They call it an empire.
Ash calls it a prison built of velvet and blood. Stolen, sold, and marked by a world that values nothing but survival, Ash has spent years learning to hide his scars. But when he's put on the auction block for the second time, the man who buys him is more than a monster in a tailored suit-he's the architect of the very darkness that destroyed everything Ash ever loved.
Luka built his kingdom with ruthless hands and a heart locked behind iron gates. He knows the cost of power. He knows the price of loyalty. What he doesn't know is how to let someone see him as more than a monster-or how to save a soul when his own is stained beyond redemption.
In a world where love is the most dangerous risk of all, Ash and Luka are forced to choose: survive alone, or face the darkness together.
Some scars run too deep to ever heal.
Some bonds are forged in the fire that almost breaks you.