She volunteered to save her sister. He swore he'd never love again. Fate had other plans. Dr. Zara Mitchell didn't believe in destiny—until she felt the mate bond snap into place the moment she locked eyes with the Draevon Empire's most feared commander. Kai'ren Thor, the Ice Commander, is a warrior haunted by loss. He's built walls around his heart that no one can breach. But when the desperate human scientist is matched to him through the Alliance Program, his body betrays him. She's his fated mate. The one thing he swore would never happen again. Zara only agreed to the program to cure her dying sister. She's a scientist, not some alien's prize. And she certainly didn't sign up to be bonded to seven feet of brooding, silver-skinned warrior who looks at her like she's both his salvation and his doom. But the fated mate bond won't be denied. As an intergalactic war rages and enemies close in, Kai'ren and Zara are trapped together on his warship—and the incomplete bond is driving them both to the edge of madness. His alien instincts scream at him to claim her, protect her, worship her. Her human heart is falling for the gentle male hidden beneath the commander's cold exterior. When Zara is captured by their enemies, Kai'ren must decide: follow his warrior's logic or his mate's call. And Zara must choose whether to run from a bond she never wanted—or embrace a love that could save two worlds. A scorching sci-fi romance featuring a brooding alien commander, a brilliant human scientist, fated mates who fight destiny (and lose), and enough steam to fog up a spaceship viewport.