Easton Pope, a moose shifter, is known in the town of Sweet Water as being a standoffish recluse. But he isn’t trying to please anyone, and the isolation suits him well. Even when he sees his mate and the instinct to claim her rides him hard, he tries to convince himself he doesn’t need her. Jessie, a serval cat shifter, has been brought back to Sweet Water due to her aunt’s passing. With her emotions turbulent, running free in the woods as her serval sounds like something to let off steam. But when she meets her mate in the towering form of a moose, she knows she can’t handle being claimed on top of grieving—so she runs, too. They’ve both run from each other and their mating. Can Easton and Jessie complete the mating, or will their own hang-ups stop them from being together?