Desired

4.75 stars
Spice: 4.5

This book was an interesting take on the a/b/o verse. Here Weres do not fully shift into wolves; they take on lupine aspects like larger physical bodies and reproductive organs. In this universe, Omegas are rare and highly sought after, but traditionally they are subjects and pretty much owned by Alphas. There is a rift within the Were society between older traditionalist Weres, who want to keep the status quo and bring back older, barbaric customs, and the younger generation, who wants to move into the future and create a more equitable society.

The story starts on the eve of an old barbaric custom; an omega hunt. During the hunt, Alphas hunt and forcibly claim kidnapped Omegas.

Jamie is a human who works a bar frequented by Weres, and on the night before the hunt, he is accosted by what he doesn't realize is an Alpha in the bathroom. He manages to escape the bathroom, and he runs into Asher, the local pack Alpha who captivates him, and Asher is also drawn to Jamie. Asher almost gets into an altercation with the Alpha, who accosted Jamie, and finds out that a council elder invited the Alpha and his pack into Black Creek territory to run an omega hunt. Asher is surprised and upset to learn that an omega hunt has been planned on his territory.

Jamie finishes his shift and goes to sleep in his car because he is unhoused. He feels like he is catching a cold, and he wraps himself into his sleeping bag and is trying to get some sleep when his car is broken into and is abducted. We find out that Jamie is a rare human Omega which is why the Alpha came onto him in the bathroom. We find out that he is going into heat, which he does not understand. He was abducted to add another Omega to the hunt.

When the omegas are let out to begin running for the hunt, Asher recognizes Jamie as his mate and joins the hunt. The first encounter between Asher and Jamie is definitely dubcon because Asher realizes that Jamie believed the whole situation was a dream and could not consent to the claim, so he did not claim him.

The story has dark elements, but the plot does not dwell on them, and I wish the author fleshed out the story a bit more by exploring those elements. Jamie is snarky and doesn't take shit from anyone. Asher is a very progressive Alpha who sees the value of other designations of Weres, like Betas and Omegas, in leadership.

The book was very spicy and is a good read for folks fond of fated mates, knotting, and mpreg.

Thank you to GRR for an ARC copy; this is my honest review.