The first time he drank her blood... it nearly killed him. For a hundred years, King Rhacken Ravenmere has ruled the vampire kingdom without fear, without mercy, and without equal. His enemies call him a monster. His people call him their savior. No one dares question the ruthless king whose name alone can end wars. Until fate gives him the one thing he never wanted. A mate. Vara Atasha is just an ordinary woman trying to protect the only home her late parents left behind. Stubborn, sarcastic, and completely unaware of the secrets surrounding her birth, she has spent years surviving mysterious attacks with the help of an unknown stranger who always disappears before she can thank him. But when a chance encounter shatters the barrier between the human and vampire realms, everything changes. Because the terrifying vampire king isn't trying to kill her. He's trying to protect her. There's just one impossible problem. Every vampire dreams of drinking their mate's blood. Rhacken can't. The very blood that should complete their bond burns through his body like poison. Now hunted by enemies, haunted by centuries-old secrets, and trapped in a bond neither of them understands, Rhacken and Vara must uncover the truth before a forgotten curse destroys them both. After all... Falling in love with your fated mate is complicated. Falling in love with the only woman whose blood can kill you? That's a disaster.