KIERA Running the first-ever Trader’s Market is chaotic enough; I don’t need a horned, purple alien with fangs, claws, and zero chill crashing my party. Bael’k says he’s here to help, but so far, all he’s done is scare away the one person I need to see. When I finally track down the elusive nomad and snag the map I’ve been hunting for, guess who volunteers to be my protector on a quest I never planned to take? It’s my first time out of the settlement walls in years, and I’m woefully unprepared. But with my knight in shining loincloth by my side, I might just survive. BAEL'K They say the mate bond is absolute, eternal, and chosen by fate. But I don’t believe in fate. I believe in my blades, my shuttle, and the war I was bred to fight. I never wanted a mate… until I met Kiera. She’s fragile, stubborn, and maddeningly fascinating. When she sets out to recover lost tech in a dangerous Dead Zone, I volunteer, thinking it’ll earn me glory. But the moment she steps into danger, every protective instinct I’ve got flares to life. I soon realize she’s not just a mission. Kiera’s mine. And I’ll burn the stars down before I let anything take her from me.