Sunder (Darksoul 1) (Volume 1)

If Sunder Alard had been born female he would have been cherished for being faeborn—born with magick—and his birth celebrated. Instead, his L’fyn mother insisted on his death. Only his Panthryn father’s desperate escape through the forest saved him. With most Chandarians uneasy in his presence due to rumors he is doomed to become a darksoul, and unlikely to find a mate because of it, Sunder has nevertheless carved out an honorable existence as a warrior and commander. Serving as a bodyguard and chaperone, Sunder accompanies the Chandarian prince to the annual mating festival on Earth, and when the prince is injured, he can’t help but be fascinated by the tongue-tied nurse who attends them at the hospital. At sixteen years of age, Gabriel St. Baptista came home to discover his parents had taken off into space, leaving him behind to look after himself. Gabe never recovered from the unexpected desertion, and keeps everyone at arm’s length to avoid the pain of being abandoned again. However, after meeting Sunder, Gabe finds himself unable to resist the bond between them and breaks his carefully crafted rules to spend time with the Chandarians, regardless of the fact that Sunder will soon leave. Scared by what he feels for Sunder, Gabe can only hope his heart won’t be too broken when Sunder returns to Chandaria. But deceit and treachery surrounds them both, and when Gabe saves Sunder’s life, it sets off a chain of events that could either tear Gabe and Sunder apart... or give them both exactly what they want.