Trigger warning
So this book is not like a lot of omega verse/knotting books. We’re not talking heavy non con or dub con, but there is some stuff that is adjacent to that. The scenario in the second half of the book has some dub con/non con potential, but as much as possible, I tried to make this a ‘take the power back’ moment, BUT that might not be enough for you.
There’s an evil corporation that is absolutely evil, who makes things very hard for the MCs. No rape etc but there are assaults that happen off screen, a character’s birth control is removed. So they are serious bad guys with megalomaniacal, controlling, hateful aspirations. That starts on Chapter 21 and is the case until the end.
There is a scenario where the MC realises to do something she’s been asked to at work would mean assaulting an unconscious shifter and she refuses, but that could push some buttons.
There is also a moment where the MC, using some psychic powers, gets carried away and pushes one of the male leads to do something to another character that he doesn’t enjoy, but he puts a stop to that.
So I wouldn’t consider this an especially ‘safe’ book and the dark elements are relatively tame compared to others, but if concerned, I’d talk to someone you trust and who has read the book and make sure you’re cool with reading it.
Protect your mental health and yourself. There’s plenty of other paranormal crazy out there for you to entertain you.
Chapter 1
He woke me, as he often did, when the full moon was up. Max, my Husky, was the first to wake, the clatter of his nails on the hardwood floor of my bedroom enough to jerk me awake. Buster, the retriever cross, moved sluggishly when Max got up, walking over to the big picture window across from my bed.
A howl rang through the night air, cutting through the peace and quiet, alerting the whole valley to the wolf’s presence on my land.
Could any being convey a complete and utter feeling of longing and need in their voice like a wolf? The long, ululating sound drew out until everyone knew exactly how he felt.
But also how I felt—lonely, wanting what I couldn’t have, and miserable, even though I knew it was pointless. But I had no throat with which to voice it. Instead, I grit my teeth hard.
“Shut up, Jai,” I said, punching my pillow and flopping back down on to it, then wrapping another around my head when it didn’t stop. “Just shut up.”
Chapter 2
“It’s OK, it’ll all be OK,” I crooned, running my hand along his furry flank.
Rex, the Gordons’ beautiful German Shepherd, panted frantically as he lay on the stainless steel bench.
“That’s good. Keep talking to him,” Stuart, the vet, said as he slid an oxygen mask over the dog’s muzzle. “Blood pressure’s starting to stabilise. Keep going. Tell him what a good boy he is.”
I moved around the table to the dog’s head, stroking those plush black ears as I mumbled the kind of nonsense people do to dogs, but that wasn’t what was helping Rex hold on while the vet and the nurses worked, it was this.
I dove into the dog’s mind, his thoughts and feelings a maelstrom of fear and pain. Rex didn’t understand what had happened, though I’d heard he got clipped by a car from the Gordons when they brought his limp body into the practice.
Emergency was the bit I hated the most about working at the vets. This dog was a big, strong athlete, usually running into the surgery on light feet. Not like this, weak as a puppy when I needed him to fight the hardest.
Janey, the receptionist and my friend, quickly took Rex’s details down as he was admitted, but I walked over, unable to stop my hand going to the dog’s side and Mr Gordon’s shoulder.
“It’ll be OK,” I said.
“You’re the vet? An SUV going much too fast just plowed into him and—”
“Mr Gordon?” Stuart said, coming out into the reception area. “I’m Stuart Wilson, your vet. Bring Rexy through, and we’ll see to him straight away.”
“So who is…?” the man asked as Stuart approached.
“This is Shannon, one of our colleagues. She has an amazing manner with animals, keeps them calm and happy when they wouldn’t otherwise be able to. Now, let me take your boy. We’ll do our very best for him.”
“That’s my boy, my very good boy,” I told Rex as I dropped in deeper.
For a moment, I was alone with my heartbeat and that tremulous feeling of doubt. Would I be able to help Rex? Keep him hanging on until Stuart could restore the equilibrium to his traumatised body? I’d done this hundreds of times, but the doubts always came.
We hold them in our hands, Nan said in my mind. Hold them gently, care for them, but be ready to let go when the time comes.
Not this time. Not Rex, I swore to myself.
Animals, after being hit by cars, often go into shock, their bodies shutting down all non-essential functions to try and survive the impact of what has happened. It was a dangerous time, one where a dog that did not appear to have severe injuries could still end up dying due to not being stabilised through the process.
Rex’s mind was both chaotic and sluggish, like wading through a thick current as I sank into it. I kept repeating the calm, soothing words, but they felt like pissing in the wind right now. His heart was beating so fast yet his blood pressure was dropping. I took a long, deep breath, feeling Rex unconsciously imitate me as I did so. I closed my eyes and then pushed out.
You are loved.
Patients like Rex were easier to help, as it was clear to see that the Gordons cared desperately for their dog. My words exploded inside him, and then I watched their effects ripple out.
As the feeling behind them was understood and picked up, I got to see first-hand a million little memories pop up. Dogs live in the now, so it was as if this was all happening at once. Countless games of fetch, the strong, exhilarating feeling of his body as it strove with everything he had to catch that small spherical object. Snuggles by the fire, that puppy-like sensation of fingers being raked through his thick fur over and over, and with it, the feeling of love.
Deep and abiding, never wavering, even when his humans walked past him, ignoring the balls he dropped at their feet or when he sat neatly like the goodest of boys. Rather, that love just swelled all the more intensely as Rexy strove that extra bit harder to earn his people’s attention, blossoming to almost dizzying heights when they did reciprocate. I bit back tears as I felt it—eternal, intense love. Animals, with their short lives, seemed to burn that much brighter than humans.
“Are you OK?” Nick, the vet nurse, asked as he came over to the table.
“Sure,” I said. “How’s Rex doing?”
“He’s stable enough to take into X-ray,” Stuart said. “Let’s get him on a drip, then sedated and see what we’re dealing with. Good work, Shan. We’ve gotta put aside some time to collect some data on that reiki stuff you’ve been doing. I always thought complementary medicine was a load of old bollocks, but you’ve seriously got something there. We could—”
“Doc, we need to get Rex moved,” Nick said.
“What? Oh, right, of course.”