I wasn't expecting to like this series as much as I do. In fact, I was hoping to not enjoy it much, because I really didn't want another series to follow. But this one grabbed me and won't let go. I think what hooked me is that it is just a little bit different, dare I even say more real, than most of the other books I read.

This is the continuing story of Anna and Charles, both werewolves. But that is about where their similarity ends. Charles is solid, strong, centuries old. Feared. He is the threat that keeps his pack in line. Bluntly put, he is an assassin. It is a job he takes no joy in, and the necessary isolation that his job both demands and causes has never bothered him overmuch. Until Anna.

Anna, on the other hand, is young. Her life as a werewolf has been brutal from the start. Raped, tortured, and abused, she was a victim both of circumstance and her own pack. Beaten down, but not completely broken, she is shocked when the most frightening man she has ever seen turns out to be her salvation. In Charles, she finds the one being that will never hurt or betray her. Now, she just has to learn to leave the past behind...but that is easier said than done.

This time around, Anna and Charles have been mated about a month when issues arise that demand Charles' attention in Seattle. But the already risky prospect of bringing the existence of werewolves public is made even more tense by the arrival of the powerful Alpha wolves from the world over. As Charles and Anna try to navigate this dicey situation of politics, long-held grudges, fae magic and revenge, they learn to rely on the strength of not only each other, but of their bond.

Both Anna and Charles are marked by their pasts. Charles, and the wolf he shares his body with, know Anna is theirs. He has come in the very brief time they have been together to love her completely and without hesitation. There is nothing he wouldn't do, no one he wouldn't sacrifice, to keep her safe and happy. But Charles does not feel worthy of the same from Anna. He sees himself as the world sees him...nothing more than a killer. But Anna knows the man inside the stoic facade, and she has come to love him as well. But hers is a love marked by a brutal past she is finding it hard to escape. Even though she knows, and her wolf knows, that Charles will never, ever hurt her, her fear keeps getting in her way. She is not weak, not by any stretch, but there just hasn't been enough time yet for her wounds to heal.

I think that is what I liked so much about this series, what made it so real. The scars from Anna's past don't miraculously disappear after a few days with her mate. She fights against it, does her best to work around it, but her fear rears its' ugly head when the pressure gets to be too much. And Charles understands. He does whatever he has to make life easier for her, and I loved him for it. There is no anger at what she cannot give him, just joy at what she can. And every day, they grow a little bit closer. They now are coming to know each other, and falling in love with each other more as they do.

At no time is this a pity party, even though both Charles and Anna have reason to feel sorry for themselves. Both of them are strong, but in very different ways, and fighting to be what their mate needs. Anna is slowing finding both the strength and the faith in Charles to become his partner, and Charles is learning slowly to see himself as Anna sees him. There are still issues and confusion along the way, but that only makes them stronger in the end. I look forward to the day that the past no longer has a hold on them, but seeing these two fight their way to each other makes for great reading. I am, as I have said, hooked.