“It seemed to him that he had just seen both ends of that chain; that when he touched one end, the other quivered.” – Anton Chekhov
The beginning of this book starts with Jax and his little brother Mason making their way across Mississippi toward New Orleans. The two boys, nineteen and eight years old, are wet, dirty, hungry and broke. Unfortunately this is still a step up from what they left behind. Jax is hoping to get to New Orleans and find some work to help support the two of them. When they stop in a diner to get a meager amount of food, neither of them knows this will change their lives forever.
Cade D’Allisande is an alpha wolf that has left his old pack because he didn’t want to have to fight his father for leadership. When Cade is forced by pack rules to leave his old pack, some of the other pack members decide to go with him. Cade decides to head to North Carolina to join some extended family and form a pack of his own. When Cade and his pack stop at a small diner in Mississippi, Cade instantly recognizes Jax as his bloodlust mate. This is the strongest blood match that a wolf can form with his mate. The only problem is Cade prefers women to men and he doesn’t want a mate.
Jax is initially scared to death of Cade and his pack. His impression of them is that they look like a rough biker gang and he wants nothing to do with them. Jax tries to get away before the pack notices him, but he is too late. Cade grabs Jax and he narrowly escapes only to be caught quickly. When confronted by all the large men traveling with Cade, Jax passes out. When he wakes up he is in a hotel room with Cade and another man. The two men feed Jax and Mason, but Jax is still scared of the unknown so he decides to run. Again, he is caught by Cade and after a few strange conversations he realizes that he is pretty much stuck with Cade, but he decides to make the most of the situation. He feels that having someone belong to only him and someone that can protect both he and Mason is a dream come true.
Not long after he and Cage mate, they make their way to North Carolina and meet up with Cade’s family. Jax is falling in love with Cade and he tells the man this every chance he gets. Unfortunately, he doesn’t hear the words back. Jax is starting to believe that Cade is only with him due to the bloodlust, he feels that if it wasn’t for their bond Cade wouldn’t want him. It basically takes a couple of close calls on his life for Jax to find out how Cade really feels. I hope it was worth the wait for Jax in the end.
I like how Shannon West incorporates the characters from the previous novels and keeps them current in the story. I am looking forward to seeing how Cade’s pack settles in and see who is next up for their HEA. This is book 9 in the Dark Hollow Wolf Pack Series and it is still going strong and in my opinion Ms. West keeps the stories fresh and I can’t wait for the next one to catch me up on old friends and introduce me to some new ones.
Reviewed by: Jackie
You can buy Bloodlust here:
