He was death incarnate. She was life he never asked for. Shivatya Bodil is one of the oldest, most dangerous true vampires in existence, untouchable, feared, and entirely uninterested in the ancient blood-bond tradition that ties male vampires to human mates. He's spent centuries mastering his hunger, burying his instincts, and keeping his monstrous urges at bay. Until Pranavi Mukherjee enters his life. She's the granddaughter of a dying employee... and Shivatya's fated mate. Young, sheltered, and far too human, 21-year-old Pranavi is everything Shivatya never wanted, soft where he's hard, innocent where he's brutal, warm where he's ice. He's tasked with protecting her until she's ready to become his bride, but every moment near her awakens something primal, something vicious. He doesn't want her. He shouldn't want her. But he craves her in ways that terrify even him. Pranavi grew up pampered, adored, untouched by darkness, until her grandfather's death shatters her world and leaves her at the mercy of a cold, controlling stranger with eyes like obsidian and secrets darker than night. Their paths should never have crossed. But fate, and blood, don't care what either of them wants. Can Shivatya keep his monster caged... or will Pranavi become the one temptation he can no longer resist?