"Something in me just snapped. I pulled her close and kissed her—hard. My tongue begged for entry, and she didn't resist. The kiss turned wild and hungry, like some animal instinct had taken over. I pinned her against the edge of the pool, my body pressed against hers. My hands slid over her back, pulling her closer. She didn't pull away. Instead, she held me tighter, breathing heavily into my mouth. But then, like a bucket of ice water, reality crashed down on me. What am I doing?" *** Viola has spent most of her life feeling abandoned, angry, and alone. At eighteen, she’s known as the rebellious troublemaker at her elite boarding school—until one violent incident forces her father’s powerful business partner, Prince Mathew York, to step in. But Mathew is no ordinary man. He is an Alpha werewolf on the verge of becoming king of his kind… and the moment he meets Viola, his wolf recognizes her as his fated mate. The problem? Viola is the daughter of the man Mathew trusts most in the world—making her strictly forbidden. Thrown together for a single weekend, the fiery, wounded girl and the cold, controlled Alpha discover a connection neither of them can deny. What begins as reluctant guardianship quickly ignites into something far more dangerous—an irresistible attraction that threatens loyalty, power, and the fragile bonds of family.