A curse, a quest and keeping the paranormal peace? No problem. All in a day's work. Sophia Raines has issues beyond being a near-sighted vegetarian. Bound to a power-hungry Portal Master for the next ninety years, she longs for freedom and a halfway normal life. When a sexy, golden-haired werewolf shows up and kisses her in the street, she panics. A romantic liaison isn't in the cards, since she'll eventually betray him. Nothing personal, it's just her job, hormones be damned. Xavier Leighton is a werewolf on a mission. He wants nothing more than to have the curse on his person lifted, but he needs to cultivate a friendship with stubborn, fearful Sophia first. There's something about the woman he can't ignore, and it has more to do than the soul-shattering knowledge she's his mate. Too bad she's resistant to his charms-and his kisses. As a supernatural bargain is struck, the countdown begins. All they need to do is find a gypsy, chat with a rifle-wielding mermaid, de-brief a deadly, dragon lawyer, and outwit a unicorn with Hollywood aspirations. Easy peasy. Somewhere along the way, Sophia and Xavier might just find out that opposites do attract... unless the Eight Realms fall into ruin first.