Standoff
Samhain Publishing
Genre: Paranormal, Werewolf, Red Hot
Length: Novel
Format: eBook, Trade Paperback
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Blurb: Cade Warden has put his Pack first for most of his life and now Warren Pellini and his thugs threaten everything he holds dear. Into that life of intense focus and increasing loneliness walks the woman he’s been waiting for.
Grace Pellini isn’t just Cade’s mate, she’s the sister of his greatest enemy and she’s been putting herself in grave danger to gather information to aid the Nationally Allied Packs. Cade is everything she could have hoped for in a man even if he is overprotective and pushy at times.
Against the backdrop of their increasing passion and deepening bond, they race against time to find a key to stop Pellini’s biological weapon. And then the stakes rise again when Pellini calls an ancient Challenge. It’s up to Grace to stand by and let her mate risk everything for his people. And his life is in her hands.
Cade caught up with her in their room as she tossed a suitcase on the bed and unzipped it.
“I realize you’re worried about your sister-in-law. I’m a doctor, I know how risky it is for humans turned wolf in the first week. But I don’t share, Cade. Period. I won’t live that way. If that’s what she expects, that expectation needs to be eradicated. If that’s what you expected, you need to say so right now so I can leave.” The eyes that greeted his sparked with fury.
She might look sweet but she got right down to the point. In truth the way she’d acted with Nina flipped his switch in a major way. She truly was his mate, truly was an Alpha.
“Grace, honey, I’d kill any wolf who suggested sharing. I don’t share either. Jack got his taste but that’s it forever. You’re mine. I’m yours. You’re not going anywhere. And hell, neither is she. You handled her just fine. She’ll respect your strength and when she thinks about it, she’ll realize she’s being silly and stop being a bitch.”
“She’d better, Cade.” She paused, staying there with the bed between them. “Do you love her?”
He felt her uncertainty, her pain and could do nothing else but go to her and fall to his knees. “I love her, yes. She’s my anchor bond and my sister-in-law. More than that, she’s my friend. She’s been with me through a lot of stuff. She’s the other half of my brother. Lex and I may be at odds every now and again but he’s my best friend.” He put his arms around Grace’s waist and breathed her in.
Her body remained stiff as she processed what he’d said.
“But that wasn’t your question, was it? Do I love her romantically? Sexually? Like I love you?” He looked up into her face and she touched the side of his jaw, softly, gently. “No. At one time, I think I did. Or I thought I knew what it was to love. Partly it was the link, I’m sure Jack feels deeply for you and over time that would grow. Partly it’s because Lex and I are brothers. Our feelings for each others’ mates would be complicated by our biological link to each other. What I feel for you, Grace, nothing in the universe could have prepared me for. There’s no issue of choice, of choosing between you and anyone else. I’ve chosen. I chose the moment I saw you the first time. I don’t want you to hurt, Grace. If the idea that I would take my eyes from you for a single moment bothers you, rest assured, that’s not the case.”
She got to her knees, facing him and kissed along the line of his jaw. “Good. Now I won’t have to maim you in your sleep and start a whole new level of Clan war. I love you too, or I wouldn’t stay here and deal with this business.” She stood and held out her hand. “Now, come on, we have a house full of people to entertain.”
“I’m so going to nail you when everyone leaves.” He looked her over with a wicked grin.
“I’m counting on it.”
Xeranth at Whipped Cream Reviews gives STANDOFF 5 cherries and says: Ms. Dane has a winning hand with Standoff. Since I read this story in one sitting I have to say it was worth every moment of lost sleep.
Sandy at The Good, The Bad, The Unread gives STANDOFF an A and says in part: I like the wolf characteristics that Dane keeps consistent with all of her characters even when they are in human form, including the submissive posture one takes when they’ve done wrong; the way they all have the need to touch, feel a touch, rubbing a cheek on a shoulder, a group hug when needed, and helping a wounded family member bring their wolf out to allow them to heal (this was done especially well in Wolf Unbound). Of course, all of the love scenes are sexy and hot. All the characters are paired perfectly, so anything from sex to teasing to raising their young is done exactly right.
Megan at Erotic Escapades gives STANDOFF five tattoos and says in part: Heavy tension keeps you on the edge of your seat from the first page of Standoff and refuses to let you go. The
complex pack relations mixed with the burgeoning mate relationship between Cade and Grace make for some especially
emotional moments as balance between pack and family is learnt by both.
Angel Brewer of JERR gives STANDOFF 4 1/2 Stars and an O rating: Lauren Dane has done a magnificent job of combining awesome characters and a sparkling plot. I only hope that this is not the last installment in the Cascadia Wolves series.
Mystical Nymph at Literary Nymphs gives STANDOFF Five nymphs and says in part: I’ll say up front that I loved this story. It has everything needed to make a great book…a well written and plotted ongoing storyline, great secondary characters well integrated from previous books and two sexy, determined and dedicated individuals as our hero and heroine. It’s a thrilling story that pulled me in from the very first words and kept me racing through its pages until I reached the action filled end.