Kenric Mastiff is an impulsive force, forged in violence.

Raised by a cold-hearted kingpin, he now rules an empire where every move is strategic, and nothing is left to chance…not even his heart. His only true companions are his owls and his chessboard—until he meets her.

Mira Laurent, a gifted violinist with a soft heart and a painful past, becomes Kenric's obsession. Her music quiets a storm inside of him that he finds hard to ignore. Taken against her will but seduced by his twisted obsession, Mira finds herself truly seen, for the first time in her life.

Kenric ends up giving Mira what she's been missing, but struggles to grant her freedom. Mira begins to uncover what lies beneath Kenric's emotionless exterior. He battles impulsive disorder, bipolar rages, and an aching need for love he refuses to acknowledge.

Kenric plays a game that only he understands. Where love means ownership, and obsession is the only way he knows how to express himself. Passion turns into possession, and pain bleeds into pleasure.

Kenric doesn't believe in love, only control. Mira doesn't believe in rescue, only survival. But in the end, it wasn't control or survival that brought the two together. It was the shared ache of broken beginnings. Together, they found something neither expected: understanding.

Because sometimes, the only person who can save you is the one who's just as ruined.

"She played the violin. He played the board. But neither saw love coming."