Stygian
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Stygian

Hale Alexander

When twenty-four-year-old Agent Elara Winslow is shot through the heart during a murder investigation, the bullet destroys the device suppressing her true biology. Suddenly, she’s at risk of being exposed as a stygian, a species born for violence. In an act of hiding her from her team and the public, she's sent to the care of an eccentric scientist and the scientist’s alluring daughter, Cam. 

Elara’s condition worsens, causing violent episodes, black veins across her body, and an increasingly uncontrollable urge to kill, but the glimmer of a new and different life with Cam gives her something to fight for.

Meanwhile, little does Elara know that her best friend and fellow agent, Peter, is competing against her for the only permanent position on the team. As Peter watches Elara survive an impossible injury, disappear behind closed doors, and repeatedly uncover impossible evidence, he becomes convinced Elara is the elusive murderer he’s been hunting. 

As Elara’s body races toward becoming a monster again, Peter races toward publicly proving her as one. With both closing in, Elara must find a way to survive long enough to decide what and who she really is, before she loses control of her body and her future.

STYGIAN is a sapphic horror thriller novel. It will appeal to readers of SOMEONE YOU CAN BUILD A NEST IN for its romance between a monster and the woman trying to save her, and to fans of AKIRA for its power-hungry descent from friendship into violence.

Reviews requested by: Nov 23, 2026

File types: EPUB, Read In-Browser

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Due Date: Nov 23, 2026

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Stygian by Hale Alexander | Free ARC | Inside Story