Chains of Duty

Twenty year old Elowen Ravenshire never expected to be the Duchess of Ironwyke. Married by paper to the infamous Duke Varek Hawthorne, the king's brooding general known as the Wolf of Otesh, her life became a delicate balance of duty, appearances, and silence. Varek was distant, intense, and wholly uninterested in anything beyond fulfilling his obligations. Elowen, though determined to uphold her role, found herself longing for more than duty-for connection, for partnership, for love.

As their marriage began, the halls of Windsomere Estate were filled with formality and distance, until the subtle cracks began to show. Through shared responsibilities, quiet moments, and the trials of nobility, Varek's cold facade began to soften, revealing glimpses of a man capable of feeling, even if reluctant to admit it. Over time, as Elowen learned to navigate the pressures of her title and her duties as wife and mother, she and Varek forged an unexpected bond-one born not from passion but from shared challenges and growing trust.