Tangled Instincts and Hidden Bonds — Anya Byrne

Dread was once a silencer, an assassin meant to take out threats to the secrecy of his world. Now he is just a man with a death sentence hanging over his head. He is tired and expects nothing -- except maybe, some peace. What he gets is very different.

While out on a hunt, Dread finds a house cat stuck up a tree. It shouldn't matter much in the big picture, but from the moment he hears the first hesitant meow, he knows the cat is a shifter, and most importantly, his mate. And then the stranger changes shapes, and he is also the most beautiful man Dread has ever seen -- Ian St. Claire. Dread aches for him, but he is also terrified, since the last thing he wants is to burden his other half with his imminent death.

But things are far more complicated than Dread knows and, behind his sharp green eyes and sweet smile, Ian is hiding some secrets of his own. An unlikely instinctual bond forms between them -- but will it be enough to keep what is coming at bay?