Mating the Omega

Mercy Hills Pack, Volume 1

By: Ann-Katrin Byrde

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Omega wolf Jason and his family have been on the run for six years, to keep Jason from being forcefully mated to his pack's cruel Alpha. When a brutal attack leaves his father desperately injured, Jason comes to the conclusion that it's time to call it quits. Terrified as he is to deliver himself into an Alpha's power, he makes a deal to mate with the Alpha of the richest pack in the country, and discovers that he'd rather mate the Alpha's handsome Head of Security. When Mac captures the feral shifter that climbed the walls surrounding the Mercy Hills Pack enclave, he feels for the young shifter's fear, though he knows his Alpha isn't the sort of shifter Jason believes he is. He'd be happy to see the two mated, except that, as time goes by, it becomes more and more difficult to deny his own feelings for the young, damaged Omega. A sudden turn of events sees Mac and Jason mated and expecting, but Jason's old pack isn't done with them yet.

©2016 Ann-Katrin Byrde (P)2017 Ann-Katrin Byrde

cute

love it super cute didn't even pause moment narrator was easy to the 👂 and it was a very good story

the ending was confusing...

this book could have been soo good, but it felt like the author was trying to rush the story along. The ending however, was very....stilted, nothing was explained it was like an event was thrown in with no thought just to move the story along. it was weird and I was left thinking 'wait, what?' and not in a good way. having said all this, I did enjoy this book and will likely continue on with the rest of the series.

A good choice for dipping your toes into Mpreg

I stumbled upon Mating the Omega while looking for audiobooks narrated by Nick J. Russo that were available through the Romance Package. I was in a Russo mood and as I'm still relatively new to the Mpreg genre - I've only read two books, I think - I decided to give this a try. And I'm really glad I did because I found it to be a very enjoyable audiobook. Not only did I get to enjoy an impressive performance by Russo (thereby getting my fix), but I also fell in love with Jason, the omega wolf.

Jason's status as an omega put him in an unenviable position, especially within the pack he was born in. Because of actions made by their alpha, Jason's parents took him and fled their pack to protect Jason from the alpha. In the world Byrde has created, humans are aware of the existence of shifters and regulate them strictly - forcing them to live in enclaves (gated shifter-only communities), require them to file travel plans that must be approved prior to them leaving their enclaves, enforce curfews, and a host of other rules that left me ill. To protect him from their alpha and other unscrupulous alphas who could and would cause him harm, Jason's parents lived within the human world, breaking the law by pretending to be human and working & living among them, moving whenever the alpha's enforcers tracked them down.

When the story starts, Jason has been awoken by his dad telling him that it's time to run again and Byrde does a nice job of creating tension in the scene and keeping the reader or listener on edge as we flee with Jason and his dad several times before Jason finds himself in the Mercy Hills Pack's enclave, caught trespassing by their security team. As Jason tries to make the best of a less than ideal situation (because it's not necessarily fair to call it a bad situation compared to his old pack), we find out some of the differences in how his pack treated alphas and how the Mercy Hills Pack treats them. As Jason and his dad try to settle into life at Mercy Hills, Jason prepares himself mentally to become the alpha's mate. In the interim, he begins to develop feelings for Mac, the alpha's best friend and head of the pack enforcers. Fortunately for the alpha, Mac returns Jason's feelings and Abel is able to encourage Jason to seduce Mac -- yeah, that was an amusing exchange. Unfortunately for all involved, Jason's former alpha isn't through with him and demands that Jason be returned to him. What follows is a rather fascinating court case as Jason's former alpha tries to use the human court system to settle a contract dispute which treats Jason like chattel. Talk about leaving a bad taste in your mouth. Ugh! I won't go into the ultimate decision and the fallout from that, but I will say that it made for some good white-knuckle-reading (or listening) as I sat riveted to the story, waiting to see how it would all play out.

As I said, I'm still relatively new to Mpreg, so I cannot comment on how it compares to other books in the genre. What I will say is that for someone testing out the genre, Mating the Omega is a good book to start with. I believe there is an ick factor that the uninitiated associate with Mpreg, as well as an "I can't wrap my head around that" mindset that can be hard to overcome. To tell the truth, the first Mpreg book I read wasn't advertised as being Mpreg and was actually part of the story's twist and even as much as I loved the author, I probably would have given it a pass had I known that. But because the Mpreg was only one facet of the story and not the main focus, the author eased the reader into it. For me, Mating the Omega has a similar feel. While the Mpreg is far more obvious and a major plot point, the pregnancy itself isn't the sole focus of the story and doesn't overpower the bond and love that forms between Jason and Mac. My only actual complaint is that I do wish more had been discussed about Jason's omega power and how it was supposed to benefit and/or be misused by his mate as that was one of the reasons his old alpha was said to want him so badly. However, that plot thread seemed to have been left hanging - unless I completely missed that conversation - and I'm intrigued as to what it was that made him a True Omega.

As for the narration, Russo did a great job of creating identifiable voices for the many characters and conveying their emotions. I especially liked how well he was able to show Jason's fear, anxiety, happiness, relief, and love, as well as his times of strength and his times of submission. Jason is a fascinating character as a less-submissive-than-he-should-be omega and Russo captures that wonderfully. I do hope that the next book in the series will be available via audio as I would love to listen to Abel find his mate.

NOTE: I listened to this title via Audible's Romance Package.

what an awesome start to a series

I never listen to this author before I like the bold blunt and no in between just to make the story longer It makes for a shorter read versus a 8-hour or 10-hour book but it's good You got to try it out oh and the narrator awesome I love him

Wonderful shifter romance

1st book in the mercy hills impreg shifter series. This story is about Jason a young omega who has been on the run with his dad for most of his life to most of his life to escape the cruelty of his home pack who actually murdered his mother.
Jason's dad William is injured in a confrontation, Jason is tired of running so he sneaks into the mercy hill's compound to check it out.
Offering himself to Abel, the mercy hills alpha seems to be his only hope.
Mack is the second in command security leader who offers Jason kindness and help. Feelings and attractions ensue.
Great start to an excellent series.
Nick J Russo is very good witj the narration.

Good & solid

I love Omega shifter books. The narrator did a good job, good storyline and HEA of course!

Evaluation of Book 1: Mating the Omega

This is one of my favorite Mercy Hills omega. series. There was very much detail. devoted to understanding the main character, and how he was motivated by his past.

Loved it.

I couldn't stop listening the moment I started. It was very interesting and the narrator did a great job.

i 😍 it

the story is one of my favorites i what to hear more of this series it is so worth it love ths book

Not a bad start to a new series.

Okay, 3 stars because I feel cheated! The ending was so rushed. We go from the accident to the baby. There had to have been something that happens when Mac goes after his mate. Even though I really hated that it just ended, I will be continuing on with the series.