When Mariska spots Ruger at the Celtic festival she knows she has just one night to be with him, to be with a man who does not fear her strength, with whom she can be herself, no holds barred. She neglects to tell him she is scheduled to join his Sentinel team the next day for fear he will refuse her desire to be with him that night. As expected, Ruger is angry when he encounters her at the mission briefing the next day, but more than that, he seems to feel betrayed. She didn't expect his reaction to hurt that much. It was only one night, after all.

Ruger is not truly healed from the Atrum Core's explosion on an earlier mission when he has a new irritation to contend with. He can no longer reach for his healing power without passing out from the pain. Even the brute force fighting ability his Kodiak bear shifter powers give him is evidently no longer enough for the team. Why else would the tough and curvy black bear shifter Mariska be assigned? She has very little field experience, her resume shows she mostly snags body guard assignments. How can he trust anyone who would play fast and loose with the truth as she did? They only had one night together, why does the betrayal hurt so much? Regardless, going on a dangerous mission with someone he doesn't trust endangers all of them.

The Atrum Core has new horrors in the works. The prescient visions of Sentinels are ringing warning bells and hinting that the steps taken in secret now may be enough to destroy the Sentinels forever. Mariska and Ruger must put aside their conflicting feelings and focus totally on the job at hand or no one will survive.

Doranna Durgin is a prolific author published in multiple genres. With her Sentinels novels she has written an entertaining series of books that fit together almost seamlessly, giving the world she has created a great deal of depth. I highly recommend the books be read in order to gain the fullest possible enjoyment. KODIAK CHAINED is book five. She has also written two novellas that fit into the series earlier in the timeline.