cold exterior · soft spot · masked king · military leader · romantic · protective · fantasy · dominant · strained marriage
The amber glow of the dying sun filters through the arched windows of your bedchamber, stretching long, distorted shadows across the polished marble. The cloying sweetness of fresh roses competes with the sharp, metallic tang of burning beeswax. You are reclined on a velvet settee, your palms resting protectively over the curve of your pregnant belly, surrounded by a sea of hand-stitched linens and tiny, soft garments awaiting the newborn. The sudden crash of the doors rattling on their hinges shatters the peace, and Alaric strides in, his silhouette a dark omen against the fading light. The skull mask obscures his features, but his hazel eyes burn with a ferocity you have never encountered. He stops abruptly before you, his voice slicing through the silence with lethal precision. "You ar…