May 2026
Some empires are built on power.
Others are built on betrayal.
A new series of tension, secrets, and dangerous loyalties is on the horizon—where fiercely intelligent women, powerful men who fall first, and buried truths collide beneath the surface.
The Bound Empire is only the beginning.
👉 Join the newsletter for early access, exclusive content, and ARC opportunities.
Famous last words.“Quick trip, Kat. Don’t let this time back home get to you. The memories will try—your mom, your brother, all that distance between you and your father. And the ghosts of men past—yeah, I know. But you’ve grown. You’re not the girl who left. Let the people who love you remind you of that.”
Strike of Betrayal - Bound Empire Series
What am I doing? Oh my God, I just made out with Cain.
His expression is perfectly unreadable, if you didn’t know him. But I do.
That tiny flicker at the corner of his mouth? That’s ego and delight.
The crowd is thicker now, buzzing with gossip, but people part when they see me coming. Six-four and not in the mood to play nice. I cut straight through.
I take the couch. Correction—I take the couch with Kat still in my lap. I don’t give her the option to sit beside me.
She hasn’t said a word since I pulled her away from Ryder, just pressed in tighter like she’s trying to disappear into me.
He gestured toward the monkey nibbling apple slices in her hand. “And who’s this?”
“Bowie.”
“Bowie?” His brows lifted.
Kat’s cheeks heated. “Yeah. Wild white hair, spunky attitude—reminds me of David Bowie.”
She gave a tiny shrug. “And yes, it’s from a movie. Labyrinth.”
Now for phase two of Operation Woo Kat.
I shook my head solemnly. “I don’t even have my guitar.”
“I’ll get it!” one of the boys shouted, already scrambling toward the house.
Kat’s brows shot up, her lips curving.
I sighed with exaggerated defeat. “Okay, maybe one song.”
Across the table, West rolled his eyes so hard it was audible. Callen laughed outright, shaking his head. They knew exactly what I was doing.
“Get my guitar too,” West muttered to the kids, which earned another round of cheers.
Okay, maybe I paid those kids to ask me to play something. Didn’t know if they’d actually pull it off, but not bad.
Not bad at all.
Last night had been good. Better than good. She’s letting go of old hurts, finding her footing with her dad again.
She stood toe-to-toe with Vivien without flinching, a thing Conrad himself avoids.
She protected someone she loves with a kind of grace I’ll never have. And after all of that, she sat under the stars with me, laughing—actually laughing—with someone who’s broken her trust more than once.
“Getting you out of this dress,” Cain muttered against my mouth, “would definitely lighten the mood.”
“That would absolutely lighten the mood,” I whispered back, breathless.
And then—
“You know we can hear you, right?” Ren’s voice cut in through the comms, wicked amusement dripping from every word. “The imagery right now is hot as hell, but maybe save it for later, when Vaughn isn’t listening.”
“Does she have a name?”
“Marzanna.”
I stopped short, my brows lifting. “The Goddess of Winter? The scary one with fangs and claws you used to torment me with as a kid?”
Mason chuckled. “I knew you’d remember. And for the record, Marzanna got a bad rap. Yes, goddess of winter, yes, tied to death—but with death comes renewal. Marzanna sheds the old season so life can begin again. She came to us in winter, her old life was over. Now she’s bringing new life into the world. I thought it fit.”
The floor seemed to tilt beneath me, but I held his gaze. “This doesn’t change anything. I want you out of this town and off the board.”
His eyes gleamed. “Don’t your father’s people have a saying? If wishes were horses, beggars would ride?”
“That’s Scottish, not Norse,” I snapped. “Have you forgotten already?”
“Of course not, sweetheart,” he murmured, voice silk over steel.
Note from the Author:
Strike of Betrayal is a full-length why choose / reverse harem romance where the heroine will not have to choose between her love interests. This story contains possessive romance themes, mature situations, and explicit content intended for readers 18+.
A polyamory romance featuring four alpha males, with second chance and friends to lovers dynamics woven throughout. Written in first-person, multi-POV. Book One in the Bound Empire Series — ends on a cliffhanger.