Odessa comes to the cabin with papers that could secure her niece's future, but the rain lashes down and blocks the path behind her. Niall, the bear shifter who has lived alone for years, feels the rut take hold, his massive body already responding to the woman who has invaded his solitude.

Her defiance rises against every hour of it, and there is one blanket spread before the fire. His low growl promises possession, the kind that could shatter her hard won independence yet answer the loneliness she refuses to name.

As the night stretches and his need turns undeniable, Odessa must decide how much control she is willing to hand over before the rain stops.