Mercury and Gloria (aka Ria)'s story...

Mercury - genetically closer to the lion than most breeds, raised with less contact with other breeds; but at the age of 18ish, when still in the compound, he went berserk when a young breed woman (15 years old) with whom there were some shared mating hormones (early days in the testing and understanding of such) dies in a mission, and the guards taunt him about it his feral/animal side takes over and he kills the guards with his hands... they developed a drug to suppress the animal side, and now that he is free, he is off the drug, but ruthlessly confines the animal - with the loss of much of the breed characteristics (night vision, great strength, etc)... now an effective Sanctuary enforcer...

Ria - granddaughter to The Leo & Elizabeth (they never tell who her father was), lost her father and then her mated, human mother at the age of 6, placed in foster care but monitored by Dane & the Leo (her uncle & grandfather) - and educated by and now works for them... Her breed side is suppressed, to the point it is undetectable; her strength is in puzzles, codes, patterns ... she hides her womanly self in plain clothes, to be wall flowerish, which helps her to be unthreatening and more effective... Dane manipulates her into mischief & bribes her with bling to not tell his father, The Leo... and Dane sends her to Sanctuary because there is an information leak via the computers, and they want to find the spies and to stop the leak... She handles the Breed’s egos & posturing with grace, humor, and determination - getting her way...

Jonas assigns Mercury to be her personal protection & to protect Sanctuary... there is attraction, but Ria knows Merc’s history, and believes (as most do) that he lost his mate, so she only sees heartbreak there... Merc is just unsure on what to do with her - so for 6 weeks, he just watches over her and she delves into Sanctuary’s files (hard copy & computer) - copying the information coded links she finds in many documents...

In this story, Mercury’s lion has been imprisoned, first by the drugs & now by Mercury - but he awakens in Ria’s presence, and the lion is sneakily trying to make his way back, without letting Mercury know he is there... for instance, the first night Mercury sleeps in Ria’s house, he wakes up outside Ria’s bedroom door - the lion moved him there in the night so as to protect Ria... The lion’s voice is heard repeatedly throughout the story as he gains strength...

Mercury and Ria get closer - both physically and emotionally - and their second night sleeping together, Dane sneaks into her room (a thing he did to ‘scare’ his niece), but Mercury senses him and almost kills him... but Mercury has control... but unfortunately Ely, Sanctuary’s doctor/breed, is fearful of Mercury’s feral side- and Ely is being given drugs that she believes is aspirin, which further compromise her processing of information... But Callen & Jonas trust Mercury and his ability to control himself... Both refuse Ely’s mating testing, not trusting her...

Ria gives of herself, but is frightened that he will leave - she is aware that she is not his mate (no mating hormone), and believes eventually he will tire of her, so she continues to hold back... Mercury knows in his heart this is his mate, and also wants the hormone... during sex, he bites her - and when he sleeps the lion emerges and licks the wound, giving her a small amount of the hormone...

Mercury’s mating response comes forward the night of a party, when the teen that was thought to be his mate, Liata, shows up (it isn’t clear her motivation - she is slutty, an Enforcer herself the last 6 months, and seems to be sincere - but, hmmm where did she come from? Will she be in a future book as good guy or bad?)... the lion part of him feels Ria’s pain & love as she relinquishes him to what she believes is his true mate, and the lion fills him - and they finally join and Mercury becomes so much more - after a delay to make it clear to Liata & to Jonas and Callan that Ria is his mate, he goes to her... And though Ria can’t turn him away, and the sex with the hormone running through them is even more intense, it takes Ria some time to allow her Breed/woman self fully incorporate and to claim Mercury fully... Mercury/lion Mercury know they have to make her claim him...

Dane, The Leo and Elizabeth come to Sanctuary - they all ferret out the spies, and arrest the pharmaceutical company that is paying the spies... the determine that Ely has been drugged, so they rehabilitate her (I wonder who her mate is?)... and Callan & Leo & Jonas & Dane have family time together.