In a city on the brink of a civil war, the shapeshifter waits for promised help that never comes…. Shapeshifter Xyla Mobiele clings to her hard-won council seat as she fights, fang and claw, for her city to recognize rights for her fellow shifters. But no amount of rhetoric can change minds when the Gray Death arrives on her kingdom’s doorstep, and Xyla’s penniless shapeshifters will undoubtedly be the first to die... moreIn a city on the brink of a civil war, the shapeshifter waits for promised help that never comes…. Shapeshifter Xyla Mobiele clings to her hard-won council seat as she fights, fang and claw, for her city to recognize rights for her fellow shifters. But no amount of rhetoric can change minds when the Gray Death arrives on her kingdom’s doorstep, and Xyla’s penniless shapeshifters will undoubtedly be the first to die. Xyla must flee her home and the political marriage her parents forced her into to seek the aid promised by an old friend – from the vampire king who is supposedly her soul mate. In the viper’s nest, the vampire king perches on his precarious throne…. Cathalan has only been king for a matter of weeks, and already his rulership has already been marred by failure. Now he must save face while his kingdom rumbles with unrest and his remaining power-hungry siblings sharpen their daggers. His fragile grip on his title grows only all the more precarious when the woman who (impossibly! ) rejected him and has haunted his broken-hearted dreams ever since, appears on his doorstep, demanding answers. Cathalan and Xyla dodge assassination attempts and political threats as they both fight for their people – and against the undeniable attraction that draws them to each other. Cathalan cannot get the taste of Xyla’s sweet blood out of his thoughts, and Xyla cannot stop imagining his hands on her – or the terrible truth that Cathalan is the one who calls to her heart… and he can never know. But love means sacrifice. Be that sacrifice their people, their titles… or each other. less
