Sentinel by Cyndi Friberg

Determined to spend some time alone with the feisty human he wants as his mate, Salvo Xett invites Natalie Marino to Ghost City. He’s afraid she will find the abject poverty shocking after the relative luxury of the other villages, but he must know her reaction before he claims her. Ghost City is his home. His mate must be able to see beyond the scorched ruins to the forgotten people desperately needing their help.

No sooner do Salvo and Natalie arrive in Ghost City than they are asked to rescue a kidnapped child. Their investigation takes them on an inadvertent tour through the seediest parts of town. Natalie is horrified yet filled with compassion and determination. Her intense attraction to Salvo might have brought her to Ghost City, but a burning need to help the “urbanites” convinces her to stay. Pleased by her reaction to the conflict, Salvo is even more convinced that he has found his soulmate and will stop at nothing to claim her as his own.