The kingdom of Bayfell requires that every male and female must marry after he or she turns sixteen. Of course, not everyone loves this law, but the kingdom's population is dwindling. The Claiming is a ceremony in which one young man writes down the name of three women of his choosing, listing most preferable to least. At the event, the announcements are made of whom each man chose to be his wife. The woman does not get a say in it whatsoever. She is stuck with whoever picks her. Isabella Reyes is unfortunately sixteen, and she is terrified. She grew up in the Facility, a home for orphans born to women of the lower class. Little does she know that the claim that is made for her hand will change everything. *Disclaimer: If you think this is a werewolf novel, you are very much wrong! I didn't realize the title's connection to werewolf lore until MONTHS after I was halfway into it. But please, give it a try if you were fooled! It's a mixture of fantasy, romance, and dystopian that has yet to disappoint!* Book cover credits to @Teddy_Ninja Thank you so much for the brilliance you have created for my story!

❀ FEATURED ON WATTPAD'S EDITORS' PICKS LIST ❀ [The Closer is intended for readers with an appetite for the dark and sexy. Read at your own discretion.] "What about that no fucking colleagues policy, huh? The one you so haughtily rubbed in my face?" The way to wound my heart is through my pride. The bastard knew that. But the look in Hans' eyes told me this wasn't a game to get me all riled up. "If your office ethics involve you getting into Tim's pants, then why don't I get to play too?" His hands flew down to my legs, tickling the bare skin on my legs and shocking me into stillness when I felt him pull up the corners of my dress till they were bunched up at my waist. "You can't," I breathlessly whispered as he forced my legs apart. One hand sauntered up to my neck, resting at my collarbone while the other snaked between my legs, parting my thighs until he had all of me resting at the tip of his fingers. "Is this cause of him," he growled, his finger dipping into my heat just slightly, circling the entrance, "or me?" He sounded so needing, so deprived. It turned me on knowing that I was the one making him feel this way, that despite being the one thrown up against a wall, I had the ultimate power over this man. "It's...It's you." I gulped and met his eyes. "It's all you." ● What happens when an unstoppable, hard-hitting business woman meets an unmovable, chauvinist, and utterly exhausting heir to a multi-million empire? Disaster, of course. For Tris, Hans Castellan proves to be more than a challenge of the heart and of the body. For Hans, Tris Henderson turns out to be a woman worth fighting for, despite a rocky start and more than a few broken hearts. Then again, no one said closing this deal would be easy. ● © Beatrice Manuel, All Rights Reserved