Sixteen years ago, Elara Veyne lost her parents in a violent robbery. Her only clear memory is a massive black wolf standing near their bodies. She has spent her entire life believing that wolf was responsible. Now twenty-four, Elara is struggling to survive on her own when a dangerous encounter brings her face-to-face with Cassian Vale—a powerful, wealthy man who seems to appear whenever she needs protection. Why does he always find her? Why does he know things about her past she has never told him? And why does the mysterious wolf keep appearing whenever Cassian is near? Elara wants answers, but the closer she gets to Cassian, the harder it becomes to deny the attraction growing between them. What begins as suspicion slowly turns into trust, then into a love neither of them expected. But their connection is built on secrets neither is ready to face. As danger closes in and buried memories begin to surface, Elara is pulled into a world she never knew existed. The closer she comes to uncovering the truth, the more she risks losing the man who has become impossible to live without. Because some love stories begin with a question. And this one begins with a wolf.

I was a simple cleaner in a grey uniform, scrubbing the floors of the elite to pay for the oxygen keeping my dying father alive. I was supposed to be a nobody. Until I witnessed a murder in a rain-slicked alley—and the killer didn't just catch me. He indexed me. Kenji Tanaka isn’t just a CEO. He is the "Machine" that owns the city. He doesn't see people; he sees data. And the moment he read my name tag, his clinical world shattered. Now, I’m not a witness. I’m a Linked Asset. He’s trapped me in a glass cage eighty floors above the world, monitoring my every move. He knows when I’m scared. He knows when I’m lying. And with the biometric watch locked to my wrist, he knows exactly when my heart starts racing for him. "Your pulse is at 155, Anya," he whispers against my skin, his eyes tracking the thermal heat bloom across my chest. "Tell me... is it fear making you this hot? Or are you finally realizing you belong to me?" I thought I was cleaning his mess. I didn't realize... I’ve become his latest obsession. My father’s life is the debt. My heartbeat is the currency. And Kenji Tanaka is here to collect.