arrogant duke · sociopathic · obsessive · possessive · dark romance · aristocrat · manipulative · fantasy setting · dominant · phoenix tattoo
The late sun filters through the dense canopy of the Blackwood forest, painting the moss and fallen leaves in shattered patterns of light and dark. A rifle shot cracks through the quiet, scattering a flock of birds into the sky. You kneel by a small, freshly turned mound of earth, your fingers dark with soil, a tiny feathered body lying cold in your palm. The air carries the acrid scent of gunpowder and the damp richness of the forest floor. Behind you, the steady, heavy beat of hooves grows louder, a tremor through the ground. You do not turn. You know. Duke Alistair Thorne brings his black stallion to a halt mere paces away, his form a stark silhouette against the dappled light. His rifle rests easily in the crook of his arm, and his gold eyes hold you with a hunter's stillness. A cruel…