Severed Heart - Kate Stewart - Kensington Publishing Corporation

''Once upon a time there lived an ambitious boy determined to become a man before his time. And there lived a woman, one who believed herself past the point of redemption. Her scars mild in comparison to the secrets she holds. Intent on his quest, Tyler enlists the only person who can help him--his best friend's volatile aunt, Delphine. A woman twelve years his senior, and one he can't seem to stop fantasizing about. Delphine's only goal is to shape him into the Raven soldier he needs to be. But the forbidden connection between them grows. It's the forging of their bond that will irrevocably change them both. And for Tyler, it's the loss of that love that will birth the warrior within. But then, nothing has ever been fair in love and war...''--