The smirk never left my face as I strode towards my now squirming husband by the doors in front of the food hall. As I neared Aderick, Kare chuckled at me and I shot him a wink. Once I locked eyes with him, hazel to obsidian, I pressed a lone finger against his chest and slowly began to push him back against the wall. Our eye contact remained as I forced my body along his long one, every dip of our bodies flush against one another.

Pressed against the wall, Aderick swallowed roughly before watching me carefully with his dark eyes. He knew I had complete control of this moment and he knew that I was going to use it wisely for myself.

I raised a hand to caress his swelling red cheek, loving the feeling of his facial hair against my fingertips. I lightly traced his scar, lingering a bit on his magical lips before trailing down to the lower side of his jaw. My smirk transformed into a small smile as I took in his apprehensive expression.

He had no idea of what I wished to do to him. My mind raced with ideas before finally coming up with two actions that would leave an impact. One for here and now and the other...well, 'twas best if we were alone and in our chambers.

Not taking my eyes off of him, I nudged my chin toward the door, and I heard a loud huff from my left. Kare had his arms crossed and was giving me an exasperated look. I simply raised a brow at him. Kare would only make things worse or heightened the situation more than it already was.

I muttered under my breath at him to leave and yet, though not surprisingly, he did not leave. I glared at him before clearing my throat and turning around to face the people that were frozen watching us with a variety of expressions.

"If you all do not mind, I need a moment alone with my husband.Takk skal du ha," I announced loudly, smiling at the slightly concerned faces that nodded and got up to walk out of the hall.

Once there were only the three of us left, I faced my brother again. "Kare, I would like to speak with Aderick alone. Privately. Just the two of us. Leave. Now." I demanded, crossing my arms to mirror his stance.

Kare's hazel eyes so similar to my own flickered over to Aderick who was frozen like ice against the wall. His gaze never left me as I argued with my kin for the sake of privacy. Kare whined about witnessing my "punishment" to Aderick, which made me blush blood red, but I remained firm as I pointed with a hand towards the door near us.

My brother conceded after a long eye battle in which I won. He sneered at Aderick and let out a booming laugh before closing the door behind him. Though I had an inkling that he did not wander far from the hall doors.

I let out a sigh before facing my husband who was surprisingly quiet and patient as he awaited for my next move.

Staring deep into his onyx eyes, I only saw understanding and love swimming in them and my heart thumped painfully at the emotions I saw deep within. I bit my lip as the back of my eyes burned with loving tears threatening to shed.

"Thank you for not retaliating back to my brother...we both know that is what he desired, and yet you restrained yourself. I know that was difficult, but I wanted to say how proud I am of that." I leaned up on my toes to plant a gentle kiss on his mouth, pulling away before it got too far. His lips followed mine to continue but I held up a finger to stop him.

"But first..." I trailed off.

With a quick raise of my hand, I slapped his cheek hard. A loud smack rang around us in the hall and Aderick's head snapped to the side.

I watched as my handprint bloomed an angry shade of red as breaths passed. Aderick's jaw twitched and rotated and yet, he did nothing as he turned his face to look down at me with a slight smile.

"You quite strong, min kjære, more so than I thought," He grumbled quietly, rubbing his jaw with a hand. I had to suppress the urge to laugh at his surprise. I did grow up with two older brothers.

I leaned back, watching him coolly from hooded eyes. "I trust you know what that is for. I believe you shall understand that if we find that wretched woman, she is no longer welcome as a slave within my home. I do not care where she works, be it with the stock or the fields, that woman is not to step foot into my home. I am in charge of the people working in our home and I shall not have a reminder of your lie walking around that believes she can still have you. 'Tis not happening, ever. Do you understand me, Aderick? I am yours just as you are mine."

As I spoke, I pressed closer against his body until we were practically one. Just as I stopped, I rose to press a soft kiss on my mark, cupping his jaw in my other hand. That hand then slid down on his body, trailing slowly and seductively until I cupped my hand over his lower region that began to harden underneath my touch. Aderick stiffened like an aging tree as his eyes blazed with heat.

I smirked as I whispered, "Your other punishment shall happen later, with the two of us alone in our chambers, and I will make you feel the need to let go without being able to do so. How does that sound, min kjære?" I said sickly sweet, my lashes fluttering up at my gawking husband.

He shifted against the wall and grunted at the friction and I quickly pulled my hand away before he could get himself carried away. His once closed eyes snapped open and glared at me and I simply smiled before kissing him once more.

He let out a growl before grasping my head in his hands and roughly pulled my mouth back to his hungry one. I involuntarily let out a moan as he swiped his tongue across the seam of my lips and he took my moment of weakness to his advantage, swirling his tongue around my mouth. I clutched his elbows as he bent me backward to completely ravish my mouth.

A warrior suddenly barged in the doors, making Aderick growl as he pulled away from our kiss. I breathed heavily as I turned away from the man, not wanting him to see me brush away stray hairs from my bun as I struggled to contain my flushed face.

He swallowed nervously and looked down briefly before locking eyes with Aderick, his young face grim.

"Jarl Aderick, you must come quick. We found something within the woods near the grove." His voice was steady until the end, the fast blinking of his brown eyes made me frown as he struggled to compose himself.

"What is it?" He asked, his voice smooth and strong.

The man paused, his eyes sliding over to me as I stood next to Aderick. His mouth opened then closed, his lips mashing together. "I cannot say in front of a lady, Jarl Aderick."

I glanced up at Aderick in confusion who had his serious expression on, the one that he wore for his people and dealing with clan duties. Personally, I did not see it often. But judging from this man's actions, something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

"Takk skal du ha, Dag. Stand outside and wait for me. I shall not be long."

Dag nodded quickly before stepping through the door, the room now empty except the two of us.

His eyes slid over to me, the skin around them tightening as his mouth flattened into a line. "I need you to stay here. I do not know what to expect...but I cannot risk your safety."

His hands wrapped around my waist as he pulled me close to press a kiss on my forehead. I closed my eyes briefly at the touch before looking up at his face.

"Nei, I shall go with you. To stand by your side. I want to come, Aderick."

His head tilted to the side as he studied me for several breaths. He pursed his lips for a moment before ticking his jaw.

He finally nodded curtly and I gave him a short kiss in thanks.

Grasping my hand, he led us out into the corridor where Dag stood pacing. Nodding his head once at Aderick, he did not look at me in surprise that I would join them. He simply kept them remained on the ground and turned on his heel before walking briskly through the hallways towards the large back door of the manor.

The sun was high in the sky as we quickly strode towards the treeline beyond the manor. Winter was on the crest of arriving, I guessed perchance snow and ice would fall on the lands within a fortnight, if not sooner. I let out a nervous breath and I noticed the puff that released into the cold air. Though I could feel the warmth of the sun through my long sleeved gown, I still felt a chill run down my back as I noticed numerous warriors within the woods looking somber and angered. The deeper we walked into the thick forest, the worse the expressions of the warriors became. People from the village began following us in curiosity and they looked just as puzzled as I felt.

I glanced towards Aderick and his jaw was ticking as he too noticed the features of his warriors. My gaze snapped over to a young man vomiting away from everyone else, his body bent over with his hands balanced on his knees. Another warrior who held the same similar features to the sick man was rubbing his back in comfort. I was watching them, thinking of Ran and Kare, as we eventually stopped in the partially lit forest.

Aderick let out a choked noise and I quickly averted my attention from the brothers to my husband whose face was pale and withdrawn. I caught fury morph his features as he began to shake. I rubbed my hand up his arm in comfort.

My head slowly turned from where his gaze was pointed to, and how do I wish I had never looked.

I let out a strangled sob as I took in the sight before me. By the gods, this was atrocious. Bile rose in my throat as I stared at the three bodies that were tied to the tall trees with rope. My hand clamped over my mouth and I soon understood why that man felt the need to be sick. I too would be soon by this horrific sight.

Three young women were nearly nude, blood and bruises covered their bodies as their arms were stretched above them. Their lifeless eyes were unseeing and glazed over, their skin turning blue from the cold. I recognized one of them as she worked in the manor, though I could not place her name at the moment. She was an orphan and a hard worker, from what I can remember. Flashes of the girl smiling at me in passing and our few brief conversations in my mind made me suddenly remember her name; Ida.

My other shaking hand rose to cover the other and my knees threatened to buckle. Though Aderick and I were shaking for different emotions, I felt as though I were to collapse onto the cold frost bitten ground.

I felt a large hand grip my arm tightly before spinning me around into a hard chest. His long arms curled themselves around my back tightly to keep me from looking much more. I curled my hands deeply into his warm tunic, breathing in his unique smell erratically to calm my shot nerves and shaking form.

But it was no use, the images of those poor three girls were imprinted on my mind. My entire body began to shudder almost violently as their appearance locked in my mind. The light colored hair, the brown eyes, the youth of their age...I began to hyperventilate as those simple traits connected.

Aderick rubbed my back as he leaned down to coo in my ear and eventually I raised my head to look at him through watery eyes. His face now mirrored his men, his eyes haunted, and I knew that he fought to remain strong for his grieving people.

These poor girls...I cannot think of their families and the grief that would come from this.

As Aderick began commanding his men to search the woods around us and to go up into the mountains, the familiar looks forced my mind to race to figure out who could have done something this awful.

My back straightened with an unknown strong force as horror ripped through me.

I knew exactly who did this. It was not hard to guess, after all, these women held similar physical traits to my own; with long blonde locks and dark eyes. I wanted to hurl, my stomach revolting at the images stuck within my mind.

He did it...the stranger that wanted me for his.

He heard the news of our marriage...and these innocent girls paid.

They were dead because of me.

I heard a loud hoarse cry behind me from within the crowd that had gathered and I pulled my head away from Aderick's chest long enough to see a young man run past us. He quickly cut down one of the girls with a small knife and dropped to the ground, cradling her in his arms, sobbing her name and rocking her over and over. This led to the bridge of tears ready behind my lids to escape and a river rushed down my cheeks.

A dark rumble from Aderick's chest made me look up at him. The look in his dark eyes shone brightly of rage, a glint of grief, and most importantly revenge.

Revenge not only for myself but for these three inexperienced women.

We would make him pay.

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