This week's adventure has Lily and Rule (and Cullen and Cyndy) pulled into an old war between dragons and Chimei, specifically Sam (Sun Mzao) and crane woman... a binding created to establish peace between the dragons and chimei led to most chimei leaving this realm, but not crane woman... and the chimei grow in power by absorbing people's fear and by thei sorcerer lovers... 300 years ago Li Lei (Lily's grandmother) with fire magic and Sam's student lost her family to the crane woman's sorcerer, and LiLei, in black anger, through stealth and trickery, made her way as a servant into the sorcerer's house and killed him... the crane woman has born a grudge since... and with the Turning and a new sorcerer S&M lover, she wants revenge against Sam & LiLei, and to rule San Diego...

Lily & Rule are drawn in as the crane woman's 1st attack is against a potential hinderance, Cullen... they attempt to kill him with a spelled knife to the heart, but Cullen lives with the aid of the Nokolai healer and subsequently Sam's magical help... They learn more about the threat from Li Qin, grandmother's friend and lover, from Sam, and finally from LiLei. Lily learns she has some of Sam's dragon magic (from her grandmother), and though Lily and Cyndy are taken as hostages, Rule and Isen (Rule's father and alpha) come to their rescue with Cullen & LiLei & Sam ... and Lily, while fighting the crane woman - absorbing her power - submits to Sam's voice and feels again her other piece, given up to save Rule from an alternate world, and takes the crane woman with her, where the crane woman dies as Lily relives her death...

And intermingled is Lily & Rule's coming wedding... Rule suffers a little jealousy over a former cop lover of Lily's whom she is working with agian, and Lily must confront her feelings about marriage - how marriage fits within the bounds of the mating, how it is a declaration to the world (one that is surprised, as most lupi don't commit and are known to go from one woman to the next)... and Lily's mother, who does not understand her, who disapproves of Rule, but wants Lily to be happy and to do things right.

memorable scenes - Rule's conversation with his son, when he and Isen are going to save Lily... and Toby wants to go with him - and Rule tells him he has the harder job - to wait... The troll, Max, who comes to protect Cullen, just a funny character... LiLei's early life... and a dragon, manipulative, large, beautiful, careing...