the Spinstress and Beast

In the clockwork city of Oakhaven, conformity is god, and Cynthia Hope is a sinner. Born with a mind that perceives the world in overwhelming, sensory patterns, Cynthia has spent thirty years being silenced, shamed, and "corrected" by her cruel husband and the rigid Church of Eternal Light. Desperate to escape a life of sterile cages, she flees into the Forbidden Weald-a realm of untamed magic that humanity fears. There, she is hunted by machine and man alike, until she is rescued by Cormac Timberheart. An ancient guardian of the forest carrying the curse of the werebear, Cormac is a terrifying force of nature. Yet, to Cynthia's frayed nerves, the massive shifter's grounding presence offering a safety she has never known. But Cynthia is more than just a refugee. The resistance reveals that her "broken" mind is actually a prophesied weapon-the only power capable of seeing the flaws in the mechanical magic of the Dullahan, the tyrant king bent on turning the wild world into a ticking engine. Caught between the clockwork soldiers of her past and the rising heat of a forbidden passion, Cynthia must make a choice. She can hide in the shadows, or she can shed a lifetime of shame, embrace the beast who worships her, and become the Pattern-Breaker the world needs.