Wren Gresham, a wolf-less half-blood raised as a servant by the family that took her in, is forced to marry Alpha Gideon Ashford in her stepsister's place. Minutes before the ceremony she flees and stumbles into Gideon's private bathroom, where bare skin touch triggers a silver flare, gold wolf eyes, and one word from his wolf: Mate. A Silver Thorn mark flickers on her shoulder, then vanishes. At the wedding Gideon unveils her and recognizes the girl from the bathroom, but her back is blank, and he refuses to crown her Luna, calling their union a mere contract. Wren vows to use the marriage to trace the birth mother who left her a silver wolf pendant, while Gideon hunts every woman bearing the mark. Celeste Vernon claims the true Silver Thorn and the title, though Gideon's wolf answers only to Wren. As hired killers and a jealous rival close in, a Mate bond he cannot deny keeps pulling him toward her, yet the mark he was raised to trust keeps pointing elsewhere.
