Taming the Wolf

On a spring night, the leader of the Guirong clan sneaks into Songyun Manor to ask Great Zhou for troops.

Danyang Grand Princess Dou Mingzhu, regent and guardian of the realm, wields great power and is staying here to recuperate.

The incense in the bronze censer has burned out. The waning moon hangs overhead, and wavering lights cast shadows.

Dou Mingzhu sits by the hot spring when a frost-bright blade is pressed against the back of her neck.

At her ear comes a request that sounds more like a threat. In the pool, a tall, powerful reflection shimmers.

She rises, her skin as white as snow and water glistening on the tips of her hair. The hand holding the blade stiffens in surprise.

Dou Mingzhu slips on a silver robe and glances back at him, smiling with bright eyes.

Her gaze roams over the man's narrow waist, broad back, wheat-colored skin, and jade-green eyes.

“If you want this palace to help you, you will have to show some sincerity.”

*

As the emperor's own elder sister, Dou Mingzhu was entrusted by the late emperor to support her young brother, a duty she fulfilled with all her heart.

Those who like her praise her courage, candor, and talent. Those who hate her slander her as a woman who indulges in sensual pleasures and keeps countless favored ministers.

Dou Mingzhu pays no attention to either praise or blame.

When she came of age, she was diagnosed with an incurable illness and given no more than thirty years to live.

Now she is twenty-five, half in her grave already. For the years she has left, she only wants to live as she pleases.

If Ashina Helan had not been so good-looking, Dou Mingzhu would never have involved herself in a foreign clan's dispute.

But the gray wolf refuses to be a dog. Cold-faced and taciturn, he will not bend his proud spirit. Even as she powders and paints him, he seems to wish she would die in bed.

With little time left to live, she only asks to enjoy herself while she can, and thinks little of it.

Later, the truth behind her illness comes to light. Dou Mingzhu falls from the clouds into the dust and is forced to flee for her life.

Ashina Helan takes her back to Guirong amid the chaos.

The people of Guirong welcome their wolf lord home, but they hate Dou Mingzhu for having kept him as a slave.

That night, Dou Mingzhu's arms are bound behind her back as she watches the man lift the tent flap and enter.

Knowing she is in a bad position, she forces herself to stay calm. “What do you want?”

The prairie wolf lord looks down at her, his brows cold and stern. He sweeps a large hand across the room.

The candle beside them gutters out in the wind. Taking advantage of the darkness, he hides the heat in his eyes.

“To collect a debt.”

*

Ashina Helan means exactly what he says.

He collects every debt others owe her, in full.

*

Reader's guide:

1. One-on-one romance. The heroine is not a virgin, the hero is, and neither has a romantic history. Happy ending.

2. Entirely fictional setting. Headstrong, dazzling grand princess x battle-hardened prairie wolf king. The hero falls first, and the heroine may be a little crazy.

3. I love dark-skinned, white-haired, green-eyed tough guys, but the hero isn't all that dark.

4. Thank you all for enjoying the story. I hope you have a good time reading. Please don't attack the author or readers personally, and don't bring up this story under other works.

5. Cover used with permission: @Xilou-Linlin

*

2022/05/11. The idea was born

2022/05/13. First version of the blurb finalized

Theme: Love requires mutual understanding and respect.