She was meant to be a sacrifice. He was never meant to be human again.After a brutal attack in the woods leaves Kiara defiled and branded with a glowing, otherworldly scar, her life as she knows it is over. Betrayed by her sister and discarded by her Alpha fiancé, she is traded like cattle to settle a family debt—sold to the most feared man in the Lycan world: King Valerius.Valerius is a monster in more than name. Consumed by a shifting curse that keeps him trapped in a state of feral rage, he has no room for a bride—until Kiara touches him. With a single press of her hand, the beast recedes. She is his only cure, but to him, she’s just a political pawn with a "ruined" past.But Kiara is carrying a secret that grows every day.As a charming rival prince moves in to destabilize the throne and the Lycan Council demands an heir, the shadows of the palace begin to whisper. The man who attacked Kiara in the woods wasn't a stranger—and the king she fears might be the father of the child she’s desperate to protect.In a kingdom built on blood and betrayal, Kiara must decide: is Valerius the monster who broke her, or the husband who will burn the world down to claim her?