I thought getting a linguistics degree would land me a decent job, not get me shipped off to an alien planet ruled by barbarian warlords with tails. But that’s exactly what happens when my own government kidnaps me, along with a bunch of other women, and drops us on a brutal desert planet in the name of research. But the mission goes wrong. Because of course it does. 

I am Blackmane, feared warlord of the Pleiades. I have captured a human princess. Pretty. Sweet. Innocent. Ripe for the plucking. I will have my way with her, and her father will pay handsomely for her return.

As the first humans allowed in Suevan space, there’s a lot riding on my all-woman team. Earth desperately needs their tech, and I’m determined to prove we can negotiate the price. Without their planetary defense systems, Earth is a sitting duck, ripe for invasion. Except the Suevan culture is nothing like ours. When I take part in what I think is a welcoming ceremony, I leave with more than I bargained for: a husband. A mate. Apparently, we’re there to marry them as payment—something the top brass on Earth doesn’t bother denying. Fantastic.

He says his name is Malphas, that he’s something called a Sombra demon, and I’m his mate. Monster, demon…whatever he is, his muscles are bigger than my head, and that club between his legs…. I don’t know if mate means the same thing to him as it does me, but he’s gotta be kidding.

I’ve spent my life in the lab, researching the cure for the disease that killed my mom. No late nights out, no dates, definitely no boyfriend. Then Sam breaks into my lab, steals my research, and kidnaps me. He’s damaged. Crazy. And definitely not human. He and his friends are on a mission to stop the company that’s been torturing shifters, and now I’m a part of it. Sam promises to protect me. And when he touches me, I feel reborn. But he’s hellbent on revenge. He won’t give it up.