For years, sailors have whispered about Blacktide Island—a forbidden place said to be cursed, haunted, and filled with hidden treasure.

Captain Ronan Blackthorne doesn't believe in curses.

When his pirate crew lands on the mysterious island in search of rumored treasure, he expects to find gold, ancient ruins, or perhaps nothing at all.

Instead, he finds her.

A feral demi-human woman who has survived alone on the island for years.

Once a child enslaved aboard a pirate ship, she was abandoned by the sea after a terrible storm destroyed the vessel. With no one coming to rescue her, she learned to survive however she could. Years of isolation stripped away her ability to trust, leaving behind a wary, wild woman who sees every stranger as a threat.

And around her neck remains the same slave collar she wore as a child.

Now grown, the collar has become dangerously tight, slowly suffocating her.

Ronan wants to help her.

She wants nothing to do with him.

Every attempt to approach her is met with snarls, claws, and desperate attempts to escape. Yet Ronan refuses to treat her like a prisoner—or another piece of property.

As he slowly earns her trust, he discovers that the mysterious woman hidden within the island is far more vulnerable than her feral exterior suggests.

But rescuing her may be the easiest part.

Because the pirates who once owned her may still be searching for their lost slave.

And if they discover that she survived Blacktide Island, they'll come to claim her.

This time, Ronan intends to make sure they never get the chance.