KIERA Running the first-ever Trader’s Market is chaotic enough; I don’t need a horned purple alien with fangs claws and zero chill crashing my party. Bael’k says he’s here to help but so far all he’s done is scare away the one person I need to see. When I finally track down the elusive nomad and snag the map I’ve been hunting for guess who volunteers to be my protector on a quest I never planned to take? It’s my first time out of the settlement walls in years and I’m woefully unprepared. But with my knight in shining loincloth by my side I might just survive. BAEL'K They say the mate bond is absolute eternal and chosen by fate. But I don’t believe in fate. I believe in my blades my shuttle and the war I was bred to fight. I never wanted a mate… until I met Kiera. She’s fragile stubborn and maddeningly fascinating. When she sets out to recover lost tech in a dangerous Dead Zone I volunteer thinking it’ll earn me glory.