My name is Rowan Hale. For six years, the contract boards called me Nocturne. I ranked first often enough that men twice my age stopped using my name and started using prayers. Then I retired. Not from guilt. Guilt requires free time, and professional murder has terrible hours. I retired after finding a better job.

When Ivy Bennett’s father disappears overnight, he leaves behind only two things: crushing debt… and her name on a contract belonging to the most feared mafia king in New York. Lucien Moretti is cold, untouchable, and dangerously beautiful—the kind of man people lower their voices around. The kind of man who ruins lives without raising his own voice. Ivy was supposed to be temporary collateral. A debt to collect. A girl trapped inside a monster’s world. Instead, she becomes the one thing Lucien can’t control. Between midnight coffees, violent secrets, and a dangerous attraction neither of them can survive, Ivy slowly discovers the terrifying truth behind the rumors: The mafia king doesn’t just want to own her. He’s becoming addicted to her. But monsters don’t fall in love without destroying everything around them first. And Lucien Moretti has never been known for mercy.

Zora had transmigrated into a book. In her mind, a voice resonated—the Oracle. [Congratulations on your second chance at life! Your mission is as follows—] [Target the villain while he is still at his weakest. Capture his heart and prevent the impending end of the world.] In her past life, Zora was a killing machine bred in the darkest pits of the Arena. Now, she’s transmigrated into a high-magic world with one absurd mission: tame the world-ending villain while he’s still weak. Her method? Instead of offering warmth and love, she plunges golden puppet threads into his very marrow. "Stay still," she whispers, using the villain’s blood to warm her frozen hands. To the Oracle's horror, Zora treats the future destroyer of worlds like a stray pup—ordering him to cook, clean, and keep the fire burning. But as Vane’s shattered bones heal under her command, his gaze turns from lethal hatred to something far more dangerous. He was supposed to destroy the world, but now, he only wants to be the most powerful puppet in hers.