THE LORD’S UNWANTED BRIDE

Part 1 — The Lord Who Never Asked for Love

Anne had always known that her family valued her little. But she never imagined they would sell her future to the most feared lord in the kingdom.
“You will marry Lord Adrian Blackwood,” her father declared, placing a sealed letter on the table. “The wedding will take place in three days. You will not embarrass this family by refusing.”
Anne stared at him, her fingers trembling.
Lord Adrian was known as the Black Wolf—a cold, ruthless man who lived behind the walls of a gloomy castle. Rumors claimed that he had sent men to their deaths without mercy and that no woman had ever dared to challenge his authority.
“Father, please,” Anne whispered. “There must be another way.”
“There is no other way,” he snapped. “His lands and soldiers will protect our family. You should be grateful that he agreed to take you.”
Take you.
Not love you. Not cherish you.
Take you.
Three days later, Anne stood beneath the towering arches of Blackwood Castle, dressed in a wedding gown that felt more like a funeral shroud. Her family had barely said goodbye before leaving her alone with a man she had never met.
Lord Adrian stood before the altar, tall and dressed entirely in black. His sharp features revealed nothing, and his dark eyes were impossible to read.
When the ceremony ended, he offered her his arm.
“Come with me, Lady Anne.”
His voice was deep and controlled. She obeyed, expecting him to drag her into a life of misery.
Instead, he led her to a quiet chamber overlooking the castle gardens.
“This room is yours,” he said. “You may arrange it as you please. No one will enter without your permission.”
Anne looked at him in confusion.
“Is this some kind of game, my lord?”
His expression hardened slightly. “What game?”
“You married me. Surely you expect something in return.”
For a long moment, Adrian said nothing. Then he removed his black gloves and placed them on a nearby table.
“I expect you to be safe under my roof. Nothing more.”
She searched his face, waiting for the cruel smile she had heard so much about.
It never came.
“You don’t want me to love you?” she asked quietly.

A strange shadow crossed his eyes.
“Love cannot be commanded, Lady Anne. I will not ask you for something you do not wish to give.”
Before she could respond, a knock sounded at the door.
A servant entered and bowed nervously.
“My lord, Lady Beatrice has arrived. She says she wishes to welcome the new mistress of the castle.”
For the first time, Adrian’s expression changed. His jaw tightened, and the warmth that had briefly entered his eyes disappeared.
“Tell my aunt that Lady Anne is tired and will receive no visitors tonight.”
“But, my lord, she insists—”
“Then she may insist in her own chambers.”
The servant hurried away.
Anne glanced at him. “Will your family dislike me?”
“My family,” Adrian replied coldly, “has never been pleased when it cannot control something.”
He moved toward the door, then paused.
“One more thing, Anne. Whatever you hear about me in this castle, remember that rumors are often weapons. Do not believe everything you are told.”
After he left, Anne sat beside the window, trying to understand the man she had married.
He was frightening, distant, and surrounded by secrets. Yet he had given her something no one in her own family ever had.
A choice.
For the first time in her life, someone had told her she did not have to surrender her heart.
But Anne did not know that, beyond her chamber door, Adrian was already confronting his aunt.
“She is weak,” Lady Beatrice hissed. “Her family sent her here because she was useless to them. You cannot possibly intend to protect her.”
Adrian stepped closer, his voice dangerously quiet.
“She is my wife.”
“And what happens when you discover why her father was so eager to marry her off?”
Adrian went still.
Lady Beatrice smiled.
“Ask yourself, dear nephew, why a man would give away his daughter so easily. Anne is hiding something, whether she knows it or not.”
That night, Adrian stood alone in his study, staring at a document bearing Anne’s family seal.
He had married her to escape a political alliance.
He had never intended to love her.
But now, for reasons he could not explain, he was beginning to suspect that bringing Anne into his castle had placed her in greater danger than she had ever known.
And he would soon discover that the most dangerous enemy was not the woman he had married.
It was the secret her family had buried with her name.