It’s hard to finally get over hurt and fear and decide to embrace life again. Ani’s life hasn’t been easy. He’s been under the thumb of his tribe’s second for all his life, leaving him thinking he’s broken and soiled. So why did Fate decide he would be the best mate for the Whitedell Pride’s Alpha? Ani knows he’s not good enough, and he avoids his mate as best as he can. Dominic doesn’t care about what happened in Ani’s past, he just knows he wants the man to be his. He knows he’s going to have to fight Ani every step of the way, but he’s as stubborn as they come, so it doesn’t scare him. Dominic has to convince Ani that he wants him, but he also has to work on a council that will rule shifters and fight against the Glass Research Company. As if Dominic didn’t have enough problems, a man appears and shakes his budding relationship with Ani. Will their mating be able to survive all the obstacles they’ll have to brave?

Sometimes you have to walk off the beaten path and create your own to be happy. Arlen’s been stuck in his wolf form for months and he’s had to watch his mate fall in love with another man and live with him. To his surprise, Arlen falls in love with both men, so when he becomes human again, he knows exactly what he wants—both Gentry and Nick. Gentry helps Arlen to become human again, but when Nick finds out Arlen is his mate, Gentry thinks he’ll have to leave the man he loves. Then Arlen proposes a threesome solution, but Gentry is hesitant. Nick accepts Arlen’s solution more easily, even though he isn’t sure his wolf will be happy with it. But the wolf wants both Gentry and Arlen, and after a bit of stumbling, the three settle in their new throuple. Will Nick and Arlen be able to resist the urge to mate and really include Gentry, or will Gentry end up alone and rejected? And how will their families and friends react to their solution?

Sometimes the secrets we keep aren’t as unacceptable as we thought they were. Wes has been on his own since he was sixteen, and he’s had to do what he needed to do to survive, even if it meant being a prostitute. He’s never known love, but that starts to change when he meets Taylor. Wes feels wanted as a person for the first time, but he knows Taylor could never accept him, so he flees. Taylor hadn’t expected to wake up alone on the day after he claimed his mate. He doesn’t even know Wes’ full name or phone number, so he has no way to find him. Just when he thinks he’s lost Wes forever, Wes is attacked and calls a pride member for help. Taylor knows he has to tell Wes about his furry half, but after Wes ran once already, Taylor is scared of his mate’s reaction. Wes accepts staying with the pride, but can Taylor really accept him and his past? And can Wes get used to living with people—with shifters—when he’s been alone for three years?

Sometimes something good can come out of the worst situation. Someone is stalking Andrew. When he finds out the man has entered his home, he asks his friend Dominic for help, hoping that having the Alpha on his side will discourage the stalker. Soren isn’t particularly happy when Dominic assigns him as Andrew’s bodyguard—that is, until he finds out the man is his mate. Andrew has a boyfriend, though, and a stalker. The two start a relationship, but the stalker is always there, hovering in the dark and convinced Andrew is his mate. What will happen when he finally gets to Andrew? Will Soren be able to get to him in time? Or will Andrew have to save himself?

Sometimes you have to sacrifice everything for family. Adrian is a geneticist for the Glass Research Company. He’s the one who has been turning humans in shifters, but he did it only to save his brother, even if he knew it was a horrible thing to do. The company kidnapped him, and Adrian hasn’t seen him in nearly two years. Thinking Gabriel is probably dead, Adrian decides to run away from the company and turns to the only people who can help him—the Whitedell Pride. Joshua has known Adrian was his mate for months, but he doesn’t want to mate someone who experimented on humans and shifters alike, not after what happened to his sister thirty years earlier. Still, when Adrian is in danger, Joshua knows he’ll help him. What will Joshua do when another shifter steps in and decides he wants Adrian? Will he let Soren have his mate, or will he finally realize that Adrian is his?

Sometimes if you love someone you have to set them free. Keenan wants his mate to come back, but after two months without any news about Jonah, he has lost his hope that the wolf shifter will come back to him. Then one night his phone rings and Jonah finally talks to him. Jonah left Keenan because he needed to help the other wolves who had disappeared with him. He has a hard time staying away from his mate, though, and as soon as he finds Elliott, Merle and Simon, he runs back to Whitedell, hoping his apologies will be enough for Keenan to take him back. Just when the two men take their first step in their relationship, something happens to Keenan and he disappears. Will Jonah be able to save the mate he has just started to get to know, or will Keenan be forever lost to him?

Sometimes the best thing that can happen to someone happens in the middle of a crisis. Derick is running from his pack, his family. He has to, if he wants to save innocent people. His Alpha is planning an attack on the Whitedell Pride, and he can’t let it happen. Sure, he knows he will probably have to pay a price for his betrayal, but he is ready to do it. He hadn’t thought his price would be a good one, until he finds his mate in the pride. Nate is the pride’s Beta, and as Beta, he has to follow the unspoken rules that exist in the shifter community. He wasn’t looking for a mate, and he certainly didn’t think his mate would be a wolf shifter. Not that he has anything against wolf shifters, but this one brings way too many problems with him. Derick’s Alpha knows what he has done, and he plans to make him pay. When Derick is kidnapped, Nate has to decide if he wants to play by the rules and risk his mate, or if he’s going to save Derick, risking a justified attack from the pack.

First impressions aren’t always right. Noem is the pride’s nurse. He loves what he does, even though he’s seen far too many wounded since the hunters decided they had a problem with the pride. Still, it’s better than what his future would have been back with his tribe, and he’s as happy as he can be. Kay has known about shifters and the tribe since Troy, his best friend, gave birth to a son. He moved to Whitedell to be close to Troy and the baby, but he’s still wary about shifters, and he doesn’t have a good opinion of them. If it were up to him, he’d stay as far away as he could, but that would mean losing Troy again, and he’s not ready for that. Noem didn’t expect to meet his mate in the mansion’s kitchen, but then he also didn’t expect Kay to tell him to his face that he doesn’t like shifters and paranormal creatures. After talking, they agree to try to date, but the uploading of a video showing a man shifting into a wolf might make Noem’s entire world crumble. Will Noem and Kay be able to get over it and stay together? And if they do, what will happen with the hunters still lurking?

Rushing into things isn’t always wrong, no matter what everyone says. Sei has had enough of dodging his mother’s and his aunt’s attempts to arrange a bonding for him since Clea mated with Christian. They don’t see a reason for him not to bond with someone they choose, but he doesn’t care about traditions. He wants the real deal when it comes to mating—love, lust, and a happily ever after. Donovan is the liaison between the pack and the federal government in Washington, D.C. His job isn’t running around the city rescuing street kids, but he wants to help the pack, and those kids. The last thing he expects from his impromptu mission is to meet his mate. When Sei is overwhelmed by a crowd of reporters who have come to Gillham to find out more about shifters, he’s rescued by a bear shifter. He recognizes Donovan as his mate only once Donovan shifts, and he doesn’t let the occasion slip away. They mate within hours of their first meeting, but Sei hasn’t considered the complications that will come with it. The attacks on the pack are escalating, Donovan’s son is vehement about his dislike of Sei, and Donovan doesn’t know what to do. Will he have to choose between his mate and his son? What can he do to keep the pack safe? Will this be the moment everything falls apart?

How can you trust anyone when you’ve been abused all your life? Rick has spent all his life under Alpha Erskine’s thumb. He was forced to become part of the man’s inner circle when his father died and to participate in things that still give him nightmares. He’s used to being shunned, beaten, and derided for his stutter, and he doesn’t think things really can change, not even with Kameron as their new alpha. Cole is part of the council, but he’s really a wandering soul. He hasn’t stopped in one place in years, but meeting his mate while visiting the Gillham pack changes that. He knows Rick hasn’t had an easy life, and he intends to make his mate happy, no matter what it takes. Rick struggles with his stutter and his past but slowly starts healing from the years of abuse. Cole is an important part of that healing, but what will happen when someone tries to take him away? Will Rick be strong enough to protect his mate, or will he lose him to greed?

You can’t rush healing, no matter how much you want to. Elliott has been through hell—not only was he sold to the Glass Research Company, but the company then sold him to a man who wanted a sex slave. Elliott was freed, but now, more than a year later, he’s still fighting with the memories. He spends most of his time hiding in his parents’ house and texting the few friends he has, until he decides his life needs to change. The first step? Moving in with Mal, one of his best friends. Craig freed Mihaja from the lab. Mihaja went back home to Madagascar, but being there isn’t for him anymore. What he went through changed him, and he goes back to the only home away from home he knows—Gillham. There he meets his mate, Elliott, who tells Mihaja what happened to him even before they realize what they are to each other. Mihaja knows Elliott will need time and care to heal, and he doesn’t mind being the one giving it to him. He, Elliott, and Mal move in the house Mihaja was supposed to move into alone, and Elliott starts to heal, but he is his own enemy. Elliott wants too much too fast. What will happen when he pushes too hard?

Mal isn’t the only human in the Gillham Pack, but he is the only unmated one. He knows most members view him as an outsider for that, but he has his friends, and it’s enough for him. That’s what he tries to convince himself of anyway. Will still isn’t over Heath, even though his ex-boyfriend mated with Jayden nine months ago. It’s not only the fact that Heath mated that hurts him. Heath lost his memory, and he doesn’t remember Will and the years they had together. Will knows it’s not Heath’s fault, but he still keeps his distance, even if that means staying away from the only family he has. Will and Mal crash into each other and Will immediately realizes what Mal is to him. The distance between their homes put a strain on their budding relationship, as does the reappearance of Mal’s abusive ex-boyfriend, and the ever-present danger of the new council trying to get rid of the pack. Will they be able to find solutions to their problems or will one of them finally tear them apart?

Can you have a future if you don’t know your past? Jayden has done his best to forget the first part of his life, the part that happened before he arrived in Whitedell. He’s managed pretty well—he has friends, a job, and he even meets his mate. And who cares if said mate stays in his bear form even after Jayden stumbled on him in the woods surrounding the mansion? Heath doesn’t know who he is or what happened to him. He can’t remember anything prior to meeting Jayden, and he longs to know his past. Luckily for him, his parents are looking for him, and it takes only a few days for them to meet. Jayden and Heath have been doing well, slowly getting to know each other, but when Heath meets his family again, he discovers he already has a boyfriend. On top of that, Jayden’s brother suddenly resurfaces, and the mysterious hunters strike again. Will Jayden lose Heath almost before even having him?

Sometimes you have to make the best with what life gives you, even if it’s something you don’t want. Troy has been handed an ugly hand by life. He was kidnapped, his DNA was tinkered with, and he doesn’t know what or who he is anymore. Even if the pride has accepted him without questions, he hides in his room, scared of what he could see in the other peoples’ eyes. Emery is used to a lonely life. He lost his family years before to the Krsnik wars, and he’s happy to have found new friends within the pride. He’s even happier to find out his mate lives in the mansion, even if Troy makes approaching him difficult. Troy pushes Emery into mating, scared that Emery will flee once he finds out just how wrong Troy has become. He doesn’t, though, not even when something incredible, something no one could have forecasted, happens. Will they be able to face their unsure future together, or will one of them crumble under the pressure?

Doing the wrong thing doesn’t always make you a bad guy. Shad is sick, and he knows he has very little possibility of getting better. He would have to get his hands on the pills Glass used to give him for the information Shad had on the pride, but Glass isn’t there anymore. There is someone else, though, and Shad has to decide whether to betray his brother, his mate, and his pride again, or let his illness slowly kill him. Gabriel has been isolating himself ever since he got to Whitedell. He hates the tiger parts he sports since his time in the company’s lab, but he’s decided he’s had enough. He wants to feel like himself again, and that means coming out of the attic. Shad and Gabriel have known they’re mates for months, but circumstances had made them decide to keep their distance. What will happen when Gabriel decides he doesn’t want that anymore? And will Shad make the right choice when his life is at risk?