Zhan
"Look at me." Ezra gestured at himself. "I don't look like a witch."
"You look great."
Ezra's eyes widened, and Rourke chuckled.
"You do. I love that you aren't covered in piercings and tattoos. I mean if you were--your body, your choice--but I'm glad you're not."
"It's a sign I'm weak."
Rourkle growled, though not with any real heat. "You're not weak."
"I'm weak. I couldn't curse you if my life dependend on it. I can't fight you. I can't challenge you. I can't win against you."
Ezra's voice rose with each word, and Rourke reached over and covered the hands he was wringing on his lap with his. "Shh. I will fight for you. I will win for you, and you won't ever have to fight against me because I'm your mate." He caressed him with his thumb. "Strength isn't about being able to cause harm, and everyone has a role to play."
Rourke, alpha wolf of the of the Flint pack, wants to end the war with the witches, so he asks for a witch mate in hopes to form an allience with the coven. To his surprise (but no complaints), he gets a male witch Ezra, but it's only after the mating is done that he finds out that the witches don't care about Ezra and, moreover, they don't plan to stop the fighting.
There were many things I liked in this book and some things that bothered me. The relationship between Rourke and Ezra starts with a dub-con. Rourke believes that Ezra volunteered to be his mate. while Ezra believes he has no choice. Rourke checks in with him a lot during their first time sleeping together, but Ezra doesn't even understand that he's allowed to object. When Rourke finds out that Ezra was forced into mating, he is angry (not at Ezra), but the deed is already done and they are tied together for life. He tries to stay away from Ezra as much as he can before the bond flares up, but this only results in Ezra misunderstanding him and being scared of him. So, Rourke is a bit of an ass at the beginning, but this is acknowledged later on.
There wasn't any impactful "falling in love". It's more about two people - strangers and technically enemies - who are trying to make their relationship work. At the beginning, Ezra isn't even Rourke's type - Rourke is into bold people who ask for what they want, while Ezra is very shy and reserved - and he dislikes witches, as well as their numerous piercings and tattooes. But he willingly made a sacrifice to mate a witch for the sake of his pack's safety. And, as mentioned above, Ezra thought he didn't have a choice in the mating. But there is no going back for neither of them, so once Rourke realizes what Ezra's gone through, he tries to amend it and become a good mate to him.
So, I was kinda uncomfortable reading when Rourke became all touchy with Ezra who is obviously traumatized and doesn't understand a lot of things, but I also understood that Rourke is trying to let the mate bond settle properly in order for Ezra to become stronger and be able to share Rourke's strength (their bond didn't settle properly because of Ezra's unwillingness to be mated and Rourke's distance right after the mating), as well as feel safe, loved and protected by his mate.
Certain parts were really uncomfortable to read, such as those where Rourke doesn't explain things and does something without asking clearly for Ezra's consent. Rourke just assumes that Ezra knows and that there's no need to explain such things, as he's not aware of what kind of life Ezra had in his coven and possibly doesn't understand the depth of his trauma. But for what it's worth, Rourke did try to improve whenever he messed up. It was imperfect and some things left a bad taste in my mouth, but it did feel realistically flawed.
I liked that Rourke never asked Ezra to take off his piercings despite not liking them, that's really cool. I hated that we were constantly reminded about how much he dislikes Ezra's piercings.
I liked the culture of witches and werewolf packs. That was so interesting and I wish I could've learned about them more. Also, those were scary witches that cackle and make that clawing motion with their fingers when they cast curses. That was really fun to read. I liked the pack and the found family vibe, how they all accepted and protected Ezra after realizing that he's not an evil witch.
I only wish that there was more comfort. It had such potential for good hurt/comfort, but there was little comfort in my opinion.
°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*
*General Notes*
-arranged mating, werewolf x outcast witch
-size difference (huge werewolf x tiny witch)
-CWs: abusive witch family, self-harm for the purpose of using blood magic
-MC with scars (Ezra), touch-starved MC (Ezra), traumatized MC (Ezra),
-Ezra is over 30; Rourke's age isn't specified.
*Intimacy Notes*
-Top/bottom/verse: <spoiler>strict; Ezra bottoms, Rourke tops.</spoiler>
-Kinks/sex notes: <spoiler>dub-con, biting, marking, penetration, BJs, fingering, nipple play (with piercings)... </spoiler>
-Other:
・only one bed
・little caretaking of a sick MC (Ezra)
・nicknames: honey, babe, darling, sweetheart, love...
・"you're mine" moments
・some possessiveness and protectiveness
・adopting a cat
・magic lacy oatmeal cookies
"Look at me." Ezra gestured at himself. "I don't look like a witch."
"You look great."
Ezra's eyes widened, and Rourke chuckled.
"You do. I love that you aren't covered in piercings and tattoos. I mean if you were--your body, your choice--but I'm glad you're not."
"It's a sign I'm weak."
Rourkle growled, though not with any real heat. "You're not weak."
"I'm weak. I couldn't curse you if my life dependend on it. I can't fight you. I can't challenge you. I can't win against you."
Ezra's voice rose with each word, and Rourke reached over and covered the hands he was wringing on his lap with his. "Shh. I will fight for you. I will win for you, and you won't ever have to fight against me because I'm your mate." He caressed him with his thumb. "Strength isn't about being able to cause harm, and everyone has a role to play."
Rourke, alpha wolf of the of the Flint pack, wants to end the war with the witches, so he asks for a witch mate in hopes to form an allience with the coven. To his surprise (but no complaints), he gets a male witch Ezra, but it's only after the mating is done that he finds out that the witches don't care about Ezra and, moreover, they don't plan to stop the fighting.
There were many things I liked in this book and some things that bothered me. The relationship between Rourke and Ezra starts with a dub-con. Rourke believes that Ezra volunteered to be his mate. while Ezra believes he has no choice. Rourke checks in with him a lot during their first time sleeping together, but Ezra doesn't even understand that he's allowed to object. When Rourke finds out that Ezra was forced into mating, he is angry (not at Ezra), but the deed is already done and they are tied together for life. He tries to stay away from Ezra as much as he can before the bond flares up, but this only results in Ezra misunderstanding him and being scared of him. So, Rourke is a bit of an ass at the beginning, but this is acknowledged later on.
There wasn't any impactful "falling in love". It's more about two people - strangers and technically enemies - who are trying to make their relationship work. At the beginning, Ezra isn't even Rourke's type - Rourke is into bold people who ask for what they want, while Ezra is very shy and reserved - and he dislikes witches, as well as their numerous piercings and tattooes. But he willingly made a sacrifice to mate a witch for the sake of his pack's safety. And, as mentioned above, Ezra thought he didn't have a choice in the mating. But there is no going back for neither of them, so once Rourke realizes what Ezra's gone through, he tries to amend it and become a good mate to him.
So, I was kinda uncomfortable reading when Rourke became all touchy with Ezra who is obviously traumatized and doesn't understand a lot of things, but I also understood that Rourke is trying to let the mate bond settle properly in order for Ezra to become stronger and be able to share Rourke's strength (their bond didn't settle properly because of Ezra's unwillingness to be mated and Rourke's distance right after the mating), as well as feel safe, loved and protected by his mate.
Certain parts were really uncomfortable to read, such as those where Rourke doesn't explain things and does something without asking clearly for Ezra's consent. Rourke just assumes that Ezra knows and that there's no need to explain such things, as he's not aware of what kind of life Ezra had in his coven and possibly doesn't understand the depth of his trauma. But for what it's worth, Rourke did try to improve whenever he messed up. It was imperfect and some things left a bad taste in my mouth, but it did feel realistically flawed.
I liked that Rourke never asked Ezra to take off his piercings despite not liking them, that's really cool. I hated that we were constantly reminded about how much he dislikes Ezra's piercings.
I liked the culture of witches and werewolf packs. That was so interesting and I wish I could've learned about them more. Also, those were scary witches that cackle and make that clawing motion with their fingers when they cast curses. That was really fun to read. I liked the pack and the found family vibe, how they all accepted and protected Ezra after realizing that he's not an evil witch.
I only wish that there was more comfort. It had such potential for good hurt/comfort, but there was little comfort in my opinion.
°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*
*General Notes*
-arranged mating, werewolf x outcast witch
-size difference (huge werewolf x tiny witch)
-CWs: abusive witch family, self-harm for the purpose of using blood magic
-MC with scars (Ezra), touch-starved MC (Ezra), traumatized MC (Ezra),
-Ezra is over 30; Rourke's age isn't specified.
*Intimacy Notes*
-Top/bottom/verse: <spoiler>strict; Ezra bottoms, Rourke tops.</spoiler>
-Kinks/sex notes: <spoiler>dub-con, biting, marking, penetration, BJs, fingering, nipple play (with piercings)... </spoiler>
-Other:
・only one bed
・little caretaking of a sick MC (Ezra)
・nicknames: honey, babe, darling, sweetheart, love...
・"you're mine" moments
・some possessiveness and protectiveness
・adopting a cat
・magic lacy oatmeal cookies