Alicia believed the monster in the woods was only a warning tale—until she followed blood into the trees and found the truth waiting.

Taken captive in the Midwood Belt, Alicia is bound to Valerian Garron, an ancient vampire hunted by the Radiant Church for generations. Everything she has been taught names him a monster: cold, dangerous, forbidden. Yet as hunters close in and secrets surface, Alicia discovers the Church’s salvation is built on lies—and the creature they fear may be the forest’s last warden.

When Valerian is wounded by sacred steel, Alicia makes a choice that cannot be undone. Blood binds them. Trust binds them. And with it, their fates are sealed.

The Captive and the Hunger is a dark romantic fantasy of forbidden bonds, morally grey immortals, and devotion forged under threat—where survival demands sacrifice, and love is written in blood.

This volume is part of the written works of Shadowhearth.
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