When she invites her favorite café customer to the local art fair, Willow Fitzgerald isn’t looking for a date. She’s simply hoping for a (muscular) male buffer between herself and the family friend who won’t quit asking her out. But after enjoying their fake date, Willow and Ezra decide to try a real one. Ezra is thoughtful, organized, a little nerdy…oh, and has the broadest shoulders Willow has ever seen in real life. In other words, she’s pretty sure they were made for each other.

From the moment he accidentally brushes the hand of his favorite barista, Ezra Sterling’s inner wolf recognizes her as his mate. To his relief and joy, Willow doesn’t flinch when he tells her what he is. She knows almost nothing about wolves, but as a lover of knowledge, she quickly sets out to learn. Getting to know Willow, introducing her to his pack, Ezra has never felt so at peace; and that’s no small gift to a wolf whose battle with anxiety began when he was just a pup.

But their newfound bond is immediately tested and threatened. All her life, Willow’s family has viewed Ezra’s kind with fear and disgust. The ultimatum her parents set will break her heart and Ezra’s, or it will detour the rest of her life. Willow longs to choose Ezra no matter the consequences, but her father’s escalating hatred could mean danger to the wolf she loves—and to his entire pack.