**This is only the beginning.

King/Queen Law:

No means no.

Anything you think can be used against you.

Blood drawn in anger will be answered with blood.

The Feline chooses the mate.

Kings mate for life.

"One day, my darling, you will meet your Amato, and they will love you as you are."

Lou Barstow's world is turned upside down over a mating contract.

Horse trainer is an odd job for a lion, but Lou prefers his horses to most people, even when they talk back and fuss because he didn't bring them sugar cubes. After mucking stalls and mending fences, he deals with Pride politics over a beer and a game of pool. He also teaches the mated lionesses how to line dance, keeping the peace and marriages together.

For Lou, things just are, and he's accepted them. Likes his place in the shadows.

He dreams of having a mate but never expected one. His one want is a soft place to fall. Lou wants someone to be his equal and who pushes him in the right direction instead of pushing him away. Someone who understands Lou's place, if a mate exists for him at all.

Then Lou's Uncle, King Xeno Barstow, insists Camp Fowler, the next in line to be King of Juniper Springs Pride, is his promised mate. A mating between two Prides is almost unheard of, especially when one or both are destined to be King. Bloodlines are everything, and Kings mate to have heirs. They don't mate to nobodies.

And then the truth comes out. Lou was born to be the next King. Sacrifices were made to bring him into the world, and he must fulfill his destiny with Camp by his side, no matter the cost. After all, his Uncle went to a lot of trouble to unite Juniper Springs and Fire Ridge.

Could this be a love match? Could they make it work?

Is Camp his soft place to fall? Or is he the beginning of something more dangerous?