I am conflicted in rating this book. I really enjoyed it after I dismissed the motivating factor for their relationship--this premise pissed me off so bad I stopped reading the book for about 6 weeks. Killian's character evolves and becomes so rich that I relegated it to the fringes on my mind, but even there his preliminary actions with Colton infuriate me. If I don't include a reason then this will just sound like a rant so do NOT read the spoiler prior to the book. The request for an act of mercy by Colton to Killian is heartwrenching. One does not seek out death with a clear mind for kicks. And while Killian doesn't specifically say he will fulfill his end of the bargain for Colton's submission--it is implied. Colton believes it and I hated and still HATE Killian for this. He LIED and was DISHONORABLE.The rest is sublime. The interplay and exchange is delicious with pain and pleasure woven together and one of the best displays of the shared quality in a D/s relationship--neither is truly more powerful than the other. It is a symbiotic one, not a parasitic one. Favorite passage, related to above:“I shouldn’t have given you that ribbon,” he whispered. Confession was not good for his soul—he was a werewolf, a dark hunter—but he said it anyway. “I didn’t know when I unwound it from that damned spool and ran it through my fingers that the silk flowed both ways, and that the other end would always come back to me.