Bound Beauty
Jennifer Silverwood
(A Wylder Tale, #3)
Publication date: July 14, 2026
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Forgotten gods haunt her steps, and the cursed prince she left behind isn’t done fighting for her soul.
Vynasha is bound to the prince of Bitterhelm. Even if she were to die, her spirit will remain trapped with him in the castle forever. But she won’t give in to Grendel without a fight. With the aid of an oracle, a witchling, and the wolf that claims her heart, Vynasha plans to claim her power as the curse breaker.
Ceddrych guards their nephew secretly while fighting to keep the feral beasts roaming their borders at bay. But the monsters are closing in, and the madness he has struggled with drives him to one desperate, unforgivable act.
A war is about to begin between the forgotten people of Wylderland and the cruel might of Bitterhelm. Beings of prophecy and legend unite in the epic third chapter of the Wylder Tales Series, a romantic gothic re-telling of Beauty and the Beast.
WYLDER TALES is a series of romantic dark fairy tales, set in the past of the wider Borderlands Saga, and includes:
•slow burn romantasy
•forced proximity
•enemies to lovers
•found family
•magical bonds
•wicked witches
•burly beasts
•morally gray characters
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IN A
FORGOTTEN CASTLE IN WYLDERLAND…
Alone with
Grendel, the man she had been tempted to love, the prince she loathed, Vynasha
didn’t want to wake up. Let her sleep for a thousand years like the cursed
princess, Morana. Let these walls crumble, the rose garden spread throughout
the keep with thorns and vines to keep the world out forever.
“I know
you are awake, Ashes.”
Vynasha
opened her eyes. The prince stood before the hearth, his back to her. He hadn’t
changed clothes since she had last seen him. Yet his faintly luminous skin had
dimmed from bronze to the dull gray she remembered. “What happened?” she asked.
“A fever
in your sleep. Odym says it was the runes.” Grendel’s shoulders hunched as he
hung his head. “I should not have come, I know this. But I…” he twisted to face
her. “Forgive me, Vynasha, but I cannot stay away from you any longer. I
could feel your pain through the bond, yet there was nothing I
could do to stop her,” he growled. “Do not ask me to leave you again, I beg of
you.”
Vynasha
should have been disgusted, but she was coming to accept the fact that Odym had
been right. No matter how she truly felt, they needed each other. And she could
not deny the way his words danced about her mind and breathed life back into
her limbs.
“I wish I
could tell you I was different,” he continued, “before my mother cursed me. But
the truth is, I was always a monster.” Grendel drew his shoulders back and
lifted his chin, pushing away from the fireplace mantel. He shook his head and
held his hands before him, palms upturned. “I never wanted to be my father.
I shall not make his mistakes, and so I will be honest with
you, Ash. No more secrets.”
She
shuddered and desperately wished she could bathe, could banish dreams of Nymwe
and be rid of the prince. The dread she felt before only grew as Grendel
paused, clenching his fists as though steeling himself for words he could not
take back.
“I owe you
everything, so much more than you know. When you willingly accepted the curse,
you took some of the monster into you. I have not been forced to change into a
beast ever since. It has given me time to remember myself in your absence, who
I was and who I hope to be.”
Vynasha
ground her sharp teeth. So they not only shared a bond with his spirit, but she
had taken part of his beast? That they were forced to share something she had
learned to take pride in made her ill.
Whatever
he saw in her face must have pained him, enough for him to turn away. “Forgive
me. I shall go. I should have never hoped…” He shook his head, dispelling
whatever he might have said as he took two more steps to the door.
She traced
the tip of her tongue on her lip, tasting the blood she spilled to forget. His
hand was on the doorknob when she said, “Wait.” The strength behind her command
surprised her and caused the prince to freeze in place.
Vynasha
lifted her hand with surprising ease. “Stay?”
We need
each other.
His
graying skin flickered to golden life as he turned with hope burning in his
violet eyes. “Always.”
At his
word, his promise, Vynasha released the breath she didn’t know she
had been holding. Even then, a small corner of her mind railed against her
actions, at the feelings she couldn’t seem to control. It must Grendel’s
influence, his feelings trickling through their bond.
This is
wrong.
Still, she
couldn’t deny how the persistent itch beneath her skin abated with him beside
her, holding her hand. It shouldn’t have mattered. Truly, she hated how easily
she gave in to these feelings. She could never tell him. Grendel had bound her
life to his. Even if she were to leave, to beg the wylderfolk to take her back
into their home, she would never be rid of him. And the longer she remained in
the prince’s castle, the less she wanted to be free.
Jennifer Silverwood lives in the middle of an enchanted forest surrounded by cursed books, nosy spirits, and mischievous goblins she calls her children. After beginning several nonsensical degrees, she found her calling helping other authors bring their books to life. Jennifer is the author of two fairy tale fantasy series: the Borderlands Saga and Wylder Tales. Because she wasn't satisfied writing in one genre, she also invites you to explore uncharted space with the Heaven’s Edge Novellas—and dare to fall in love again with the standalone romance titles Stay and She Walks in Moonlight.
GIVEAWAY!
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