A deadly rogue warrior and enemy of the alliance has been placed in her care.

Dr. Charlotte Lockley is taken aboard the military vessel Tarus, carrying high-risk inmates and ordered to treat those badly injured, including Prisoner Zero—a dangerous vrisha prisoner captured on a human trade world.

As a doctor educated in alien medicine, Charlotte is one of the few that might keep the vicious alien alive long enough for him to be contained inside the max-security prison on the planet Fargis.

Despite his supposed crimes, Charlotte slowly begins to heal the broken warrior. Axrel as she comes to know him is like a viper—sleek, beautiful, and deadly. Though she's warned of his killer instincts, he never shows her violence.

Axrel, however, has hatred in his heart. And a need for vengeance against those who have wronged him. But the delicate, strong-willed doctor, soothes his fury. Her touch brings him calm, fills him with a different sort of need that burns as strong as his long-sought revenge.

When the unthinkable happens, their fragile bond is tested. Can Charlotte change his black heart or will revenge consume him?

Contains mature themes.