Alpha's Hidden Gem

by Waverly Sage

I’m an Alpha werewolf masquerading as a human health inspector,
And she’s the fiery food truck owner who’s about to shatter my carefully controlled world.

She’s the spitfire human who challenges my authority,
Ignites my desires, and unknowingly holds the key to our pack’s future.

My duty as Alpha demands I maintain order and secrecy,
Even if it means shutting down Lila’s beloved food truck.

She’s fighting tooth and nail to keep her dream alive,
Oblivious to the supernatural world around her.

Neither of us anticipated the magnetic pull between us,
A force that defies all reason and pack law.

However, our love story is far from simple.
A powerful rival challenges my leadership, using Lila as leverage.

When she’s kidnapped, I’m forced to reveal the truth about our world,
Knowing it could drive her away forever or bind us irrevocably.

Failing to protect her would leave me with an eternal ache,
My wolf forever howling for its lost mate.

409 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 18, 2024

Reviews

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start to The Crescent Moon Pack series when the moon goddess steps in putting two people together well it isn’t much, they can do but go along 😊. Lila is human proud owner of a food truck who loves cooking Italian dishes like her grandmother taught her well mostly pizza with a dream of owning her own restaurant one day but until she takes pride in her food truck, doing well or so she thought until one day the health inspector shows up, and she ends up with fines less than favorable review with a week to bring everything up to par. Axel sexy as all get out alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack works as a health inspector who received an anonymous tip but arriving instantly realizes she is his mate his wolf gives him a hard time but she knows nothing about their kind not to mention the fact his pack or rouges causing trouble and when she comes to him for help in getting her truck up to where it needs to be he knows she is in danger offering to help is his way of protecting her but also it keeps his wolf calm if only for a moment. The magnetic pull between them can’t be ignored no matter how hard he tries but the harder he tries the stronger the pull grows and the more his wolf demands his mate but how long can he keep the two worlds apart, will she accept all of him or will she run when she learns the truth, will she accept that there werewolves living in their town, what about the pack, what about her food truck, and will they get the HEA?

[Victoria Golby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely start to a new series by Waverly Sage

This is a great start to "The Crescent Moon Pack" series, with wolf shifters, other shifters, magic, drama, action, sabotage, humor, friendship, romance, love, fated mates and some good twists.

Lila is worried about the health inspector due to visit her food truck. She's tried to follow every rule in the book to ensure her place is the best so doesn’t really understand why he's coming. Axel has had an anonymous tip about the food truck but when he arrives he's more worried about his wolf, who is telling him that the owner is his mate, despite the fact she's human.

When she goes to him to get a review of the changes she's made they both try to deny the attraction they feel, but agree to a friendship, and Axel offers to help her improve her venue. But he's the Alpha of the local pack and rogues are starting to cause problems. Axel is torn between his duty to his pack as leader and his desire to be with his mate, how long can he keep the two worlds apart and how will she react when she discovers the truth; that there are werewolves and others living in their little town.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

FMC Lila is a feisty and independent woman who owns and operates a food truck. She is determined to keep tradition alive by creating pizza and other dishes using recipes taught and passed down to her by her beloved grandmother.

MMC Axel is not only the health inspector who drives her crazy but the Alpha of the Crescent Moon werewolf pack who resides in town and protects people who live there. After a rocky food truck inspection and a few other encounters, Axel finds himself and his wolf are overwhelmingly drawn to Lila and recognize her as their mate. He is torn about this at first because his first priority has always been his pack and his responsibilities as Alpha.

There are other forces at work in and around their town as Axel and his pack deal with attacks from what seems to be a group of troublesome rogue werewolves. This becomes even more pressing to him as Lila is involved in a dangerous situation and Axel must take drastic measures to protect her and deal with the rogues.

This was a great read and I am definitely interested in learning more about the Crescent Moon pack as well as the history and lore of this storyline. Both Lila and Axel are very passionate and protective of who and what is important to them, and they made a great couple.

[Manuela Molteni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alpha's Hidden Gem: A Wolf Shifter Enemies to Lovers Romance by Waverly Sage is like ordering your favorite coffee but getting it with an extra shot of "I've tasted this before." If you've wandered through the sprawling world of shifter romances—like I have—you might feel a little déjà vu. Don’t get me wrong, the story is well-written, and the pacing moves along with the ease of a breezy afternoon read. But does it break new ground or deliver that gut-wrenching emotional rollercoaster that leaves you clutching your e-reader in a swoon? Not quite.

The plot is familiar, comfortable even, but it lacks that extra bite (pun intended) that could have made it unforgettable. While the chemistry between our leads sparks decently, the surrounding cast seems to blur together in a fog of "who was that again?" I suspect these characters will be fleshed out in future books, but right now, they’re more background noise than fully formed personalities. If you're here for a quick fix of shifter drama with enemies becoming lovers (always a guilty pleasure), you'll probably enjoy it. But if you’re craving something that will shake up your shifter-loving heart, this gem might need a little more polish.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lila is the proud owner of a food truck where she makes pizzas from recipes her grandmother taught her. Axel is a heath inspector who gives her a less than favorable review of her establishment and gives her a week to bring things up to snuff. But Axel is much more than a city employee, he is the alpha of a local wolf pack and they are having problems with rogues. Problems that are coming closer and closer to the human population. Discovering that Lila, a human, is his mate, is about to make things even more hazardous for Axel. His pack is not going to want him spilling all their secrets to a human, but he can't stay away from her and he is sure she is in danger.

There seem to be a lot of loose ends and confusion in this story that made it hard to for me to keep my focus. That said, I still look forward to reading other stories in the series. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dorrita Winch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lila Taylor our beautiful human MFC, has a dream of one day having a Resturant. But for now all her time and energy goes into her “Taylor-Made Pizza” food truck, in honor of her Italian Nonna (grandmother).
Axel Anderson is our big handsome wolf shifter MMC. To the humans in
Millfields, he’s simply a Health Inspector. To his pack he’s an exceptional pack leader, their Alpha.
They are true fated mates. But the pack has to be kept secret and away from the world. Axel thinks he can ignore their fated draws but finds himself unable too. Now his packs questioning his leadership, there’s a rogue uprising and someone’s after his mate and him.
Full of intrigue, threats, kidnappings, arson, fightings and more. Through it all can they survive and be together with the packs blessings?.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was an engaging enjoyable romance story that is about Axel an alpha werewolf who is a health inspector and Lila a human who owns and runs a pizza food truck. This story grabbed me since I'd use to worked in the pizza business myself, so I was able to connect to Lila's devotion to her honoring Nonna and the business and those dreaded heath inspections. This was an entertaining story as Lila unknowably becomes the focus between two werewolves and the romantic interest of Axel. This romantic interest is frowned upon from his pack. This story was dramatic, romantic and entertaining to read with likable characters in this copy I'd received and volunteer to review.

[Nicole Deanne Veracruz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like just had a really good storyline. But the writing just didn't come together for me. They jump from axle being a uptight inspector riding Lila up for all these violations to him suddenly wanting to do everything for her and help her. After Lila was taken and rescued she had a phone call with Sophie which is odd considering she dropped her phone when she was being snatched. And then after her food truck burns down she has another phone call with Sophie and the way the phone call plays out it was almost like it was the first phone call.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok read!

This was an ok story but not one of my favorites. Wasn't as well put together as I normally like or have read from this Author. Lila and Axel seemed to be all over the place from instant dislike to insta-love. The spiciness was a 2 in my opinion and it kind of ended on a HEAFN.. The story had plenty missing parts and seemed to jump from scene to scene without any type of resolution. Like what was the deal with Gio. Not sure if other books are coming after this one but hopefully there will be closure for what has already taken place.

[Laurie · Rating 1 out of 5]

You quite know you don’t go for a prized novel when you open this kind of book, but this very well might be one of the most terrible book I’ve tried to read.
The « ennemies to lover » is laughable : two pages of an illogical and unbelievable argument, then we switch to some flirt.
The mfc is « scared to ruin the friendship » which they actually haven’t built since they just started to get to know each other.
Terribly repetitive.
During her captivity, our genius fmc steals SHOELACE to one of her captor. Who obviously isn’t bothered enough to notice.

Anyway. Hard pass.

[G Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lila is a human who runs an Italian food truck using her grandmother's recipes.
Alex is a food inspector as well as the local alpha who inspects her truck and finds lots of problems that he sites her for.
There is masses going on in this book with plenty of twists and turns but ultimately it is a story of love conquering all.
I thoughtly enjoyed this book and can happily recommend it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Pearl Trumbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alpha's Hidden Gem

This book was so much fun to read. The characters had so much chemistry from the very beginning. The ups downs, and twists kept me reading through the night. Page after page was so exciting. I loved how the plot kept changing.
These characters expressed their fee!ing the way it should be with love, honesty, and trust in each other. Absolutely a great book to get lost in.
Totally recommend reading

[Jennifer Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating book, couldn't put it down. A story of facing your fears head on and trusting those around you to have your back. Lila chases her dreams of running a food truck. The health inspector flips her world upside-down just when she's got her dreams in her hands. Together they face the impossible.

[L KQ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpected Human Mate

While Lila and Axel butt heads initially due to circumstances surrounding the safety of humans from rogues, they are continuously brought together. This story had danger, suspense, fated mates, and a whole lot of intrigue. It was an entertaining read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[ajscenic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this first book in the series about the Crescent Moon Pack’s alpha, Axel and his human mate Lila.
I loved Lila’s quiet, loyal but feisty nature and how Axel tries to resist her.
This is a well-written story that has plenty of action, steam, and romance, but brings into this story an overarching and very interesting plot, to span the rest of this series.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Axel and Lila’s story has them meeting when her food truck is hit with fines from a health inspector. She goes to him for help and that’s when his wolf knows she’s his mate but she’s human and knows nothing of the shifter world. He tries to resist the bond but he only hurts himself/his wolf.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Felicity Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fantasy romance

I enjoyed this book very detailed drama fantasy romance I liked the main characters having started on bad footing and been drawn to each other and him helping and saving her very nice read

[Caitlin Morris-Seeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolf shifters, fated mates, rogues and hunters, and a girl that just wants to make some pizza! Fast paced and enjoyable through the end!