Because the Beasts Came: A Dark Romantic Fantasy (Wells of Istri Book 1)

When beasts swallowed the world whole, only the ruthless survived — and Iryana has spent every waking moment making sure her clan is ruthless enough.

As guardian of one of the last standing outposts in the shattered kingdom of Istri, Iryana fights invisible battles every day: stretched borders, dwindling resources, and a settlement held together by sheer will. The ancient beasts didn't just devastate the land — they handed it over to military gangs who now control the one thing that could save her people. The metal-wells. Primordial sources of magic so powerful that warriors forged within them become something more than human.

Something dangerous.

To secure her clan's survival, Iryana must do the unthinkable — abandon her shadows, infiltrate the most volatile brigade in the region, and earn the trust of killers who would gut her on suspicion alone. She expects deception. She expects violence. What she doesn't expect is *him*: brutal, magnetic, and far more complicated than an enemy has any right to be.

In this dark romantasy world where every alliance is a blade pointed inward and every moment of weakness can be fatal, Iryana discovers that surviving among monsters might actually be easier than surviving what she's beginning to feel.

Because the Beasts Came is a dark, atmospheric romantic fantasy dripping with tension, morally complex characters, and a slow-burn romance that burns slow for a reason — the heat, when it arrives, is devastating.