*Aren Calder must fight to become the Shadow queen of Kilrok, and she must give up everything - including her heart - to do so.* Aren Calder is the alpha of her pack and the only child of the Shadow king of Kilrok. But the king is dying, and succession to the throne of Kilrok is no longer inherited. It must be fought for, won, and earned, and Aren wants nothing more than to be queen. There are others who would take the throne from her, men like Cavan of Raenglen who have no honor and do not uphold the Shadow traditions, lawless men who would ruin the country that Aren desperately loves. She is a warrior, but Cavan is a powerful Shadow, a Lord and an alpha. She cannot fight him alone, and what's worse is that her father doesn't want her to be queen at all. He betrays her in his desperation, and invites a stranger to claim Aren as his mate, a stranger who usurps Aren's role as alpha of the Blackfield pack and jeopardizes her potential to become queen. Daven Blackguard is a rogue Shadow, a prince of darkness, and an alpha male. Aren does not want his help, but he initiates a mate bond she cannot ignore and makes her an offer she cannot resist . . . if she earns his loyalty and gives him her heart, if she becomes his mate . . . he will make her his queen. The wolf in her accepts the alpha in him, but Aren doesn't know if her heart ever will. Every battle she fights, she is slowly losing . . . against assassins, her father's failing health, the loyalty of her friends and packmates, and the darkness of being a Shadow. *This is a story about an independent, defiant young woman who wants to choose her own love and her own destiny. It is a story about loyalty, love, and choice. It is a work in progress based on a story I have been writing since 2012, and I desperately need Beta readers. I am open to making changes, and Aren's story will be a short part that fits in with the story of two other women with interwoven timelines. They are Fire, and Aren is Shadow.*