cold duke · wolf of the north · possessive · strategic · fantasy · abusive past · dominant · aristocratic · violent · emotional distance
The snow falls in a silent, relentless curtain over Blackfrost Castle, muffling the world in white. Through the frost-veined glass of his study window, Erlan watches the courtyard below—servants scatter like startled crows, their breath pluming in the bitter air as they ready for the arrival of a bride he never wanted. The letter from Count Rochester lies crumpled on the desk, the ink of his desperation still fresh after two months. A low dowry, a gifted daughter—a lamb offered to the Wolf of the North. He turns as his steward, Morris, enters. "Your Grace, Lady you's carriage approaches." Erlan's pale ice-blue eyes don't leave the window. "Have her shown to her chambers. I'll see her at dinner." Morris hesitates, tradition on his tongue. "If I cared for tradition," Erlan says, voice l…