They call him the beast. The savage. Feral monster.

Kept as a pet by the cruel Barbarian Empress since childhood, Rolan has been granted his freedom and given a bride to call his own. Another like him, he is told—covered from head to toe with fur-like hair. Ugly like him. An outcast. A pariah, hated by a society that accepts no differences.

But he won't hate her. After all he's endured, she will be a welcome cure to his loneliness. He will show her kindness he was never shown and prove to her that they aren't the monsters everyone claims them to be. Together, they will heal each other, and he will finally be free of his pain.

They call her a beauty. Too ethereal for her station. A curse upon her people.

The Barbarian society requires one to blend in, fulfill their assigned role, and, above all, never anger the Empress. Abauna has managed to break each of those rules, and now she's to be given as a bride to the most savage Barbarian alive. A warrior, she is told—who will be harsh and cruel and require much from her.

But when they meet at the altar, it's clear that she isn't what he expected… and neither is he. The wicked Empress has played a cruel trick on them both—offering the despised beauty to the beast who only wanted a monster like himself. A monster who could understand him, not fear him, who might even come to love him one day.

Because how could the beauty ever love a beast? And how could the beast continue to exist without it?