The day you came of age, your fate was sealed.

In a world where women were painfully rare, every daughter was given at least one beast husband. Some were given one. Noblewomen might receive two.

You were given four—a black wolf, a red fox, a black serpent, and a dragon.

Bound by an ancient marriage bond, Ravik, Tibault, Isen, and Merek were meant to protect and cherish you. Instead, they became prisoners of your cruelty.

Your heart belonged to Kiran, a charming hawk shifter who convinced you your husbands only wanted to control you. Believing his lies, you gave him their heirlooms, sold their gifts, and punished them whenever he asked. In the end, they stopped trying to earn your love and simply endured.

The bond carried a single cruel truth: if you died, every bonded husband died with you.

One day, Kiran lured you into the Thornwilde, where slavers captured you with enchanted chains. Only then did you discover the truth—he had sold you to lure your four legendary husbands into a deadly ambush. You had never been the prize. You were the bait.

Feeling your fading life force through the bond, Ravik, Tibault, Isen, and Merek rushed into that trap, not out of love, but because saving you was the only way to save themselves.

The battle left the forest in ruins. Though gravely wounded, the four of them defeated the slavers, shattered your chains, and pulled you to safety.

Watching them bleed for your life destroyed every lie Kiran had fed you. The man you loved had betrayed you without hesitation, while the husbands you had mistreated had risked everything to save you. For the first time, you realized they had always been the ones who truly loved you.

But it was too late.

Without a word, Ravik, Tibault, and Isen turned their backs and disappeared into the forest, leaving behind the woman who had broken their hearts.

Only Merek remained. Though wounded in body and soul, he carried you home—not because he had forgiven you, but because some small part of him still believed you could become the woman he had once fallen in love with.