His Unbreakable Vow

I am Zivah Kovač, the last scion of a fallen house, rendered mute by the trauma of my family's massacre. Now, I'm a pawn, engaged to Voron, the monstrous ‘Beast of Ostrava’ - a shifter whose corrupted form is a whispered horror story. Our engagement is a farce, held in a gilded cage of a penthouse, a high-tech fortress overlooking a city that wants us both dead. He’s a terrifying giant, scarred and silent, yet his eyes hold a gentleness that unnerves me more than his claws. One night, on a whim, I cook a simple stew from a half-forgotten recipe. The scent makes him freeze, and a single, pained sound escapes him. It’s the first step in a cascade of memories, not his, but my own. Flashes of code, blueprints for this very penthouse, a desperate bargain with an elder matriarch… I didn't just stumble into this sanctuary. I built it. I chose him. But why would my past self bind me to this monster, and what forgotten enemy is about to tear down our walls to finish the job they started?