The whole pack is watching when Alpha Kester Wold looks at me and says, “Not her.”
Fenna Hollins has spent twenty years being called worthless by the aunt who owns her bed and her pay. Her best friend Pella is the only person who treats her like she matters. Then one touch from Kester wakes the mate bond, and for one breath Fenna thinks she might be saved.
Kester is thirty-six, widowed, and raising his son alone. He is also the Alpha, and he refuses the bond in front of everyone. He tells himself he is protecting her from a fear he will not name. Fenna tells herself she will stop hoping.
When her aunt’s debt lands in Kester’s hands, Fenna has to live under his roof. He starts to want her in ways he cannot hide, and her old bruises and his old grief finally come out. But Kester is still hiding something that could turn every kind word into a trap.
Can the man who threw her away become the one who keeps her safe? And what is he still afraid to tell her?
