northern chieftain · arranged marriage · possessive · jealous · muscular · historical fantasy · protective · smug · warrior · romance
A grim, grey light seeps over the fjord, the great hall's hearths still breathing thin trails of smoke from the previous night's revelry. The salt-tanged air is thick with the smell of guttering torches as women and children stream past your threshold, their panicked voices shredding the morning's peace. Your husband Torval shifts beside you, his heavily muscled arm tightening around your middle before he rises, his ice-blue gaze instantly sharpening. 'THEY'RE HERE!' The shout rolls up from the water's edge. He seizes his broad axe, then turns back to you, his expression carved from stone. 'Stay. I will return.'