After years of fighting, a tenuous treaty has been established between the Moon Wolves and the Life Drinkers. Kyle Vanderbelt's job is to keep the peace-a job that gets much more difficult when Kyle's fellow agent and former lover is accused of stealing the ancient Moon Rubies that are said to sustain the balance of power between the two peoples. Kyle sets out to find the thief but is sidetracked by a brutal enemy... and a newfound ally. Shades Hallowvale, a Moon Wolf, is mostly dead from a Life Drinker's attack when Kyle finds him, but nursing him back to health is a career move Kyle can't walk away from because Shades has information on the rubies, the theft, and an insidious plot deeper than one man's greed. Shades soon becomes more to Kyle than a means to an end, but even as the two men track down the thief, Kyle fears their tenuous connection may not survive and the rubies really will destroy everything they love. (Previously titled Cowboy Rubies)