Gage McKinnon, duke of Seabridge, stands in the middle of his richly appointed study looking at the woman who raises such conflicting emotions in him. He loves her and deeply desires her, yet he fears what she represents. He is human. She is not.

“You are not like me, Sara, no matter how much you want to be.” 

“You know, Gage, you are absolutely correct. I am nothing like you. You are a breed unto yourself. Feel free to look it up. You will find it under cold-blooded bastard,” Sara said just before closing the door.

The Maji, an ancient race of shape-shifters falling into the abyss of extinction, finds the last of their purebred females dead in spite of their best efforts to hide her from the Hunter Society, a group bent on their total eradication. Dr. Sara Reed, a half-human, half-Maji, is the Maji’s last and only hope of survival. Having lived her life on her terms on the far outer fringes of Maji society, Sara must make a decision: turn her back and walk away or help the very people who have shunned and ridiculed her all of her life. Gage is making that decision just a little easier. 

Gage also finds himself torn between his duty to the family name and the desires of his heart. His children will be the future dukes and duchesses in a line spanning centuries. In his mind, those children must be worthy of the name McKinnon. No matter how much he loved her, Sara is not human, and his fear of the Maji’s power is a greater deterrent to following his heart. Gage also is faced with a dilemma when asked to assist in pulling the Maji back from the brink of extinction. 

Will he turn his back or do what is right?

This is part of an ongoing series by Ranay James and not a stand-alone novel.