A woman desperate to escape her past. A disgraced vampire ready to prove he isnβt a monster, if only to himself. An encounter that will set their lives down a path neither were prepared to travel. Sydney Bryant, a waitress at a vampire-owned nightclub, has finally broken free from her past, but she can feel deep in her bones that something evil is coming for her. Stellan, a recovering blood addict, has been sent by the vampire king of Velum Mortis to intercept the abduction of the cute waitress from Club Dead and deliver her to him instead of the wolves who have been stalking her. From the moment Stellan first walks into Club Dead, Sydney is intrigued by him. Heβs tall, dark, and brooding with a hint of danger and an intoxicating scent that makes her want to abandon her inhibitions and see what kind of excitement the alluring vampire might bring to her life. But when Sydney reluctantly agrees to meet with someone from her past, the evil she knew was coming for her finally arrives, and to her surprise, Stellan is a familiar face in the group of men trying to steal her away. When Stellan feels something inexplicable for Sydney, he refuses to hand her over to the king and vows to determine whether or not the intensifying feelings he has for her means she is his mate. But if she is his mate, why couldnβt he feel her presence before now? And why would fate pair him with someone who is something more than human? Desperate to keep the walls sheβs built around herself firmly in place, Sydney struggles with the way Stellan makes her feel during their short time together. He claims he can give her everything sheβs ever wanted and more if sheβll just take a leap of faith and trust him. But how can she ever move beyond the horrors of her past to realize sheβs worthy of the epic love sheβs always dreamed of?