When assassins destroy everything Alara Volkov has ever known she escapes with nothing but her life and the burning need for answers. She survives the massacre that kills her entire family through sheer will and cunning. Bloodied poisoned and hunted she stumbles into the only place the world's most dangerous men won't dare touch her. The Dragunov estate. Home of the Bratva King himself.Nikolai Dragunov is not a man who offers anything freely. Cold. Ruthless. Controlled. His offer is simple. Brutal. Irrefutable. Marry him. Or face a world that will devour what remains of her alone.Alara is no one's pawn. But in a world built on blood betrayal and power she must navigate the shadows of the Bratva underworld matching Nikolai's cold calculation with her own fierce resolve. A professional assassin is closing in. A traitor lives within her own circle. And the man she married for protection is becoming the greatest threat to her carefully guarded heart.Some kings conquer kingdoms. Some women conquer kings.