cold moon coverRating: 4 stars
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Length: Novel

 

Dante Reid has never fit in with his pack. They are violent and cruel and his father was the worst of all. Dante can’t forgive them attacking the neighboring Grove pack or kidnapping one of their omegas. That is why he helped Brook escape. But now his pack has turned on him and Dante is gravely injured when he is rescued by the Grove pack alpha. Linden saved Dante and he is recovering in the clinic under the care of Linden’s assistant, Skye. Dante can’t imagine the Groves will keep him around once he is able to stand on his own two feet again, but he can’t help but wish he could find a pack like this one, where everyone is kind and cares for one another.

Skye has grown up with the Condition, a rare disorder affecting only omegas. While Skye mostly has it under control with help of a strict diet and good medical care, it doesn’t stop everyone in his pack from treating him as fragile. Skye feels near smothered as everyone is always worried about him and checking up on him. When Dante comes into the clinic, Skye can’t help but be drawn to the man. The two strike up a friendship while Dante is recovering, and Skye finds it refreshing that Dante doesn’t treat him like he is going to break. The pair start to build a relationship and both men are falling hard for each other. Neither man is quite sure they are enough for each other — Dante because of his former pack and Skye because of his health. But that doesn’t stop the feelings from growing between them.

As Dante heals, he is surprised and thrilled that the Grove pack is willing to accept him as one of their one, particularly given the role his pack played in their former alpha’s death and Brook’s kidnapping. Dante wants to help out the pack and puts his biology background to work, helping with the investigation into the Sterling Corporation and what they are doing to cause the omegas to get sick. No one has been able to prove anything yet, but the Groves know Sterling is involved. Unfortunately, Sterling also knows that the Groves are looking for the truth and they are not at all happy about it. With Sterling determined to stop them at all costs, it will take everything Dante and Skye have, plus an unlikely ally, to escape with their lives.

Cold Moon is the fourth book in Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes’ Wolf Moon Rising series. I read the first three books last year, but somehow let the last two get away from me, so I was excited to jump back into things again. While each book focuses on a new couple, there are two main overarching plots that have carried across the books. The first is the Grove pack’s fight with the Reids, who kidnapped Brook and attacked the Groves, killing their former alpha. The conflict with them seems mostly resolved by the time we get to this book, but the fallout lingers for Dante, as he was part of the Reid pack. It is clear Dante did all he could to help Brook and disagreed with everything his pack was doing, but not everyone in the Grove pack is quick to forgive him. So he has a lot of guilt around his past, as well as grief for the deaths of his mother and other pack omegas. Dante needs some time to adjust (as do the Groves), but it is nice to see him fitting in with a pack that cares about its members and ultimately welcomes him warmly.

The second major focus of the series is the Condition and the Grove’s growing understanding about the Sterling Corporation’s involvement. While they have suspected something for a while, no one has been clear exactly what Sterling is doing, why it is harming the omegas, and if it is intentional. Here we get resolution on most of those issues and it comes together well. There is some suspense, some interesting revelations, and some interesting twists to lead us into the last book. There are a few remaining things to address, but I think the authors did a nice job tying things together here and setting it all up for the final story.

I also enjoyed Dante and Skye together. Both men have some uncertainties about their desirability and it is sweet to see them find happiness with each other. Skye has been a major side character since the start of the series, so I really enjoyed getting his story here and seeing him find happiness with his new mate. The conflict here is mostly external, so things are pretty smooth for the men as a couple, but I think that works well given everything else going on.

I found this one an engaging installment in a fun series. This book sets things up for the final story and I am very intrigued by the MC for the final book. That one is already out and I’m am looking forward to seeing how the series concludes.

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