** some light BDSM themes explored ** Forty-year-old Rafael Joaquín Chamorro retired from the Shifter Special Forces years ago. He rolled his military benefits into a successful real estate company in his adopted hometown of Silver Fells, North Carolina. Twenty-seven-year-old hairdresser Melody Strauss came to Silver Fells to follow her attraction to Shifters. What she hadn't counted on was finding a home in the Carolina Mountains. But during their sole night together the condom breaks. Will Rafe take responsibility? Can Melody risk falling in love with a man who isn't her mate? And what will she do if Rafael's mate ever shows up? Can Melody and Rafe work out the differences in their expectations fo find their true love?