UPHOLD BY THE SHADOW BEAST

He stopped running. The shadow was waiting.

Darian has been alone his whole life.

His father left. His mother forgot. Lovers walked out the door and never looked back. He stopped hoping anyone would stay. He stopped answering calls. He stopped opening doors. He stopped living.

He just existed. In the dark. In the silence. In the space between loneliness and nothing.

But he was never truly alone.

The shadow was always there.

Watching. Waiting. Holding him together when he did not even know he was falling apart.

You asked me to stay. When you were seven. When you were sixteen. When you were standing at the window, wondering if anyone would ever stay.

I heard you.

I am still here.

The shadow does not leave.

Umbra has been with Darian since birth. Silent. Patient. Invisible. He is not a monster. Not a parasite. Not a void.

He is a promise.

And promises, unlike people, sometimes stay.

But the Dawn does not agree. They hunt marked humans. They burn shadows. They believe darkness is evil and light is the only truth.

When they find Darian, they do not expect him to fight back.

They do not expect Umbra.

And they do not expect what happens when two lonely things finally stop hiding and start standing together.

The Dawn wants war.

Darian wants peace.

But peace requires understanding. Understanding requires trust. And trust requires something scarier than any monster.

Vulnerability.

Can Darian show the world that shadows are not enemies? Can Umbra prove that darkness can be kind? Can two broken things find a way to uphold each other against an army that wants them dead?

Or will the Dawn burn them both?

UPHOLD BY THE SHADOW BEAST is a full-length MM monster romance novel. No cheating. No cliffhanger. Just shadows, silver eyes, and a love that proves darkness is not something to fear.

Includes bonus scene: "The First Uphold" from Umbra's point of view. Available only in this edition.

Scroll up and one-click to step into the shadow.