Charming, captivating, seductive—and a cold-blooded killer. I married the Pakhan of the Russian Bratva anyway. I had to, it was part of the deal. Now, I’m faking marital bliss as I tremble with fear, and I cannot wait to be out of the clutches of this ruthless man.

I'll show everyone I'm a threat, and they will fear me. For my family. I have to protect them. The second I hear the name Damien Vetrov I know I'm in trouble. He's an arrogant Russian God. I have zero intention of bowing to him. Ever. Attractive and lethal—he's such an intoxicating mixture. Every second we spend together, the pull between us becomes stronger, and my fear grows. While my body wants him, my head knows better. He has the power to kill my family.

Today I start school at Pacific Prep. This is my new lease on life, and I won’t be wasting it. I need this, now, more than ever. I need the education, the promise of a future that I wouldn’t get anywhere else. These rich kids don’t like me, though. When Hawk Davenport decides he doesn’t want me here, his friends back him. Along with Hawk, Westley Warren, Cam Rutherford, and Mason Hayes rule this school...and nobody dares go against them.

I work in the darkness that is Black Creek. If there’s a secret to uncover, a package to deliver, or a story to be told, I’m your girl. I'll do whatever it takes to provide for my little brother. Once upon a time, the Feral Beasts ruled Black Creek with an iron fist, but they’re long gone now. The Antonelli family stepped in, only caring about their family and their money. I’ve heard the whispers: the Reaper Rejects are growing and they want control of Black Creek. But this town isn’t big enough for both of them.

There are only two ways a human can cross the gates of Bloodstone Institute: as a familiar to one of the Blueblood vampires who attend the elite school or as a snack. I'm neither, but I have to get in at all costs. My brother made a big mistake, and now I have to fix it by stealing from the most powerful and cruel vampire to ever come to Bloodstone, Lucca Della Morte. If that wasn't almost suicidal, I need to get it done before the spell concealing my human nature wears off.

Emilia Harrison. The girl I attended Pacific Prep with. My sister's best friend. The greatest sex I've ever had. I never expected to see her again after graduation, so when she showed up in my kitchen in the middle of the night, I didn't know what to think. Apparently, there's some psycho after her, and she needs my help. My family owns a private security firm, but I can't protect her from Wilder. He's still heartbroken over her and livid at her return. He doesn't care about the reason why she's here; he only wants her gone.

I was never supposed to fall in love with Gabriel Sullivan. He has always been off-limits in more ways than one. But, for all the reasons we should be apart, there's one that keeps drawing me back to him—he is the only man I've ever loved. Every stolen glance, every smile, every brush of his fingertips only make me want him more. Samantha Donovan used to call me her angel, but the things I'd like to do to her make me feel like the devil.

I learned very early on that every life matters—no life is insignificant, most especially not my own mother’s, whose life was cruelly slain. I vowed to do what I can so that no one has to feel as if they’re nothing at all when they lose their loved ones. So when I’m forced into a marriage with Dominic Luca—the man next in line to be the head of the biggest crime family in all of New York—the ring he puts on my finger is a gun to my head with his finger on the trigger.

When I met him, I didn't realize who he was. I still didn't when I let him take me back to his hotel for the night. I never expected to see him again. Until I found him on my father's couch, revealing he and I are connected in more ways than simply a one-night stand. To make it worse, he was a Saint, part of the ruling mafia family that owned the city of Redhill. I should have stayed away at that point. I had a lot at risk and my own mess to deal with, but it wasn't that easy. Not when he kept showing up, and that one night turned to two, and then three.

The second our eyes connected, I felt the shift in the air. The crackle of fire igniting between us. He was dark, dangerous, and secretive. He came into my life like a storm, ripping apart everything I believed in, everything I thought I knew. With his mischievous smirk, stunning looks, and alluring behavior, I should’ve ran as far away from him as I could. But I was stupid. I trapped myself in his web.