Beautifully Yours

To survive the monsters hunting her, Mei Winter must bind herself to one. For five years, twenty-three-year-old Mei Winter has lived on the run. As a rare human-huxian hybrid descended from the legendary fox spirits of myth, she possesses a terrifying gift: the ability to completely control another living being. But her power comes with a deadly curse. If captured, her blood can be used to grant that same power to anyone willing to exploit it. After witnessing hunters sacrifice her human mother in their pursuit of that power, Mei has spent years hiding, surviving, and refusing to trust anyone. But with her enemies closing in and nowhere left to run, she makes a desperate choice. She walks straight into the territory of Alessandro Sforza, an ancient vampire king who commands one of the city's oldest and most feared supernatural underworlds. Armed with nothing but her wits and a secret piece of her heritage, Mei activates the mysterious brand burned into her wrist and binds her life to Alessandro's. If she dies, he dies. In a single moment, the powerful vampire king finds himself permanently tethered to a hunted stranger whose enemies are now his own. Alessandro is furious. Centuries of war, loss, and betrayal have taught him to trust no one, especially someone clever enough to trap a king. Yet beneath Mei's sharp defenses and desperate schemes, he recognizes something painfully familiar: a survivor carrying wounds far too heavy to bear alone. When a violent night terror gives him an unfiltered glimpse into the horrors she endured while running for her life, his anger begins to crack. The protective instincts born from losses he could never prevent resurface with a vengeance. For the first time in years, Mei finds herself somewhere safe. Instead of treating her like a weapon, Alessandro offers her a life she has never known. He shields her from those who would exploit her, introduces her to the simple joys stolen by years of fear, and slowly becomes the one person she cannot bear to lose. As trust grows into something far more dangerous, the walls around Mei's frozen heart begin to thaw. But powerful supernatural factions are preparing to go to war for control of the last huxian hybrid. If Mei is captured, her blood could give rise to a ruler capable of enslaving the supernatural world. To stop them, she may have to embrace the very power she's spent her life fearing. And Alessandro must decide whether protecting the woman he loves is worth risking the kingdom—and immortality—he has spent centuries building. Because this time, if he fails to save someone he loves, the cost won't just be her life. It will be both of theirs.