Every Gathering, Raine hides from potential mates, knowing that in a society where tri-bonds were the expectation, a wolf wanting a mate all to themselves was an anomaly. Enter Gabriel. They’d met two years before, both left disappointed when no bondmark appeared on their wrists at that time. Gabriel’s been hunting, but there’s been no sign of Raine, outside of the one brief visit that didn’t end the way he’d hoped for. Fast forward to the present Gathering. He’s stumbled onto Aiden, a wolf miserable in his own pack due to the way he’s treated. Born with a disability, he knows he can’t keep up, but no one has taken the time to teach him where his true potential lies—until Gabriel that is. Gabriel’s protective instincts kick in almost immediately. Now Gabriel has one wolf he desperately wants to care for and another who has been hiding from him. Unfortunately, it might not be a challenge Gabriel is up for.

Luka knows he screwed up the night he tried to help Raine. He always gets things wrong—one of many reasons he steers clear of the rest of the pack. Besides, he doesn’t deserve the fellowship of other wolves, not with how badly he failed when it mattered most. Rand has seen a great deal during his time as pack physician, both good and bad. Helping others is his life’s calling, so when a wolf shows up with bitemarks from an altercation with another wolf, he’s quick to treat, but when he learns the name of the wolf bleeding on his clinic floor, he’s quick to judge, too. Too bad he fails to take the time to learn the whole story. Speaking of stories, there’s one Slade has refused to listen to for years—so much so, he’s relegated himself to the borderlands to avoid having anything to do with those who caused the tragedy that cost him his twin and the vengeance he knows will damn him for life if he carries it out. A series of decisions, good and bad, brings the lives of these three wolves crashing together. In Comet Lake, that’s called fate. The spark of a chance. Now it’s up to them to put stubbornness aside, stop answering questions with questions, and pause in their self-loathing long enough to listen to one another, put their pasts behind them, and learn how to love.

The fates say all three of them belong together, like broken pieces of carnival glass just itching for a bit of glue, and the fates are never wrong, are they? Graham doesn’t think so, but convincing Zane and Cormac of that might take words never covered in his anatomy books. One season: that’s the longest Zane stays anywhere. When the snow thaws and the pass is clear, he and his band will limp out of town in their battered RV, leaving Graham and his bruised heart behind, unless he can find a way to convince Zane to take a chance on something no one has ever taken the time to explain to him. Bond marks might be a desire for some wolves, but for Zane, they mean the end of the only family he’s ever known. On stage, he’s not the pup some angry wolf tossed out an open window, he’s Z—wild, charismatic, nymphomaniac lead singer of Howling Rain. His aftershow activities are what put the bond marks on his wrists in the first place, much to the dismay of his bandmates who fear that those other kinds of mates will be the end of the success they’ve found together. It’s up to Graham to teach them all that compromise and understanding are a big part of the mating process, and that their found families can be expanded to fit a couple more wolves. After all, the attraction is there, and in those soft, cuddly moments where Z fades and Zane emerges, all their little wolf wants is cuddles, warm blankets, and lots of love.

Traditionally, rejecting a mate means walking away. It’s a simple thing, really, painless, except for frayed emotions and a bit of friction between families. In the history of Comet Lake, it’s never led to the level of bloodshed that comes when Emery’s mate, Tobias, decides he doesn’t want him. Not only are feelings hurt, but Emery’s life is left hanging by a thread and Onyx, the mate he finds on the same day his other rejects him, emerges from the encounter pissed off and looking for revenge. He’ll have to wait though. Things are brewing around Comet Lake. Things the pack has never had to deal with. There are wolves on their land that don’t belong there. Scents and footprints in the forest that don’t match any enrolled members of their pack. Intruders. Unseen invaders who slink between trees and watch from the shadows. In addition, the Howling Devils have returned. The motorcycle club, which Onyx has long belonged to, was formed two decades before to protect the Comet Lake pack, only now it’s grown into something more. A family ready to settle in and do what family does. Stay. These loyal outlaws, brave and strong, are so unlike the outlaw club that Emery once belonged to he’s got no way to relate. Too bad the wolves around them believe otherwise, insisting that the fates brought Emery and Tobias to Comet Lake to help unravel truth and lies, if they can get past their own history. Unfortunately, the only thing they see it as is punishment for being who they were born to be. Can they move past the legacy of hatred and violence that threatens to reclaim them and if so, are they each destined to become an Outlaw Redeemed? Accident/injury, graphic violence

It was supposed to be a quick trip to another pack’s territory. Just long enough to second his brother when Tobias faced the challenges that had been thrown his way when a poorly thought-out decision led to a series of chaotic and unfortunate events. Like everything else in his life, nothing turned out the way Lucien had planned. A confrontation in council chambers nearly costs him his tail and earns him a couple of bondmarks on his wrists. It’s scary, considering all the secrets he keeps. Good thing for him, his mates are hiding just as much as he is. Considered a prince of the north, Arctic wolf JD has spent years trying to make a difference, helping displaced and stolen wolves find their way back home. It sucks to discover that rather than praying for a miracle, some families are directly responsible for the misfortune of the wolves they should have fought to protect. That’s okay, their failure is JD’s strength, and he prides himself on fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves. Speaking of fighting, Brooks Hagan has been putting his life on the line for other wolves for over twenty years. He’s tired, his wolf and his body are weary and what he needs most is some downtime and tender loving care. Unfortunately, there is a threat to their pack worse even than the Red River Outlaws they’ve recently defeated. Bears. But whether they are actively attempting to take over Comet Lake, or the unwitting pawns in another’s game is still up for debate. Until that’s settled, Brooks can’t spend the kind of bonding time with his mates that he’d like to. Instead, the three of them spend their days brainstorming ways they can help save the pack at Comet Lake. If they can’t, they won’t have to worry about whether or not they can make a relationship work, they’ll be too busy running for their lives.