Dire Warning

Eternal Wolf Clan #0.5

by Stephanie Tyler

A breathtaking new tale of the Dire Wolves, from the bestselling author of Dire Needs…

Immortal and invincible, Rifter is the head of the last surviving pack of Dire Wolves—a band of Alpha brothers charged with protecting the Weres. But now that witches have joined forces with nefarious weretrappers, it’s a perfect storm for double trouble. When the murder of a human points to a wolf, along with the threat of the packs being outted to the world, the Dires fear that something even more dangerous is out there hiding in the dark, something waiting for the right time to show itself.

Includes a letter from the author and a teaser chapter from Dire Needs.

Genres: Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Shapeshifters, Werewolves, Novella, Romance, Fantasy

102 pages, ebook

First published February 7, 2012

About the author

New York Times Bestselling author Stephanie Tyler writes what she loves to read - romantic suspense novels starring military heroes and paranormal romance novels novels starring warrior heroes, all complete with happy endings. She also writes as SE Jakes.

And because she's not busy enough, she also co-writes as Sydney Croft. She lives in New York with her husband, her kids and her crazy Weimaraner, Gus.

For more information on Stephanie, please visit www.stephanietyler.com or email her at stephanie@stephanietyler.com.

For more information on SE Jakes, please visit SEJakes.com.

For more information on Sydney, please visit www.sydneycroft.com or email Sydney at sydney@sydneycroft.com

Reviews

[Dark Faerie Tales · Rating 1 out of 5]

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A short and sweet introduction of each of the Dire wolves during a murder investigation on Valentine’s Day.

Opening Sentence: “Remind me again why we came here tonight?” Vice asked again for the millionth time, unable to shelve his discontent at being forced out during a human holiday celebrating everything the Dire wolves couldn’t have.

The Review:

This is a novella referred to as a prequel. It’s not. Prequel implies a background story to the main series. Maybe how the Dire wolves came to be. Maybe going through the time of their Extinction, when most of the Dire wolves were wiped out. Maybe even cover how the last of the Dire wolves were able to find each other. Unfortunately, none of the above are covered. All this novella brings to the table is for those that like to be teased with a story before committing to a novel.

Dire Warning is about a group known as the Dire wolves who all go to a bar on Valentine’s Day. Their leader, Rifter, has a premonition that something bad will happen there and he makes them all go to check it out. They whine and grumble and joke about the “human” holiday of Valentine’s and then leave. Later, they find out there was a body of a murdered human found out back from the bar and it looks like a werewolf did it.

The Dire wolves are bigger, stronger, and more volatile than their werewolf cousins. They are charged by their Elders, or spiritual leaders, to watch over the Weres, or “normal” werewolf shapeshifters, to keep them safe and away from the human spotlight. Obviously, they failed in this situation. Now the Dire wolves need to scramble and clean up this mess. That includes dealing with a human named Bill, a self-proclaimed supernatural scientist, from releasing what he calls irrefutable evidence that werewolves exist.

It’s an alright story, short and to the point while introducing the reader to a new band of biker wolves. But, I repeat, NOT a prequel. Everything you learn about the main characters in this novella are reiterated in the first book of the series, Dire Needs. If you enjoy sexy alpha males, uncontrollable fits of rage, and shapeshifters, this may be a series you might like. If you are interested, just read the first book of the series and leave this one alone. If you LOVE the new series and can’t get enough of the Dire wolves, still don’t get this novella. You gain no insight. I hope that Stephanie Tyler writes more novellas for this series. I just hope she makes it worth our while.

Notable Scene:

And Jinx and Rifter were stuck headed to some old house to investigate the paranormal.

Elders help us all.

“Make sure you don’t get in any camera shots tonight,” Bill was warning him and Rifter now.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Rifter said as professionally as possibly, mainly to cover the sound of Jinx’s low growl.

How Rifter was managing this shit without ripping Bill’s head off was fascinating to Jinx. A testament to the wolf’s patience, and the reason Jinx and the others called the alpha their leader, despite their own alpha status.

The Eternal Wolf Clan Series:

0.5. Dire Warning

1. Dire Needs

FTC Advisory: I purchased my own copy of Dire Warning. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. I only get paid in hugs and kisses from my little boys.

[Kimberly Rocha~ Book Obsessed Chicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Stephanie Tyler's new Shifter series novella Dire Warning, we are introduced to our Dires Wolves, Alpa Dire Rifter, Vice, Jinx and Stray along with Weres the Dires have "adopted" Cyd and Cain. The Dires have taken it upon themselves to be the protectors between the human and Were population and to make sure that the Shifters remain unknown to humans.


It's Valentine's Day and Dire Alpha, Rifter and the other Dire Wolves are out because Rifter has an inkling that some trouble is in the air. He walks into the bar Bite to find human and Weres alike mixing, which is not an ideal situation.

Nothing much but a bar fight actually happens while at Bite, but afterwards they find there was a murder of a human female reportedly done by a "werewolf". The murder itself evidently was caught on tape by a paranormal medium, who is now hiding said tape.

Rifter and his Dire Wolves set out to find out who killed the human female, who's ghost has now attached herself to Jinx and Vice. The main suspect being Bill, the medium who was Paula, the murdered female's boss and friend. Or was he?

What a great introduction for a very hot series! Weres are very hot and these bad boy bikers don't disappoint. Stephanie's new and innovative look at the mythical beings captures your attention from the get go and doesn't let go. I hope you all enjoy this great new story in the Eternal Wolf Clan series by Stephanie Tyler as much as I did. Release date for this novella is February 7, 2012.

[Francesca the Fierce (Under the Covers Book Blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was posted at Under The Covers

I cannot tell you how much I've been dying to dive into this series! The premise of it is so interesting. First of all it has two of my most favorite things, werewolves and bad boy bikers. This combination is bound to make this a kick-ass series.

I liked the fact we got this prequel because it takes care of explaning the world of the Weres and the Dire Wolves. The Dires are a group of to-die-for bad boys. They stumble upon a human's death that is being called a werewolf attack. Now it's their job to protect the secrecy of the supernatural community and prove this claim wrong.

To do that they will have to infiltrate a Paranormal Investigation group, team up with a girl who can talk to ghosts and chase down some rogues.

I loved the fact that the Dires also have some extra abilities. I know the first book in this series is about the Dires Alpha, Rifter, but even though we got to see some of him in this story we also got to focus on other members of the team.

Definetely has me wanting more of these bad boys!

*ARC provided by publisher

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this prequel book to Stephanie's new series - we get to meet most of the 6 Dires Wolves. The Alpha Leader Rifter, and Vice, Jinx and Stray along with a couple of Weres they have taken in Cyd and Cain.

There has been a murder of a human woman named Paula and its being called a werewolf attack. Rifter and the guys know this isnt the truth and go into clean up mode to figure out the truth and destroy any evidence the humans may have.

Each Dire has a special gift. Jinx's is he see's ghost. He is able to see Paula's ghost but she isnt speaking to him. Rifter and Jinx find out that Paula worked for a guy named Bill who claims he all knowledgeable in the paranormal. They then convince him he needs there help as body guards to get close to him to find a tape he says he has that proves a werewolf killed Paula.

At the institute they meet Marley who can really see ghost and realize Bill is a total fraud. They finally figure out what really happened to Paula..

This was a very good prequel book as it gave us alot of background information on the Dire Wolves, we got to know a little about each of the guys in the pack and I am thinking maybe even a future heroine.

I am looking forward to Rifter's book that comes out next month.

[Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really had trouble getting into this, the only reason I kept going was that it was a book that loads of friends had read and enjoyed and of course being a novella meant it wouldn't take very long. There was no romance in this, it really was just to introduce the characters of the series and we was bombarded with information.

I decided to carry on with the series as on a whole it had received good ratings so started reading Dire Needs straight after and ended up abandoning the book at 47%.....That doesn't necessarily mean that it was bad, I just wasn't enjoying it and it wasn't to my tastes so don't let my opinion put you off as it seems that I am in the minority :(

[Jo (My House of Books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing world building with all each of the six main characters earning a point of view in this e-book short. Because of the world building and multiple characters, it was confusing and a bit overwhelming, so I hope Dire Needs goes into greater detail.

[Charlie Court · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

I found this as a good start for a series. I like how it was more of a who done it. I would recommend it it short, but it I’ll let you know about the characters in the upcoming series.

[May Mostly Romance · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dire Warning ของสเตฟานี ไทเลอร์

ถือเป็นเล่มที่ศูนย์แล้วกันนะคะ ในชุด Eternal Wolf Clan ซึ่งน่าจะเป็นเรื่องเริ่มต้นแนะนำคาแร็คเตอร์ในชุด และแบ็คกราวด์ต่าง ๆ ในเรื่อง แต่ความจริงก็คือ เล่มนี้น่าผิดหวังมาก และบอกตามตรงว่า ถ้าแม็กซ์ไม่ได้มีความเชื่อมั่นในตัวสเตฟานี ไทเลอร์ (จากการเขียนเรื่องแนวโรแมนติคสืบสวน) มาก่อน เราคงจะไม่หยิบเล่มต่อ ๆ ไปในชุดนี้มาอ่านแน่ ๆ เพราะประเด็นเรื่องนี้อ่านแล้วสับสน ไม่น่าสนใจ และยิ่งทำให้งงว่า อะไรเป็นอะไรกันแน่

อย่างที่เกริ่นไปค่ะ เรื่องนี้เริ่มต้นแบบไม่ได้วางแบ็คกราวด์ให้คนอ่านเลย แถมยังระดมเอาคาแร็คเตอร์ต่าง ๆ มาปรากฎตัวในเรื่อง ทั้งที่เล่มนี้เป็นแค่เรื่องสั้นไม่ได้ยาวมากนัก ทำให้ประเด็น หรือพล็อตเรื่องไม่ได้รับการพัฒนาเท่าที่ควร แถมการที่มีตัวละครพาเหรดเดินแถวกันมามากมาย ก็ทำให้โฟกัสของเรื่องไม่ชัดเจน อ่านแล้วก็จำไม่ค่อยได้ว่า ใครเป็นใคร

พล็อตเรื่องก็ง่าย ๆ ค่ะ มีการพบศพคนตาย ที่ดูเหมือนถูกหมาป่าทำร้าย ก็เลยทำให้กลุ่มของพระเอก ซึ่งเป็นพวก Dire ต้องเข้ามาจัดการ ความแตกต่างระหว่าง Dire และ Wolf ในเล่มนี้ก็ไม่ได้บอกชัดเจนหรอกนะคะ เรามาเข้าใจมากขึ้นก็ตอนที่อ่านเล่มหนึ่ง (Dire Needs) นั่นก็คือ Dire เป็นเผ่าพันธุ์ที่เทพเจ้าสร้างขึ้นมาก่อน แต่พวกนี้กับโอหัง และพยามยามสร้างความเป็นใหญ่ด้วยก��รทำร้ายมนุษย์เพื่อต้องการครองโลก ทั้งหมดจึงถูกลงโทษด้วยการฆ่าล้างเผ่าพันธุ์ และเหลือพวก Dire แค่หกคน ซึ่งก็คือกลุ่มของพระเอกนั่นเอง

พวก Dire ที่เหลือถูกสั่งให้คุ้มครองมนุษย์ และพวกวูลฟ์ ซึ่งเป็นเผ่าพันธุ์ที่สร้างขึ้นมาทีหลัง แข็งแกร่งน้อยกว่า และไม่ถึงกับเป็นอมตะ (ในขณะที่ Dire ที่เหลือเป็นอมตะ)

ดังนั้นเมื่อพบศพ พวก Dire จึงเข้ามาสืบหาความจริง ก่อนที่เรื่องราวจะลุกลามใหญ่โต จนความจริงเกี่ยวกับมนุษย์หมาป่าจะเปิดเผยให้สังคมส่วนรวมรู้ การสืบสวนนำพวกเขาไปพบกับชมรมมนุษย์ผู้สนใจเรื่องราวเหนือธรรมชาติ ที่ซึ่งหญิงสาวที่เสียชีวิตทำงานให้ หัวหน้าชมรมอ้างว่า เขามีเทปที่ยืนยันการมีอยู่จริงของมนุษย์หมาป่า นั่นยิ่งทำให้เหตุการณ์ตึงเครียดมากขึ้น

เล่มนี้เหมือนการแนะนำตัวละครค่ะ เรียกว่าทุกคนปรากฎตัวกันหมด แล้วลองคิดแล้วกันว่า นี่เป็นแค่เรื่องสั้น ที่ต้องมีพล็อตเรื่องของตัวเอง แต่ยังต้องแบ่งเวลามาพูดถึงคาแร็คเตอร์ทั้งหมดในเรื่อง ทำให้ส่วนผสมออกมาดูผิดปกติ และไม่ทำให้ใครสักคนโดดเด่นขึ้นมาเลย

มันไม่น่าสนใจขนาดที่ว่า แม็กซ์ถามตัวเองเลยนะว่า จะหยิบเอาเล่มแรกในชุดมาอ่านดีไหมเนี่ย แต่สุดท้ายก็ด้วยความเชื่อใจในคนเขียนค่ะ ก็เลยลองหยิบมาอ่าน ซึ่งถือว่าเป็นการตัดสินใจที่ถูกต้องในระดับนึง เพราะแม้จะไม่สนุกเท่ากับแนวโรแมนติคสืบสวนของเธอ แต่ก็ไม่ได้แย่เหมือนกับเล่มนี้

[Lisbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not good or bad, just od.

[Melindeeloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is the Dire Wolves duty to keep werewolves in line, and to protect humans from their unruly 'cousins'. So when a human woman is found murdered and a the leader of a 'paranormal research center' claims that she was murdered by a werewolf and that he has a tape that proves such creatures really exist, the Dires must step in to find the killer as well as making sure that the tape doesn't see the light of day and 'out' the existence of the hidden paranormal world.

Dire Warning was a challenge to get into at the start. There were a zillion bad boy alphas characters with oddball names like Reiver, Jinx, Vice, Stray, Cyd - and each had a Brother Wolf which was their wolf side as well and it was hard to keep everyone straight. Plus there was also a fair amount of world building to absorb with Dire Wolves, their history, Werewolves, other shape shifters, and ghosts but even with all of that the author seems to have only scratched the surface of her world.

Overall I did end up enjoying the hunt for the killer and the interactions between the Dires and the Weres. I was a little surprised that there wasn't really any romance in this warmup to Stephanie Tyler's new Eternal Wolf Clan series, sincd Tyler writes romantic supsense I was expecting that her new shape shifter series would be Paranormal romantic suspense. But it probably was a good thing that she didn't try to squeeze a quicky romance into this short, and instead saved it for the first book which definitely looks to be a romance from a quick skim of the teaser for Dire Needs included at the end. Dire Needs will be out in March, with another book, Dire Wants, to follow in the Fall.

[PepperP0t · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75stars really
This prequel to the series origin introduces the six remaining Dire Wolves (Rifter, Rogue, Harmony, Vice, Jinx & Stray), whose species was eliminated during a time referred to as The Extinction. Rifter's crew (minus Rogue and Harmony) are front and center along with their protégés (were twins Cyd & Cain) as they investigate a human murder that were's have been accused of committing. The Dires are certain the murders were committed by a human and staged to look as if a were committed them as part of a trap by the were-trappers and witches determined to eliminate them all. Rifter and company have to insinuate themselves in the investigation to ensure there is no evidence of were existence once again doing their part to protect humankind.
It took a bit for me to understand the rules of this world but it was definitely a fast paced and easy to follow read. Although this novella seemed completely self contained (and I liked the little twist), I wasn't fully satisfied with it but can't put my finger on why I felt that way. I liked the overall introduction and the layered personalities of the Dires. Each of them bring a little something extra to the party aside from their arrogant alpha-ness and the ability to exude machismo wherever they go. I fell under the Dire's spell almost immediately and am oh so very excited to get to the full length novel.

[Tehrene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a couple of the other reviews and still read the book. Also I didnt read dire needs first, so had no expectations. I am not sure want everyones beef was about the book. Its a novella, no there was no underlying romance that entailed a brief steamy sexcape. There was no rushed plot and anticlimatic resolution because there was no harping on the hero and heroine's reason for not wanting to be together and their make-up sex. Or their happily ever after.
This was a novella about a situation that presented itself to the Dires and how they worked together to keep the supernatural community as a whole from being exposed. It built on the characters that would most likely appear later in books. And it left the future open for the book that was written before and after.
My only beef with the book was the undefined beginnings and endings of different POVs. One minute I would be reading from Rifter's POV then get past a couple of sentence and realized that it was Vice, Marley or Jinx's POV. Other than that I enjoyed and flew through the novella and will now start Dire Needs.

[Obsessed · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This is the book I've read by Stephanie Tyler, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm a sucker for shape-shifting Alpha males anyway, and there appears to be plenty here. It's a little confusing trying to keep everybody straight, but I'm used to having to do that with new series.

I won't go into details about the story, but I will say I was sucked in right away. I love that they seem to have a sense of humor about them, screwing with each other like old friends normally do. There was a sex scene, but I skimmed over it because I wanted to get back to the main story. (Weird, right?!?)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to digging into really soon. I hope I'm not disappointed. :-)

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good! I had won an ARC of DIRE NEEDS a few weeks ago and LOVED it. What I really enjoyed about DIRE WARNING is the connection we the reader get to make with Vice and Jinx since DIRE NEEDS was mainly about Rifter. I'm beginning to wonder if the kitty shifter has something to do with Vice's internal pain we catch a glimpse of in NEEDS. I'm really falling for these guys. They may think humans are weak and kind of worthless but they seem to take very good care of us so I think much of that apparent dislike isn't really true ;).
This is a novella about a murdered human female. Her murder is made to appear as a werewolf attack. The Dires step in to solve the problem and cover the possible exposure of weres.
Very enjoyable read.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Dire Warning" by Stephanie Tyler. Book 0.5 (a special prequel) of the Eternal Wolf Clan trilogy.

I liked this novella. It was a good introduction to the main characters of the series. It gives a lot of background on the powers that each Dire Wolf has and focuses more on three out of the six mentioned.

The leader is Rifter and his pack are Vice, Jinx, Stray, Rogue and Harm. The three this story focuses on is Rifter, Vice and Jinx.

The storyline is a murder mystery and the Dire Wolves are on the case to make sure that Weres are not exposed to the humans. The pacing is very quick and to the point. And for a novella, at the end, I had an "awww, sad" moment.

I liked this novella enough to give the whole trilogy a try.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a little prequel teaser to Stephanie Tyler's new PNR series - book 1, Dire Needs is released in a few weeks.

I love Stephanie's writing whether it's under her own name or as part of the writing duo that is Sydney Croft (with Larissa Ione) so I expected big things from this and I loved it!
Once I got to grip with the differences between Werewolves & Dire Wolves I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I really like Rifter and I can't wait to get to know him better! I had a little shiver go down my spine at the end, I'm so tempted to read the chapter of Dire Needs but that's a whole other level of torture!

[Darcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not sure what to think of this little short. It does a good job of introducing a new series, the characters and the world, but I was still a little confused. The characters, or maybe I should say the Dire's, names bothered me. They were so out there, I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. I really liked Marley and hope she is featured in the main stories. I also would like to know more about the Dire's background. All in all, though, this short has made me more interested to read the first book. I am hoping the questions and confusion will be cleared up with it.

[Ann Lorz · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first started this book I found it confusing. The author spent a lot of time jumping from one character's thoughts to another. A few chapters in I finally found the rhythm and could figure out, who was who. Once that happened I found myself enjoying the story much more. It might take awhile to get into it but by the end of the story it's worth it. I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series but will tell you that this really had no romantic story in it. It's almost feels like the first few chapters of a story that has a ending. A look into the dire world.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good start.
i like the idea of Immortal Beings that watch over humanity while suffering because their duty denies them what they need.
it make a sad but good story.
like how Slayers in the Buffyverse has to give up their chance at a normal like and a family for the sake of keeping others safe while knowing that their duty will kill them one day and no one will ever know what they sacrificed so that others could live not knowing what was in the dark.
there's other examples out there.
i just can't think of any more off the top of my head.

[Styles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I presume you know what the book is about, I'm letting you know what I liked or disliked about it.

I enjoy Ms. Tyler's book a great deal. I've been looking forward to the first book in the Dire series since I first learned of it. This ebook special edition was a pleasant surprise and so I quick snapped it up.

It was okay - no great shakes, but I suppose it was a nice enough introduction to the cast, the landscape, and the overall vibe of the story.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good novella, stands alone not just an excuse for extra world-building. Really good way to meet all the Dire Wolves and get to know them.

Edit: I found the use of acronyms when referring to paranormal research confusing because in my mind I associate PNR as paranormal romance, I was understandably confused when people were said to be "well respected in the PNR field".

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this prequel novella and getting to know the Dire wolves a bit. I look forward to Dire Needs, the first book in Stephanie Tyler's Eternal Wolf Clan series. The Dire wolves are alpha to the extreme and after reading the excerpt I can't wait for Rifter's book. I give Dire Warning 3.5 stars.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very confused at the beginning of this story. There were a lot of different people thrown at you at once and it was frustrating. However, I stuck with it and was rewarded with a very cool short story. I really liked the last two-thirds of the book. The excerpt for Dire Needs, at the back of the book, has me wanting it even sooner.

[Barbara ★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man what a start to a terrific series. These Dire wolves are just to die for yummy. I love me some bad boys and these guys certainly fit the bill. I'm off to start book 3 Dire Desires - Jinx's HEA. Yay.

[E_bookpushers]

I am going to wait and see how it set up the first novel. I am seeing one reason why authors use a pen name because I kept looking for the romance... Interesting characters and set-up but still overall undecided.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly world building and all of the characters are thrown at you simultaneously which created a confusing start. Overall I was disappointed with the prequel. Hoping Dire Needs is a more enticing read.

[Scooper Speaks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story introduces a world which includes werewolves, Dires (alpha werewolves), vampires and ghosts. I wasn't overly thrilled with it, but the story showed on my nook as 85 pages long. If I'd known it was that short I prob. wouldn't have bought it.

[Latte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really hope to God the actual first book in the series is better than this prequel because I really did not care for this. There wasn't much that drew me to wanting to know more about any of these characters. The storyline was bleh. I was really surprised it was a Stephanie Tyler title.

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this novel and when I was half way through, I already knew the killer was not Were and was a human male. I could give you a name too but you'll find out when you read it!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable. This is the first I have read of Stephanie Tyler although I have read Sydney Croft and thoroughly enjoyed that too. This is a really interesting world with a group of Direwolves I'm looking forward to reading more about.