“Mates such as they must stand by one another.” ― Mary Grant Bruce
Title: Brian’s Mate
Author: Hollis Shiloh
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages/Word Count: 158 Pages
Rating: 4 Stars
Blurb: Brian is the alpha of the least impressive pack of wolves at the whole Moon Ceremony. When a human is discovered uninvited in their midst, he bonds with the man to save his life.
Luke doesn’t know about all this wolf stuff, but he’s starting to develop feelings for the gentle man who rescued him. Both Brian and Luke expect to quietly dissolve the bond later. But feelings intervene, and some bonds are not so easy to cast aside.
Building a life together as alphas will take love and hard work—especially when new wolves keep inviting themselves into their lives.
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Review: While Luke is taking a road trip to the Brooklyn Bridge, he accidentally stumbles upon the annual Moon Ceremony of a werewolf clan. Obviously, this is a place where uninitiated humans are not welcomed. The penalty for intruding on the Moon Ceremony is death… that is unless Luke joins a pack and becomes part of the Moon Ceremony, officially.
This is where Brian comes into the picture. Being the Alpha of a pack with only five members means he has plenty of room for another pack member. The kicker is he will have to take Luke as a mate to save his life. Luke and Brian have to work past Luke’s fears of the wolves and the uncertainty of whether their attraction to one another will be enough to last after the Moon Ceremony is over.
Brian manages to slowly bring Luke into the fold of his pack as the Alpha Mate. When they return to Brian’s pack lands, Luke begins a one man crusade, it seems, to populate their small pack. From the scraggly small band of wolves they find camping on their property, to the teenage wolves they rescue from a less understanding local Alpha, Brian and Luke manage to form a large, loving pack.
When the next Moon Ceremony comes around, Luke has a personal issue to deal with, and his absence makes Brian realize that as much as he is the Alpha, Luke is the glue that holds the pack together. During his absence the pack starts to fall apart. These happenings bring to light how much Brian has taken Luke for granted.
When Luke finally makes it to the Moon Ceremony to join his pack, will he be able to restore the harmony that he normally provides?
This was a very sweet story. I know that seems strange to say about a shifter story, but this isn’t a normal shifter story at all. There are no “fated” mates, there are no claiming bites between mates, and there wasn’t any of the usual violence that is usually portrayed with the packs. These wolves seem to just form a very strong family unit. It really reminded me of a commune type of situation. Everyone found something they were good at and used those skills for the betterment of the pack. I truly liked the feel of this universe Hollis Shiloh created. There was a true acceptance of everyone, no matter their position in the pack. I would love to see more books from this universe and follow the development of Luke and Brian’s little but growing family.
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