Defender of the Pack

The Other Wolf Series

By: Heather G. Harris

Narrated by: Alyse Gibbs

Length: 1 hr and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

I have a wolf in my head. Her name is Esme, and she likes killing things.

I’m Lucy, alpha werewolf of a pack that hates me. I inherited the pack when I mercy-killed the current alpha at his behest. I did the right thing, but it’s left me head of a werewolf pack who resent that I still live and breathe while their old alpha doesn't.

The problem is, I wasn’t born to the Other realm so magic is all new to me. I’ve got to get up to speed–fast. Luckily, I have super soldier Greg Manners on side to help me, or this loneliness would be crippling.

My new packmates are making it clear that I’m about as welcome as a malodourous, flea-ridden mutt. Disrespect is one thing, bullying is another. I’m trying to take their pranks as light hearted fun, but my gut tells me there’s no affection behind them. I’m going to have to find the pranksters and put a stop to their shenanigans before they erode what little shred of authority I have left. Because if the pack doesn’t respect me, I’ll be replaced as alpha. It’s a position you can’t resign from. It’s do or die.

It's time to get my paws dirty….

©2022 Heather G Harris (P)2022 Heather G Harris

Good start to a book

I was really enjoying the book but just when it gets to the good part it leaves you hanging with a cliff hanger having to wait for the next book. I should have been one book.

Exceptional Add-On to the Other Wolf Series!!

This is the prequel to the series, and we get to see Lucy just after she has inherited the pack from Lord Samuel, and only days after becoming a werewolf herself. She is an accountant, not a werewolf, and certainly not an Alpha!!
But she is now the Alpha of the Home County Pack, and they need her, whether they know it or not (and at this point, it’s more a not, as most of the pack comes across as hating her given that she has just killed their Alpha that they all liked, especially Archie, given it was his Dad!).
No time for pity-parties though!!
Luckily for Lucy, she has a secret weapon – the super-solder Greg Manners, who has also just become a werewolf, is brethren, used to work for Emery the Prime-Elite of the Dragons, and is friends with her best-friend Jess ‘Jinx’ Sharp, a private investigator who also happens to be one of the most powerful beings in the Other.
Lucy also has another secret, she is a Piper, meaning that she can talk to animals (think pied piper, except instead of just rats, Pipers can commune with all animals). This allows her to talk with her Wolf, Esme, something that no other Werewolf can do. It also allows her to snap-shift, she can change in seconds, whereas all the other werewolves can take between 2 to 5mins to shift between human and wolf (and back again). It makes Lucy and Esme exceptionally powerful.
At the start of this book, Lucy has just come into the role, and the pack is not happy with her. Greg is with her, and she suggests that there will have to be a tourney to sort out pack order, as Greg will be her second eventually, he will have to fight the current second for it, Mark Oates. At that, Mark challenges Greg, and the two of them start to fight.
Lucy is initially terrified, worried Greg is going to get hurt or killed, even though Greg is deadly on two legs, he is new to the four-legged version of fighting.
Once the fight is done, things only get worse for Lucy. The pack decides to challenge her further, with continuous pranks, bullying and disrespect. Lucy decides that eventually she has to do something about it.
This leads directly into the first book into the series. It is short, but it is actually full of really great backstory and for fans of the series, this is an absolute must read as it provides a lot of really great information about different characters. We get some great insight into Lucy and her insecurities at taking over the pack initially, but more than that, we get to see why from all of the different pack members, Mark, Seren, Tristan, Archie, Liam, Noah, Greg, Mrs Dawes. There are so many different characters introduced in this short story that we get to see bits of their origin stories.
There is some really awesome pack-politics as well, making it a must read for fans!
If you have read any of the Other Wolf Series, this is an absolute must read!!
Alyse Gibbs has such a beautiful voice, you can listen to it endlessly. She does such an outstanding voice for Lucy, who you know has a voice that is just as stunning as she is. Gibbs tells the story wonderfully from Lucy’s point of view, creating a range of both male and female character voices, each voice slightly different, so that you can easily tell who is who, without having to be told. Gibbs is a wonderful ‘Voice Actor’ instead of just a Narrator, providing not only the narration, but also the emotional aspects of the story, really bringing each of the characters to life, along the story. Harris has written this with an audiobook in mind, in that there is not a lot of ‘He said/she said’, and the narrative flows very nicely (even with Jinx’s lie detector ability). With Gibbs characters voices, and the lovely narrative flow, it makes for a really wonderful listening experience, especially given that Gibbs has such a beautiful voice. This is one of those Audiobooks, in which the quality is so good that it is far better to listen to it than read it as you get so much more from the Audiobook!!! This is a must listen!!