Reluctance Begets Rewards [Dimitri X Reader] [werewolf!Dimitri]

Reluctance Begets Rewards

Training a werewolf was no easy task, this was something you knew for certain, so when the royal family of Faergus sought you out, pleading for you to help their son who had recently been bitten, you were reluctant.

However, something to consider in your reluctance was of course that this wasn’t any ordinary household, this was the royal family.

Even among your normally secluded network of witches, turning away such prestige would be foolhardy, despite the risk their requested task carried. Not to mention it wouldn’t bode well for the crowned prince to be losing control of himself in the public eye. Such a thing would surely cause unrest in the kingdom.

Then, when you saw said boy, that of which would be your charge, his blond hair falling over such soft, dejected eyes, his hands clasped together in unease - something in your heart churned. It wasn’t like you to ever turn away someone in need, even if the request was challenging or particularly dangerous to your own self, and the look in that boy’s eyes tugged at that principle so fiercely.

“Alright,” you had said at the time, watching how the eyes of the king and queen gleamed with hope. “But I warn you your majesty’s, though I am knowledgeable, I have not ever practiced such a thing as taming a werewolf. The only witch capable of such a thing has long since passed”

“We trust you” Lambert, the king himself, said definitively. “Though you are young you’ve accomplished feats that of which witches of your ilk have taken most of their life to achieve. I am certain that you will be a good instructor for our son”

Anyone else may have been thrilled with that praise but the construction of his speech lead you to believe that he did not quite understand the severity of what had happened to his son.

“So, I see…” you had hummed to yourself. “Regardless, he’ll need to stay with me awhile. I’ll need to watch over him and assess his behavior”

Without waiting for an agreement from his parents you looked to the boy, who couldn’t have been more than a few years younger than you now that you really looked. “Is that alright with you, your highness? I’m sure after such a traumatic experience you wouldn’t want to be apart from your family…”

The boy, prince Dimitri, regarded you with kind eyes and a half hearted smile. “I appreciate the sentiment but if it is for the good of the kingdom, then I shall remain here with you”

Though Lambert gleamed with pride… you felt your heart sink.

Nevertheless, that is how it began.

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After years of trials, of growth, of hurt - and oh, was there much - of war, of… affection, of holding each other through the night - you wound up with something far more favorable than when you began.

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“Mm~ Such a sleepy puppy~” you hummed to yourself, a familiar blond head nestled in your lap. Only now that blond head of hair was accompanied by a pair of ears, wolfish in nature, covered in golden fur, yet just as soft as the silken strands that grew naturally.

Your fingers gently danced between bright tresses and soft fur, stroking and scratching at all that was accessible to you, watching as the now crowned king nuzzled into your touch, pining for it even in slumber.

Moments like this were not as frequent as you may have liked, but they had assuredly become more common in your life as an adult, and they were some of the most cherished. Having the love of your life snoozing away in your lap, far away from his responsibilities as the sun streamed in through the windows of your cabin was a precious piece of time that you wouldn’t have traded for anything.