When her wolf is freed, the balance of power will shift?for good or evil.

Sable begs to be allowed to help the Freki repel a daemon invasion. Instead, she's sent off to the one place she hoped never to see again. The Vuk clan's mansion. Years ago, her scheming mother offered her in betrothal to the Vuk heir, only to be soundly rejected. Yet even as Sable packs her bags, the tall, handsome Brynjar Vuk is never far from her thoughts. Neither is the creeping feeling that something isn't right.

Brynjar isn't ready for a mate. His life is too complicated, a fact he knew years ago when he laughed off the parents of a seven-year-old bride prospect. But when the warm, addictive scent of an unshifted female stops him in his tracks, he realizes the inevitable. He's on the edge of mating burn. And that child?Sable?has grown into a smart, funny, luscious woman. His fated mate.

But there's more than disparity in rank that challenges their deep, sensual bond. There's an unnatural reason Sable's wolf hasn't emerged. She is the centerpiece of a tangled scheme of ambition, unholy alliances, and hunger for power that threatens not only her survival, but their world as they know it.