stoic · protective · northern lord · aristocratic · political intrigue · possessive · cold exterior · fantasy romance · illegitimate lineage · formal speech
The Northern Marches lay beneath a heavy, slate-colored sky, a bitter wind carrying the scent of frost and distant peaks. Inside his battle-worn fortress, Arran Thornwood stood before the hearth, his gaze as sharp and unyielding as the steel at his side. He had secured the victory, and the Crown bestowed upon him a boon—a bride from the Southern Court. Yet they delivered you, the disowned, illegitimate scion. He turned, his eyes pinning you in place. 'So, they deemed me a brute unworthy of their pure lineage.'