Emelisse is a wolf maiden - she was not only born with a weak heart but also born with the five-toed birthmark of a wolf print on her hip. A prophecy has said she is destined to become the mate of a great alpha warrior. Growing up with her very overprotective alpha father, she craves independence from him and from the pack in general. She wants to live among humans and experience life.
After her father binds her to Radulf, a great warrior but cruel and vicous, Emelisse shocks her father with a secret. Emelisse gets sent to a monastery with the understanding she will marry Radulf after one year's time.
Meanwhile Sigurd wants revenge. Bork the Mad and his son years ago killed his family, and now Sigurd, an alpha male, want to make him pay. He has been searching for him for years and finally found him. With a charm from a witch, he hides his wolf identity and passes for a human and proves himself with Bork and becomes one of his men. His plan is to infiltrate and wait for the right time to kill him. They raid and pilfer a monastery and this is when everything changes.
Sigurd sees Emelisse and knows she is the one. He can sense it with every wolf instinct inside of him. Still trying to hide his wolf idenity from Bork, he now must keep Emelisse safe while still pretending to be one of Bork's men. Emelisse, being a wolf maiden, can smell that Sigurd is a wolf, and her mark burns every time he is near. Deep down she knows he is her mate and together they must work to escape Bork.
Although they both know they are destined for each other, they both still don't know each other. Sigurd still wants revenge on Borks' son, Mord and is an alpha and has dominance and protective issues. Emelisse is tired of being constantly protected, and the thought of living with pack scares her. Now they have Radulf hunting what he claims to be his, her father, thinking she has fallen slave to Sigurd, and the disgruntled Bear Skins who ware without their leader. They must face all their enemies and face each other, which may be the hardest part of all.
Beast Warrior has the feel of an epic tale. Not only is this a sweeping romance, but the werewolf lore is woven in. When Sigurd and Emelisse first meet, Sigurd is immediately devoted. It takes Emelisse more time - she has wanted her whole life to be away from the pack, and now she finds herself deep in the middle of it. She goes back and forth with her emotions, and this is where I found it to be a bit tedious. Sigurd saves her from the evil clutches of the bear skin, and yet she still doesn't have trust in him. Sigurd must walk a fine line between falling at the feet of Emelisse and granting her every wish, which is what he wants to do. But he must come across as a strong warrior in front of the men if he ever wants a chance to continue with them to find Mord and finish his revenge.
This is not a quick tale of love and conquer - much of the beginning of the book Sigurd and Emelisse have not even met. Then Eva Gordon takes her time with their journey, allowing them to discover each other. There is plenty of villains to keep the action strong throughout the book.
I found Emelisse to be a worthy heroine. She had spunk despite her weak heart and I enjoy heroines who crave their independence. Sigurd was a very serious devoted warrior but once in a while he would get a mischievous grin. He was very cocky in confidence he could take on anyone who dared harm his mate - very alpha to the core, with that soft spot for Emelisse.
Best of all, Sigurd is described as:
His brawny chest was lightly covered with red hair making him look like a flaming god of combustion.
Overall, this is a fun story that I would recommend to any historical romance fan.