A chilling gothic romance where ancient secrets stir, forbidden passion ignites, and the forest watches.Elara Vance thought she was escaping her past when she fled to the remote village of Lustwood Hollow, taking refuge in the crumbling solitude of Thornfield End Cottage. But the woods surrounding her new home whisper warnings in the wind, and the villagers' fearful glances hint at something far more sinister than superstition.Her landlord, the brooding and enigmatic Silas Thorne, delivers one rule with grim finality: "Stay this side of the wall. Especially after dark."But darkness doesn't wait for permission.Mysterious offerings appear at the boundary-woven twigs, poisonous berries, and sigils of protection undone. On the night of the Harvest Moon Bonfire, warmth turns to ice, flames burn blood-red, and a villager vanishes-replaced by a possessed woman with a chilling ultimatum.Elara soon learns Silas is no ordinary recluse. He is the last warden of an ancient pact, bound by blood to guard the Hollow from a primordial entity slumbering beneath the forest floor-a guardian now waking... and hungry.As Elara and Silas are drawn together by loneliness and a dangerous spark of forbidden desire, the guardian marks her as its own. Fear. Passion. Pain. It craves them all.When the protective boundary collapses, and Silas must confront the entity in the forest's heart, Elara faces her own battle within the warded walls-a night of relentless siege, seductive whispers, and a soul under assault.Dawn breaks, but the nightmare is far from over.The guardian is wounded, not destroyed.The pact is shattered.And the mark on Elara's wrist now glows like a beacon.The war for Lustwood Hollow has begun.And Elara Vance-once a fugitive-is now the key to its salvation... or its ruin.Perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and gothic romantasy tales steeped in dark folklore, twisted romance, and slow-burning terror.