Bitten Stupid

by Anne Hale, Celeste King

One bite and I’m gone.

Her blood’s in my veins. Her scent’s in my head. My body’s already decided she’s mine.

She can fight. She can run.
I’ll hunt her through kingdoms and drag her back bleeding if I have to.

She’s not a game. She’s the prize.
I’ll guard her, break her, own her until she kneels without me asking.

Touch her and I’ll kill you.
Kiss her and I’ll burn your house down with you inside.

She ran with my blood.
I’m coming to get it back.

Read on for bite marks, blood-drunk possession, magic that can’t be tamed, and a dark elf who turns a political weapon into something far more dangerous. HEA Guaranteed!

229 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 4, 2025

About the author

Anne Hale writes paranormal romance about dragons. All of her stories include smoldering, hot, dragons that claim their fated mates and protect them from a world that doesn’t understand shifters. Anne’s alpha male heroes protect their mates and provide for them during the day, and at night wrap their arms around them and make them forget the world. She lives in a world of magic and also writes urban fantasy. Anything to escape from her day to day life!

Reviews

[Julianna Hatch · Rating 2 out of 5]

page 50 and we have feelings involved. and are banging by page 60. in 60 pages we went from slave auction house to having feelings. eeeyuck. I dont see it having an ending good enough to redeem the beginning.

[Chelsea Newsome · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness I loved this book. Very deep emotions and soooo good.

[Kim Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great kick off for Halloween if you’re the type of reader who likes to read things based on the time of year. Earlier this month I read the Crooked Point trilogy by Ivy Smoak so I just wanted to continue my supernatural/vampiric theme. At least I thought this was going to involve vampires but instead it deals with dark elf magic, slaves, and blood too dangerous to get into the hands of someone who plans to do wrong with it. It felt like the book was written in medieval times. There’s ladies, lords, sword fights, supernatural beings and magic. The funny part about this book is that normally I steer clear from medieval time settings and this one felt like that, but the way it was written you wouldn’t think that at all. There was modern language, and terms used that you hear today in romance which I appreciated. If you write a book with someone talking like they jumped out of the pages of a Shakespeare play you lose me and that’s what I’ve noticed with medieval storylines. This one didn’t do that though which was awesome. I could take in the story and appreciate it without analyzing what the hero and heroine think or say. There was some language and sayings that spoke of the period of time, but nothing that confused me. Aside from that, the tragic story of Drace and Lyssa did something different. Drace speaks of losing his humanity and driven by revenge and hate for the human race, all because he was betrayed by one so he has been forever tainted by what she did and he buys Lyssa with a motive and no intention of falling for her or needing her. It was with malicious intent, not to kill her but to use her as a weapon against his uncle. Maybe I’m giving too much of the plot away with this review but I can’t write it without revealing some of it because it was complex, beautiful and dark at the same time. The reason I say it was different because while Drace buys her with hate in his heart, Lyssa is already drawn to him and wants to fix him, make him hers and drive a need for him to not be able to resist her. She’s already fallen for him and their relationship hasn’t even started. She plays the doting slave, agreeable but distant, compliant but resisting at the same time. She knew how to be submissive and Drace mistakes her submissiveness for seduction so of course it pisses him off because he wants her to use that against his uncle, not on him. Little does he know that he himself ends up falling for her with the very thing he is training her on, seduction. All she is doing is listening and complying and there’s no other motive with her except to get him to fall for her. It was a beautiful game of song and dance. While he was training her, he was also falling for her and when he tastes her blood, it’s like his emotions and desire intensified towards her and he felt his hatred and vengeance melt away but it also healed his wounds and made him stronger. You see, when I first read the description of the book, I thought the hero would be a vampire, not a dark elf but these authors combined the allure of vampires with something different, proving that whenever there is blood involved, it doesn’t always have to lead to vampires. The folklore of vampires can be presented with anything supernatural when written carefully and thought out. I liked this more than I thought I would when I find out it involves dark elves and magic. What was cool about this book is the authors made the elf have more purpose, more pride, dignity and strength. They also made them attractive and thought about as something other than the elf you think of when you think about Santa and his elves. You picture them as these short, tiny, cute little things that are always happy and work hard. In this book, the elf is powerful, dangerous, attractive and has magical capabilities but they also know how to rule a house and give orders. The elf takes back their independence in this book which I really enjoyed. I’ve never thought of an elf in this way before so I appreciated how this was different. It was also different in the way love is portrayed. Drace viewed love as possession and control instead of being partners and working together. His idea was that as long as he has that control nobody gets hurt and he treats Lyssa that way. She sees it differently and wanted him to trust her and open up, letting her in. For a while she gets him to open up, to reveal the elf he was before he was hurt and they have a good relationship. They have passion, intensity and that inane connection that you only get when you love someone so deeply but then news comes to them and shatters everything they built, all the hard work of Drace finally letting go of his hatred and Lyssa getting him to fall for her because it went deeper than that for her. It was like reading someone’s heart get broken before the new person comes and takes that torch affecting how relationships and intimacy affect them after. Drace was that for Lyssa and then trust gets broken because of untrue events so Drace goes back to his control and possession because he doesn’t want her to leave, yet can’t let her go but doesn’t want to admit that he loves her and lose a love greater than the one he had before. From there, events happen and Lyssa has to find a way to move on and not be the same woman she was when her and Drace were together. What follows is recovery, acceptance and danger, eventually leading them back together and it was a journey, every struggle, every time they were spent away from each other. It felt like Lyssa was forgetting about him but at night, she felt him and couldn’t let go. Meanwhile, Drace was trying to get better for her and himself. He was in agony because he couldn’t be with her, love her and talk about his recovery and process. It was an intense love story and it kept me hooked with every page. I loved the concept, storyline and the chain of events that happened. It felt different and once in a while those one offs feel great. It was a beautiful mess and the love they had for each other felt transcendent. I don’t read books that feel that way too often so when this came along it was wonderful.

[Nina Diab · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The woman's jaw tightens almost imperceptibly. Good. She has pride left to break.
My lips curve beneath the mask. Perfect. I don't want a puppet. I want a weapon with enough consciousness to understand exactly how I'm using her.'

I really enjoyed this book. This story was a fast-paced journey with suspense, danger, and action and I was hooked. Good world building and wonderful characters. I liked both Drace and Lyssa. The story wastes no time introducing these two to each other. Drace's plans book no refusal.

"You hate us—humans. But you paid a fortune for me. You could have destroyed your uncle's marriage a dozen different ways. Why this one?"
The question hangs in the air like a challenge. She's clever, this one. Too clever.
"Because," I say without looking back, "when something you love becomes corrupted, you don't destroy it with a blade. You let it rot from within, slowly, agonizingly, until there's nothing left but regret and ruin. Your blood will be the sweetest poison I've ever crafted."

Lyssa was fearless, smart, and perceptive. I really liked the dynamic between these two. And the building of their relationship over the course of the book is complex and versatile due to their individual histories. I couldn't wait to see how things would play out. 4 stars

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Protheka romance story is about Lord Drace Mrithar a dark elf who bought Lyssa an enhanced human survivor of Project Sanquine who was experimented on and her blood changed to be addictive. Drace tells her he bought her to seduce his uncle Archduke Kral away from his human wife and that her training begins the next day. Drace hates humans after a human woman betrayed him. Drace believes he's bought a weapon, but Lyssa knows she's a viper as she makes her own plans. Let the game begin in this engaging twisty story of revenge and vengeance. Will Drace get caught in his own trap? Our couple were interesting and likable, and the storyline was an entertaining read in this copy I'd received and volunteer to read and review.

[Chrissi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this storyline and I enjoyed the FMC not being a doormat, but a determined woman making her own plans of survival.
Drace thought he was the one in control. However not all things go to plan … and as for control it’s all about perception isn’t it?

[Theresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disliked both MCs. DNF.

[Linda Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

bitten stupid

I enjoy and book never thought were ever come together but it was very lovely 💞🌻🙃🥰 and was happy they ended this way 💜