Ashes

By Mary Martel

Cordelia has never known anything but the safety of her fathers guarded compound where she’s lived her entire life. A life that, as the alphas daughter, has always been a privileged one, albeit an incredibly sheltered one.
Until one night, life as she knows it, is flipped entirely upside down when she’s promised to another alpha in order to buy safety for her father’s pack. This doesn’t exactly sit well for Cordelia seeing as she has different plans for her life, even if she doesn’t know what those plans are just yet. Out of fear of what she doesn’t want her life to become, she does the unthinkable and tells her father the one thing he’ll never tolerate from anyone in his pack, especially not his daughter. She tells him no.
As a result, Cordelia learns just what kind of depraved man and alpha her father is and is left a broken, bleeding mess because of it.
After finding kindness and compassion from two strange men who show up at the compound and help her when she is no longer capable of helping herself, Cordelia does the only thing she thinks she can do in order to survive and not be stuck in a world of abuse and misery.
She runs.
Unfortunately for Cordelia, she doesn’t make it very far before she finds herself in trouble again and at the mercy of another male with alpha tendencies. This alpha also comes with a brother by blood and one by choice.
The problem is, Cordelia’s not so sure she could ever find a place in a pack again after everything she’s survived. She won’t have long to figure it out though because, no matter the cost, her father is determined to find her and bring her home.

Warning - Due to certain sensitive sexual subject matter and abusive situations, this book may contain triggers for some people.
It’s also a Reverse Harem book

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mary Martel
• Release date: Feb 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463512425

Mary Martel

Mary Martel was born in West Michigan and spent most of her life there. She currently resides in North Dakota with her two daughters and husband. She loves reading, zombies, mermaids and all forms of art.Follow on Instagram: @mary.martelEmail address: [e-mail]

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Ashes

Book One in the River Ash Pack

By: Mary Martel

Copyright © Mary Martel 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Mary Martel, except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976.

1st Edition Published: February 2019

Cover Designed by: Reaper Designs

All Rights Reserved: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction in whole or in part, without express written permission by Mary Martel.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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This ebook contains mature content not suitable for those under the age of 18. All characters are fictional. Any similarities are purely coincidental.

Published by Mary Martel at Smashwords.com.

Chapter One

They'll be here within the week, daughter, my father sneered at me and I fought the urge to shrink away from him as if he'd physically struck me.

Father, I whispered in horror.

He held his hand up arrogantly, silencing me in a gesture I was all too familiar with. As far back as I could remember, he'd always been an arrogant asshole. I was his daughter and even I was comfortable admitting how big of an asshole he was, just not out loud. No, never that.

Alphas were often times cruel in the extreme and incredibly unforgivable. And my father was the alpha to beat all alphas.

Be quiet, daughter, he commanded harshly. "You've said all you need to say on the subject. Over and over again, unfortunately. Your opinion does not matter in this regard, as I've told you on the many occasions you've brought it up. You are my daughter, this is your duty, and you will do as I damn well say."

His words were final and they made it clear there was to be no further arguing with him. Children were mere pawns and were only brought into this world to further their father’s gain. In any way they could.

Never their mother’s gain, of course. This was a man’s world and we women were only good for a handful of things, and being opinionated and mouthing off weren't on the incredibly short list.

Being a woman in this world wasn't always fun. Being an Alpha's daughter was a whole lot less fun than normal. I was no more than a disposable pawn in his hands and he was going to use me to gain land and peace, even when I'd told him I'd rather die than be used in such a way.

He didn't care.

My feelings were irrelevant.

And I hated him for it.

In fact, I hated most men. But the one standing in front of me at the moment? I hated him the most of all.

I had to try, though, for my own sake, just one more time. It was pure stupidity and I damn well knew it, but if I didn't at least try one last time then I wasn't sure I would be able to live with myself later on, knowing I didn't even attempt to put up even the smallest of fights. I deserved better than this, more than this, and I only had myself to rely on to get it.

Father, I addressed him quietly. His body twitched and his head tipped to the side as he studied me curiously. A chill shivered down my spine and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. I carried on all the same. I would not back down now.

There must be another way. The things I've heard about that pack, well, none of it's been any good, and frankly, it's all pretty scary to me. Couldn't we please look for a different place for me to go, if I really have to go at all? A different pack even? One that doesn't have a reputation for being brutal and one with more females? I think-

His hand came out of nowhere, fast and swift, the back of it catching me across my cheekbone. Pain exploded across the side of my face as I stumbled back, away from him. He advanced on me as he raised his hand high again and brought it down across my cheek a second time, striking the same spot he'd nailed the first time. My knees buckled and I went down hard, my ass landing painfully on the hardwood floor.

I lifted my hands. One to cup my cheek protectively, and the other held out in front of my body to ward him off in case he came at me again. Not that it would do me any good. He was a lot bigger than me and a whole lot stronger. My puny arm wouldn't serve as much of a shield for very long.

He crouched down and hovered over me, threateningly.

I warned you, daughter, he snarled as he grabbed a fistful of my hair at the back of my head and jerked me forward so our faces were almost nose to nose. You'll stop this nonsense and cease speaking on this subject right this minute. I'll hear no more of it. Do you hear me, girl? I'll hear none of it.

He yanked my hair, shaking my head viciously. Do you understand what I'm saying to you, daughter? he snarled in my face and spittle flew out of his mouth, landing on my chin.

I whimpered as I attempted to nod, but his grip on my hair made it so I couldn't move my head and I only succeeded in further hurting myself.

Do you hear me? he screamed in my face.

I heard him, I just wished to all that was holy that I hadn’t.

Yes, I croaked out past the large lump in my throat and my voice cracked halfway through the word. I cleared my throat and tried again, I heard you. This time I managed to speak without my voice breaking. A small success.

He let go of my hair and tossed me to the floor so suddenly that I didn't have time to brace myself for impact. The back of my head bounced off the hard, unforgiving floor and little white floaties danced in my vision.

That fucking hurt.

And it hurt more than just my head. It hurt my heart as well. He'd pushed me around before and he'd smacked me when I'd argued with him and made him unhappy. But he'd never taken it to this extreme before and he'd never been this angry or cruel with me  before.

Knowing my imminent departure from the only home I'd ever known was looming over my head and my only real parent was acting like he hated me, I did the only thing I could think of. I retreated into myself.

I didn't want to leave here with him hating me, that would be horrible. I had never thought about him hating me before and the thought didn’t exactly sit well with me because I didn’t think I deserved his hatred. So, I shut my mouth, curled up into a ball, and wrapped my arms around my knees. My cheek, the uninjured one, pressed against the cold floor and I shivered uncontrollably.

I blinked in confusion when he crouched down in front of me again.

This was new. Why wasn't he leaving when I knew he had better things to be doing with his time? He never spent much time with me unless it was to boss me around and tell me what I needed to be doing for my duty as his daughter.

You'll do as you're told like a good little girl, he ordered in a voice that allowed no room for argument.

Hadn't he already told me this? I blinked slowly and couldn't remember exactly what he'd just told me before my poor head hit the ground. I knew he'd told me they were going to be here in a week’s time and I had better do as he said. He also said that his word was final, but I couldn't remember the exact words he'd said.

I shook my head as I raised both hands to it and closed my eyes tightly. Was I injured more than I had originally thought? Was there something wrong with my head? I hoped not because I would be needing it to work right so I could get myself the fuck out of here the first chance I got. I didn't care that this man hovering threateningly over me was my father and the only blood relative I had in this whole world. I had a feeling he'd put his hands on me for the last time. I didn't care he was my alpha before he was my father,  the alpha part always came first, and alphas were cruel people. I wasn't the only person, male or female, whom he'd slapped around whenever the mood struck him. He'd taken it too far this time and, more than just getting physical with me, he'd driven home the point that I had no say in my future whatsoever and I was basically his prisoner here.

Say it, he ordered and I blinked stupidly at him, not knowing what the hell it was that he wanted me to say.

What? I asked quietly and automatically cringed away from him in fear, because his eyes flashed with a dangerous light. I did not want to get hit again, my cheek was starting to swell and it already throbbed in pain. I would have a wicked bruise there when I woke up in the morning and I knew it'd be around for at least a week. It was embarrassing  knowing that when the other pack showed up, half my face would be covered in an angry bruise. I held out no hope that they would take a good look at my face and decide I was more trouble than I was worth, because they'd likely know I had earned the mark by displeasing my alpha, and no wolf wanted that kind of headache in a woman. Unless, of course, they were the kind of man who would enjoy beating me down and molding me until I was the perfect little partner, and exactly the way they wanted me to be.

That was certainly something to look forward to.

With any luck, I’d be long gone before they arrived.

My father shook his head at me and sighed sadly. He looked so disappointed in me, but I wasn't convinced and I didn't let it soften my heart toward him. I wasn't going to be stupid enough to ever let him back in again. He'd gone too far this time.

I want to hear it come out of your mouth that you're going to be a good girl and you're going to do as you're told, he said in a voice laced with regret and I was shocked to hear it coming from him, but I didn't have it in me to give a shit about why he felt regret. It was too little too late.

And now he was adding humiliation to the list with this shit he wanted me to say to him. I said it, though, because despite the regret in his eyes now, I knew that to disobey him would only gain me the back of his hand connecting with my face for a third time today, and I didn't think my poor head could take much more abuse before I blacked out from the throbbing pain.

Humiliated or not, I still said the words. I had to, he hadn't left me much of a choice. I'll be a good girl and do as I'm told, I mumbled thickly.

I hated every stupid fucking word I forced out of my mouth but, thankfully, I didn't choke on them as they came out.

That's my baby, he murmured happily as he reached out and cupped his hand around my jaw. Thankfully, it was the side he hadn't hit me on. "You are a good girl. Lately you've been acting like a brat and I haven't been enjoying my time around you anymore because of it. I'll not apologize for striking you because you deserved it with the way you were talking back to me and have been for weeks now. But I will say, I'm sorry that it had to be done. I hate seeing your beautiful skin marked, it's ugly and you are not an ugly girl. You are the spitting image of your mother and she was beautiful..."

I got my third surprise since he'd walked into my bedroom like he owned the place, which he would do because he did own the place, he owned the entire compound and everything surrounding it for miles and miles. But, my surprise came again at seeing the longing, clear as day, on his face when he talked about my mother. She'd been dead for years, having died in childbirth. The baby, however, my little brother, had survived after they'd cut him out of her dead body. He was a spoiled little prick now and, I know it's a horrible thing to say or even think, but I'd rather have had my mother in my life than that little brat. But my father had never shed a tear over her loss. He'd never taken another mate again, though, and I hadn't ever thought anything funny about it before. He'd instead fucked any and every female who threw themselves at him. There weren't many females here, though, we had more than most compounds, and more than half of them were mated. Even the mated ones threw themselves at my father, their alpha. It was disgusting and he always, always, got his rocks off with them. Nobody ever said dick to him about it because he was alpha and the males never challenged him for fucking their mates because they were afraid of him, they knew they'd more than likely lose in a fight against him.

My father trailed the pad of this thumb over the apple of my cheek and I watched his face as his eyes followed the path of his thumb. The caress and his eyes watching the movement made me extremely uncomfortable because this too, like almost everything he'd done since he'd come into my bedroom tonight, was weird, and something he hadn't done before.

I did not like this, not at all. Honestly, the fever burning in his eyes almost terrified me more than the rage I'd seen when he'd hit me. He'd never looked at me this way before, but because he was now, my stomach churned and I thought the chance of spewing vomit all over him if he didn't remove his hand from my face soon was a definite possibility.

Maybe leaving this place, the only place I've ever known before, wasn't such a bad thing after all.

You look exactly like she did when she was your age, he murmured reverently.

I swallowed thickly as I looked away from him, my eyes skirting everywhere but back at him. I couldn't bear to look at him any longer.

He wasn't wrong about me looking exactly like my mother at this age. I was twenty-two and that was how old she'd been when he'd gone to visit the compound she'd lived at with her family. I know because I'd seen pictures of her at that age, they were all she'd had left of them, all he'd allowed her to take with her when he took her away from her happy family and forced himself on her. She'd never once complained, though, sometimes I would see sadness in her eyes before she'd forced it back down where she'd long since buried it. She'd claimed it was her duty.

Blech.

There was that stupid fucking word again. Duty. A female’s lot in this wretched life was to be owned by the alphas.

I hated that word with a passion, but not as much as I hated the situation on the horizon that the fucking word had landed me in.

Look at me, he demanded harshly.

I did as I was told. Not because I wanted to, but because I knew what would happen to me if I didn't comply with his demands.

His hand moved down from my jaw to pinch my chin. Not painfully, just to hold me there, where he wanted me to be.

All I wanted was for him to move away from me so I could cup my face again and maybe, finally, cry the tears I'd been holding at bay since he'd struck me the first time. Crying in front of the bastard was something I'd learned at a young age to never do in front of him. Nothing killed his good mood and patience like the tears of a female. My little brother could get injured and cry, but that was okay because he wasn't a man yet, and my father claimed his balls would drop and he'd eventually become a man who knew better than to cry in front of other people. You'd think, with logic like that, it would have been okay for me to cry because I was a girl and my balls would never drop seeing as I didn't have any. But, nooooooo, it only made it worse because I was a girl and my place was to do as I was told, and making him lose his patience because of my tears wasn't the way a good girl acted.

My father sucked in a sharp breath and his nostrils flared like an angry bull when he blew it out.

Hate me all you want, beautiful girl, he murmured. "I hate myself sometimes, too. But this is a necessary evil that I've been forced into, and as much as I hate that I have to give my only girl away to strangers, I'm going to do it and not think twice about it once it's been done. It's for the greater good of the pack and will secure the safety of everybody else in this whole fucking compound. That might make me a bastard, and if it's true, then I'm okay with it. I'd rather be a bastard and someone you hate than a bad alpha and a horrible leader who left my people out to hang when I had a chance to protect them. That's my duty."

I wanted to roll my eyes at him but didn't dare.

I was his only daughter? Puh-lease. More like I was the only legitimate daughter he had. He fathered children all the time and never looked back at them or the females he knocked up. And he always got away with that shit. Good alpha and a good leader, he thought that described him? Some, like myself, would beg to differ. Impregnating a mated woman and knowing there was jack shit her husband could do about it did not make you a good leader. Yeah, they were safer because of the alliances he'd made with other packs but, outside of that, he was a shitty leader.

When I didn't say anything, he applied pressure to my chin, pinching me for real this time, making me wince. It hurt, but the swelling side of my face hurt far, far worse and this was really a mosquito bite in comparison.

Do you hate me, daughter? he growled angrily as he leaned in closer. We were almost nose to nose now, and it made it impossible for me to do anything but look him dead in the eyes, which was exactly where I didn't want to be looking.

Answer me, he snarled and pinched my chin harder when I hesitated a second.

Without giving it further thought, I answered honestly. No, I told him in a quiet voice. I don't hate you, father.

And, surprisingly, it was nothing but the absolute truth.

I did not hate him. I didn't care about him at all. He was simply an alpha male wolf acting like any alpha male wolf would when it came to his property. That didn't mean I wasn't bitter and angry about my lot in life, because I obviously was. But I didn't  hate him. I was the alpha’s daughter and, if I had been any other alpha’s daughter, there was a chance I would have been pawned off a long, long time before now and given away to whomever he had wanted to give me away to. I could have easily been given away at fifteen and anytime since, but instead he'd kept me safe and here at the compound with him. Here, I was treated like a princess by everyone besides my father and brother. My mother had treated me like a princess while she'd been alive and she was the only member of my family who had. It was the rest of the residents here at the compound who treated me that way and I never minded because it kept them away from me and I always knew I was better off left to my own devices. My father had always made sure I had the best tutors around and I was always encouraged to pursue whatever interests I'd had. Other girls weren't as lucky to have all of that, plus the finest clothes money could buy while living in a place where there were people willing to wait on you hand and foot if that was what you desired. I'd never desired it, and the only interest I'd ever taken, outside of learning the basics for everything and the history and politics of my people, was art. Something my father always praised me for being so talented at, and he'd always made sure I had whatever art supplies I needed to create whatever my heart desired.

I was pulled out of my wandering thoughts when he suddenly dropped his hand from my face and the pain on my chin lessened. I was almost positive I'd have a bruise there as well when I woke up in the morning.

What an asshole.

Clean yourself up, he ordered softly and my eyes widened at the way his voice had gentled. You're having dinner in the main dining room with your brother, myself, and my men.

He stood up with a grunt and I was left sprawled on the floor, stupefied and stunned.

He wanted me to have dinner with him, my brother, and his men? What in the hell was happening here? I never ate with them, they didn't like to have women around while they boasted about their manhood and conquests, and whatever the hell they talked about when they were off on their own. My father did not allow women to sit at the table in his private dining room, which he referred to as the main dining room because it was the main one for him. Not even mates were allowed when he had his men locked away in there with him.

Why the hell would I have to eat dinner in there?

I knew some women might find it exciting and actually want to be invited in to get a dose of the alpha’s inner circle. It was unfortunate for me that I was not one of those women who was excited at the prospect of getting to do this.

Instead of being filled with glee, I was terrified out of my mind and wondered what more bullshit I would have to put up with tonight before I was left alone. I wanted to come up with a plan to get myself the fuck out of this wretched place before the other pack showed up, and I was whisked away and forced to mate some other alpha who might treat me worse than my father,  and would probably only interact with me when he was fucking me—no matter how much I wanted absolutely no part in that sort of thing whatsoever. No, thank you.

I'd rather die a virgin than give it up to some abusive alpha who was only in it for his pleasure and wouldn't give a fuck about whether I got off or not, he'd be too busy taking what he wanted and then being done until his dick got hard again and he was ready for the next round.

I shuddered in disgust and revulsion as my father turned his back on me and walked out of my bedroom. The door shut quietly behind him and I was finally able to breathe freely for the first time in what felt like forever.

My life was completely fucked up at the moment, my face throbbed something fierce and if I didn't get some ice on it soon it wouldn't simply be a bruise in the morning but a swollen one, and I had things coming my way in the future that I wasn’t even close to looking forward to. Starting with dinner with the fam and my father’s closest men, and then, later this week, likely getting fucked by a stranger against my will because my father had callously sold me to him. All because my father felt it was what was best for everyone else besides me.

I was finding myself really unimpressed with my life at the moment, but there was nothing I could do about it because I needed to clean myself up and get ready for a dinner. I'd almost rather poke myself in the eye with an extra sharp pencil than attend.

It would probably be a whole lot less painful.

Which was all kinds of scary.

Chapter Two

I raised my hand to my cheek, but stopped my movements before actually making contact with the side of my face. I was right, it was swollen, painful, and already starting to turn an unattractive shade of purple. It had started out flaming red and had quickly darkened in color. I wasn't surprised and had been expecting it.

But it was not pretty and it made me really not pretty to look at.

The tension in my shoulders slid away at that thought and the corner of my mouth tipped up in the hint of a smile. Maybe not being so pretty at the moment was a good thing, since I had to sit down at a table and have dinner with an alpha and a bunch of betas who not only thought they were better than women, but the majority of them thought women were only good for polishing their mates’ cock.

Yeah, I definitely didn't want one of those men to find me attractive and, in a sick way, was almost grateful my father had marked up my face before demanding I have dinner with him, his men, and his horrid, bratty son. Almost, but not entirely. I wasn't stupid enough to be grateful for something like that. I had more self-respect than that. Besides, it hurt.

My eyes roamed over my reflection in the mirror. I had shoulder-length, curly hair that was so dark brown it was almost dark enough to be considered black, but just not quite there. I liked my curls, they were big, never frizzy, and easy to maintain so long as I kept my hair relatively short. If I let it grow out any longer than my shoulders, it always became tangled and was a nightmare to brush out. If I didn’t blow dry it, it took all day to dry on its own. So, I kept it short. My father had always hated my short hair. He’d always said women were supposed to have long hair unless they were elderly or children. This is the one thing I fought him on and actually won. I think I only won though because he didn’t assign someone to watch over me 24/7 and there were times I was left to my own devices. Since he’d refused to allow me to get a haircut, I had taken it upon myself to take a pair of scissors to my hair and chop away. I had been fourteen the first time I’d given that a try, and it had been the last time because my father had taken one look at the disaster and been appropriately horrified. After that, he had someone stop by every six weeks to give my hair a trim. I think he was worried about what I might get up to, or do to my poor hair if he didn’t have someone come and cut it for me. He was right to be worried. It was one of those things I would have continued to do to myself, even after I’d been smacked around for doing it. He’d been too horrified to hit me, instead, he’d left me alone until the hairdresser had fixed my hair and he’d never said anything about it after that.

Not only did I have my mother’s hair, but I also had her blue eyes, which were so light they were almost grey. The color would change with my mood. They could be completely blue at times—albeit a light blue—and entirely grey at others.

My cheekbones were high, my lips full. When half of my face wasn’t hideously swollen, I was actually rather pretty. Not that I cared about such things, because I didn’t. Looks meant very little to me. I never found other people attractive because I’d never been allowed to leave the compound before, and the people around here didn’t exactly have stellar personalities, which was what I was looking for in a would-be mate. Which was not only incredibly hopeful but incredibly stupid. Who I mated with would never be left up to me, something my father had made glaringly clear earlier. I always knew it would be this way, which is why it was so stupid of me to have spent any amount of time on hoping things were different. Where would hope get me? Nowhere, that’s where.

I sighed as I placed my palm against the mirror, covering half of my reflection in the glass. Covering the now messed up half of my face. The one eye I could see was grey, the color of an angry storm cloud. Briefly, I wondered if my father would think my eyes would be challenging him and if I’d be punished if he did.

Slowly, I removed my palm from the mirror and revealed my whole face again. I should put on makeup to try and lesson the garishness of my injuries, but for the life of me, I didn’t want to cover the marks, or even attempt to hide them. I wanted people to find me unattractive tonight.

With nothing for it, I left the bathroom and walked into my closet in search of something my father would find appropriate to wear to dinner with his son and his closest friends.

I wasn't entirely sure what I was supposed to wear, but I knew that jeans and a t-shirt wouldn't cut it for me and would be a good way to further anger my father. I didn't want to suffer any more abuse at his hands.

Even though I really did not want to, because I didn't want to draw attention to myself, I dressed to impress. I found a black strapless body-hugging dress in the back of my closet, which had been a Christmas present from my father last year that I'd not had the chance to wear yet. It ended just above my knees and clung to my body like a second skin. I had no idea why he'd given it to me or where he'd thought I would wear it to, but nonetheless I'd thanked him kindly for it and had placed it in the back of my closet, where it had remained until today. He always bought me things like that for gifts on holidays and they never made sense to me.

The compound was a safe and secure place to live, but there weren't fancy places to go to dinner or shop, or even visit. It wasn't created for those purposes, but for a safe place to live for our kind where we didn't have to hide what we were from everybody else. Unless you were the king of the castle, so to speak, you didn't have much in the way of extravagance. My father had nice things, nice large rooms for himself. A library, a study, a master suite of rooms worthy of any real king. Our part of the compound was huge and filled with expensive pieces of antique furniture and, I'm not even going to lie, my room was no different. I had space and I had plenty of nice furnishings.

But there wasn't a place around here to get dressed up really fancy and go out to. So, I figured it was safe to say I could wear the dress to dinner with my father and it would please him to see it on me. He always harped on me to dress nice, dress my station.

I was a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, dresses weren't my thing. I never wore heels and if I could get away with running around barefoot for the rest of my life, I was sure I'd die a happy woman.

That thought had me smiling for a moment before I realized what the hell I was dressing for, and my smile immediately faded. There was nothing I should be smiling about. And, besides, it hurt my face to smile.

I got dressed without further delay and set about doing my hair. I pulled it back into a neat, low bun at the base of my neck. Some curly, unruly strands escaped and framed my face. Normally, I'd find this annoying. Tonight, I didn't mind so much because they hid part of the bruising, swelling mess that was my cheek. I know I said

Reviews for Ashes

[Crystal Hager Goh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book has popped up in my recommendations for awhile now so I finally decided to give it a shot. I really liked it. It a reverse Harem so if you don't like multiple hot guys and one almost broken heroine I wouldn't read this book.
The Alphas in this book, well what can I say but they truly are alpha-holes but when the h doesn't let her emotions get in the way the behavior is honestly about protecting her.
I know some people don't like insta-love and such but these are wolf shifters and their primal instincts call out first before the human has the chance to catch up.
The book is well written and flows nicely. For the most part the story, characters, universe building is nicely done. I really want to read the 2nd book of this dualogy.
Last disclaimer: physical and emotional triggers.