Jess has been a faithful ward of the minotaur herd until the day she is out of her mind with heat, and her dream man walks up to her door and brings her flowers. She grabs him, throws him to the floor, and has her way with him until he calls a halt and tells her he's only willing to go all the way if he can show her the rest of him. Intriguing. Things get complicated, but she gets to home base with her centaur and is interrupted again by friends and family.
Time passes, and they reunite under stressful circumstances but eventually agree on a union, another partner, and a future.
Stihl has been pretending that everything will be fine, but with no job prospects, she is drifting from couch to couch until an urgent request from the book club puts her back in action as a chef. The wedding leads to her meeting up with her one-night stand, and he still is waiting for an omega.
She has no choice but to run home, beg for help, and submit to her grandmother's plans for her. It is the last thing she wants, but the only thing she can think of to save herself and her children. If their father doesn't want them, she will find a path of her own, back through high society with an arranged marriage, just like her grandmother wanted.