A Wolf King she can never have… Leif Wolfheart: Tempted by a dark-skinned beauty he can’t figure out, he struggles to put aside his own needs in order to save his people from continued slavery. A mysterious woman whose beauty is matched only by her treachery… Elsa Thorne: Caught between deadly politics and a man bent on claiming her, all she can afford to focus on is saving her children. At any cost. Betrayed… Captured, tortured, and maddened by pain, Leif vows revenge on the woman he would have made his queen. But will his hatred of what she was forced to do build a wall between them that can never be torn down? EXCERPT: “Leif,” she pleaded. “J-just calm down. Don’t fight them, they’ll only hurt you worse!” “Elsa?” Already he was preparing for battle, his body growing bigger, stronger. The sound of ripping cloth was loud in the night as his clothing was unable to contain his growing musculature. “P-please! Just go with them!” She sobbed openly now, hurting more than she could ever remember. Always she had to think of Jaccob and Surriah, but having to consciously make this kind of decision was killing her. “Don’t hurt him!” Soldiers seemed to come from everywhere, dozens of them. All for one man. Leif. Her man. And she couldn’t do a goddamned thing about it without risking the lives of her children. With a roar of pure rage and menace, Leif exploded into violence, killing several men within seconds. Blood and gore streaked through the air, painting the concrete walk and the dirt surrounding it. Elsa steadily backed away. Never had she seen anything so completely and utterly out of control. As she watched in horror, he killed man after man. The gruesome sight was more than she’d ever imagined he’d have to deal with. She’d thought maybe three of four men would come for him. Maybe even a handful. But this… Leif slaughtered without mercy, his eyes glowing an eerie blue the longer he fought. Always, his gaze strayed to her. Even in the face of her betrayal, he still fought to keep himself between her and the guards. The coppery scent of blood hung heavily as body parts and gore shot through the air like a bomb blast. Never had she witnessed such carnage. Such wrath. Openly sobbing now, Elsa collapsed onto the ground, wanting to close her eyes against such violence but unable to tear her gaze away. She’d led Leif to this destruction. The least she could do was bear witness. Finally, one of the soldiers fired an electrically charged weapon. Two wires protruded from Leif’s chest. The big man seemed to hardly notice as he batted the electrodes away only for them to be replaced by two more. Then more. Another pair. His muscles seemed to contract and spasm even as he roared in fury, unable to break the hold of the currents going through him. “Knock the bastard out!” “With what? Damned dog is too strong for the Tasers.” “Get a fucking rock then! Just knock him the fuck out!” “No!” Elsa screamed. “Leif! No!” She couldn’t watch this, couldn’t see them bash him into unconsciousness. Leif’s eyes met hers as the rock came down, stunning him. He shook his head, his gaze blurry but returning to her eyes unerringly. “Betrayed…me…” he managed to grit out between his teeth.