Bound

River Den Omegas #4

by Claire Cullen

A M/M/M Shifter Romance

Kai has been alone for years, ever since the death of his father. He has finally worked up the courage to approach a den, tired of a life of struggle and loneliness. Before he even reaches his destination, he meets Joe, a friendly beta who takes him under his wing. Kai is disappointed to learn Joe already has a mate but happy to have him as a friend. But when they’re abducted by shifters who plan to sell them to the highest bidder, they find themselves drawn ever closer as they wait for rescue.

When Joe meets Kai, he feels an unexpected spark of interest. He can’t deny his growing feelings for the omega and is excited for Axel to meet him, hoping his alpha mate will feel the same way. All his plans are thrown into chaos when he and Kai are abducted, survival becoming their only priority. Joe knows Axel is coming for him and that nothing will stand in the alpha’s way. But can he get there in time, before it’s too late?

Axel made Joe a promise that nothing would come between them ever again. When an alliance between the hyenas and the lions threatens to break that promise, he’s determined to do everything he can to get Joe back. And to rescue Kai, the omega he’s heard so much about but has yet to meet. Could Kai be their third, the one they’ve been waiting for? And, if he is, will Axel's pack and family ever accept him?

Bound is a novel-length read. Beware mpreg, angst, litters, board games, scenes not suitable for readers under the age of eighteen, and polyamory (m/m/m). If that’s not your cup of tea, you can safely skip to book five in the series.

Genres: M M Romance, Shapeshifters, Omegaverse, Romance, Paranormal, Menage, M M M

186 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 8, 2018

About the author

Claire Cullen is an author and aspiring baker. Since she was a toddler, she has loved making up stories. Getting them down on paper proved a challenge in the early years when her preferred medium was finger puppets. She moved on to pen and paper, and later to keyboards, and hasn't looked back since, except for occasional bouts of nostalgia.

Reviews

[Steph ☀️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well....

I am to invested in this this series to stop now LOL. I feel like the author just wrote this really fast without editing it and giving much thought, just to get it out there due to the demand. Don’t give me wrong I really enjoy the series and I can’t wait for the next book to come out, but if it is going to be like this, then please take longer.

Now after my rants, like I did say I did enjoy the story, however I found it lacking in the relationship area. Feeling it was a bit too one sided at times. In addition to amount of unanswered questions since book one is starting to get a bit out of hand, and it’s starting to bother me. The author isn’t even bothering to bring it up even though the storylines flow from book to book; it’s just the relationship between the MCs change.

Here’s to hoping the next will get back on track.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read July 2020

I really liked this.

We saw that beta Joe and alpha Axel were having some trouble getting accepted by Axel's pack in the previous book. This book focusses on them finding Kai, a lonely omega, in need of some care.

I loved how Joe got to meet Kai, how Kai was the missing puzzle piece between Axel and Joe. I loved the part where Joe and Kai were kidnapped and then rescued.

I really like the family feel this series has. There is lots of hurt/comfort, lots of pregnancies and LOTS of shifter babies.

[Valerie ❈M/M Romance Junkie❈ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't really sold on the MMM portion of the relationship. The relationship didn't seem balanced. Also, the omega seemed to only be added to allow the mpreg portion of the story to happen. This just didn't really work for me as well as the other stories in the series. It was just ok.

[Rachel Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhh, love me some Claire Cullen! I highly recommend having at the very least read book 3 in this series, since the story really begins there for Joe and Axel. When we left them, they were firm in their relationship, although unconventional since they are an alpha and a beta, not an omega.

We now get to meet their third member, Kai, who has been on his own for some time since his father passed away. Claire Cullen excels in the hurt/comfort and the classic omega type of character, and I love her for it.

But what I really liked about this was that there was plenty of emotion between the three as they worked out their relationship, especially from Joe who as the beta, started to feel unnecessary once Kai was pregnant. I love that they really treated each other as equals, and Axel demanded nothing less to come back and be the alpha for the pack. I felt like the trio was equal in their relationship, there wasn't that odd man out feeling.

Can't wait for the final 2 books in this series!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/4

[Vivi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9 stars!

I said I wouldn't, but I ended up actually reading this one...

So, I have to say that Poliamorous relationships aren't something I like very much in my books. BUT, I think here, the connection with Kai - Joe and Axel's third - and their three-way relationship were well built and developed.

It's complicated (kind of), but the relationship develops with time and it seems to work for them, somehow.

We get to see Kai meeting with Joe and growing feelings for him... And then meeting Axel afterwards.

I did like that there were 2 mating marks. It made sense to me, since they are bound to 2 others.

I would have liked to see more of Joe and Axel's past here - their meeting, their growth of feelings - since this IS their book! We didn't get any of that, sadly.


Overall, this was an okay story. It was entertaining enough to read.

I will be reading Max's book - Crossed- next.

[Brandielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt sad/anxious 90% of the book.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably put this book at a solid 3; I didn't love it but it ticked a lot of boxes for an enjoyable read for me. I liked the threesome relationship and the mpreg. I skipped over the previous books in the series to get to the threesome actually and I think this impacted my enjoyment of the book. While the relationship among the MCs was ok I was a little lost in the pack dynamic within the MC's pack and between other packs of note.
The babies were cute and there was a HEA so it ended well for me.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once I read the description for ‘Bound’ I had to jump straight into the story. The previous installment, ‘Hunted’, had been a bit of a disappointment to me mainly because the author featured two separate couples and I felt cheated out of each of their full stories. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that this fourth book in the series focuses on Axel and Joe finding their third, an omega, to complement their alpha and beta statuses, respectively. I was hoping to get a full story showcasing the continuing love story between Axel and Joe side-by-side with their falling in love with Kai.

Axel and Joe have a long and somewhat turbulent history. After trying to make their fathers happy by staying away from each other and attempting to move on, both men realized that they couldn’t be happy without the other and life wasn’t worth enjoying if they weren’t mated. Of course, Axel’s older brother was killed leaving his pack with no alpha heir and Axel no choice in having to step up the plate. Unfortunately, Axel’s parents made no bones about not liking Joe and not being happy about their mating.

Please find my full review at Rainbow Book Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Claire Cullen sets the standard for shifter mpreg romance. Her tales never get old, and they are consistently very good. I’m probably a bit weird, but m/m/m is not my favorite trope. I’ll read it but I really need to see a connection between the trio. When we saw Axel and Joe reconnect in the last book, the men let us know their story was not complete. And they were right. I fell in love with Kai immediately, with all the hurt/comfort goodness he brought with him. Plot-wise, there are plenty of interesting twists and turns. I adore this series and it’s so fun to see the packs restored to their former glory. And the babies. They are present in lots of small doses and I love it! The dens are growing, and we see so many different species of shifters. This is a great series with the perfect amount of angst, sweet Omegas and caring Alphas. I wonder who is next?

[Stacey Colyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story

Great addition to the series. Hope they keep coming in this series. It is great to know what is going on with past story members.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally read M/M/M pairings but I love this series so I gave it a try. I loved it! Joe and Axel, the main characters in this book, have been secondary characters throughout the series and Kai was both the perfect solution to their problem and also their perfect match. And I love those babies!

This is part of a series but reads well as a standalone. Sex is well integrated and doesn't overwhelm the story.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first MMM book I've ever read and I was interested to see how this would turn out. I think it solidified joe and axels relationship, but I just wished that there was more development between axel and kai.

[Badh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finding love

Nice story about finding love and how 3 people can find where they fit in. I really like Kai, he's just so sweet. Joe is a good guy as is Axel.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

**********Contains Spoilers**********

Man, Claire Cullen has done it again. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved how Joe and Axel and that they’ve had to fight to be together since Axel is an alpha and Joe is a male beta so they can’t have kids and since Axel lost his brother Dex who was m*rdered by Nevan and his lions so Axel is now alpha heir to his pack. His parents still aren’t happy with his mating and try to get Axel to leave Joe since it would be best for the pack if he found a mate that he could have kids with but Axel is completely over doing what’s best for the pack and wants to finally live his life the way that makes him happy and Joe does that for him. Joe meets Kai a lone omega shifter on the road outside Hidden Den and takes him under his wing, Joe wants to help Kai since he’s been alone so long since his dad passed away and omegas especially don’t deal with being alone and start to get sick. Joe tells him stories about River Den, the Weir and his mate Axel and he asks Axel permission to help Kai by hugging him as that will help Kai get better, Axel is totally fine with it and can’t wait to meet Kai after everything Joe has told him as he maybe their third. On the way back to the Den both Joe and Kai are kidnapped by lions and hyenas and have been injected with something so they can’t shift and they find out that they’re to be auctioned to be sold. Joe reassures Kai that Axel and the others will find them even if they get separated Joe won’t give up until they find Kai. Joe stops the auction by telling the buyers that him and Kai are mated and Kai tells them more about who Axel is so the buyers don’t want anything to do with them. Axel ends up finding out what happened to them and finds them and with the help of Hunter, Jensen and Max they rescue them and the other captive shifters.

When they get back to the Den Kai is separated from Axel and Joe so he starts to get cold again until Axel comes and gets him and brings him into the clinic to cuddle with him next to Joe’s bed as he knows that this is how Joe helped him when he was sick last time. Ollie shows Kai around the Den since he’s going to stay there but when he gets back to the clinic he overhears Axel and Joe talking that they’re going back to the Weir so Kai feels utterly alone and starts walking towards the bridge but Cade and Ollie stop him to see what’s wrong and then take him back to the clinic and tell him that he’s not getting in between Axel and Joe but he completes them since both Cade and Ollie can see the connection between all three of them. I love the connection between all three of them and I think it’s great that they all got to know each other being completing their mating. Joe struggled when Kai got pregnant with their litter, he was ecstatic but also had feelings of usefulness that he needed to work through. I loved that when both Kai and Joe overheard Axel and his mum arguing about Joe, since Axel mum was treating Joe just as Kai’s midwife and not his and Axel’s mate and tried to tell Axel that they don’t need Joe so he can go back to the Den and come back as Kai’s midwife when it’s time for Kai to deliver their babies. Kai found Joe in his car trying to leave but Kai told him not too and then Axel came out with a bag, put the bag and Kai in the back and hopped in the car to leave and go to the Den so they could work on their relationship and not have to deal with negativity. Axel felt horrible as he didn’t realise how bad Joe was suffering. They talked about everything and worked on their family coming first and to alleviate Joe’s doubts. Man, their babies were the cutest bundles of joy. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for this series. I’d recommend this book, series and author to everyone.

[Laina Gruver · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Alpha Axel and Bets Joe are mates but Axel’s parents won’t accept it since Joe can’t give Axel any heirs to carry on the line. Axel & Joe leave the Weir and move to the Den where they are accepted. While Joe is visiting a neighboring pack to assist as a midwife, he comes across Omega Kai. The two spend time together while Joe waits to assist with a birth. When Joe leaves to go back to the Den, Kai goes with him.

The men are abducted on their way home. Joe convinces Kai not to panic because help is coming. Kai & Joe discover they were abducted to be auctioned off. Axel and friends come to the rescue.

When they return home, Joe and Axel realize that Kai is their third. Not wanting to spook him, they enlist the Omegas to ‘ease’ him into the idea that they could be a throuple.

When they all mate, Axel is finally able to shift and Kai becomes pregnant. There is another attempted kidnapping while Kai is pregnant but Kai shifts and protects his litter.

-kidnapping
-auction
-rescue
-shunning
-acceptance
-mating
-pregnancy
-attempted kidnapping
-death (of minor character)
-returning home

*****
POV… third person

Standalone or series… book 4 in series not a standalone

Hangover… no

Recommend… sure

Reread… sure

[JimeKawaii · Rating 1 out of 5]

Empecé la serie y cuando llegue a este libro lo deje porque no me llamaba la atencion la relacion MMM.
Despues lei una serie de vampiros que tambien tenia una relacion de 3 y me re gustó asi que volvi por este.

*Spoilers*

Nada que ver este... el desarrollo de esta relacion me resultó forzadisimo... más que nada porque ya habiamos visto la relacion de los 2 primeros (Axel y Joe) en los otros libros y ya eran una pareja definida, me parece injusta la entrada de Kai. Kai como personaje es divino pero la inclusion en la relacion es forzadisima y unicamente para que quede embarazado y Axel pueda transformarse en lobo... la relacion de Joe y Kai parece de hermanos asi que los momentos en que tienen intimidad se me hicieron incomodisimos y Axel se siente que esta enamorado de Joe y tolera a Kai porque es el que le puede dar los hijos que Joe no.
Perdon si a alguien no le parece, esta reseña es sobre lo que yo personalmente senti con este libro.

No es la relacion MMM en si, es ESTA relacion MMM

Eso... procedo a leer el proximo que es solo MM por lo que vi

[Lauralee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm feeling somewhat appeased that this was so much better than the last book. Axel and Joe had my interest piqued from the first book the series - sadly that means that a lot of interesting parts of their relationship happened offstage as secondhand recounting in previous books - and Kai was a really nice addition. I'm somewhat thinking that including him is the obvious and easy choice for the author here - which is somewhat ambiguous: Axel's parents are painted as the oldfashioned conservative bad guys, but the only way to happiness in this series seems to be an Alpha/omega mating including shifter abilities and a litter of kids. Doesn't sound all that progressive to me.
So I could recount again how the world building is purposefully vague to cover up inconsistencies and the plot is 100% predictable, but here I am having read four books already and being likely to continue. Truth be told, at the end of the day I enjoy mindless reads.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe (River Den midwife and beta shifter) and his alpha mate, Axel finally found balance in their relationship despite family pressure for Axel to mate someone who can bear him children.

Joe meets Kai, a skittish omega, while responding to a medical call at a nearby den. They form a bond as Joe manages Kai’s isolation sickness through touch therapy and Joe decides to bring him back to River Den.

The two are ambushed on the return trip by shifter traffickers but are rescued by Axel and the River Den alphas. Bonded by near tragedy, Joe and Axel offer Kai the chance to become part of their family.

The author spends time exploring the challenges of a polyamorous relationship threatened by competing family expectations.

I wish Kai’s character had been better fleshed out, but still an overall good read with guaranteed HEA.

[Leslie Zak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three shifters find love together

We met Joe, beta wolf and Axel, alpha wolf in the previous book. They were living in River Den because their respective packs forbid their love. Joe is a midwife and during a trip to another den he meets Kai, a fox omega badly needing touch therapy due to being alone for so long. Joe comes to care a great deal for Kai even telling Axel all about him. On their way back to River Den they are kidnapped by lions and hyenas drugged and prepared to be auctioned off. After a major rescue the three shifters form a poly relationship. So much more happens, tragedy, betrayal, babies and love. A great addition to an entertaining well written series.

[Sue Milkovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE SHIFTER STORIES

River Den Omegas Series is truly OUTSTANDING. Any and all of these books can be read as a standalone. But together as a series it's MAGNIFICENT. Axel the Alpha and Joe the Beta have a wonderful, loving true mated bond. Kai is Omega with no pack and no knowledge of what living in or around a pack means. This is a fantastic story about adventure, love, friendship and loyalty. The beauty of this story was the love between Axel, Joe and Kai. If you are a fan of shifter romance you will absolutely love this book. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND THIS OUTSTANDING SERIES!!!!!

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

How disappointing. This book was more about Joe and Axel than it was about the three of them. It felt like Kai was just a third wheel and there to pop out babies for them. Their connection didn't seem genuine at all. Also there was never any heart to heart moment between Axel and Kai. Axel was never affectionate towards Kai the way he was towards Joe. You could clearly tell he loved Joe more. If you're going to have a poly relationship, then it should have equal share of love. There was too much imbalance here.

[Jennifer Lavoie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

I wanted more of Kai, Joe, and Axel’s story. I really loved the beginning, the trials they faced in various ways, and how it all worked out in the end. It seemed very realistic for a polyam family who is trying to learn how to navigate all the relationships without making one feel left behind. It was done very well.

[RealRoseTea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 stars
I got hooked on the story since the beginning. I love the character building, plot and the three way relationship. I didn’t expect the communication between them would be smooth. I like how they manage to have time together even for a simple meal after having kids. That really touched me the most. Overall, the story gave me warm and fluffy feelings at the end.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Axel and Joe Find Their Third

After some harrowing drama, Axel and Joe welcome Kai into their hearts. Their next hurdle is dealing with Axel's father and pack. Follow this hard to put down story to their HEA.

[Pamela Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the River Den Omega Book Series

I truly enjoyed this series I have read all the books and would definitely recommend this series to anyone who likes this genre.

[Bradley Mathis-Krone · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was BOUND to be good.

Book four of the River Den series has once again delivered a solid, loving, and genuine great story. Everything I have said about the previous books is true for this one, and added a trio. Great storyline, characters, and heartfelt feelings.

[SophiaH]

Information for me. I feel like I read this whole series in the past, when I wasn't all that present on Goodreads. Feel like this was one of those poly books that caught me off guard and made me cautious of every new MMM read from then on out.

[P Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read - Claire never disappoints!

[Joscelyn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

💖💖💖

This was a great ending to Kai, Joe and Axel's story which began in book three. I so looking forward to Ollie and Max's books.