Hands off the best instalment of this series, the launching novel of which was truly horrible on all counts, before the later entries progressively raised the bar. Three of my favorite tropes have been combined to make a strong slow burn romance : a confused alpha who undergoes change in a believable manner ; a headstrong, physically intimidating, omega who resists the mating with all he has ; and a mating pull that gets strongly in the back burner, allowing just enough heat at the right time when the story had to pick up steam. The writing is excellent, both the crisp, effortlessly managed narrative and the dialogue (Ellis comes on top, a very strong conversationalist with a suitably sleek idiolect; Reece speaks in a much more bare manner that does not shirk depth in the emotionally charged moments); all the characters shine, with the lone exception of Reece's young daughter, whom the book barely shows. The writers even achieved the feat of keeping my interest during the description of Ellis' period and the evocation of his knotting - easily the two tropes I am the least patient with, given their sheer difficulty to write in minimally cringeworthy fashion ; here their treatment is exemplary for its tact and brisk simplicity. The lone star I detracted stems from the off-page resolution of the Drew problem (I would have preferred the omega and his alpha to confront the creep) and the clichéd resolution of the conflict : Ellis folds too easily under pressure due to the combination of alcohol and his heat-suppressing medicine, sleeps with Reece, takes time to ponder things and gets pregnant.