Mia Reyes needed one thing: a job that would save her family from ruin.Ethan Cole needed one thing: an assistant who wouldn't run.What neither of them needed — what neither of them asked for — was each other.When twenty-six-year-old Mia walks into the most intimidating interview of her life, she isn't prepared for Ethan Cole. Cold. Powerful. Ruthless. A man who has built an eleven-billion-dollar empire by trusting no one and feeling nothing. His last three assistants lasted a combined total of twenty-two days. The rumours about him are legendary. The truth about him is worse.And yet — she takes the job.What starts as a professional arrangement quickly unravels into something neither of them can name. Because Mia is not like the others. She pushes back. She finds the loopholes. She sees through the armour he has spent a lifetime perfecting.And Ethan? Ethan is starting to notice her in ways that have nothing to do with spreadsheets.But shadows are gathering around Cole Enterprises. Someone inside Ethan's inner circle wants his company — and they will use anyone to get it. Including Mia. Including secrets from her past she has never told a soul.When the truth comes out, it will break everything between them.The only question is whether what they've built is strong enough to survive it.

The story begins not with a king, but with a prince. Young Caius belongs to a pack known for peace, but they are slaughtered by a rival faction (perhaps a coalition of silver-wielding humans or a rogue wolf legion). During his escape, wounded and shifting for the first time, a human child finds him. She doesn't see a monster; she sees a hurt animal. She hides him and shares her warmth, giving him the chance to survive.Fifteen years later, Caius has reclaimed his throne through blood and iron. He is the "Werewolf King," a cold, tactically brilliant ruler obsessed with finding the survivors of the massacre. He has built a massive spy network with one goal: Total Annihilation of his enemies. ​While scouting a border village—a place he intends to raze to flush out a traitor—he encounters Elara. She is a healer (or a simple herbalist). He recognizes her scent instantly—it’s the scent of the girl who saved him.