In Blackthorn City, beasts are currency, power, and status. For orphan Kael, they are also a forbidden dream. He longs to become a beast tamer, but without money, bloodline, or a beast of his own, the elite Astral Beast Academy is a world away. When a cruel noble's discarded fox-beast leads Kael into the deadly Wildgrave Forest, he stumbles upon a chained, dying Ashfang Wolf- a creature far more ancient and powerful than anyone knows.