Acknowledgments

This one’s for the girls that love their books dark, crazy AF, and the heroes a little dirty.

HAPPY READING, MY BEAUTIFUL BABES!!!

Also, a huge THANK YOU to my team. Seriously, I couldn’t do this without you.

Michelle Myers, Ana Rita, K.I. Lynn, C.M. Steele, Marti Lynch, & Mary B. Moore; you guys keep me going when I lose track of my goals. You push me to be better, to not second guess myself when I think I lost my flow. This book was finished because each of you never let me quit or let my fears of entering a new genre stop me.

I love you all so much and I’m thankful to have you in my life.

XOXO

PLAYLIST

Papercut - Linkin Park

Given Up - Linkin Park

Broken - Seether, Amy Lee

Killing Strangers - Marilyn Manson

Sex On Fire - Kings of Leon

It’s Been Awhile - Staind

Hail to the King - Avenged Sevenfold

Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene - Hozier

Demons - Imagine Dragons

Otherside - Red Hot Chili Peppers

18th Floor Balcony - Blue October

Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls

Heathens - Twenty One Pilots

Gasoline - Halsey

Valentine’s Day - Linkin Park

The Scientist - Coldplay

Don’t Cry - Guns N’ Roses

Here’s To The Heartache - Nothing More

Still In Love - Nothing More

Through Glass - Stone Sour

Wicked Games - Stone Sour

A Beautiful Mess - Jason Mraz

Earned It - The Weeknd

Can I Be Him - James Arthur

Better Love - Hozier

Machu Picchu - Camilo, Evaluna

1

King

T

he act of sleeping has always been special to me. The naivete that even the vilest creatures adapt while their bodies succumb to exhaustion is an intriguing thing.

You have no choice. You’re not aware of your surroundings or the danger that lurks around each corner, and it’s at that time of day when even the strongest become prey. Weak. Where vulnerability and fear rule as king while those without a moral compass, who thirst for blood more than they do breathing, roam freely and without remorse.