Mercedes has spent her whole life surviving. An abusive mother, a father she lost too soon, and a world that never quite had a place for her. University was supposed to be the fresh start. The clean slate. Then Jason carried her out of a classroom and everything changed. He is calm where she is braced for impact. Steady where she has only ever known chaos. And the crescent mark on her forearm that pulses warm when he is close is telling her something she is not ready to hear. Because Jason is not just a boy who noticed her bleeding. He is an alpha heir with a pack, a father who would rather she didn't exist, and a bond so old and so unbreakable that the witches who want to use it have been waiting years for their moment. Mercedes didn't ask for a mate. She didn't ask for magic or blood debts or creatures in car parks or any of the things that have followed her since the night Jason bit her and called it love. But she has survived everything else. She is not stopping now.