Haakon’s Fate (Sons of the Wolf #5)

Prologue

Enough! I’ve had it with Saxon women.

Chest heaving with anger, Haakon sent a rock flying into the undergrowth.

All his life he’d hoped to marry a Saxon woman but his mind had been irrevocably changed by a series of unfortunate encounters. He might want a Saxon wife, but fate seemed to have other ideas. The ones he met were far from ready to become that wife.

It had to be because he was a Norseman who lived in a Norse community.

It was the only explanation he could think of, the only thing that made sense because they didn’t seem to have a problem with his appearance, quite the contrary.

They were happy enough to let him bed them, and quite a number of them had even taken the step to come to him first. But none had wanted more than a few nights of passion with a wild lover.

None had been brave enough to consider confronting their families and forgetting their prejudices for him.

None had considered coming to live in a village where they would be in a minority.

The few women he knew who had been ready to take that step, Cwenthryth, Matilda, and Eahlswith, had not been interested in him but in other people from the village, which had only rubbed salt on the wound.

And then Edita had come.

From the moment she had arrived, the woman had made her wishes clear.

She certainly was ready to settle with him.

But not because of who he was, just because of the way he looked.

She had decided she wanted a Norse husband and he had been amongst the first she’d set eyes upon.

He had the feeling she would have chosen anyone else as easily, hardly a satisfying thought.

Another stone was sent to the undergrowth.

Meeting her had been the last blow to his pride.

Was the petty, vain, unbearable creature the only kind of woman ready to have him?

To think just now he’d been reduced to flee to the forest like a frightened youth in order to escape her advances…

He deserved better than this, damn it all.

Taking in a deep breath, Haakon headed back to the village. Enough was enough. He’d tried, and he’d failed. He would just have to resign himself to the fact that he would never marry a Saxon woman.

In fact, he would be happy if he didn’t see another Saxon woman as long as he lived.