Sophie worked much too hard to be able to keep a steady relationship. No man would put up with this beautiful workaholic. Soulful grey eyes and mischievous blonde curls hid a keen intelligence and the strong desire to be and remain self-sufficient. With such an independent nature and her excessive need to do her work to perfection she had the wrong recipe for finding long lasting love.

Aware of her shortcomings and quite horny from her long abstinence, Sophie decided to spend a reckless evening at the local bar-drinks, several dances-something of the sort. To her surprise, the evening was even more pleasant than she had expected. "The Howlers," a live quartet, were singing that evening in the bar and she felt strongly attracted to the drummer. The man had gorgeous dark blue eyes and brown hair, a lithe body and extremely agile hands. The rhythm of his drums entered her blood and the charisma of the man himself made her go with him after the show ended without a thought for propriety. Her wild night was getting wilder by the minute.

Artemais, the leader of the werewolf pack, was in search for his True Mate-the one and only female that his alpha male sperm could impregnate. From his eighteenth year on, he had been performing sex with any number of women he felt attracted to, thinking he would recognize "The One" when she would become pregnant. He was now over thirty and still looking, in company of his three younger brothers who were spending their free time in the same, for them, satisfactory way. But he had to secure his alpha line, or the pack would be lost, spreading too widely apart.

On a whim, their group was singing in the local bar and at the beginning it had seemed another wasted evening. But then, the unknown blonde entered the bar and the attraction that sprang to life between the two of them convinced Artemais that this was "The One," and he worried that while he was busy beating the drums, some other lucky man would steal the girl from under his very nose.

Six weeks later, Sophie was in a quandary. The blue line on her test was telling her something she did not want to hear. She was pregnant after only one night with the unknown man, of whom she had only known his name-Artemais. Now she was slowly absorbing the truth-she was going to be a mother and she felt very strongly that a child should have both parents around while growing. She would have to find Artemais and let him know…

After a long and most frustrating day, Sophie returned to her apartment laden with groceries, books from the library and her briefcase. A sudden bout of nausea made her drop all her things at the entrance to her place and make a sudden rush for the toilet. After miserably retching the contents of her stomach, she was surprised to hear a well known male voice say, "This might make you feel a bit better," and to find his hand offering a wet cloth in front of her eyes.

Their courtship was wonderfully wrought with wild and satisfying sex, and small mishaps just added to their growing love. Sophie had to adapt to her lover being a werewolf and to the fact that her baby would have the very same blood.

This, the first in the Rutledge Werewolves series, will leave you with the taste for more. I am sure that author Elizabeth Lapthorne will not disappoint any of her readers. From serious Artemais to sad William and playful younger brothers Samuel and Dominic, the Rutledge Werewolves will give you many enchanted hours of good reading.

Reviewed By: Raluca Popov
© July 2004