by Nalini Singh
Part of Psy-Changeling, book 4
First published 2008
Clay Bennett guards DarkRiver Pack territory as a sentinel, but his past haunts him. He grew up poor with his human mother, never knowing his changeling father. Without Pack bonds to guide him, young Clay struggled to control his leopard nature. He failed violently, killing a man and losing his best friend Talin in the chaos that followed. Talin McKade survived that bloody childhood and now works to protect street children. When kids under her care begin disappearing and turning up murdered, she faces a terrible choice. She must seek help from the one person strong enough to stop the killer: Clay Bennett. Clay believed Talin died years ago. Her return awakens his desperate need to possess her, driven by both human love and leopard instinct. As they hunt the predator stalking innocent children, Clay and Talin confront the violence that tore them apart. Clay refuses to lose her again, but their shared trauma threatens to destroy any chance at love.
Genres: romance, adult-fiction, action, fantasy-romance, paranormal-romance, contemporary-romance
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, second-chance
Setting: DarkRiver Pack
328 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Berkley Sensation
Content warnings: abuse, violence