Marcus had been born into nobility.   From the moment he could walk, servants had done everything for him. He had never known hunger, cold, or genuine hardship. He had never needed to work for anything he possessed. He was titled, wealthy, and utterly convinced that everyone beneath him existed for his convenience. To Marcus, commoners were little more than dirt beneath his boots. One afternoon, while riding through the woods with his band of men, he spotted a young woman gathering berries and herbs. She was poor, alone, and completely unable to defend herself against a group of armed riders. Marcus wanted her. And Marcus had never learned to accept the word no. What followed was an act of cruelty that would haunt her—and ultimately Marcus—for the rest of their lives. When the men were finished, they abandoned her in the place where they had found her, leaving her frightened, humiliated, and pregnant. That night, beneath a ragged blanket in the forest's cold darkness, she pray...

Jessica had always believed her brother got everything. It wasn't because he worked harder for it. As far as she could tell, he barely had to ask. Their father adored him, and being the favoured child seemed to open doors that remained firmly shut to Jessica. Whenever Dad announced a hunting trip, her brother was invited. When the men went fishing, her brother went along. When they packed the truck for a weekend of camping, Jessica was told the same thing she'd heard countless times before: "Sorry, sweetheart. Boys only." There was always something waiting for her at home instead. Her mother would give her sewing to finish, chores to do, or some lesson about becoming a "proper young woman." Jessica hated it. More than that, she hated watching her brother return from another adventure muddy, sunburned, and grinning while Dad proudly told everyone how well he'd handled himself. So, on her sixteenth birthday, when the cake came out and everyone gathered ...