Rena was sold into slavery at the age of fifteen, ripped away from her home and a loving father, and cast into a life of pain and horror. Despite the abuse she's suffered through years of slavery, she counts herself lucky that no one has ever touched her intimately. When she angers her current owner, and he gives her to a purple alien as a gift, she isn't sure if this next stage of her life will be a blessing or a curse. After five years as a captive, she's too beaten to believe she'll have a happily ever after. Who could ever fall in love with a woman as badly damaged as she is? Even the purple alien called Ryx doesn't seem all that interested. Beren's scarred body and damaged ear don't make for a very handsome male. When his commander, Ryx, brings a human female on board their ship, Beren is curious, yet cautious. Like him, Rena has wounds both outside and inside. For the first time, Beren wonders if maybe there's a female who will look past his exterior to see his warrior heart, and not someone broken and pitiful. Her courage and strength appeal to him, and yet she's so soft and small his protective urges rise to the surface. Whether Beren gets to claim Rena or not, he vows he will lay down his life for her and protect her at all costs. He just never realized in doing so he would end up with what he wanted most—her.