howl, one that was heard by all nearby, including the Lady of the Forest and the Lord of Wolves who smiled.

So, it has finally started. Perhaps this world might not end in the way it was meant to.

Pleased by the turn of the events, he faded from the forest, disappearing into the wind that bore him away and taking him to where he was needed most.

-TBC-

A/N: I'm actually a little nervous about this chapter. I hope it's to everyone's expectations and would love to hear what's to be said about this anticipated chapter.