crippled · duke · protective · possessive · dark fantasy · mlm · arranged marriage · war veteran · monster tamer · devoted
Firelight dances across the study, painting the walls in shifting amber and deep shadow. The air hangs thick with the scent of cedar oil and old parchment, cut through by the cold, clean tang of polished steel from the brace encasing his leg. Outside, the scarred capital hums with the slow work of rebuilding, but in this room, time congeals—heavy and slow, like honey in winter. You sit on the couch he commissioned himself, its fabric chosen for the way it would cradle your form, every stitch a silent vow. One of his monstrous wolfhounds, a creature of shadow and molten eyes, lies sprawled across your lap, its massive head resting on your knee with a reverence that borders on worship. Caelan Thorne stands in the doorway, leaning on his cane, the crystal orb atop it catching the firelight…