A pregnant woman fleeing an abusive husband crashes into a hidden town deep in the Catskill Mountains - one that doesn't appear on any map, and was never meant to be found.
Ashwood is a place of old rituals, buried secrets, and wolves who walk as men. When Abby crashes at the town boundary in a summer storm, her presence fractures a fragile peace. The town's ruling pack is divided: some see her as a threat, others as the fulfillment of a long-whispered prophecy.
Because Abby's children - her young son and the unborn baby she carries - hold a power that should not exist.
Marcus, the pack's reluctant Beta, has sworn never to take a mate. But the pull he feels toward Abby is instinctive, dangerous, and impossible to ignore. As tension in Ashwood escalates and old blood feuds reignite, Abby is drawn deeper into a legacy she doesn't understand - and may not survive.
As past and present collide, she must decide whether fate has led her to sanctuary... or into the path of something far more ancient and more deadly than the man she escaped.
Slow-burning and atmospheric, Blood and Binding blends paranormal romance, dark fantasy, and supernatural suspense in a haunting reimagining of werewolf lore. With a feminist, queer-inclusive lens, it explores power, trauma, and desire in a world where love can be both salvation and ruin.
Perfect for readers of Alix E. Harrow, Ava Reid, and Patricia Briggs, this is A Discovery of Witches meets Sharp Objects - with claws.
Tropes include: hidden town, fated mates, slow burn romance, found family, forced proximity, single mother heroine, healing from trauma, shifters, morally complex characters, and dark magic.