A mating ritual as old as time could be the death of them both…

Jax refuses to go through his yearly mating cycle alone and in agony. And the beautiful slave Waverly is the answer to his prayers. He’ll buy her at any price and after their time together, give her the one thing all slaves crave, freedom.

But Waverly isn’t just any slave. A transport pilot double-crossed by Junkeaters and sold to a notorious gunrunner, she’ll do anything to escape. The last thing she wants Jax to know is that she’s in heat, too.

With the Inter-World Council out to hang Jax for a crime he didn’t commit, Junkeaters hot on their trail, and ruthless arms traders gunning for them, their over-powering need to mate just might be their death. But if they survive, will the passion still burn as hot between them when they’re no longer In Heat?