Seb, an alpha, and Max, an omega, were strangers but they were thrown in the tiny Roselake jail overnight for minor offenses. An aggressive alpha, Adam, who shared their cell, wanted to have sex with Max, and the cop on duty ignored the omega’s pleas for help.

Max begged Seb to save him from Adam’s advances—which he did—but Adam was so aggressive, the two alphas fought.

When Seb and Max were released from jail, the alpha overheard Adam talking to the jailer about keeping an eye on someone, but he had no idea who.

Max, who was backpacking through Roselake, followed Seb toward the lake hoping to catch a ride to the next town.

The pair ran into Nathan, the owner of the bar, The White Wolf. Max asked if he had any job openings, but Nathan didn’t. He suggested Seb hire the omega as the alpha had been looking for someone to work on his farm.

Seb secretly thought this was a terrible plan as Max’s scent was so intoxicating, he wasn’t sure he could keep his hands off him. He didn’t mind sleeping with the omega, but the alpha was a no-commitment kind of guy and didn’t want any possible complications with an employee.

Max was so excited with the job offer, especially as it came with room and board, Seb couldn’t refuse.

On the drive to Seb’s farm, which was just outside Roselake, the alpha discovered Max had left home a few years ago. The only omega in a family of alphas, he was bullied and ignored his whole life, except when he spent time in the kitchen with his father’s housekeeper and during summers with his grandparents. The omega had had no contact with his father or brothers since he’d left home.

Seb was more reluctant to talk about his family because he was rich. In the past, people were more interested in his money than him. His wealth came from gold which his grandfather discovered in the mountains nearby.

On their arrival at the farm, the omega was impressed with the huge house and the setting beside the lake. After assigning Max chores, the alpha decided he was competent.

The omega’s room was above the barn but when Seb walked in without knocking, he was shocked not only by the naked omega, but also because Max appeared to be hiding a gun.

After a huge misunderstanding, the alpha introduced the omega to his piglet, Trixie. The pig adored Max and rarely let him out of her sight.

The alpha and omega worked well together. Though both were attracted to one another, they ignored their feelings.

After an incident at the lake where Max almost drowned and Seb rescued him, the omega was conflicted regarding their relationship.

Though the omega insisted he had shrugged off the memories of Adam, he suffered nightmares and ended up sleeping on Seb’s porch one night.

Days were spent working hard, often ending with a swim and then Seb, Max and Trixie explored the countryside on the alpha’s motorbike.

One rainy day as a storm approached, Trixie escaped, and in an attempt to catch her, Max fell in the mud.

Seb couldn’t contain his emotions and the pair had sex on the dock as thunder and lightning raged around them.

They mated, but in the morning, the alpha was horrified by what he had done. He suggested they not live together but have a casual relationship.

Max was deeply hurt and insisted the alpha wanted to be with other omegas and not be tied down. He pointed out that being mated with, but rejected by Seb would leave him alone for the rest of his life. He stormed off and left the farm.

Trixie was devastated and so was Seb. From the moment the omega left, the alpha realized his mistake, but didn’t know how to make it right. He read Shakespeare, who Max adored, along with the omega’s original poetry.

Eventually, the alpha visited The White Wolf, where Max was working, on the pretext of warning him about seeing Adam. Seb was jealous of the omega’s friendship with an alpha barman and he decided to make a grand gesture.

Standing on the bar, he recited a limerick he’d written for Max, but neither the omega nor the bar patrons were impressed. Max’s alpha friend, Dray, threw Seb out of the bar, and the omega told his mate he’d broken his heart.

The omega asked Seb for a favor: he wanted Trixie for a sleepover. When his mate arrived to collect the piglet, the omega revealed in a roundabout way he was pregnant.

While Seb was angry at how Max informed him and shocked at the pregnancy, he was excited and wanted to be part of the child’s life.

They bickered over money, and where Max was going to live. Seb wanted him to move back to the farm, but the omega refused.

The alpha accompanied his mate to an ultrasound appointment, and the pair saw their baby for the first time.

Max agreed to stay at the farm one night a week and on the first evening, the pair couldn’t ignore their bond and fierce attraction, and they reconnected.

On an afternoon when Max was having lunch with a friend, his father arrived at the farm with hired goons and Adam, and demanded Max return home. He offered Seb a bribe if he gave up the omega, but the alpha refused.

Max’s father said his son had disgraced the family, and he was embarrassed having an omega for a son. Seb defended his mate and received a black eye from Adam.

Max returned and snuck into the barn with Trixie. They got on the motorbike and as his father’s henchmen shot at them, the omega rescued his mate. After shooting one of the men with a stun gun, the three escaped on the bike.

As Seb, Max and Trixie sped away from their Roselake home, Max was overcome with grief at their loss and fear of his father despite his act of bravery in saving his family.

The omega wanted to disappear so his father couldn’t find them, but as Seb comforted him, he pointed out no matter where they ran, a man of Mr. Sharpe’s wealth and power would find them. He proposed doing the opposite: living in plain sight as Mr. Sharpe would be unlikely to harm his son while he was pregnant.

Max wasn’t convinced but as dusk approached, their first dilemma was finding a place to stay. Seb suggested sleeping on a boat at the nearby marina, but the omega decided they should steal one. He pictured a small vessel that wouldn’t draw attention to them, but the luxurious motor boat the alpha chose was his own.

The omega was furious his mate hadn’t mentioned he owned a boat, but his annoyance gave way to jealousy when he made the connection between the boat, Seb’s days as a single alpha, and the omegas he had brought onboard.

But the alpha convinced Max that while he had previously enjoyed the company of other omegas, that was long before they met.

As they sailed along the river, the pair along with Trixie enjoyed the solitude and comfort on the boat. Being away from civilization allowed the alpha and omega to reconnect, though they puzzled over Mr. Sharpe’s intentions.

Seb had heard from his friend, Liam, that Nathan, owner of the bar, The White Wolf, may have been able to get them new identities, but he had retired and was supposedly sunning himself on a remote island. Max pinned his hopes on Nathan coming to their rescue.

But when they ended their journey in the small town of Riverside, Max was wary of the townspeople, who were not used to strangers. The pair were a curiosity, and the omega didn’t want to stay, but Seb dismissed his concerns.

The alpha exchanged his luxury boat for a farm with a large amount of land and a small cabin. Max was incredulous at Seb’s stupidity, though he later grew to love the farm and their new home.

The pair lived quietly, but they made friends and attended football games and charity events.

During a shopping trip to Riverside, a woman approached asking if Trixie could star in a photo shoot for an advertisement. Seb was reluctant, thinking it would draw attention to them, but Max convinced him there was no harm. Trixie was excited.

But when they turned up, they discovered the woman, Laura, was the owner of a delicatessen, and Trixie was going to advertise pork pies.

They were horrified and left, and poor Trixie was disappointed. Max was left wondering if Laura had an ulterior motive.

One evening, when Max had almost reached his due date, the pair enjoyed dinner at a restaurant. Because of Trixie, they had to eat on the terrace.

While Seb slipped inside to chat with friends and Max was finishing his meal with Trixie at his feet, an aggressive alpha interrupted him. The man took an instant dislike to Trixie and she felt the same.

He handed Max one of Laura’s business cards, but his threatening manner terrified the omega. Trixie reacted by biting the man’s leg, and the omega fed him false information about rabies, leading him to race off.

Laura’s card had a message scribbled on the back saying she was coming to the farm the following day.

When Seb returned, his mate didn’t mention the unpleasant encounter but as they arrived home, his water broke.

The hospital advised them to wait until the contractions were closer together, but Max’s baby didn’t wait. Within a short time, the omega was ready to push, so Seb assisted as his mate gave birth to a baby girl.

Trying to decide on a name, Max suggested Isla, which means island, because his grandfather had built him a fort on an island when he was growing up. As Mary was his grandmother’s name, the omega proposed they name their daughter Isla Mary.

Seb presented Max with a ring to celebrate Isla’s birth, and the omega said he would never remove it.

But not everyone in the family was as ecstatic about the baby as the new parents. Trixie was jealous, and as Seb headed to get take-out, Max dealt with the piglet, who was determined to get her father’s attention by being difficult and making as much noise as possible.

It was only after Max and Trixie had some alone time, and the omega pointed out the pig was now a big sister with responsibilities, did Trixie warm to the new arrival.

The following morning, Max suggested Seb take the baby and the piglet for a walk, but the alpha was reluctant to leave his mate alone.

But with a friend coming to clean the chimney and another dropping off food, one arriving to chat about Seb’s former boat, and Laura supposedly dropping by, Max shooed his family out of the house.

Seb ate his breakfast over the hill but Trixie was agitated and wanted to return home. As the alpha trundled after her, he smelt smoke. At first, he thought it was a farmer burning trash but as he got closer to home, he discovered his house ablaze.

He frantically tried to rescue Max but the wooden cabin was consumed by flames, and he collapsed, believing his mate had died in the fire.

But with the piglet’s help, he found the omega’s ring in the dirt and numerous pairs of footprints. It dawned on him the fire was deliberate and when he noticed drag marks which led to a vehicle, he realized his mate was alive but had been kidnapped.

Assuming the omega was taken on Mr. Sharpe’s orders, Seb strapped Isla to his chest and with Trixie in the backpack, the three set off on the motorbike to find Max.