After the action-packed and heartbreaking first book in this series, where the focus was on Alpha Trip and one of his enforcers, Boone, I was looking forward to finding out how Boone’s brother Hunter and his mate Ari were going to manage. Most of the younger members of the Husky shifter pack got away at the end of book one and are now living under Trip’s leadership as new alpha, but Ari was blackmailed into staying behind to save Hunter’s life. Not a good start for these two! As expected, the second novel was action-packed, full of council deceit, betrayal, new alliances, and an underlying need for freedom from centuries of oppression that made the younger Husky shifters stronger and more determined to stand up for what they believes than anyone might have expected.

Hunter is glad he moved away from the bigoted Hagan council. He supports his new alpha and loves helping keep the small pack safe alongside his brother Boone, who is happily mated to Trip. But Hunter is deeply unhappy that his mate, Ari, is not with them. The longer they are separated, the more Hunter feels Ari’s loss, and the more determined he becomes to get him back. The problem is that the Hagan pack has made an unholy alliance, and it looks as if they are getting ready for a fight. One that the much smaller pack will have real trouble winning, not that Hunter lets that stop him.

Ari has been kept as a prisoner in his own home. His mother has devious plans that include “curing” Ari from the “infection” by Hunter – the one that she believes made Ari gay. Ari is determined to escape and join Hunter in the new clan, but he is being kept under twenty-four-hour watch and several escape attempts have already failed. When he overhears exactly how deep his mother’s betrayal goes, he makes a run for it yet again, and almost loses his life in the process. Hunter is the only one who can save him, and that is only half the battle. Ari may not be an enforcer, but he is stronger than he looks and determined enough for three men.

If you liked the first book and want to find out how the Daegan pack is doing, if two men who have been torn apart but are determined to figure out a way to be together catch your imagination, and if you’re looking for a read that is as action-packed and emotional as it is hot and touching, then you will probably like this free novella as much as I did. I can’t wait to read the next installment – I am really curious about Mischa and Kristoff – and according to the author’s website it is planned for release in 2017. Lucky me! ( )