Mariana Eight years ago, my life was changed forever. My family was slaughtered before my eyes, and then their killer took me as his own personal trophy. I’d hoped, prayed, for rescue—believing that finding the last remaining Vasile would be a priority—but nobody came. They forgot about me, practically abandoned me to my fate. And, ever since, that’s been my life. Years later, I’ve come to accept this as my life; come to accept this hell as all I’d ever know. And then things got worse… In one single, shitty day, my daughter was ripped from my arms and I was shot. If it wasn’t for Ion Petran, the man I was promised to all those years ago, I might not have survived. But saving me wasn’t enough—not after everything that’s happened to me—and Ion’s going to have to work to win me over and be king of the clans. Ion Mariana was promised to me when I was a child. Since then, she’s been the key to all of my success. And then, just like that, she vanished. Years after her disappearance, I’ve finally found her, and I finally have a chance at everything I’ve ever wanted. Eight years—eight long, uncertain years—and I finally found her; finally found the woman who would change my life. But after everything I’d been hoping for, I wasn’t prepared to wind up with more than I bargained for… Now that she’s back in my life, I owe her captor a very overdo visit. After all, the day he stole her away from the world he also stole her away from me… And nobody steals from Ion Petran!

Anton It’d be an understatement to say that I jumped at the chance to find out who orchestrated the hit on Mariana Petran. To threaten the queen of the clans is an attack against all of us and being tasked with tracking down the son-of-a-bitch is nothing short of an honor. But when I found him I also found something unexpected, a sweet, sweet cherry on top of the sundae. But there’s an unexpected tie between the two… I mean, there I was, delivering a bloody and violent end to the scum that betrayed us, when in walks a feisty redhead by the name of Natasha. Natasha I never expected to find my uncle bloodied and bruised after coming home from a wild night out with the girls. Sobering as that was, the gun held to the back of his head, and the man holding it, was even moreso. It’s not everyday that you walk in on your boyfriend preparing to kill your uncle. He never told me that he was in the Romanian Mob, but, to be fair, I never told him that I was the niece of a head clan member… Or about my father. Then, in a chaotic twist that would change my life forever, my uncle was killed and I was swept off by the man who I’d foolishly allowed myself to fall for. Now Anton has me; they have me. But they don’t know whose daughter they’ve taken. They’re clueless.

Duncan She was supposed to just be a job; a means to an end, but I can't help but be attracted to her... Willow Kim Adame. I was assigned to protect her—“with any means necessary”—and, at first, it seemed like a simple enough job. But she tries to disobey me at ever step, seems outright intent on making not only my job but my life as difficult as possible. And that’s not even the worst part… I was never supposed to like her, and I certainly wasn’t supposed to fall for her. But, here we are. Willow I never wanted anything to do with my father or his lifestyle, but he had other plans... When I lost both my mother and my boyfriend, I saw no reason to stick around; I left England as soon as I could. Running from that life, I put as much distance as I possibly could between myself and all of that. I built a life. It was a simple life, but—dammit!—it was my simple life! Until the day it stopped being quite so simple… Until the day the business space next door was rented out by a man who made my knees weak and my mind cloudy with desire.

Salvatore My best friend asked me to marry his sister...so I did everything I could to ensure it. I've been after Aria Funar for years, wanting her by my side, craving that woman and her spirit. Over the years I had watched her grow up and turn into the woman she's become. After a traumatic event happened to Aria, her father branded her as damaged, irrelevant, she was deemed useless to him. Now, and only now am I worthy of marrying his daughter - because the tragic things that have happened to her ultimately brought her down to my level in her father's eyes. She isn't this broken little thing, and seeing the demons she battles every day destroys me. I made a promise to Aria, that I wouldn't allow anything to ever harm her again. I'm not a good man, in fact I'm the exact opposite. I'm a monster, but I'm her monster.

Rhys I owed Mariana so much. I’d betrayed not only her, but The Clans—my country, my people; my own flesh and blood. With so much lost because of me, when Mariana gave me a chance at redemption I was quick to take it. I was needed in the Ukraine, and so I went. But now a vicious woman named Vera is throwing me off my game, and, despite all my preparations and all of my research, I knew nothing of this woman. She was a ghost—a nightmare—appearing from thin air to complicate things. Over time, however, I began to know her for what she was: a thug, a woman lost in her own mind, nothing but a street rat. How on earth could I be expected to work with such a woman; what happens when you have to barter with someone like that? I owed Mariana so much, and, though I knew nothing of her, she knew enough about me to make that impossible. She knew that I would sooner die than go back on my word. All too quickly I’m being taught a valuable lesson by Vera: “love is war.”

Stefan My father gave me an ultimatum. He should really know better than that. I was set to marry Isabella, the daughter of a prestigious accountant for one of the Clans. He's been pressuring me for years to get married, to extend our lineage - basically to open up a baby making factory. I may be marrying a woman - but it sure as hell won't be a boring little virgin girl. I want defiancé in the highest form, and how better to achieve that than marrying a slave?

Bethany I changed every part of myself for him. At first, I thought it was because I loved him. Eventually, I realized that what he did to me was the most disgusting form of emotional abuse. He made me feel as if the authentic parts of me were wrong - that I was ugly. One night, after I had been through hell I ran to my best friend Natasha's house. I wanted the comfort of my best friend, to hold me and tell me everything would be okay. What I got was something else entirely, and his name is Leon Gabor. I just didn't know I'd be hearing his name for the rest of my life.

Carla Throughout my entire life I’ve only wanted one thing—independence. It might seem easy, but it’s quite the contrary. It’s nothing but a myth in my family because my life is not my own. It never has been and it never will be. At least, not until now. I made a deal with my father to gain some aspect of freedom. I would marry a Romanian Clan leader to unite their vast mafia with our family hitman business. Two powerful families coming together, creating the most feared partnership in the world. I only wonder if my new husband will take the independence I cherish so dearly away from me, or will he open the door to my cage and set me free.

Isabella I've never been the type to get on the wrong side of the law until the day I did. I was given two options, to either go to jail for a very long time or become an agent for the CIA. I'm unlike any other agent, though. Most of my colleagues don't have families like I do. You see, I'm Romanian and the purest of blood flows through my veins. Since time has passed I believe I was targeted because of who I know. Otherwise I wouldn't have been sent on this mission, to take down Franco Falcone of the New York Crime Family. There's just one problem, my mission requires me to act like I'm interested in him. If my heart didn't belong to another this could be easy, but it isn't because my heart belongs to Marcellus Baptiste.

Elena I've learned many lessons throughout my life, but one is more important than the rest: my life is not my own. I understand this more every single day with the more actions my family commit. They've arranged for me to marry a clan leader. There's only one problem, I won't be marrying him. I'll be murdering him.

Blanka Throughout my entire life I’ve made choice after choice to land me where I am today. Nothing is perfect, and the same views can be said about life. We all struggle and wish things could be different but it simply isn’t the case. If you want anything, whether it be as simple as happiness, you must work for it. At the end of the day, that’s what landed me in this job, doing the things I do, one day hopeful it will bring me a better life. I can only hope that day comes soon. Davide I’m the type of man who adores women. Any chance I get, I choose to revel in their flesh against mine. Although, I’m not the type of man to ever settle down - even if the Clan demands it of me. Never have I envisioned life with a woman by my side and a baby on her hip. It’s simply never been in the cards. I prefer to go to the brothels around Europe, enjoying the company of the most exquisite, prestigious women. They may not be from prominent families, but these aren’t whores you find on the street. They’re smart, witty and gorgeous. I’d been seeing another woman at this Venice brothel, however, she went and got pregnant . . . so I’m about to meet a new woman. One of the Madame’s favorite girls, one who she tells me will change my life. I suppose we’ll see if she does.

Mikel I'm old enough to be her father, but it doesn't matter—she'll be mine. Melody is the newest member of The Clans charity program. She's supposed to be my voice for certain issues I don't feel comfortable speaking about. After all, she's been doing this for years. Being a spokesperson is somewhat new to me, so I don't mind having a professional alongside me. She doesn't know anything about what we really do, and keeping it all a secret is becoming more difficult every day. She's constantly around me, always listening, always needing to bring an idea to me. Typically in a shirt that hugs her tits a little too tight and her ass just to my liking. Melody doesn't know I'm lying about who I am, or rather, what I am. She thinks I'm an angel. In all actuality, I'm the exact opposite. She doesn't know it yet, but she will. Whether it be by my real job, or by my presence in the bedroom.