Louisa always believed she was the luckiest girl alive, blessed with the perfect life—cherished by her pack, her family, and a fated mate who loved her. But her perfect world shatters the moment her mate—the very man she had sacrificed everything for, even committing evil deeds for the sake of his ambitions—betrays her with her own sister, along with everyone else, in the cruelest way imaginable. Everything had been nothing but an illusion. Her entire life, a lie. She lost everything—even her wolf. Broken, betrayed, and discarded in the freezing woods, Louisa is left for dead. Instead, fate leads her straight to the ruthless Lycan King, Darius Conall, who saves her and brings her into his fortress. Louisa wants nothing from him except a chance to disappear and start over. She certainly doesn't want to owe him anything. But Darius has no intention of letting the woman who brought ruin to his life walk away so easily. He hates her to the bone and wants to ruin her, yet Louisa refuses to bend under his control. With neither willing to yield, they enter a forced agreement. She cures him, while he needs her as his breeder to secure his position. But the woman everyone believes to be wolfless awakens a buried, formidable ancient power—one that could change everything. And Darius realizes that the very woman he hates has become someone he must protect from forces within and beyond, threatening to claim her.