Elizabeth's Wolf

I have read some of the other Feline Breed stories by Lora Leigh, which got me interested in all of her work where I can find it, and while all of the Breed stories are hot and gritty with an intensity and dedication between the mated pairs that I really like, this one was different. Dash is wounded and not expected to live, but he receives a letter from a little girl who writes to him after she, Cassie, and her mother, Elizabeth, pick his name off a list of wounded soldiers who would like to get mail. Cassie tells him about her life with her mother, that they have had to run away from her father and have been chased by bad men. While Dash heals from his substantial injuries, he comes to consider Cassie and Elizabeth as his. Something inside him demands that he heal and find them, protect them, get them to safety and remove any and all threats from their lives so that Cassie can grow up in safety and he can have Elizabeth all to himself. Once Dash is released from the hospital he goes in search of Elizabeth and her daughter, Cassie, using every avenue at his disposal, which is pretty substantial given his Breed connections and those of his regular unit in the armed forces. As Elizabeth and Cassie are eating dinner in a small diner ( Cassie is eating because Elizabeth doesn't have enough money to pay for two meals) in a small, podunk town, Cassie chatters on and on to her mother about Dash and how she knew he was going to find them and help them... And moments later, Dash walks into the diner, and Elizabeth is no longer alone in her fight to protect her daughter. While it is very understandable given the events surrounding her mad run with her daughter, Elizabeth is reluctant to truly trust Dash and his motives when he shows up to help. Knowing she has no one to turn to or to help her, she relents grudgingly and Dash puts his life on the line over and over as he tries to get Elizabeth and Cassie to safety in the Breed compound. You don't have to read all of the previous books to get a handle on the Breed storyline, the way this story is written is completely different than the other romances between the mated pairs. There are complex stories behind the main romantic content and Dash is one of those hot heroes that you wish would walk into your diner one night, and Elizabeth's character rings true with anyone who has maternal instincts. I have enjoyed all of Lora Leigh's Breed stories, but this one isn't nearly as raw and gritty as they are, the sex scenes in this tome are toned down by comparison and fewer, but the overall story is an incredibly satisfying read. Once I opened the first pages I was hooked and didn't put it down until I had reached the back cover. This is a wonderful book to tuck into your suitcase if you're headed off for a relaxing vacation or if you're taking a sick day to just relax.

I was recommended Lora Leigh by writer Kate Angell. She knows how I like powerful stories that grab the reader and won't let them go. I have three of the "Breed books" and am naturally reading them out of order, typical for me. Still, that is often a good lit test to see if the book is really stand alone. Though this is fourth in the Breed Series, this one truly stands alone well. The Feline books that I have read are super, but Lora Leigh is at TOP FORM with Elizbeth's Wolf. At points in the feline books, while I am really enjoying them, the romance is eschewed in favor of breed matings. While it's powerful writing, it loses the true romance in favor of animal traits. However, with Elizabeth's Wolf, the power of the romance is dead on target. This is Lora Leigh at sheer perfection. She is so concentrated, so in tune with her characters, on the power of a predator finding and protecting his mate. In this case the "scent" comes through letters from a little girl to a soldier, Dash Sinclair, who has been injured. No one sends letters to Dash. He is truly a lone wolf, a man genetically engineered with wolf in is coding. Unlike the feline breeds, whose traits are more obvious, his wolf breed traits are recessive. As a man born in a test tube, he is so utterly alone. When he is injured, his sight nearly taken from him, his commander sees Dash needs a lifeline, and offers it when letters from Cassie comes in. She has picked his name off a list of soldiers who didn't get mail and began writing Dash. As his commanders reads the letters, Dash begins to think of Cassie and her mother Elizabeth as his. It's clear to Dash almost immediately, there's problems in Cassie's life with her mother. Her mother is sad and scared. Quickly, Dash needs the letters, needs the woman and child. He arranges presents for Cassie of the year of receiving letters. As he is checking out of the hospital, he learns Cassie and her mother Elizabeth have been killed in an explosion that destroyed the apartment where they were living. So the wolf goes on the hunt to kill the people responsible. He soon gets a letter from Cassie. They escaped, she has another name and her mother and she are on the run for their lives once again. So the hunt switches for Dash, a race to find the child and mother and claim them before the men hunting them catch up kill Elizabeth and take the child. We guess the reason early on (especially so if you have read the other books), but it's not the plot that pulls you. It's the power of Dash's need to protect the woman he now claims and her child. Lora Leigh is SO POWERFUL with this story. It alone marks her as a talent to watch. This story is just so emotional, so vivid that you won't be able to put it down. Few writers reach this level of craft. So if you haven't read Lora Leigh, this is the one to start with.

Elizabeth's Wolf is about a courageously brave woman who risks everything to save her young daughter from an evil man who wants to use her for his own gain. On the way, Elizabeth's daughter Cassie befriends a lone soldier whose background is shrouded in mystery. It is through that development that really culminates how the story meets with a very wonderful and satisfying ending. It contains vivid details about a mother's love, strength and her all empowering willingness to never give up for the sake of her daughter. This also brings about a very emotionally charged relationship between the soldier, Dash (an absolute alpha man who protects what's his) and Elizabeth. As the story unfolds, we witness how their love for one another blossoms. I loved everything about this story. Not only does it contain hot passionate sex, it also has great main, second and third characters. This story also taught me the importance of valuing a soldier's commitment to fight for his country and protect those weaker than he. At the same time I realize that soldiers sacrifice a lot to do what they do and I've learned to better appreciate them. This is in essence a breed/ wolf story and I loved the little clues about other breeds. It keeps getting better and better. This is an absolutely outstanding book that cannot be missed.

I really enjoyed this breed book because it was a lone wolf story about a man with more friends than he realized. It was also a story about love and acceptance and families. Finally, the love story was typical Lora Leigh; hot sex and emotional love. Dash is a hero for our times and Elizabeth is a woman who can take care of herself and still lean on her man. And Cassie is a wonderful little girl who I can't wait to read more about. There is no way her story will not eventually be told. This book made me laugh and cry and squirm. I highly recommend it.