

Gabriel Reeds returns home a war hero, the general who shattered the southern enemy and unified the nation. The homecoming lasts about five minutes. His sister has been violated, his mother left gravely wounded, and the men responsible have powerful friends in very high places. Armed with an imperial gold medallion and a fury that doesn't cool, Gabriel storms the local courthouse and keeps going, pulling at a thread that unravels a conspiracy stretching from corrupt county officials all the way to the capital,where pension funds meant for fallen soldiers have been quietly stolen. The Emperor's brother-in-law hits back hard. Gabriel hits harder.With the Empress's backing, he dismantles the rot from the bottom up, for his family, for the dead, and for every soldier who bled for a country that then abandoned their kin.

Just because I forget to bring my mate's lover back—leaving her alone in the wilderness for three hours—he flies into a rage and throws me into an abandoned well in the desolate countryside. "You need to experience the torment that Belinda was put through." The well is deep and narrow, forcing me to curl up in my wolf form. I struggle to breathe. I plead for mercy and beg for forgiveness. However, all he does is tell me off icily. "Stay there and repent for your sins. You'll only understand the dignity required of a Luna once you learn your lesson from this." He orders his men to seal the well with a large boulder. I let out anguished howls and roars as I claw my way upward. However, I only fall back down over and over again. The walls of the well are covered in my claw marks. I continue like this until I can't make a sound through my parched throat. … Half a month later, my mate's heart softens when he sees the birthday gift I've prepared in advance for him. He decides to end my punishment. Unbeknownst to him, worms and snakes have already gnawed my body beyond recognition at the bottom of the well.