Stryker has been looking forward to finding his fated mate for decades, but from the start, nothing goes as he’d dreamed. His mate refuses to even meet him, denying the mate bond without giving him a chance and actually running away to avoid hearing the vampire’s pleas. Joseph sees humans who throw themselves at vampires as weak and stupid, and he has no intention of giving up his free will simply because a vampire orders him to. His heart has been through enough without being forced to pretend he loves someone, so he flees. He wants true love and sees no logic in trusting fate to simply drop the real thing right into his lap. But Stryker refuses to give up and pursues his mate, prepared to do anything to make Joseph see what he’s really running away from.