Leo had been alone for a long time. Centuries, to be exact. Having decided to leave his pack behind, Leo set out to start a new life in a small town, employed as the local butcher to satisfy his lion’s want of blood and tearing flesh. Leo couldn’t ask for more in life until he discovered a huntress. Or more like she discovered him when her arrow sunk into the flesh of his shoulder as he traveled home from work one day in his lion form.

Pain is all Aislinn has felt for the last week as she tried to recover from the passing of her father. Hunting in the woods has been the only thing to keep the pain at bay, until she discovered Leo in the woods in his lion form. Having never met a shifter before, Aislinn felt guilty for targeting Leo, but was quick to fix his wound. But as Leo left Aislinn alone in the woods, she couldn’t help but follow him home. As Aislinn took the steps to enter Leo’s life, she also took the steps to the rest of her future.

The more time Leo and Aislinn spend together, the more they begin to feel connected to one another, but Leo has yet to feel the mate bond spring forth and claim Aislinn as his. Leo soon realizes that he will have to say goodbye to Aislinn since she isn’t his mate in order to save them both from a lifetime of pain. But Leo is having a very hard time saying goodbye, and all for a very good reason.

USA Today bestselling author Becca Fanning is proud to present you with this steamy Fated Mates novella!