A Hunger in Every Heart by Kate King

Here is a summary with spoilers for A Hunger in Every Heart by Kate King

Aurelia has spent nearly her entire life imprisoned in a tower by her tyrannical father, who convinced her the outside world was too dangerous for her to survive. On top of that, she never knew who her mother was, and she felt like that was something she had always been missing in life. After his death, she is technically free but isn’t sure what to do with herself. She has new friends and likes to help them build up their kingdom. She is a very powerful witch, and her powers help them in return. Though powerful, one day Aurelia decides she needs to be able to fight for herself. She asks a friend to start training her, but soon the captain of the guard, Fox, sees this and wants to take over. Though Aurelia thinks Fox is handsome, she is also scared to be around him. But their training continues, and Aurelia gets stronger and stronger.

One evening Aurelia learns that Fox has been injured, but Fox hates magic and refuses to have a magic healer look at him. So he is healing on his own. Aurelia decides to make her own potion and try to give it to Fox, hoping that their relationship maybe has grown enough that he would trust her magic. She sneaks into the barracks, into his room, to find him sleeping. Though after making some noise, she wakes him up, and he starts to attack her until he realizes who she is. Though to Aurelia’s surprise, she likes how rough he treated her. This leads to a conversation and then into kissing, and then a tumble in the bed. After a night together, Aurelia uses her magic to put herself back together, and Fox hates to see it. He clearly still hates the magic. Though their one night of fun turns into a lot of nights of fun. Aurelia will often find herself in Fox’s room to sleep with him, but that is it. It never goes further than that. That is how their relationship goes for 2 months. They train and occasionally sleep together.

This stops, though, when Aurelia goes to visit him on her birthday and he isn’t there. It pisses her off, and she decides that maybe Fox doesn’t want her anymore. She stops visiting. Aurelia doesn’t visit for a month, and it makes Fox angry. So when he finally corners her, they have a quick talk and then start right back to sleeping together. The two continue like that for another couple of months. One night Aurelia decides she wants more and tells Fox this. She wants a real relationship with him. Fox says he can’t do that, and she can go find it somewhere else. Aurelia is devastated and decides her life is free now. She should leave and find a new place to live. On her way out, she finds one of her ladies-in-waiting from when she was a kid. The woman tells her a story about her mother. She is actually alive, and Aurelia also has a twin sister. The woman believes that her mom is sitting on a throne as a queen in a nearby neighboring kingdom. Aurelia decides that is where she will go.

Out in the woods, Aurelia is not as prepared as she thought she would be. She runs right into a wolf and almost gets attacked, but just barely gets away. But she notices that the wolf is close by, almost as if it is stalking her. She waits for the wolf to fall asleep, sneaks up on it, hits it, only for the wolf to transform into Fox. She is shocked to learn that the man she likes is a shifter, and she also feels bad for hitting him. Aurelia tells him to leave and continues on her trek. Fox shifts back to his wolf form and continues to follow her.

Eventually they run into Fox’s old wolf pack. In order to grant Aurelia her safety, Fox tells them that they are mated. He does this because the wolf pack has a terrible relationship with the nearby queen who has magic. Aurelia believes that queen is her mother. Now that they have to pretend to be mates, they have to share a room, a bed, and they have to communicate via paper because normal mates would be able to communicate mind to mind.

They spend weeks at the camp with the wolves. Aurelia has been trying to gain entrance into the city. Fox is training with the wolves and also going out on missions. It also gives the two of them time to communicate and learn more about each other. Aurelia is very interested in knotting, and that makes Fox go feral. Eventually they get back into their old ways, and the two start sleeping with each other again.

Aurelia then gets an invitation to go in and meet the queen, who she believes to be her mother. Fox goes with her, but none of the other wolves want to because they are all controlled by her. When Aurelia meets the queen, she is surprised because the queen is a spitting image of her. The queen is her sister Sylvia, not her mother. She seems to be nice, but Fox warns against her. Fox also has a suspicion that he heard Aurelia's voice in his head, like a mate would, but he isn’t for sure.

After settling into the castle, Aurelia finally goes to meet her sister and have a meal with her. Sylvia takes that time to poison both Aurelia and Fox. Aurelia, thanks to her magic, is able to come to quickly, but Fox stays knocked out for a time. Aurelia has a chat with her sister and wants to try and make a bargain. Aurelia wants freedom for the wolves. Sylvia doesn’t agree and starts to fight with Aurelia. Thanks to her training, Aurelia fights right back, sees her chance, and chops both hands off of her sister. Eventually Fox comes running in and finishes the job. Because of that act, Fox becomes alpha of the pack.

Fox tries to talk to Aurelia about wanting more, and Aurelia, not realizing he meant her, starts to run away. But Fox talks into her mind, proving that the two are indeed fated mates. The two officially announce their love for each other. They both want to pair their kingdoms together and make the world a better place.