To Have and To Trust by Allie Palomino

As the sole survivor of her cousin’s thirst for power and vengeance, Andie McBride must seek the aid of an ally in her fight to regain control of her clan. On his deathbed, her father appointed her laird, and with that came the responsibility of freeing her clan from Alistair’s cruelty. In her fervor to escape her cousin, who is hell-bent on marrying her to solidify his control of the clan, Andie stumbles upon Riley, a boy he kidnapped. As happenstance would have it, Riley’s father was one of her clan’s allies. While her father told her not to go to him, Andie decides to return his son and gain his help.

Gavin Maitland is a cynic as much as he is a bastard, and he’s furious that his son was kidnapped. Hardened by the betrayal of his dead wife, and haunted by curses and prophesies, Gavin doesn’t trust anyone, much less women. When he sees Andie approach with his son, he mistakenly believes she kidnapped him. Even after he learns she played no part in his son’s kidnapping or the machinations against his clan, he cannot fully trust her. Gavin agrees, however, to help her fight for her clan, but only after he finishes aiding his other allies.

As one catastrophe after another befalls, delaying aid to the McBrides, Andie and Gavin find themselves in a whirlwind attraction and affair that blossoms into love. Their journey to be with one another is wrought with deception, mistrust, and uncertainty, and when they are at last together, the Curse of the Dark Wolf threatens to take Gavin’s newfound happiness and Andie’s life. Even if Andie survives the curse, regaining control of her clan and escaping Alistair may cost her more than she thought she’d ever have to sacrifice.