Xochi is destined, her fate chosen by the stars that fill the night skies of her shrinking territory. Hidden deep within the west of the growing nation of the United States lies the oasis that is the Namara compound, the home of the weredeer who have inhabited the territory for two hundred years. After her grandmother falls ill, she is set to take the title of the Matriarch at twenty-two years old, the year of her first Rut. Her destiny is to lead, to take the dominant buck as her mate and Sentinel to guide her herd as their spiritual leader. But what happens when the bond doesn't take and she is met by another the night of the Rut? One who happens to smell of the nearby werewolf pack who is bound by treaty not to hunt the weredeer of her tribe? Will fate drive their course? Or are they doomed for failure?