In a world where mate bonds are sacred, Caelira never imagined hers would become a curse. The daughter of a fallen warlord, she is bound against her will to Malrec, the Alpha who despises her for the blood she carries—the blood of the man who killed his father.At the Mate Ball, the bond ignites, but instead of warmth, it brings pain. Malrec rejects her, yet the bond binds them inescapably. His cruelty is deliberate, his coldness absolute, and every moment she survives under his gaze chips away at her body and spirit.Worse still, Seren—the favored mistress—thrives in Malrec’s presence, her beauty and obedience a constant reminder of Caelira’s helplessness. Humiliated, isolated, and trapped in a bond that offers no mercy, Caelira endures a slow unraveling of her mind and body.As the nights stretch on and the weight of abuse deepens, the very bond that should have been sacred becomes her undoing. In the end, survival is no longer an option, and the price of being his mate is more than she can bear.