Abel's Omega

Mercy Hills Pack, Volume 2

By: Ann-Katrin Byrde

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Bax is desperate. Recently widowed, he takes his pups and flees his pack to avoid a new mate who wants him - but not his babies.

At Mercy Hills, he finds the help he'd hoped for, but also a man who both attracts and unnerves him. He doesn't want another alpha mate, or even any mate, though he knows an omega has to have one. But Abel is unlike any other alpha he's ever met, and the hope that had been crushed out of him begins to grow again in the warmth of Abel's kindness and strength.

Bax is a dream come true for Abel - smart, loyal, strong, and loving. Everything Abe's ever looked for in a mate. Except the independent omega has no reason to trust an alpha, and Abel's going to have to work his way through layers of hurt if he wants to convince Bax he's safe opening his heart.

But to keep him, he'll have to fight for him.

©2016 Ann-Katrin Byrde (P)2018 Ann-Katrin Byrde

My favorite Omega-Alpha MM story.

I dont usually listen to an audiobook more than once but there’s something about Bax and Abel’s story that calls to me. I just finished my 3rd listen. It’s a keeper!

Great story!

Love this second story of the series. Thoroughly enjoyed the journey of Bax and Abel's love story. Can't wait for the next book! Nick j. Russo was awesome!

Story SUPERB, narration SUPERB.☆☆☆☆☆🤗

This is one of the best series I have listened to. Ann-Katrin Byrde is a genius with her writing, imagination, and creating her characters. Each story just keeps getting better and better. I love the way she continues to incorporate each past characters into the new storyline. Bax & Abel a true love story. Nick J. Russo is a beast with his narration, one of the best voice actors out here. He gives each character, and story life. Now, the only complaint I have is that the wait for the next installment of this series to become available on audible is way to long. Especially for us who only listen to their books on audible. That being said, I HIGHLY recommend this series. It's worth the wait!👍

Life's Surprises

Baxter has had a hard life but his strength has gotten him through so much. He has the courage to see a way out. He arrives at Mercy Hill and of course the pack doesn't out his initial deception. Abel is still overwhelmed by all that is going on. But as he and Baxter continue to spend time together it is clear that each one is interested. They also are a perfect match and they bring out the best in each other. I love the give in take between these two men. There is also the ongoing angst between the other packs and the humans.

Great Shifter series that I'm obsessed with!

I had to have a copy of this book when I saw Nick Russo was continuing with the narration as I truly fell in love with these Shifter's in book 1. This is Abel's book, his turn at finding his true mate. I would urge you to either read/listen to book 1 before this one because events in that book directly play into this story.

Sold off to an older, abusive alpha when he was barely a teenager, Bax doesn't have time to consider the freedom he could have when his mate dies. His pack wants to turn right around and do the same thing to the sweet, beautiful omega. Once again giving him no choice in his own life. So he takes his pups and runs, right into the arms of an Alpha built to respect him.

Abel almost mated Jason simply to protect the omega from the same pack Bax was born into and he quickly welcomes Bax into his pack. The spark and attraction is there from the start, but Abel recognizes the fear and apprehension that exudes from Bax in waves, so he takes his time, hoping that once he shows the skittish omega that he's safe in Mercy Hills that they can take their budding relationship to the next level.

I was pulled into this story from the start, could literally feel Bax's pain and desperation within the first chapter. When he found his way to Mercy Hills and a pack that respected him and gave him a choice when it came to how he and his pups would live their life, it took a long time for Bax to come to believe it, he'd been mistreated and abused for so long, it's all he knew. I loved how Abel took his time, breaking away a little more of the wall Bax hid behind and courted him, protected and respected him. Russo did an amazing job of ensuring that each character had their own voice, their own tone in the story. He poured emotions into the story as he told it, truly bringing not on the characters, but things like Bax's fear and Abel's determination to life in my mind.

This is definitely a shifter series I would recommend. I cannot wait for the next book and am hoping and praying Russo continues to tell the stories.

This story!! I'm in love with it.

I really am loving this story. The ongoing mystery of the True Omega. The author is really keeping us drawn in.

My only issue is how long the book is. Don't get me wrong. I love reading a long book. I just don't think these stories in this particular series need to be this long without a clearer explanation of the whole Omega situation. If it delved more into that, I could understand it. Having said that, I love the depths of these characters. From Jason in the first book and now Bax.

The issues, while fictional, are relevant to real life and the way people tend to hate what they don't understand. The same ignorance that Omegas and shifters period face is the same ignorance that many groups of people faced throughout history.

Well written. I already have the next book in my library and can't wait to read it.

abel's omega

Baxter was beyond resourceful and thankfully it helped save him abuses and his pups from predators. Baxter's pack and alphas made me wretch with their lack.of care for omegas and poor treatment of them. They were treated as less than chattel !! Abel had a heart of gold and fought for omegas rights. I loved hiw accepting and open the Mercy Hills pack was to Bax. I felt empathy for Bax still having problems with his old pack after his mating. Never a safe place because of greed. Kudos to Abel for all his integrity and foresight. Such an emotional hard won love story. The narrator did a great job. I voluntarily listened to this and am giving an honest review.

Excellent second entry in a great series

I read a lot of shifter romances. Ann-Katrin Byrde's Mercy Hills series stands head and shoulders above the average for the genre. Her characters are appealing, and their romances are fun, but the real stand-out is her world-building. In her universe, shifters are a feared and hated underclass, living inside the walls of enclaves they were herded into several generations before.

This particular entry in the series focuses on Bax, an omega - a male shifter who can bear children - in a loveless mating. When his mate dies, he and his children lose status and the new Alpha plans to adopt the pups out to multiple families and mate Bax off to his own political advantage. Bax flees, and ends up at Mercy Hills, an enclave where things work quite differently from his previous home.

The romance between Bax and Abel, the Alpha of Mercy Hills, is a lovely, slow growing thing. In addition to the love story, though, the treatment of omegas parallels the treatment of women in our own history, and the oppression of the shifters has echoes of Nazi Germany (the yellow collar tabs that are worn to identify shifters "outside walls" instantly reminded me of Star-of-David patches.) Not that the author preaches at you; it's all organic to the story.

I love the story - I've read it several times - but the audio version is a great enhancement. Nick Russo uses a soft Southern accent for most of the characters - they all hail from the South: Mississippi, Texas or Tennessee - with enough variation that you can keep track of who's speaking without much trouble. I HIGHLY recommend both the print and audio versions of the series (and I hope the whole series makes it to audio eventually!) A very, very good use of a credit!

A Second Chance at Happiness

Before you read this book, make sure you read Mating the Omega, Book 1 of the Mercy Hills Pack series. This book could possibly read as a standalone, but to really enjoy it, you need to read the first book.

Shifters are a minority class that are discriminated against and feared by humans. Forced to live inside pack enclosures that are spread across the United States, the packs are kept isolated from each other. Inside the pack enclosures, shifters live by the accepted Pack Laws as well as the customs and traditions that sprung up in the 100 years the shifters have been forced behind the walls. In this world, Omegas are chattel – they have no voice and they have no autonomy. They are expected to mate an Alpha and be the perfect homemaker. An Omega’s opinion on his own life is not something other shifters consider, after all, Omegas need protection and guidance from Alphas in order to flourish. Bax is an Omega who’s learned the hard way how hollow and false that viewpoint is. Stuck in a loveless, emotionally abusive mating, Bax does the best he can to raise his pups and survive a life he was forced into. When his Alpha dies without leaving any backup plan for Bax and the pups wellbeing, Bax is once again forced into a life he didn’t choose. Omegas don’t get to choose their lives, but Bax refuses to allow any future where his pups are not safe, happy, and in his care. When another mating is decided for him, one that would have his pups forcefully adopted by other families, Bax realizes that Omega or not, he has to take control of his life for the protection of his pups. Using all his wiles and wit, Bax creates an escape plan that allows him to run to Mercy Hills to find sanctuary for his pups and himself.

I love how well Ann-Katrin Byrde develops their characters and have them grow throughout the story. Bax makes an amazing transformation from an abused victim to a confident shifter, but I liked that Bax’s strength and determination is apparent throughout that development. He may have been a victim to circumstance, a victim to a bad mating he couldn’t escape, but he was never broken. Abel is one of my favorite characters. He’s an Alpha, but he’s more than just the protector and pack leader – he has a vision for the pack’s future, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make that vision come true. Their dynamic relationship was beautiful, from the way they fell in love, to the family interactions, I loved every moment of it. The pups were fun, adorable, and felt real. They misbehaved, they had meltdowns, and they asked complicated questions – they felt like real children and not just props for the plot.

This book provides further world building for the series. It becomes more apparent how much the packs struggle to survive in a human world that’s stacked against them. But it also shows that there is hope for change, and not only do shifters need to fight against old pack traditions that make Omegas into chattel, but they also must fight against the injustices the human world has imposed on them. I love all the details of this world building, and find the political, social, and cultural interaction between shifters and humans fascinating. These details in the world building are what makes this not just a series, but a true saga.

I’ve read this book multiple times as well as listened to Nick J. Russo’s narration. Both the kindle book and the audiobook are fantastic. I love how expressive Nick’s voice is during the narration, and how well he does the different voices. The love scenes feel tender, the sex scenes are hot, and the action scenes are exciting.

4.5 Stars!

This is definitely my favorite of the series. I absolutely adore Abel and even after reading this book 3 times I had to have it on audio.