Collared by the Vampire Prince

Collared Trilogy #1

by Darcy Fayton

His mouth curves. “On your knees, pet. It’s time to play.”

🔥 A FORBIDDEN LOVE THAT WILL CONSUME THEM BOTH

Perfect for readers craving the dark intensity of Manacled , the dangerous obsession of Haunting Adeline , and the seductive vampire romance of Carissa Broadbent’s Six Scorched Roses .

Escape into an 18+ gothic castle academy with this enemies-to-lovers vampire romantasy filled with explicit spice, magic, delicious slow-burn tension, and dangerous secrets—where the vampire prince falls first, and falls hard, for the one woman he can never have.

Captured. Humiliated. Collared by the enemy.

Kira is an illegal wolf shifter whose true form should exist only in nightmares.

If anyone ever discovered her secret, she would be condemned as an abomination. A monster.

But when Prince Nathaniel catches her shifting, he doesn't see a monster.
He sees something beautiful. Someone worth saving.

Except Kira sees only the enemy who could have her executed.
So she does what any cornered wolf would do.
She bites him. Hard.

It's a crime punishable by death, and Nathaniel knows he should surrender her to his brutal father, the Vampire King. Instead, he locks a collar around her throat and takes her to Volmasque Academy—a gothic castle where wolves are trained to obey their future vampire masters and please them in every way.

With their blood.
With their bodies.
With their submission.

But Kira is not so easily tamed.

And the deeper Nathaniel falls for her, the more he realises the most dangerous thing about Kira isn’t her bite.

Book One of the Collared Trilogy—an enemies-to-lovers dark vampire romantasy in a gothic fantasy academy filled with slow-burn tension, dangerous obsession, and an explicit, high-heat payoff. The trilogy follows the same couple and concludes with an HEA.

For readers who love: forced proximity, forbidden desire, dangerous power imbalances, age gaps, possessive morally grey heroes, defiant heroines, and “touch her and die” energy.

Content Notes: Explicit Spice • Dubious Consent • Sexual Violence by Antagonists • Blood • Violence Involving Blades

Previously published under the same title, this is a completely rewritten and reimagined edition of the bestselling story, with an expanded world, richer characters, and a stronger romance.

Proudly supporting human creatives. This novel was written by Darcy Fayton, a real human author, with cover design by Artscandare (no generative AI) and professional editing.

Genres: Dark Romance

357 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 1, 2026

About the author

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✨Author Bio:
Darcy Darcy Fayton writes addictive slow-burn Dark Romantasy set in gothic castles by firelight, where forbidden attraction becomes dangerous devotion and morally grey gentlemen navigate dark worlds while falling hard for the women they should never want.

Expect immersive dark fantasy worlds full of vampires, wolf-shifters, yearning, emotional angst, scorching spice, witty banter, a touch of magic, and hard-won redemption.

For new readers, Collared by the Vampire Prince is the perfect place to start.

Her family thinks she writes sweet romance—but oh, if only they knew!

Reviews

[Kerri-louise Whitham Your_bookish_fantasy · Rating 5 out of 5]

**𝓝𝓞 𝓢𝓟𝓞𝓘𝓛𝓔𝓡𝓢**
⚜️𝔻𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 𝕠𝕗- COLLARED by Darcy Fayton

⚠️ THIS IS THE NEW, EXTENSIVELY REWRITTEN 2026 VERSION.
The original book has now been retired and what was previously a duology is being expanded into a trilogy.

𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 BETA 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰, 𝐢𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐢 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

⚜️ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤-
(out of 5 stars, my rating scale is at the end)
* 📚 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
* 🌡️ 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 MF 🌶🌶🌶 / 5 -𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑠
* Which books have I also given this same rating? (𝑠𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑦𝑙𝑒𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛)
5⭐️ Fourth wing / Bound by inked flame / Anathama / The Lies of Lena / Of silver and Curses
4.5⭐️ Bitten / The Female / Quicksilver / Bride / Lights Out / A Bargain so Bloody
4⭐️ ACOTAR/ Spellcaster / One Dark Window / From Blood and Ash / Phantasma / Butcher & Blackbird

⚜️𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠:
* Genre- Fantasy
* 📖 ? 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀
* 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 DUAL 𝗣𝗢𝗩
* 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲- October 2026
* 𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁 or 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 driven? 𝒜 ℳ𝒾𝓍
* 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 & 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗻𝗼- The collared trilogy book 1 - incomplete series
* 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 on 𝗞𝗨? ❓
* 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗲- ℱ𝒶𝓈𝓉 & 𝓌ℯ𝓁𝓁 𝓅𝒶𝒸ℯ𝒹 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓈𝓉ℴ𝓇𝓎
* 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? ✅𝒴ℯ𝓈! 𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒷ℴℴ𝓀 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓎 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓂ℯ. ℐ 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓇ℯ𝓂ℯ𝓂𝒷ℯ𝓇 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓋𝒾𝒷ℯ𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒻ℯℯ𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝓁ℯ𝒻𝓉 𝓂ℯ 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽!
* 𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? (Disability, plus size, mental health etc...)❌
* ℳℴℴ𝒹𝓈; 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔, 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒚, 𝑬𝒎𝒐𝒕𝑖𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍, 𝑺𝒂𝒅, 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒚, 𝑴𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔, 𝑯𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌, 𝑻𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈
* 𝒟𝒾𝒹 𝒾 ℯ𝓃𝒿ℴ𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈?✅
* 𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒾 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓃ℯ𝓍𝓉 𝒷ℴℴ𝓀 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓈ℯ𝓇𝒾ℯ𝓈?✅
* 𝒲ℴ𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒾 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 ℯ𝓁𝓈ℯ 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽ℴ𝓇?✅
* 𝖂𝖍𝖔 𝖜𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖎 𝖗𝖊𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖔? All of my fellow DARK paranormal romance readers, who love a genuine dark edge to their romance! There is collars and leads, pets that need to know their place and some very darkly explored themes! It’s disgusting! (You’ll love it!)


⚜️𝕊ℙ𝔼ℂ𝕀𝔼𝕊 𝕀ℕ 𝕊𝕋𝕆ℝ𝕐:
💋𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑠
⚰️𝑉𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠
🧙‍♀️𝔚𝔦𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔰
🌕𝑊ℴ𝓁𝒻 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠
🦴S҉ℎ𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠


⚜️𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕤:
🍆ᏦᏁᎾᎿᎿᎨᏁᎶ
💦𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬/ 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬
🤍𝑉𝑖𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝐹𝑀𝐶
🔥𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧
🥵𝒟𝒾𝓇𝓉𝓎 𝒯𝒶𝓁𝓀
😍IᑎՏTᗩ ᒪOᐯᗴ ᒪᑌᔕT
🗡 𝙀𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨
💀𝔉𝔬𝔯𝔟𝔦𝔡𝔡𝔢𝔫 𝔯𝔬𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢
💋𝒮𝓅𝒾𝒸ℯ 𝒾𝓃𝒸𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓈ℯ𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 ℯ𝒶𝒸𝒽 𝒷ℴℴ𝓀
🌡𝕐𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝔸𝕟𝕘𝕤𝕥, 𝕋𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟
⚔️𝔅𝔲𝔩𝔩𝔶 𝔯𝔬𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢


⚜️𝕋ℝ𝕆ℙ𝔼𝕊
😈𝕊𝕖𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕤 & 𝔹𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕪𝕒𝕝𝕤
⚜️ℋℯ𝒾𝓇 𝓉ℴ 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓉𝒽𝓇ℴ𝓃ℯ
🪦𝕳𝖔𝖗𝖗𝖔𝖗 𝕰𝖑𝖊𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖘
🏫𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑒/𝐴𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔
✏️Dark Academia
🏰Gothic
🧩𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒚
💈 ᗷᗩᑎTᗴᖇ
☠️𝕋𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕...
🏹𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐀𝐬𝐬 𝐅𝐌𝐂
🧨𝕊𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕪 𝔽𝕄ℂ


✨ TᕼᗴᗰᗴՏ ✨
Paranormal college, shifters are kept as pets, dark spice, dark history, vampires vs shifters

📝Cliff Notes Review-
Collared is a dark paranormal fantasy romance following Kira, a wolf entering an academy controlled by the vampires who oppress her kind, and Nathaniel, the vampire prince she has every reason to despise.

Expect vampires and wolves, gothic academy vibes, royalty, rebellion, political intrigue, found family, enemies, a betrothed complication, age gap, threatened BDSM and power exchange, an obsessive/possessive morally dark MMC, a defiant FMC and genuine enemies-to-lovers where the word “enemies” actually bloody means something.

What I loved most about this rewrite is that it hasn’t lost the things that made me enjoy the original. Instead, Darcy has built the foundations underneath them.
The chemistry is still explosive. Nathaniel still owns his alphahole status. Kira still has that fire. The darkness hasn’t been sanitised. The spice hasn’t suddenly become decorative. But now there is a much richer world surrounding all of it, stronger character motivations and enough history and political scaffolding to make their choices matter.

FYI
I read and reviewed the original version of this story and I also had the privilege of beta reading this rewrite while Darcy was creating it, so believe me when I say this isn’t just the old book with a few extra chapters shoved in. COLLARED has been rebuilt. And bloody hell, Darcy… YOU PUT THAT WOMAN THROUGH IT. 😂

The biggest improvement for me is just how much the story has been slowed down and expanded. One of my criticisms of the original was that although I loved the plot, characters, paranormal world and deliciously volatile relationship, there were important pieces of history and reasoning missing. I wanted to understand the academy, the vampires and wolves, their history and why this society functioned the way it did.

This time I got it.

There is considerably more history, lore and worldbuilding, but more importantly, there are now reasons behind people’s choices. Whether those choices are good, bad, selfish, cruel or spectacularly stupid, I can understand what drove the character to make them. That makes such a difference.

Darcy still keeps her cards clutched firmly against her chest. We aren’t handed all the answers or shown the truth lurking behind everyone’s motives, but instead of information simply feeling absent, there are now deliberate closed doors. I know there’s something behind them. I might even know why I can’t open them yet. And now I desperately want the bloody key.


🌍 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘:
😈This world is DARK.😈
Wolves live beneath vampire rule and can be kept as “pets”, but first they have to be trained to become good ones. The academy therefore isn’t simply a convenient gothic backdrop. It has a very disturbing purpose: wolves are learning what is expected of them while the vampires are learning how to be their owners.

It’s degrading, oppressive and deliberately uncomfortable, and against that we have the royal family, political power, the beginnings of rebellion, secrets, enemies, alliances and a society that suddenly feels considerably bigger than the romance happening inside it.

Then throw in Nathaniel’s betrothed, Kira’s new friendships and enemies, found-family vibes, simmering rebellion and one spectacularly unhealthy attraction between two people who should probably stay on opposite sides of a very large room…
Naturally, they don’t. 😂

The original moved quickly and I enjoyed that, but looking back, some of what I interpreted as pace was actually the story skipping over things I needed to understand.
The rewrite gives those moments room to breathe.

History has weight. Relationships have foundations. Decisions have motivations. The academy has purpose. The oppression actually feels systemic rather than simply existing because the plot tells us vampires and wolves don’t like one another. And somehow, despite being considerably more comprehensive, I found this version more addictive.

I know that particularly well because I was supposed to be beta reading it. You know… slowly. Carefully. Making annotations. Giving useful feedback.
-Instead, on more than one occasion I became so absorbed that I completely failed at my job and inhaled entire sections without making my notes. 🤦‍♀️ I then had to go back and reread them specifically to annotate them.

At least twice I ended up reading chapters THREE TIMES, partly because I’d forgotten to beta read while reading them and partly because my brain was still screaming:
SHE DID NOT JUST DO THAT TO KIRA.
She did.
She absolutely bloody did. 😂

🚨 🅲︎🅷︎🅴︎🅲︎🅺︎ 🆃︎🅷︎🅴︎ 🆃︎🆆︎! 🚨

>>And I really do mean that.
Darcy does not tiptoe around the darkness in this story. Characters are beaten, broken, bloodied, degraded, controlled, rendered helpless and pushed into situations that become genuinely bleak.

The danger is dark.
The politics are dark.
The romance is dark.
The spice is dark.
Nathaniel is DARK.

This isn’t darkness being used as pretty gothic wallpaper around an otherwise fluffy romance. The uncomfortable power dynamics are woven directly into the society, plot and relationship.
So if you’re going in because you enjoyed the original version, don’t assume you already know exactly what you’re getting.

🧝‍♂️ ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤:
Kira and Nathaniel are gloriously volatile.
Kira arrives at the academy already hating the vampires who oppress her people and is determined to do something about them.

Nathaniel is still the domineering vampire prince I remembered, but there’s much more underneath the arrogance this time. His own plans, responsibilities and secrets give context to his behaviour without necessarily excusing it, which is an important distinction in a dark romance.

And their chemistry? Absolutely feral.

This isn’t one of those “enemies to lovers” romances where somebody was mildly rude in chapter two and they’re mentally picking out curtains by chapter six. These two have genuine reasons to hate one another. Their relationship is tangled up with oppression, power, control, rebellion, attraction, politics and secrets, and that makes every shift between them feel considerably more significant.

The supporting characters have also benefited from the rewrite, again giving more into the story.

🪧𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:
I already liked Collared. I like what it has become considerably more.
There’s something particularly satisfying about rereading a rewritten book and discovering that the exact places where you previously thought “I need MORE here” have actually been opened up and explored rather than simply padded out.

And having watched some of it being written from the beta-reading trenches, I can confirm that waiting for Darcy to send me the next pages was absolute torture. I was practically rattling the bars of my enclosure demanding GIVE ME THE NEXT CHAPTER.

Then she’d send it.
I’d read it.
And immediately regret encouraging her because WHAT THE 🦆HAVE YOU DONE TO KIRA NOW?! 😭😂

***********************

𝕄𝕪 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕤:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!

🔥⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🔥
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!

 SPICE SCALE:
🌶️– segsual language and a little on-page action / fade to black

🌶️🌶️– a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times

🌶️🌶️🌶️– a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more

[RomantasyMama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of the rewritten Collared by the Vampire Prince.

I really enjoyed the storyline between Kira, the FMC, and Nathaniel, the MMC. Their dynamic kept me invested, but what has really hooked me is the number of little Easter eggs Darcy has sprinkled throughout the story. I have so many theories about where this trilogy is heading, and honestly, the next book cannot come soon enough.

⚠️ The rest of this review is purely theory territory.

If you haven’t read the book yet or would rather go in completely blind, I’d recommend stopping here. There aren’t any major spoilers, but there are definitely some dribs and drabs from the book that form the basis of my theories—so consider yourself warned!

Also, a disclaimer: I haven’t read the original books and I don’t know anything about the original storyline. These theories are based entirely on the Easter eggs and clues I picked up from this rewritten version. So, if you want to see where my completely unhinged theory brain has taken me… keep reading. 😂

And yes, I’m also terrible at remembering every extended character’s name, so some of my references are going to be a little vague. If you’ve read the book, though, you’ll know who I mean!

Okay, here’s my theory…

I think Kira is actually the wolf princess and the rightful heir to the throne.

My theory is that she is the missing princess—the one everyone believes Nathaniel killed, stuffed beside her father, the Wolf King, and hung from the roof.

But I don’t think Nathaniel actually killed her.

I think Nathaniel is ultimately good, but deliberately hides behind a cruel and ruthless mask. The “princess” that was displayed beside the Wolf King was already dead when Nathaniel found her. Kira herself points out that the body didn’t have the correct scent, which feels like a pretty significant clue to me.

Then there’s Kira’s birth mother…

I think her mother was the vampire who was in love with the Wolf King, and that love was the catalyst for the entire usurpation. The other vampire became jealous of their relationship, which ultimately created the opportunity for an ambitious vampire—Nathaniel’s dad, aka the current Vampire King—to overthrow the Wolf King and seize the throne.

And if Kira really is their daughter, it would explain why she’s so unique in appearance—because she’s a vampire/wolf hybrid.

It could also explain why she can see magical auras when others can’t.

I think Nathaniel knows exactly what Kira is.

And I think that’s why he collared her—to protect her.

Then we have the song.

The song Nathaniel hums seems to be the same song connected to Kira’s pendant, which I suspect somehow links back to Nathaniel’s mother. It’s also supposedly the forbidden song from the Wolf King’s time, so I’m convinced there’s a lot more significance to it than we’ve seen so far.

And finally…

I think Kira and Nathaniel are fated mates.

My current theory is that the Vampire King—Nathaniel’s father—knows that combining wolf and vampire blood creates a stronger hybrid, which is why he created the blood curse in the first place.

And then there’s the cabin scene…

When Kira and Nathaniel are fighting, Nathaniel’s POV specifically acknowledges just how strong she is, even thinking that she could take him in a fight if she didn’t have the collar.

👀 SUSPICIOUS.

Could that be another little hint toward what Kira actually is?

So, basically, my current theory board is covered in red string. 😂

I have absolutely no idea how close I am—or whether Darcy is going to completely destroy every single one of these theories in the next book—but that’s half the fun!

I cannot wait to see which of my theories, if any, come true… or whether the next book sends me spiralling into an entirely new set of theories.

Either way, I need the next book ASAP. 🐺🩸

…Darcy, I’m totally ready to read the next two ARCs whenever you’re ready, girl! 😂

[Jessicalynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book.

This book was definitely engaging and a quick read. I finished it the same day I started it. The world building was interesting and definitely still left enough unexplained I’m interested to know more. The female main character was very engaging and not at all weak.

Also when the author says “enemies to lovers”, enemies actually means something. I’m going to be honest, this book ended on a cliff hanger and I am a thousand percent unsure how these two will ever make it to a happily ever after. But I will definitely read the next one to find out!

[Bethel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to get an advance readers copy of this rereleased version and OH MY GAWD! I did not read the original but I could not put this down!

I love the complexity of the characters and that you get brief POV from the MMC but mainly it is from the FMC perspective. And each POV reads like their own character. And I SOO want to know more about what is going on with the prince! What political games and secrets is he keeping!

[FaeFireAndSmut · Rating 5 out of 5]

~ This book will fill you with Lust and Rage~

Looking for a FMC that'll Bite, Stab, Poison the Tea and.. then get on her knees and please him ... meet Kira *She's Working Though Things*🤣

Kira is Collared and thrusted into a twisted academy to form her into the perfect pet ....But she doesn't loose her teeth 😉

[Jessica Ouzts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was one of the individuals granted the opportunity to read this heavily re-written tale through an ARC. A story of wolf shifters, witches, vampires, and training academies. Debasement. Forbidden attraction and slow burn attachments. The story is slow to start and can be enraging in some areas, but overall a good read. I will be reading the remaining books in this series.

[Danny Carlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the beta copy and will review when book releases but it's everything I wanted in a dark romance in a castle academia setting.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read!! Action packed storyline full of exciting twists. Was glued to the pages. Characters were intense. Their interactions were awesome. Read cover to cover because it was that good.