Lieutenant Azure Lynwood has worked hard to earn his place in the Space Corps, overcoming centuries of bias and discrimination against omegas. Travelling across the solar system and exploring new worlds comes with its share of complications, but Azure has proven himself a worthy member of his team, and he’s ready for anything the solar system can throw at him.

Or, at least, he thinks so, until a supposedly routine mission goes awry. An inspection of a remote outpost on Titan turns into a murder investigation, then a blizzard traps Azure and his crew inside the base, cut off from any contact with civilisation, and finally, without access to his supply of hormonal suppressants, Azure realises he has only a couple of hours until he goes into heat.

But just when Azure thinks his situation can’t get any worse, he finds out one last, staggering piece of news. Major Tor Savan, his commanding officer and one of the most respected men in the Space Corps, is an alpha.

Refusing to be mated means enduring twelve hours of the worst pain imaginable. But allowing Tor to mate him is unthinkable. Alphas in rut are notoriously violent and aggressive, and if anyone ever found out about the illicit encounter, Azure’s career would be over. Can he really trust Tor’s assurances that he has both the skills and the discretion to see Azure through his heat unharmed?