Hyena Bride

The Hyena Bride is an adult dark romantic fantasy set in the mist-shrouded Ethiopian highlands, where ancient stone churches, silver rites, and the laughter of hyenas hide a hunger older than memory.Almaz Tsegaye has always heard the under-voice—the hidden language beneath wind, water, and animal calls. Her family calls it dangerous. Her village calls it strange. And now, to save her household from ruin, she is promised to Dawit Asfaw, a wealthy and beloved nobleman whose generosity has made refusal impossible.But Dawit's perfection is a beautiful lie.Beneath his charm waits a predatory Buda shapeshifter who wears human skin by day and hungers for the power in Almaz's blood. As her wedding draws closer, silver begins to burn, mirrors whisper with trapped women, and the mist-filled Washa Gorge calls her by a name she was taught to fear.Then a scarred hyena spirit named Kaleb appears from the dark, offering her a dangerous bargain: freedom from Dawit's cage in exchange for letting the wild into her blood.Caught between a monster who wants to own her and one who wants her to become monstrous enough to survive, Almaz must decide what kind of woman—and what kind of creature—she is willing to become.In the highlands, some brides wear veils.She will wear teeth.