A monster made of soft thing

She is the heir to an empire built on silence and blood but she didn't inherit her father's throne out of sentiment.

She earned it.

Boardrooms bend. Rivals vanish. Men who underestimate her don't get second chances they get erased. She is beautiful the way a loaded weapon is beautiful: polished, precise, lethal.

They call her a monster.

She never corrects them.

Aiden was never meant to protect her from danger.

He was meant to protect the world from her.

He's seen the version of Gabrielle that doesn't hesitate the one who smiles before she destroys you, who answers betrayal with extinction. He knows exactly what she is.

And he loves her anyway.

That's the problem.

She doesn't believe someone like him could ever love something like her.

And he's certain she would never choose someone like him a bodyguard, an orphan, a man born outside the crown.

So they circle each other.

Almost confessing.

Always retreating.

Because love is weakness and weakness is the one thing Gabrielle has never allowed herself to be.

But when betrayal strikes and someone dares to aim for her throne, Aiden stops pretending he's just a guard.

He will burn the world to keep what is his.

Bleed for her.

Kill for her.

Die for her.

And Gabrielle?

She has never planned on letting him die.

Because the monster may not love gently

But once she chooses...

She never lets go.