Avani is the last earth dragon in the world. He is also the last male dragon and has taken over as protector of the forest. The other three remaining elemental dragons - air, water, and fire - are all females. Their race will die out unless he mates with one of the other three dragons.
Avani snubs the idea of finding a mate, refusing to allow anyone to claim him and therefore control him.
The hunters are always searching for supernaturals to force into their Arenas, a modern-day gladiator fighting ring. Now they also capture supernaturals to experiment on, creating a new race of hybrid creatures. Because Avani can shift his emerald-green scales into the black of onyx to blend into the night, those he saves call him The Dark Protector.
Merethyl is an elven princess. She and her brother, Yhendorn, are captured by hunters when her family is attacked, and her parents slaughtered. They are held captive and experimented on until they found a way to escape. As they flee, Yhendorn is recaptured sacrificing himself to make sure Merethyl gets away.
The hunters chase her, trying to run her down. Avani hears her and flies to her rescue, killing the hunters that are after her. When he realizes that she smells better than anyone he's ever smelled before, he knows he must get away from her. He cannot allow her to have the total control over him that claiming him would give her. But Merethyl has nowhere else to go and she needs Avani's help to rescue her brother.
Will Avani be able to resist the charms of the elven princess? Or will he fall to her, claimed, and bound to her, his rider for eternity?