Kelly Masters is quirky, awkward, and says everything that pops into her head. No one takes her seriously, which means being labeled strange, and perpetually single. But she’s okay with that because she’s happy. Then, one day her clumsiness sets her fate in motion, and she runs—literally—into a man who will turn her world upside down. A man who insists he’s no good. Swears he’s damaged. He’s not perfect, and neither is she, but beyond the mask he shows to the world, she yearns to know the true heart of the man inside. Zane Stryker found himself alone after the showdown with the fighters in Eagle Creek. Unable to walk away from his cousin, he hides in the shadows, fighting a losing battle with his inner tiger. He needs to find a mate to stay sane or finally ask his cousin to put him out of his misery. And then he sees her—the woman who could be his salvation. But when Kelly reveals her secret, his tiger immediately rejects her. And when his cousin calls him home to the War Cats, Zane has a decision to make—listen to his tiger and leave her behind or take her with him and risk his tribe rejecting them both. Zane believes she’s the one, and wants to protect her. The problem is, claiming her means not only betraying his inner animal, but also his tribe, and the centuries-old customs he’s bound by blood to defend. It’s a battle he never wanted to fight, and worse, it’s one he’s not sure he can win.

Arya Nikolai is finally getting the chance to live her dreams. The rules for her tribe were suffocating, but now the archaic chains holding her back have been broken. Well, most of them. The only thing left for her to do is become a famed War Cat warrior, but it’s forbidden. So she’ll take any chance she can get to show off her skills and break the final link holding her back. And then her inner tiger chooses her mate. It’s someone she’s known all her life. Someone who once ran away from her. Someone who’s still running. Someone who she won’t let slip away from her again. Karis Sanderson is the head warrior. Tough, strong, badass… and completely terrified of his attraction to the much younger war cat who is dead-set on breaking all the rules. She’s persistent, irresistible, and her father will surely kill him if he finds out. Their relationship must stay a secret, but when someone figures them out, Arya and Karis have more than an angry father to worry about. Now their lives are truly in danger and, secret romance aside, Karis will do anything—even lay down his own life—to protect her. It’s a secret he never wanted to let out. But to save his mate he’ll have to come to terms with the truth, accept her for who she is, and allow himself to love her.