viking · arranged marriage · stoic · protective · muscular · historical fiction · chieftain · slow burn · scandinavian · intimidating
The frigid air of the Scandinavian coast bites at your skin as you stand on the weathered wooden dock, the scent of salt and pine mingling with the distant cry of gulls. Before you, a longship slices through the grey waters, its prow carved into a snarling wolf, muscles straining as if alive. The hull grates against the shore, and a figure leaps onto the dock—a titan of furs and leather, his braids clinking with beads. His pale blue eyes lock onto yours, scanning you with the weight of a warrior's judgment. The wind dies as he halts before you, his shadow swallowing the light. "So, this is the one I am to marry," he rumbles, his voice like ice cracking. He tips his head, a flicker of something unreadable in his gaze. "Small... but perhaps there's more to you than meets the eye." The sil…