Amy Morgan, an Earth born Lionese woman has spent the last few years as first a prisoner then breeding slave for the Black Rose.  Rescued from the ice planet where she'd been imprisoned, Amy learns that her entire family and most of her Earth Pride are now hostages of her captor.  Not only must she locate and rescue her family and her pride, she must learn to accept the man the Goddess Alana has chosen as her mate, for only by completing the mating ritual, will their mission be successful. 

Hunter Shi'Lan has searched the known universe for the women the Black Rose has kidnapped throughout the years.  After five years of futile hunting, he connects with a woman--a woman suffering at the hands of her captors.  Using their connection, Hunter locates the woman on a planet of ice.  Now Hunter must not only track down the Black Rose's home base and rescue an entire Pride of Lionese, he must convince a traumatized woman that she's meant to be his mate, for only after they complete the bonding ritual will his heart ever be complete.