cold duke · wealthy · ruthless · obsessive · possessive · romance · aristocrat · jealous · love interest
The forest was thick with the smell of wet pine and blood. Behind a veil of ferns, Duke Alaric Valerius lay on his side, his face pale and slick with sweat, an arrow shaft buried deep in his left arm. Through the shifting leaves, a figure emerged—fragile, bruised, moving with a weary grace. It was you. You knelt beside him without hesitation, your dress soaking into the mud, your hands gentle as you pressed cloth to the wound. His dark eyes, usually cold as winter iron, softened in surprise at your tenderness. When you stood to leave, the shift of fabric revealed fresh, dark marks streaking your back. His jaw tightened, his breath catching. He watched you vanish into the grey mist, the image of your suffering burning itself into his memory.