Laurel wakes aboard an alien ship, her head bandaged, her memories in pieces, and every sense on high alert. The doctor caring for her says she was rescued from a violent slaver ring. He's kind. Patient. Gentle.

But somewhere on the ship... she hears screaming.

And when she follows the sound, she finds Dru.

Shackled. Tortured. Seething with rage.

His body is battered. His blood is wet on the floor. But the moment their eyes meet, something in her snaps taut, and something inside him roars to life.

Dru has been trained to endure anything: pain, isolation, war. But nothing could prepare him for the soul-deep need that crashes through him the instant he sees Laurel.

More than hunger. More than instinct.

Laurel is human, haunted by fractured memories, and still healing. She doesn't trust the bond tethering her to a stranger. But she keeps coming back, drawn to the fire in his voice and the wicked promise in his eyes.

And Dru?

He watches her like a predator chained.

Because every second she's near pushes him closer to losing restraint, to claiming what's his.
And if she asks, even once, he'll ruin anyone who stands between them.

Even if it means burning his way through the galaxy to reach her.