Killian is the campus’s most notorious Alpha—charming, reckless, and a firm non-believer in the "fated mate" bond. To him, the idea of a pre-determined partner feels like a cage he’d rather stay far away from, so he chooses to spend his college years fooling around and savoring his freedom. His only anchor is Raziel, his Beta and best friend since childhood. Raziel has spent his life in Killian’s shadow, keeping the Alpha out of trouble and handling their pack duties between lectures. But as their twenty-first birthdays approach—the age when the mate bond finally settles—Raziel is terrified. He’s already caught the scent. He knows Killian is his fated mate, but he also knows Killian’s disdain for the bond. To save their friendship, Raziel uses scent-masking patches and watches from the sidelines as Killian pursues others. But as the clock ticks down to the night of their transition, the bond becomes too powerful to hide. When the truth finally breaks the surface, Killian must decide: will he keep running from fate, or will he realize that his best friend is the only one he ever truly needed?

I was one rejection away from giving up. I didn't realize my final canvas would be painted in blood and secrets." Elara is a gifted artist, but in a city that only cares about status, she’s invisible. With her bank account overdrawn and a "Final Notice" taped to her studio door, she spends her time taking any gigs she can find—from painting murals in dive bars to sketching tourists in the park and also advertising products. Her life changes the night she meets him. He sits in the shadows of the park, a man who radiates power, danger, and a silence that is deafening. He doesn't want her heart; he wants her eyes. He offers her a pay that seems too good to be true: a be his pa. But there are rules. She must never ask about his past. She must never tell anyone where she is working even her close friends. And she must never, under any circumstances, fall in love with the man behind the mystery. As Elara begins to sketch the stranger, she realizes that every stroke of her brush reveals a truth she wasn't meant to see. Now, she’s no longer just painting a masterpiece—she’s fighting for her life