Therian Priestess by Cyndi Friberg

Prequel to the Therian Heat series: In the time before recorded history, Jatara is a faithful priestess of the Mother Creator, Bellin. Like all Therian women, she is empowered to absorb the animal nature of the male who defines her. But her father has ordered her to mate with a rival clan’s leader, which will destroy her connection to Bellin. Angry and frightened, she rebels, determined to live on her own terms.