Summary
I’m forced against my will to become the wife of a mysterious, dangerous, and completely unknown lord of the Northern Lands. They call him the Black Wolf, a name that inspires both fear and admiration, a name woven into legends. And... I mean absolutely nothing to him!
My father pins great hopes on this union. The king offers me a shameful role.
But I, Rebecca Nyer, niece of the king, lady of the Northern Borders, keeper of my ancestors’ secret, will show everyone that I’m to be reckoned with as an equal! I refuse to be a pawn in someone else’s game.
Prologue
“You’re the luckiest girl in the world!” Charlie sighed dreamily, completely forgetting about her embroidery as she let her fantasies run wild.
Sure. Lucky beyond belief. Clearly, Charlie had no idea what awaited her sister in this upcoming marriage. The young dreamer had romanticized the whole concept of matrimony far too much. But I didn’t have the heart to shatter her illusions.
The truth, after all, was painfully mundane.
A dowry-less bride. The eldest daughter of a lord whose family fortune had dwindled to nothing but arrogance and pitiful scraps of impoverished land. And now, I was to be the lamb sold off to who-knows-who.
I was curious, of course, to see the buyer. No, I’d heard plenty about my future husband. A hero of the fifty-year war, a key figure in the siege of Krenhold, a warrior who’d covered himself in glory. Bloody glory, in my opinion. But that was all I knew for certain. The rest—rumors, gossip, speculation, legends... I wondered what it must feel like to be someone about whom legends are spun while they’re still alive.
He probably never imagined, as a minor lord, that he’d one day earn an earl’s title and the king’s niece as his wife. Even if the only thing I could offer him was the blood in my veins, a key to unlock any door in the palace. Though, when you’ve got no money to your name, even a noble wife can’t save you. Just look at my father...
Gods. Sometimes I’m glad my mother didn’t live to see what a sorry state we’ve fallen into.
A heavy sigh escaped my chest without my meaning to.
“I hope the gods show you the same kindness!” I muttered, staring into the darkness beyond the window.
The glass, plastered with snowflakes on the other side, fogged up from my breath, hiding my reflection. My sisters often called me too prim, teasing me for hiding myself—draping my body in loose, comfortable clothes and tucking my unusual, light-colored hair under scarves, a rarity in these parts. They thought I was shying away from attention. But the truth was different. It was all just practical. My mother left this world when I was barely thirteen. The king forbade my father from remarrying, and Father himself wasn’t in any rush to tie the knot again. So, the burden of running the household and looking after my sisters fell on me. When you’ve got a massive castle full of people to manage, ledgers to balance, keys to every storeroom and chamber, when the servants look at you with more pity than respect, and when you have to be more of a mother than a sister to the younger ones... well, you grow up fast. Maybe even age before your time.
“Oh, come on. Isn’t it wonderful to be a bride? And then a wife...” Charlie went on, stubbornly circling back to the painful topic.
She looked so much like our mother—hair like floral honey, eyes the color of steel. But her personality... Mother had been pragmatic, calculating, always knowing how to weigh the benefits and act in silence. Sadly, my middle sister couldn’t boast the same traits. Far too much of a dreamer. But who knows, maybe she’d be the only one of us to find happiness in marriage!
“Having babies and catering to a husband?” Anna suddenly cut in. “What’s so wonderful about that? If I were in Rebecca’s shoes, I wouldn’t put up with it for a second!”
My youngest sister was always blunt in her words and bold in her opinions. Probably because Father had hoped for a son. Instead, Anna was born—the only one who looked strikingly like him: dark-haired with coal-black eyes and the same restless, adventurous spirit. She’d even managed to convince him to let her train with weapons. They argued often, but I think Father loved Anna more than any of his other daughters.
Her outrage was understandable. I wouldn’t put up with it either, if it weren’t for my two younger sisters. I couldn’t risk ruining their futures by refusing the lord of the Northern Borders—Nate Amor. Gods, even his name screams lowborn. What is our uncle, the king, thinking? Has Father angered him so much that he’s ready to marry off his nieces to just anyone?
“But I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Charlotte insisted, not backing down. “I can’t wait until I turn eighteen so I can pledge myself to Lord Iol.”
“Father didn’t tell me...” I said, suddenly on edge. “And he promised not to marry you off so young.”
“I asked him myself. I’m not planning to get married as an old maid like you. Honestly, I don’t get what you’re still complaining about—at twenty, it’s hard to find a decent suitor. No one wants a granny. I’m not waiting around until they pawn me off to some... rabid Northern dog.”
My sister practically spat out the nickname my future husband had earned in the south.
“In the north, they call him the Black Wolf,” I corrected Charlotte. “And it’s only fair to point out that thanks to him, our kingdom is safe from the northern tribes.”
“He’s a brutal killer!”
“And your sister’s future husband,” I reminded her. “Show some respect for a future family member.”
Even if I didn’t feel any affection for the lord of the Northern Borders, respect in marriage was non-negotiable. It was time to start getting used to it and trying on the title of Lady of the Northern Borders for size.
“They say he took brutal revenge for his first wife,” Anna chimed in again. “The walls of Krenhold were washed in blood in her memory. If Lord Krenhold hadn’t kidnapped his wife, the troops at the siege would’ve grown old waiting outside the city walls.”
“If he loved her that much, why is he marrying Becca?” Charlie scoffed.
“They’re not marrying us—they’re marrying our mother’s legacy,” Anna pointed out, and she wasn’t wrong. “Good thing neither Lord Nyer nor His Majesty knows what kind of blood has awakened in our veins. Otherwise, we’d already be locked up in the palace, seeing the sky only through narrow arrow slits, stepping outside only when the king deigns to need us.” I grimaced, but Anna was right. Our blood and our power weren’t just a great gift from the ancients—they were a danger. No one could know about it. That was the main reason I hadn’t turned to our uncle for help. “As it is... Father will sell us off for a good price, and he’ll have more money to sink into another risky venture. Then he’ll end up with nothing but the shirt on his back. Sorry, but I’m not ready to be a commodity.”
“And do you know how to avoid this honor?” I smirked.
“Of course! I’ll run away. I’d rather die than agree to marry just anyone. The world’s too big to try and cram it into a single house.”
In a way, both sisters were right, each with their own truth.
But my heart felt heavy and uneasy.
“All of this is just empty talk. Our fates are already decided,” I said, voicing a thought that had long since taken root.
If only I’d known then how right I was!