Lily Saburi and her best friend, Terry Hess, were partners in a psychic investigation agency. But when Terry is murdered working a routine haunting, Lily’s pain and need for vengeance lead her into a dangerous encounter with a vicious were. Bitten by the animal she has been hunting, Lily is rescued by the charismatic Sean Leighton, leader and now forced hunter of rogue members of his community infected with a deadly virus. Despite her wish to despise the supernatural creatures responsible for her friend’s death, Lily is unable to deny her attraction to Sean, while he, concerned with why she might be hunting his kind, is equally intrigued by the mystery he has discovered surrounding the beautiful psychic. But could Lily also now be infected with the pathogen turning Sean’s pack rabid and, if so, can a cure be found before he must kill the woman he’s falling in love with?
While I read a lot of books in the straight paranormal and horror genres, I’ve never been a big reader of paranormal romance. Likewise, though I’ve read a few, I generally read many more full-length novels than novellas. A reader whose favorite aspect of a story tends to be really in-depth character development, I figure that’s a much more difficult challenge in a shorter work. Author Marianne Morea does a fantastic job however, in just 136 pages, of making the reader really care about Lily and Sean and the frightening obstacle their relationship faces. The undue burden of guilt that fuels Lily’s obsession with revenge and her battle between her attraction to Sean and the repulsion she can’t help but feel for a species she’s seen tear to shreds her lifelong friend make her a complex and sympathetic character, while Sean’s own struggle with his feelings for Lily and his deep sense of responsibility for his pack make him equally human and compelling. Although I would have loved to see the attraction between the two grow into a deeper love a little more slowly in a longer novel, the author’s ability to bring across the dire circumstances which would cause a more rapid bonding makes the couple’s relationship more believable and the fast-paced action and fascinating scientific search for a cure made it a page-turner for me. An exciting story I’d recommend to every PNR fan who loves a steamy supernatural tale with a captivating hero and heroine, and one with an ending that promises more adventures to come.