Legally Mated

Mercy Hills Pack #5

by Ann-Katrin Byrde

More than a century ago, the Segregation Laws made enemies of humans and shifters, and imprisoned the pack behind their enclave walls.

Laine wants Garrick. He wants him out from behind those walls and being what he was meant to be—a brilliant lawyer. He also wants to claim Garrick openly as his partner, but with the prejudice on both sides, he’ll never get what he wants. Unless he can pull off something spectacular.

Like getting Garrick admitted to the Bar.

Garrick’s spent so much of his life keeping secrets, he doesn’t know how to open up to another person. Even if it’s Laine, the human lawyer who stole Garrick’s heart and made him want things he could never have. But Laine’s pushing too hard, and there’s another lawyer, one from Washington, holding out the promise of truly eliminating the laws keeping shifters locked behind walls. If they could bring those down, then maybe some of Garrick’s dreams could become reality. If only he could make Laine see…

All while an unforeseen gift of history creates rumbles of change in the packs, and drives Mercy Hills to an announcement that will rock shifter society to the roots.

Genres: M M Romance, Shapeshifters, Paranormal, Omegaverse, Romance, Fantasy, LGBT

382 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2017

About the author

Ann-Katrin Byrde is a writing duo comprised of Ana J. Phoenix and Kate Lowell. As a team they strive to bring you the best mpreg stories they can. They both love to write, read and dream. In their spare time, you can often catch them hunting wild plot bunnies in the fields of their imagination.

(Source: Amazon.com)

Reviews

[Tanu Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I quite enjoyed this new addition in the series. Mercy Hills Pack is close to my heart, and this story still kept it there.

Ever since the first book, Laine has been someone I've wanted to know in details about. His character interested me from the very beginning. And it was wonderful to see his personality finally described properly.

The journey for Laine and Garrick to reach their HFN was fraught with tension and so many variable outside factors. And it felt like it dragged a bit in the middle. But I guess the main reason behind it is that there was so much happening for the wolves that the story about the MCs had to take a backseat sometimes.

There wasn't too much angst or drama, as for Jason and Bax, and Holland, too. But I felt better for it. Having Garrick and Laine have a crazy journey on top of the wolves having to go through such a massive change would have been too much to absorb altogether.

I am eagerly awaiting the next story, wondering whose it would be. This is a lovely series for MM shifters/MPREG lovers. My only wish was for the MCs to get a detailed romance, which is the reason why I read MPREG books. Emotions always run high, so the romance development leaves me with a high too.

[Breezelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book itself was ok but I found myself skipping a lot of pages due to the lack of emphasis on the couple and more with the laws and politics. I also felt duped because the title said MPREG when in truth, the main couple never got pregnant and the omega had an aversion to kids. This in itself is fine and I get the point that the author was trying to make but I just feel like it is deceptive to put MPREG as part of the title/description which is why my rating is lower.

[meep · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book of this series i have gotten the opportunity to read and maybe because of that it might have been why i couldn't get into this book as much as i wanted too. i think i got 30% in and i was somewhat confused. i did like the couple. i am considering picking it up from book number one

[Marsha Spence · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this series!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, but there's more that is needed for this two. There's plenty of ends that need to be tied. I wonder if they will be tied either in the extras or the background of other books. Still, it feels a bit incomplete. Good, but incomplete

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really been enjoying this series, and I'm glad we are learning more about the omegas history. Even though this was Garrick and Laine's book, they were more the secondary story, with the main story being about the Omegas (and showing a lot of Quin and Holland).

Can't wait to read the next one, which I think is about the new omega that showed up?

[Sarah Connor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved Laine. He was great and funny and brave. But Garrick was a coward and didn't deserve him. He never did any work for their relationship, leaving all in the hands of Laine. i would have liked to see this fight was coming from the both of them. This fight for their love. I wanted more romance especially coming from Garrick, who I felt drier than the Sahara desert. I know he was discriminated against more and what not, but that didn't excuse how dry and awful he was to Laine in private. You could call him flirty/horny for Laine, but never in love nor did he ever defend Laine when he was falsely accused of things that weren't his fault and bullied by pack members (looking at you Holland).

And don't get me started on Holland, he is a bully a major BULLY and he just manipulates people with his superpowers to get what is best for him. He just acts like a person who suddenly came to power and cannot have enough of it. Using his omega powers on everyone for no good reason. If he is going to manipulate people, it better damn well be to avoid a major catastrophe and it has to be the last choice. But no he just uses this power indiscriminately. He justifies it by hiding behind being an omega with no power, when in reality he has more power than even the doormat he has for alpha. For a marine/navy veteran (the author mixes up both can't decide which) he just has the emotional maturity of a 2 year old, thinking that the best way is just avoid conflict and do everything Holland wants. It is really bad.

Holland is so rude that in one scene he just tells a dinner guest (Laine) out of the blue "I have to feed the baby. You can do the dishes." Like no asking nor saying please. just hissing out an order, just because he is used to doing just that in the pack. And he was the one who invited him, it was really hard to read. I kinda started rooting for Holland just to be killed like a martyr just to helo the cause, because he is that bad.

Also, Holland when it was for Quin and himself he was all for breaking the norms and rules, he waited for Quinn while dating maybe 4 months and now it is telling Garrick who he can or can't have and that 5 years isn't that long a wait. For people who are trying to get rid of discrimination they sure are prejudiced tenfold. Both alpha and alpha mate are assholes; and the real alpha is Holland who just gets his way a 100% of the times with Quinn. It is just annoying that Quinn has no power and can't use it because Holland gets angry, but Holland loves to use his powers on his alpha. Hypocritical much? I hate Holland. I hate how they blamed Laine, who didn't do shit wrong.

It was stupid and manipulative to not let Garrick see Laine even weeks after the accident when he asked Holland and he said "he couldn't deal with it right now". How dare he decide when it is time for someone to see their boyfriend. It was merely a show of power, to show Laine who was boss since Laine is seen as an alpha human. It is another way Holland is manipulative and wanted to exert his authority over them. Even a month after Gerrick asked again, he did ALLOW them to see each other but wouldn't let Garrick leave the enclave because it wasn't "safe", I wonder how he would've felt if it was him and he couldn't go to modeling because it wasn't safe. That decision was just another way to just show them who was in charge. It frustrated me beyond anything I have read. And somehow Garrick is still the one feeling guilty for having Holland and Quinn to think about his situation when they have so many other things to think about. It is none of their damn business, pack safety was never in danger (It was just their damn prejudice). A bit ironic since the whole plot of the book is to fight the prejudice against shifters. And fucking Gerrick could never take a stance for Laine. There was nothing in it for Laine other than a good colleague, that he sometimes slept with. I could not for the life of me see any other good quality mentioned about Garrick, from Laine. Laine's love is just one of the biggest mysteries IMO.

Also, this book was so much about Holland and his stupid dark-side-of-the-moon superpower. Holland and his feelings and badassery are talked about more than anyone including our couple. The author should've made this book without a couple or just as a part 2 of Holland's and Quinn's book. Because all the focus was on Holland and on what he was doing, how he was holding the baby, and how he was bossing everyone else around like a fucking dictator. It was disgusting. Holland became utterly disgusting, and his mate not much more than a doormat. It is as if the only way this author thought of making the omega badass was to have everyone else with no personality, no will, and just follow Holland blindly just because "alpha mate." It is beyond idiotic.
I am so disappointed in this book and its potential. I loved what little we saw of Laine, but it just wasn't enough to get me over all the BS in this book.

[Diane Dannenfeldt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I enjoyed this one, I didn’t like that the MC’s had little page time together. It was more of the politics then the romance. And there is more of a HFN instead of a HEA.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I was more-than-usually excited to begin this fifth book in a series that has gripped me from the first page of the first book. The slow revelations from the author about this world she has created have left me insufferably curious about where she is going to take it. Are the shifters and humans ever going to restore some balance between their species? A balance that doesn't require the shifters living in crowded enclaves, forced to have curfews, shamed into wearing a yellow cloth on their collars when they leave their gates, and refused access to decent medical care, much less any professional training and education. The events in the last four books with their mesmerizing omegas (Jason, Baxter, Holland, Bram, and Cale) have begun a slow start to perhaps changing some of the human rules and getting the shifters more equality, so it was with bated breath that I began Garrick and Laine’s story. Not to mention I also was really hoping more would be revealed about True Omegas and their history within packs.

Garrick is a shifter, a member of the Mercy Hills Pack, and he has a law degree. Of course, as a shifter he is refused the right to sit for the bar exam and that is just one of the many discriminations shifters deal with. Lainey is a human lawyer who has been working with the pack and Garrick since the issues regarding Jason’s former pack arose in book one. It hasn't been too long ago that Garrick and Laine started a personal and physical relationship - something that isn't looked upon favorably by either humans or shifters. In fact, Holland has asked Garrick not to spend any more nights at Laine’s place, but Garrick has his own secret, kept from his whole pack, that ensures he will never get involved with a shifter.

Garrick often wonders how Laine can remain so clueless about the realities of the world they live in when he's a criminal defense attorney. Laine wants to think that, on average, humans are good and are willing to give shifters the benefit of the doubt, but Garrick knows this isn't so. Sure, they've made some strides in the last few years, but that definitely doesn't mean that humans are ready to take the walls around the enclaves down. Granted, Quin, Holland, and Garrick travel to Washington D.C. to meet with the president and his constitutional lawyer to start discussing the shifter short and long-term goals. Even more remarkable than all of this, however, is the man they meet there and the story he shares which I'm not talking about because it's a huge spoiler.

It takes an emergency, though, for Laine to finally see what he has blissfully ignored, or just not bothered to understand. Quin, Holland, and Duke certainly wake him up to the realities of the pack’s feelings about him, although Holland softens a little once he realizes the true depths of Laine’s feelings for Garrick. Garrick is at fault here, too, as he has never really explained to Laine about pack life, politics, their sense of family, and Laine is, for all intents and purposes, an alpha in a human body. So, Laine doesn't understand the underlying emotions, body language, etc. from Quin and the other alphas.

“Quin said to him, “What you’re doing isn’t fair to him. He can’t live half in, half out of the pack. You can’t ask that of him.”
Laine turned and stared thoughtfully at Quin for a moment, then he patted the hand on his arm. “I don’t. But what are you asking of him? To be a shadow of what he’s meant to be, because it’s easier for you? If you can’t fight for his right to be what he trained so hard for, I will. And if he wants to stay entirely inside the pack after, I’ll fight for that right too.” And then he left, and we all stared at each other in silence.”

An extremely exciting addition to the series that revealed more information about the history of omegas and the history of the packs, in general, after the enclaves were instituted. Laine and Garrick’s romance is a running storyline throughout but it tends to take a backseat, more than once, to the changes beginning for the Mercy Hills Pack, its omegas, and shifter society at large. I really liked the way the author wrote the ending and I'm eagerly anticipating the next installment.

[Cadiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great addition to this series

I thoroughly enjoyed this one as the Mercy Hills lawyer shifter Garrick and his human counterpart Laine saw their relationship move into something more.

There's a lot more going on here too, tensions in the pack over their omegas, an out of the blue discovery about long lost shifter history and a secret which comes to the forefront as the pack works with the White House.

The romance between Garrick and Laine is super sweet but complicated due to their different species but Laine proves he's just as loyal as the pack and this has a very strong HFN with an indication of a real HEA following.

[Eden Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sigh. I could get so much more writing done if I hadn't gotten addicted to the Mercy Hills series. The characters are so engaging you just have to keep reading. Just when you pick a favorite, Ann-Katrin Byrde releases a new installment and you have more shifters to love (or non-shifters).

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. Ms. Byrde has come through big time again. Well written with a great continuing storyline. This series just keeps getting better and better every book. I am so looking forward to what comes next.

[John-Torleif Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I love this series! Every time I read one of these books, I get so very mad as the prejudice and fear that the humans have against the shifters, and I have to remind myself that it's only fiction. I am glad that this story introduced some real change beginning in the human/shifter dynamic, though I definitely foresee resistance to change on both sides because of what was discovered here.

Laine and Garrick have been a couple in the background for most of these books and I'm glad the they finally got a chance to feature as main characters and there were definitely developments between them in this book that I never expected.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love the story development and the world building in the Mercy Hills Pack books. I've been wanting to see Garrick's story and I did like it; I just need it more "finished". It felt like a hfn where I am a hea kind of girl. The story was more complex than normal and I can tell we are definitely not finished with this plot. Great job, and I can't wait for the next book!

[Rachel Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just adore this series, and when I first started reading it, I don't think I could have imagined how all-encompassing this series would become, from involving the president and lawyers to get werewolf laws turned around or abolished, to finding out so much history about the omegas and their rights and powers, to learning about the prejudices and fears that the humans have for the wolves, to making plans to modernize the pack lands and bring in things like doctors, an omega Sanctuary, and more. This series really has become very layered, real, and engaging!

The only slight let-down for me personally was the romance aspect of things. I was really looking forward to Laine and Garrick's story after seeing how they interacted together from the other characters' perspectives. However, when this book first starts, it really starts after the events in book 4, so Laine and Garrick are already together - and I'm a huge, huge fan of getting to read the first times and other firsts that couples have.

Also, I felt like they spent more of the book separated doing their own thing than they did together, and while I know that their time separated was important - Laine was working on making things right for Garrick's career, Laine was helping the pack and proving he could be both a pack member and Laine's partner - it was a little draggy in the middle, and I selfishly wanted more happy times for Laine and Garrick together!

If you're a fan of the series, I'm sure you will love this book. The growing pack politics are very interesting and the more they find out about the omegas is interesting, too! You definitely don't want to start with this story, start in order.

Can't wait to see who is next (and selfishly, again, I hope that it'll actually have mpreg instead of just the previous characters with their kids!)

I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jess A Jaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading the Mercy Hills Pack series originally because it was mpreg and I'm a huge fun of mpreg. Having read some reviews of book 4 I think some readers might not enjoy Legally Mated as there is no actual mpreg in this book. I personally think if you view it as shifter story rather than mpreg you'll enjoy it. I thought it was a great read. I'm so invested with the pack now and seeing them finally being able to start pulling down the walls between them and humans was so engrossing. As was seeing the Omega pack becoming stronger.
I loved seeing Holland the MC from book 4 really come into his own as Alpha mate. Seeing him and Quin with their new baby satisfied me enough despite the lack of actual mpreg.
Garrick and Laine the MCs in this book are strong characters and really enhance the series. Bringing a human into the pack dynamic is really interesting and i'm looking forward to seeing what changes this brings to the pack going forward and what happens next in the series.

[Anu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I'm overdosed on the Mercy Hills universe at the moment, this wast just really long and at times boring and I didn't really enjoy it as much as the previous books.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m super frustrated because I am so invested in this series.

This one is the opposite of mpreg btw. This took a crappy turn to the whole point being missed. The plots involved 10 other plots THEN a tiny percentage of Garrick and Laine. Holland was the main character and was completely rude now. I miss Bax as pack Omega. Holland doesn’t deserve it and was so dramatic in this book. Holland has become insufferable, almost as much as his MIL he finally got rid of. Poor Laine has been run over repeatedly and used as a doormat. Every time I thought the “strong” Garrick would stand up, he peaceful bowed without almost any hesitation. He had a tiny amount of rights and once the found out he was an omega, everything was about that! Isn’t this series supposed to be about all of the equality of omegas? && they took Garrick from Laine’s while in his heat and everything was just fine? Over and over Garrick let Holland decide that he couldn’t make his own decisions. Garrick/Laine was more of a tiny side story to this book. It was very different from before. It’s demeaning to think of how they are treating Garrick, and how Holland is able to do anything. It was just so weird. I kept wondering if I missed parts of chapters. It was disjointed with random scenes appearing without relating to each other. Why was there almost no effort from Garrick? He was set up to be a great, strong character. I’ve got to continue the series but I’m not hopeful for the rest.

Also, these books have less spice in each one. The scenes are pretty vague and end quickly. Heck it has less romance in each one too. Weird.

[L.D.]

This is the fifth book in the Mercy Hills Series and the first four books should be read before enjoying this book.

Garrick is a shifter and a lawyer. Except, he’s not really a lawyer because significant obstacles have been thrown in his way which prevented him from taking the bar test. Laine, his lover and employer, is determined to change that. Laine, in fact, is determined to change a lot of things wrong with their world, because Laine is in love with Garrick. Humans and shifters aren’t supposed to fall in love and be together, but Laine and Garrick have started the journey to change that.

This book picks up right where book four left off, and we learn more about the laws governing shifter and human interactions, as well as the history of the enclaves and hidden history of Omegas. I adore all this world-building and political/social intrigue. I find it fascinating how political the Omegas have to be interacting not only with other shifters, but with humans who fear them and humans who have put them on a pedestal. Laine, the human lawyer, is such a wonderfully crafted character – he’s independent, arrogant, yet still so vulnerable when it comes to Garrick.

I love getting more glimpses inside this world and putting all the pieces together when it comes to how shifters survive in a world that would rather they disappeared. Change is in the air, and I’m excited for the next books to see how this all plays out.

[Denise White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my least favorite of the series .. I didn’t like Garrett at all he was so annoying to me.. I personally didn’t like the way Holland and Quinn for that matter dealt with Lane.. for one he was human and really didn’t know much about pack .. which they say they purposely didn’t tell him anything because he was human including Garrett.. so when he made blunders why did Garrett take it so damn personal when you didn’t tell him anything or explain anything to him about how the pack works!! Also I wasn’t feeling Garrett not wanting to be Omega and hiding it all his life.. for me I had absolutely no sympathy for him... I also didn’t like how it didn’t explain how all the other Omega’s felt about Garrett coming out being omega..
Now I did like how the trust and all of that stuff came about and how they are finding out more about the so-called true Omega.. that part of the plot I did enjoy
Of course I like the series so I will definitely continue on until I get to the last book... and as always it was written well but again not my favorite at all!!

[Red T · Rating 2 out of 5]

To avoid doing a disservice to the author I'll start by saying this might be a case of my own taste and not a fault of the book.

So far there are this sub plots and background plots going on since book 2 that show some more world building, tension and political development of the series. These are becoming more pronounced with each book and it may be that the increase made me feel like the pace of the book was going too slow and the focus would shifted uncomfortably from the main couple to other issues.

There was also the feeling that the story of these two should've progressed behind the scenes through other books, it feels like it doesn't really grow enough to be a true mating and give a HEA but more of a HEA for now or not even that. It just didn't sit right.

In the end I spent half the book wishing for the next chapter to be the last one, reading it was like pulling teeth. Because of the level of difficulty reading it and that I would definitely not read it again I'll give it a solid 2 out of 5.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 ... While I wasn’t all that hyped about this one going in given the limited exposure we’d had to Garrick, it quickly turned around and got interesting. That said, I do feel like it ended too soon and with too many things left unresolved or open. I suppose we’ll see how some of it develops in the next ones, but it would have been nice to actually see Laine and Garrick get more traction and see them reach the next milestones towards their own HEA of sorts. If anything, it kind of leaves you feeling a bit shortchanged given the title... though I suppose it would have required a novel twice as long to get to it without rushing the sociopolitical aspects involved. Here’s hoping they’ll get their part two book eventually perhaps?

[Xochitl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am impressed how Ann-Katrin Byrde managed the complex plot on Mercy Hills Pack series featuring in every book different problematic and obstacles to overcome for the different couples. It is amazing how a shifter’s story could be even more interesting when you added to the normal pack dynamics between alphas and omegas, topics like intolerance, discrimination, interspecies relationships and genre roles. Laine’s and Garrick’s story is one of the best I’ve ever read because the balance between the issues than any couple in a romantic relationship could have and all the Issues a shifter-human couple in a dystopian reality actually had. Brilliant!!

[Morgan Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have to be tenacious with these stories but they’re all really good.

I think the author could use a strong hand with editing and the stories would be improved, but I do love the characters and their journey to growth.

This story did not emphasize the MCs as much as I’d wish but their story was sweet in the end. For this, I had to mark it down in ratings – I read these for the romance and that wasn’t as much the focus as in the other books.

I’ve really enjoyed watching where this band of shifters has gone over time.

I love Nick J Russo and so listening to these (long) stories is very enjoyable.

3.5 of 5 stars

[Reading Addict · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a legal drama. I wish that was handled more deliberately, like they had a few small cases and then something bigger to work for shifter rights. I found it strange how the pack acted like Laine was the only reason Garrick was in any danger, because to be a lawyer, he needs to spend time outside the walls and make enemies regardless. I really thought that Garrick was going to accept his heats and stop taking the meds. Mercy Hills is the best place to be an unconventional omega, so I thought he'd 'come out' and be a trail blazer, maybe have another omega train to be a paralegal or something?

Overall, I just felt there was a lot of setup and not enough carry through.

[Sherry F · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

I do enjoy this series. Garrick and Laine aren't my favorite of all the characters - don't know why - but it was nice to see them get their almost HEA (Laine is human so that's a whole set of problems to be addressed!). All the old characters make an appearance, with some being a mere mention. It was awesome to see Holland deal with Quin's horror of a mother and he was nicer than I could have been!

It was interesting that Garrick doesn't want kids.

If you like the series, you need to read this!

[MariF · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is overall for the entire series. No spoilers.

It's so nice to find a really good author who manages to write innovative plots in the overused genre of shifter mpreg. I almost gave up the genre altogether after being disappointed one too many times with the most generated "product" of KU.
I love this author's writing style and how you are kept in suspense almost until the last page. And MC really work for/struggle for their HEA. You can't help but root for them to beat the odds.

I'm so looking forward to next in series.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a great book in that it dealt not just with the fact that shifters and humans are segregated making it hard for Laine and Garrick to be together but also that Garrick is an omega. It is hard watching the various road blocks that are put up in front of them espically by Garrick's pack. Laine also has a lot to deal with not only with his career taking a hit but his ex-wife and child. This book also starts to dig more into the history books that Mutch has given the pack and how the omega's are going to use the money.

[Denise GremoryKohta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is by far the best. While the others of been informative you learn the most in this one. We can thank Laine and Garrett for that. Laine is 100% alpha. He doesn't need the genes to prove it. He wants something he does what needs to be done to make it happen. Garrett is strong in his way too. He doesn't even realize how much. The perfect pair for the trail they will blaze. I can't wait for more. This world that Ann Katrin Byrde has created is amazing. I didn't want the book to end.

[Cyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, multi-faceted book. I don't know how I ended up reading number 5 before any of the other books (whoops) but I loved it so much I'm going to go back and read the rest. It's so much deeper and more complex than you think it's going to be at the start, and the world is so rich underneath the story's main leads. I would recommend anyone to read the series, even if the supernatural stuff isn't normally to your taste.