Six years ago, I awoke in a cage with no knowledge of who I was or where I’d come from. Six years ago, I was spared the flesh markets and instead thrown in with a group of savages, where I learned it was fight or die. Now, eight Orders of Assassins are converging on the only home I’ve ever known. All in hopes of purchasing new blade slaves for their ranks. I’m for sale, yet all I want is a life far from death and ownership. Then I meet them, the Order of Scorpions. Their allure is a threat to the freedom I crave, but I won’t fall victim to their sting, no matter how tempting it might be.

My whole life has been characterized by fighting; fighting my family and fighting for my life. Trust me—the first one is completely voluntary, and a lot of fun. The second? Not so much. To say my family dynamic is weird is the understatement of the century. I held my first sword when I was only five years old, and I learned how to dispose of a body before I turned ten. I may have a penchant for pink and sparkles…but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to kick major ass as well.

One heroic act damned me for eternity. With a name like Tor, I should have been a hero, just like my father and twin. Turns out I’m not. Not even close. Instead I’m the very thing we hunted. A depraved monster. I thought there was no escaping the curse. No hope for a future. And then I met my mate in the unlikeliest of places: Blackwood Asylum. A place for criminals. Power-hungry madmen. Supernatural outcasts. And her, the curvaceous writer who sees ghosts.

Growing up in Emerald Lakes, population 682, had been safe and comfortable. Running my own magic shop and making a living off my green witchcraft, I have no complaints. Sure, there’s my ex, who never understood the word "no", but there’s also the lovable and eccentric townspeople who feel more like one huge extended family, and let’s not forget my boy-crazed Gran who keeps us all on our toes. Strange, unnatural things are brewing in Emerald Lakes, and I can’t ignore the sinking suspicion that something life-changing is headed my way.

After my plane was sabotaged and crashed into the jungle, I rescued five male survivors from the wreckage. I could have let them die, but no, I decided to pull their stupid carcasses from the wreckage. I’m immortal, not a monster. Yes, they’re hot; now is not the time to do something about that. The five sexy jaguar-shifters are on a mission to locate someone, a rare phoenix-shifter. Phoenix, the legendary creature, reborn every time it dies. Wait…could they be looking for me? It doesn’t matter since they walked away and left me to die in the Amazon rainforest.