On Christmas Eve, Elara Winters loses everything she thought she knew about love. Betrayed and humiliated, she runs into the frozen night—straight into a world that was never meant for her. Injured, alone, and far from help, Elara is taken in by Kael, a man whose presence is as commanding as it is terrifying. She doesn’t know he is an Alpha. She doesn’t know the forest answers to him. And she doesn’t know that stepping onto his land during Winter Claim is a mistake that can never be undone. As strange dreams haunt her nights and unseen eyes begin to watch from the shadows, Elara realizes she isn’t just a guest in Kael’s territory—she is a disruption. A spark. A danger to the balance he rules. Because Kael is not just protecting her. He is resisting her. Bound by ancient laws, pack politics, and a pull neither of them can deny, Kael must choose between his throne and the human woman fate has marked for him. And Elara must decide whether to run from the truth—or surrender to a bond that could cost her freedom, her humanity… and her heart. This winter, under a midnight mistletoe, fate doesn’t ask for permission. It claims.