A Lord cursed. A Princess cast aside. A Mark that could change everything Cursed by a spiteful witch, Lord Nicolai exists in the form of a black panther. Feared by everyone, Nicolai is convinced there is no hope of being rescued from a lonely, loveless life. Until a beautiful stranger arrives at his door with an agenda of her own. Princess Scarlett, step-daughter to the spiteful witch who married her father and birthed his son, fails in her attempt to win her father's attention by initiating a serpent test at her half-brother's fourteenth name day celebration. Banished from the kingdom of Velez by the witch, Scarlett is sent to an isolated location almost guaranteeing her certain death. If Scarlett is to succeed at winning back the kingdom from the clutches of the evil witch, she must find a way to accept the mark. With the help of an unlikely ally, will the princess survive to face a new nemesis or will black magic prevail?