Clara Finch stood barefoot in the frozen mud as her Beta mate ripped away her unsealed mark, casting her out as a worthless, barren stray. They believe she is nothing without a noble dowry. But Clara harbors a dangerous secret: her veins carry the legendary Dawn-Bane blood, an ancient power capable of purifying necrotic blight and restoring dying lands. When the terrifying High Lycan Sovereign, King Torin Brand, sweeps her into his iron carriage, he offers an impossible bargain. Cursed by volcanic marrow fire that incinerates anyone who touches his skin, Torin must claim a consort before the dark moon or forfeit his kingdom. “Do not touch me, Clara,” he warns. “My blood will turn you to ash.” Yet beneath Clara’s bare fingertips, his lethal fire calms into sacred warmth. As her traitorous ex begs for her return and court vipers plot their downfall, Clara must endure a lethal trial to claim her second-chance mate. Can a rejected healer survive court treachery and heal an untamable king, or will northern bloodlines tear them both apart?