During the sacred tribal pairing ceremony, wolf warrior Grant callously rejects Mara before both gathered clans, bestowing her betrothal token upon her tearful, manipulative younger sister Brenna. Assuming Mara will meekly wait for his eventual reconsiderations, Grant forgets that tribal traditions strip unmarried maidens of personal choice upon turning twenty-two. Bound by ancestral edict, Mara is immediately assigned as consort to the slumbering, supposedly dying Dragon King.
Rather than protesting, Mara willingly signs the royal covenant and prepares her departure. Three days later, just as Grant gathers the pack to celebrate his newfound union with Brenna, the sky ignites in golden flames as one hundred armored draconic guardians descend upon the settlement. Escorted in royal splendor, Mara ascends as high sovereign queen, leaving her stunned former betrothed in desolate ruin.
