(Disclaimer: I do not own Skyrim; just Xana, Brii and all of my other OC's that I've added and blended into the story.)

(Authors Note: Drem Yol Lok dearest readers, fellow writers, fangirls, fanboys and Skyrim nerds of every ethnicity, gender, religion, and faction (eg. Dark Brotherhood, Thieves Guild, Mages College, Companions, and so on :D). First off, I wish to apologize for the delay in posting this latest chapter as I've been rather preoccupied with other projects lately. Good news though, I recently got invited to AO3, so you all can find me there as well. Unfortunately, I've only started uploading chapters for my primary Bayverse Transformers FF, so none of my other stories are on that site as of yet, but they will be. Regardless, thank you all for your continued patience and support of this fic. If you enjoyed this story so far, feel free to leave a comment as the feedback is always welcomed and appreciated (no hate though, please). With that being said, I present to you the latest chapter. Until next time, stay safe, stay sane and stay awesome!)

It was nearly dusk when Xana spotted her Mother, brothers' and sister-in-law approaching the homestead with two tiny bundles cradled in Renessie's arms as the wagon they rode in came to a slow stop outside of the barn. With a smile lining her ashen gray face, the young Dunmer informed the rest of her family of their arrival, to which they all eagerly awaited for them to enter the house.

LAD was practically teetering on the edge of his seat in anticipation, for he had been looking forward to meeting his new siblings for months. Swishing his tail back and forth, his blue eyes widened as the front door softly creaked open to reveal his parents and grandmother.

While everyone wanted to express their greetings and congratulations, they were silenced as Flower-Song placed a finger to her lips, signaling that the newborns were currently asleep. Stepping over to the couch, she helped Renessie ease down onto the cushions before placing a pair of throw pillows underneath her arms in order to better support the tiny babies she was holding. Both infants (though swaddled in linen cloths) had bluish scales with pink hugh's and looked identical to one another.

Kneeling beside their son, Shore placed a hand on his back while Sea quietly asked, "Would you like to say hi to your new sisters, LAD?"

Wordlessly, the little Argonian boy nodded, to which Sea then gently picked him up and sat him upon his knee so he'd have a better view of the babies. Of course, upon seeing his new siblings, LAD softly started to cry. "..These...These are my sisters?"

"Yea, buddy. Say hi to Lotus and Water-Lily," Shore replied with a smile, to which his son continued to happily cry.

"..I love them," he stated as he then gently stroked the tops of their tiny, scaly heads before softly giving them a kiss.

"Aw, honey," Renessie tearfully smiled at her little boy's reaction to his new sisters. At this, everyone in the house shared in their joy and within minutes, the rest of the children were brought over to meet the babies.

"They're so small," Titania noted as she and her twin brother, Tristan, curiously gazed down at the slumbering infants.

"Indeed. They're small now, but they'll grow," Sea replied with a smile as he sat down beside his mate.

"They look just like you and Uncle Shore," Brii stated as she lightly touched Water-Lily's exposed hand, causing the wee babe to reflectively twitch in her sleep before emitting a big yawn, which exposed her tiny needle-like teeth.

"That's what I said when they came out," Renessie replied with a soft chuckle, earning amused smirks from both of her mates.

Unfortunately, the tender moment was short-lived as an eerie howling sound was suddenly heard near one of the fields, which was then followed by the frantic bleating of sheep and the distressed braying of horses.

Fearing for the safety of the animals, Reem-Sha, Xana, Odahviing, Tenova, Stone-Scale and Shastan immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed outside to investigate the disturbing sounds, while the other adults remained inside the house with the children.

As the group neared the field, a series of sickening death screams were heard, followed by a deep guttural roar and the brief/blurry outline of a large creature dashing off into the forest. Upon opening the gate and entering, the group soon came upon a grizzly sight: blood, wool and large chunks of meaty flesh and guts were strewn about the ground, which was also accompanied by the foul stench of death.

While this sort of smell wouldn't normally bother Xana, as she had encountered this stench many times throughout her travels, she was finding it rather difficult to keep her stomach from churning and purging its contents for all to see. Ignoring the sickening feeling, she and the rest of the group began rounding up the flock and wrangling the horses. Thankfully, all five equines were physically unharmed; however, upon counting the sheep, they realized that two were missing. Of course, judging by the carnage that was left, it was obvious that they were killed and carried off elsewhere to be eaten. A gruesome fate, indeed.

While Tenova, Shastan and Stone-Scale diligently worked to herd the animals out of the field and into the barn, Reem-Sha, Xana and Odahviing thoroughly examined the kill site. Immediately, the young Dunmer spotted a set of familiar-looking tracks in the dirt and narrowed her crimson eyes as she knew exactly what was responsible for this attack: a werewolf.

XXXXX

"Are ya sure it's a werewolf," Tenova asked his daughter as Flower-Song poured him some tea, to which Xana gave him a nod as she sat nearby and gently ran a brush through Brii's long, crimson hair.

"I'm positive. Those tracks weren't made by a regular wolf, nor were there any drag marks left by the sheep. A lone wolf wouldn't have been able to make off with two fully-grown sheep in its mouth, which means they were carried off. Besides, the carnage we saw is consistent with a werewolf attack."

"So, what do we do? We've never dealt with a werewolf in Blackwind before," Marbella shakily spoke up as she held her children close, while Shastan soothingly rubbed her back as a means to keep her calm and grounded so she wouldn't fall into a panic.

*sigh* "Unfortunately, there is little we can do. The werewolf must either be killed using silver cast weapons or cured of the lycan curse."

"Wait, there's actually a cure," Reem-Sha asked, surprised. "I thought once you got bit by a werewolf, your fate was to spend the rest of your life as one."

"Yes, there is a cure," she answered with a nod. "However, because the afflicted likely wasn't cursed in the manner which I'm familiar with, I doubt said cure would even work for them. What likely happened is that they somehow angered the daedric lord, Hircine, and he cursed them. Of course, they could have also requested him to turn them into a werewolf. If that's the case, then the person within the beast has likely gone feral and doesn't even know who they are anymore."

"That's terrible," Renessie stated while keeping her voice low so as to not wake her newborn daughters' or LAD (who had fallen asleep on Runs-To-Shore's lap).

At her statement, Xana nodded in agreement, "Indeed. I once met a man who was cursed with lycanthropy and had come into possession of a magic ring that was said to give the wearer control of their transformations; however, in his case, it was random and he had even less control of his beast form. Reason why is because he stole it, which caused Hircine to place a curse on it."

"So, what happened to the man," Swims-To-Sea asked as he added another log to the fire.

Casting her eyes downward, she emitted a sigh, "...I ended up killing him. Reason why is because he deliberately attacked and killed a child while in his beast form. Now, I understand it's difficult for a werewolf to control their instincts, but I just couldn't risk him losing control like that again."

"You did what was necessary and likely brought closure to that child's family," Flower-Song assured as she poured a cup of tea and handed it to her before placing a scaly hand atop her shoulder and giving a soft/reassuring squeeze, which brought a grateful smile to the young Dunmer's face.

"So, Xana, how do you suggest we deal with this werewolf," Shastan inquired as he continued to rub circles along Marbella's back.

"We'll start by tracking it in the morning. It's far too dangerous to go looking for it at night, as they draw power from the moons."

"In that case, Shastan, Marbella, you and the children shall stay here tonight. I don't want anyone venturing outside at this time," Tenova replied, to which his son and daughter-in-law gave a nod of agreement. There was no way they'd risk traveling back to their home with a werewolf on the prowl. Absolutely not!

"Do you think we'll catch the werewolf, Monah," Brii sleepily asked, to which Xana gave her a nod:

"If we work together, we should."

*yawn* "I hope so."

Seeing that all of her grandchildren were becoming drowsy (or had already fallen asleep), Flower-Song took this opportunity to heat up some milk with a bit of honey and lavender mixed in. This would then be given to the ones who were still awake as it would help soothe their tired minds and provide a comforting warmth. All this talk of werewolves was bound to give them nightmares, so she wanted to do her part in preventing such outcomes.

(Another Authors Note: Hello again dear readers, fellow writers and Skyrim fans! I hope you've all enjoyed this latest chapter as I've still got more ideas in mind for future content. I know this one was a bit short compared to the others, but it couldn't be helped. Personally, I think it's a decent length and wouldn't change it. Now, with that being said, I can't guarantee when the next update will be as I'm currently working on other projects and also need to buckle down and update my other stories; but please note that I have no intention of abandoning this story. Again, thank you all for the continued support!)