First published 2025
Cameron Mortem has been declared clinically insane after repeatedly killing his partners in the Dark Forces, a brutal underground military operation. An experimental drug has shattered his self-control, making him too dangerous for field work. The Dark Forces throw him back into the Under Trials, a merciless boot camp that breaks the weak and sharpens the ruthless. His orders are simple: don't kill the new girl. Emery Maves barely escaped execution for her own violent crimes. Now she's trapped in the same deadly world, assigned to Cameron as her partner. She must survive both the brutal Trials and Cameron's unstable nature. But Emery discovers something unexpected beneath Cameron's bloodlust: a terrifying allure and dangerous tenderness that pulls her toward him. As the Trials push them beyond their limits, Emery fights the attraction to a man who could kill her without warning. Cameron battles the murderous urge he's never conquered. Their connection grows from violence, chaos, and mutual survival. It might destroy them both, or it might be their salvation.
Genres: military-fiction, action, psychological-thriller, dark-romance
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Dark Forces, Under Trials
Period: 21st-century
304 pages · Paperback · Bloom Books
Content warnings: abuse, graphic-violence, mental-illness