I should have walked away from Jonah Hemming the first time he warned me not to cross the line.

I didn't.

I'm Maren Quill, a boundary surveyor in Duluth, Minnesota. I make a living finding the truth hidden beneath old maps, disputed property lines, and records people would rather leave buried. I trust measurements. Evidence. Facts.

What I don't trust are powerful men with secrets.

And Jonah Hemming is full of them.

He is controlled, dangerous, impossible to intimidate, and far too careful with every word he speaks. He tells me the land I'm surveying belongs to his family. He tells me some boundaries exist for a reason.

Then I cross one.

That's when I discover the truth.

Jonah isn't entirely human.

The Hemmings aren't simply an old Duluth family.

And the line beneath the snow was never just a property boundary.

When a deadly supernatural force traps me inside forbidden territory, Jonah offers the only way out: a temporary protection vow sealed by his fangs and my blood.

I agree to the bite.

I do not agree to what comes after.

Because the vow doesn't disappear.

It binds us.

Suddenly, walking away from Jonah is no longer simple. Distance hurts. My body carries two crescent scars where his teeth broke my skin, and every day I spend beside him makes the difference between magic, attraction, and choice harder to understand.

Which would be easier if I didn't want him.

If I didn't notice the way he listens when I speak.

The way he stops when I say no.

The way his restraint feels more dangerous than another man's possession ever could.

The way he looks at me like protecting me matters, even when I refuse to belong to anyone.

But wanting Jonah is not my greatest fear.

My greatest fear is waking up one day and realizing neither of us stayed because we chose to.

I've seen what happens when love turns into obligation.

I've watched devotion become debt.

I promised myself I would never build a life where staying mattered more than wanting to stay.

Now I am falling for a man whose entire existence is built around vows.

And before I can trust my heart, we may have to destroy the very bond keeping us together.

Because if Jonah truly loves me, he may have to do the one thing that could cost him everything:

Set me free.

And if he does?

I'll finally have to answer the question that terrifies me most.

When nothing forces me to return to him...

will I still choose to come back?