What if the monster you were sold to wasn't the real danger?

They call him the Monster. Nine wives. Nine graves. No heirs.

I was supposed to be the tenth.

Sold by my family to save a sister who betrayed me, I thought survival meant staying invisible.

 But when I healed Alpha Kael Cinderclaw in the snow, I accidentally bound us together, a mate bond neither of us wanted and neither can sever.

Now I feel his rage like fire beneath my skin.

 He feels my fear like a blade against his throat. And the fortress that buried nine wives is watching us both.

My family wanted me erased.
His enemies want me dead.

And Kael? He looks at me like I'm the one thing he can't afford to want—but can't let go.

They wanted a sacrifice.
They're getting an awakening.
In a world where power is everything, the wolfless girl just became the Alpha's greatest weakness, and his most dangerous obsession.

Kael's arm was still warm beneath my hand, the promise he made lingering between us.


The sounds of the ceremony grounds reached us first, low murmurs, the scrape of boots against stone, the rustle of robes, then silence as we stepped into the amphitheater.


 Every head turned. Every eye measured us. For a heartbeat, walking beside Kael with his arm brushing the small of my back, I forgot where I was.


The stories of women who never even reached this platform., and the blood spilled on this very stone. 


I forgot that Blackmoor did not forgive weakness, that it devoured mistakes, and that every breath I took would be weighed, tested, and found lacking if I faltered.


Kael's presence grounded me. Solid. Warm. Certain.


But reality crashed back, sharp and unrelenting.


Chapter 20 - Chapter 20: The Bond of Blood