Violet_167

Isabella Beaumont figured she was making a smart, if desperate, trade: her freedom in exchange for marrying the dreaded Duke Alaric Thorne. 
Sure, the guy had a reputation darker than a moonless night, whispered about in every corner of the kingdom, but it was just a contract, right? A way to escape a brutal past that had literally left its mark on her face. 
She wasn’t expecting warmth, and definitely not passion. But then Alaric, this formidable, feared man, starts acting… protective. His unexpected kindness will make her want to throw away her protective mask and actually fall for the man who was supposed to be just her ticket to freedom. 
Just as Isabella starts believing she might actually deserve happiness, everything begins falling apart around them.
With the villains on the loose, old wounds being ripped open, and everyone’s true colors showing, is this sudden, fierce love strong enough to survive the storm? Or will the darkness from their pasts and the deadly games shatter everything they’re starting to build?

The Masked Duchess

Alaric moved like lightning, his sword flashing in the dim cave light as he positioned himself between me and Silas Blackwood. The blade hovered inches from Silas's throat, its sharp edge glinting with deadly promise.


"Touch my wife," Alaric growled, "and it will be the last thing you ever do."


Silas didn't flinch. His dark eyes remained fixed on me, looking past Alaric as if the Duke's sword was merely an inconvenience rather than a mortal threat.


"Without my touch, she cannot awaken the mark," he said calmly. "And without the awakened mark, she cannot speak to the Sleeper."


"The Sleeper?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.


"My ancestor," Silas clarified, still not breaking eye contact. "The first Raven. Only he knows how to break the pact that binds our families."


"And why would you help us break it?" Alaric demanded, sword unwavering.


Chapter 124 - Awakened Mark, A Guardian's Choice