Monilinia

A wolf cannot live among sheep. Eventually, the herd would smell the rotten carcasses of their brethren.

Loukas had always known he was tainted. Since childhood, he had an abhorrent longing-to tear away others' living exteriors to see if they were as putrid as he was. Feast on their flesh and bone to satiate his undying hunger. His only hope for salvation was to quell his sickness, hide his shame, and fulfill his duty as the eldest son of the Asbjorn family. To live as a normal human being, keep his head down, and finally gain their pride.

That was until he met the new university repairman during his shift at the library. Loukas should have found the beast-kin, with his lecherous and crude mouth, detestable. He had been taught to avoid the impure and pray for them from afar. But the carefree attitude and kind words from an older man gave Loukas a bit of decency from another soul, a taste of the impurity he'd fought so hard never to revisit yet longed for.

Time with Hide brings Loukas to the precipice of undoing all his years of devotion and contrition to his family and church. No amount of praying would absolve his growing fascination for the filthy animal whose sweet words fester in a cesspool of his deepest desires.

Leaving Hide alone only worsens the hollowness inside Loukas, fracturing his facade of timidness. All of Loukas' efforts to suppress his perversions will be in vain if the rot within consumes him. The solitude he's always known is his only option to save him and keep his hunger at bay. But it may be too late if Hide is just as rotten.

This is the first book in a dark gay romance series. It dives into several uncomfortable topics and themes, so please read the warnings and take care.