"Intense novel, exploring animal nature of humans"

Chloe Evans has been fascinated by wolves since her great- grandma told her the story of the half man, half wolf hybrids living in the Appalachian Mountains, stealing and mating with human women to continue their pack. She has worked with wolves in the wild for years, using her PhD in Zoology to help save the magnificent animals she loves. She is now involved with a project to re-introduce the red wolf to the mountains where she grew up.

Chloe wakes one night to find three black wolves in her cabin. One of them even crawls onto the bed with her, pinning her beneath the sheet. The wolf sniffs her, but doesn't harm her. When she can finally climb out of the bed, mostly because the alpha is being challenged by his beta, she grabs her tranquilizer gun and darts the youngest of the trio.

Damon, Luke, and Lee Caine are the only young members of their pack. Their parents, aunts, and uncles are still alive, but the continuation of the pack is up to this trio of brothers. The Caines are descended from a mating between wolves and humans. They have the ability to assume either form at will. While young, the wolf instincts tend to overwhelm the rational human part of their personality and they must learn to control it as they mature.

The Caines had scented Dr. Evans in the region for months. Damon, who goes by Caine, is the alpha of the pack and it is his right to mate with her first. He has promised his twin Luke he will be allowed to mate with the female as soon as Caine has had his turn. They both know they can never tell the human scientist what they really are, she would not believe them.

This is an intense novel, not for the overly sensitive. Though the author never breaks the barrier into bestiality, she certainly flirts with it. Ms. Edwards has an interesting twist on the werewolf myth, allowing her to create intense alpha heroes. Overall, this is an interesting read, exploring the animal nature of humans and the not so bestial nature of animals. The relationships between the brothers and Chloe are all worth exploring. The animal mindset of the men is realistically portrayed and their behaviors congruent with those of wolves in the wild.

The sex scenes in this novel are extremely graphic and often quite violent. If you enjoy authors who like to push the limits of what is acceptable, you will enjoy this book; if you prefer a more mainstream rendering to your romance, steer clear of this one.

Sensuality Rating: Explicit sex, very rough, oral, shapeshifted (not actual intercourse but to orgasm).

Reviewed by Nicole LaFolle for Sensual Romance.

Reviewed by Sensual Romance
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted August 19, 2003

Summary

She's fertile. And Caine needs a bitch in heat.

As an alpha male of a wolf human hybrid species, Caine knows it's his responsibility to sire the next generation of cubs for his pack. The animal in him can smell when the female upstream can conceive and this part of him has no qualms about mounting her with or without her consent.

The man in him, however, isn't quite so willing to do that.

Dr. Chloe Evans has come home to help reintroduce a timber wolf pack into the mountains where she grew up. She also hopes to record some of the legends concerning a hybrid species of wolf that reportedly once lived alongside the people of the Appalachians. Animals that possessed very seductive and tender human emotions and thoughts, but very brutal and instinct driven needs and desires. Animals like the one she's always dreamed of finding for a mate.

Animals like Damon Caine.

Sexual Content: NC-17. Genre: Werewolf.