With unwanted lands thrust upon him by King George III, Alessandro Pantera feels caged. His nightly ritual of pacing the castle walls in panther form leads him into a fight to save a beautiful woman from harm. The moment he first sees her, first touches her, a raw, primal desire to claim her ignites within him. But a man such as he, the Black Knight, deserves no woman of his own. Rescued from bandits, Rose Smythe lands in the arms of a male shapeshifter. As black panther and as man, he's fierce and intimidating to all who cross his path. But not to Rose. His presence initiates her inner white panther's need to mate-and her heart is set on Alessandro. A heated night of passion neither can resist bonds them as eternal mates. A macabre twist of fate places Alessandro in the battle of his life. Kill or be killed in the fight to save his mate from the demon Mephistopheles, the creator of the darkness within his soul-the Black Knight.