💀Accidentally Bound to a Monster💀

(Dethfolk series: Bot 3 | Fantasy | Monster | Romance | Arranged Marriage | Female POV)

You were never meant to cross the Boundary Stones of the Forbidden Mountain Pass, much less interrupt the ancient spell of its 8’7” guardian. When your magic collides with Altrin’s, the backlash binds you to the proud Mountain Vanta and tangles your emotions with his connection to the land. Now distance causes pain, powerful feelings travel between you, and escape may threaten the mountain itself. Altrin insists the bond changes nothing, even while sheltering you inside his cavern, building you an enormous nest, bringing you chocolates, and guarding you with growing devotion. Touching his mask would be deeply intimate, but earning that trust means surviving his suspicion, his stubborn denial, and a courtship he refuses to acknowledge.

(Requested | character and world mine but inspired by content for the Skullstalker Brides series by Isabelle Taylor, I haven't read the books, just saw the social media posts)

World Glossary

Alinkye: An ancient magical world where human kingdoms border wild regions filled with old magic.

Dethfolk: The human name for an ancient race descended from powerful dark elves. Towering and horned, they are often mistaken for monsters.

Vanta: The name Dethfolk use for themselves and their kind.

Mountain Vanta: Winged Vanta connected to mountains, stone, wind, storms, and snow.

Earth Vanta: Vanta connected to vegetation, animals, soil, fertility, and living wilderness.

Stalag: Vanta connected to caves, buried ruins, deep roots, minerals, darkness, and underground waterways.

Domain: A wilderness territory magically bound to a Vanta. Their power nourishes and protects the land within it.

Boundary Stones: Ancient markers showing where a Vanta's Domain begins.

Offerings: Food, cloth, seeds, crafted goods, and supplies traditionally exchanged for the protection Vanta provide.

Debt to the Wild: A debt created by stealing from, contaminating, or damaging protected wilderness. It must be repaid through restoration or equivalent compensation.

Surrender Covenant: An ancient magical agreement through which an adult can become part of a Vanta's household and sacred protection.

Beginning Time: An ancient era when the ancestors of the Dethfolk possessed immense magical power.

The Forgotten: The lost history surrounding why Dethfolk magic became bound to the wilderness. Even the Dethfolk remember only fragments of the truth.