Dawn’s Awakening

Breeds, Book #14

By Lora Leigh

ISBN# 9780425219751

Author’s Website:  http://www.loraleigh.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

The Breeds endured untold tortures while in the Breed labs where the scientists and Council soldiers treated them not as people, but the creatures they created, nothing more than playthings and instruments to torture.  And, it was even worse for the women.  Cougar Breed, Dawn, knows that all too well.  She was restrained and raped countless times since she was a young girl to when the Breeds finally escaped.  Unfortunately, the tortures and mind games didn’t end there.  Her pack brother, Dayan, messed with her mind, making her watch the discs he had of what was done to her in those labs, listening to her pray to a God that never listened; that never saved her.  Dayan made sure she could never heal or feel whole, until Callan eventually killed him.  Callan didn’t realize the scope of what Dayan had been doing to Dawn until after his death.  But, if all that wasn’t enough, Dawn’s mate leaving her before they could ever do anything about the heat was the most painful.  Now that mate is in trouble, there have been attempts made on his life.  But it’s time for the board meetings at his home, a perfect time for whoever doesn’t want Seth supporting the Breeds, to finally take him out once and for all.  He can’t cancel the meetings or all the funding he sends them will be stopped by the other members of the board, so he enlists the help of the Breeds to protect him.  However, he never expected Dawn to be assigned to be in charge of his protection detail.

And, there is one little detail that devastates Dawn.  Somehow Seth has gotten the mating heat to recede in his body, and even worse, he’s taken other women to his bed, and now he’s considering marrying one.  He plans to announce his engagement at these meetings.

After Seth’s outrage, and demand to have Dawn removed from this mission, Callan tries to do just that.  But Dawn refuses.  No woman is going to take her mate from her.  But when the past comes back to haunt her, will she survive?

This is another decent installment of the series.  It wasn’t the best, but was still a good read.  I have to say I was really drawn in by how Seth was able to rid himself of the mating heat.  I was interested in how he accomplished this feat, but the book never divulged that information.  However, we all knew that the heat would come back with a vengeance once the pair were near once again.

Seth.  He tried to stay away from Dawn, at first, knowing what would happen to his body if he stayed too close to her.  He left her ten years ago after Callan and Jonas showed him the discs of what happened in the labs and making him understand that Dawn couldn’t handle the mating, the demands their bodies would make, could destroy her.  So, he did what he thought he must to save her; he left.  He always checked up on her and made sure she had what she needed, but it wasn’t the same.  He wanted more, but knew it couldn’t be.  He did all he could to try to make a ‘normal’ life.  He had been contemplating marrying his current bed buddy, Caro.  He could never love anyone other than Dawn, but Caro could be a strong paring in society and could give him an heir.  However, as soon as Dawn showed up on his island, he knew he could never marry Caro.  His heart and body belong to his mate.

Yet, Seth still continued to fight their connection.  But when he finally gave in, I couldn’t help, but swoon for him!  The soap collection was pretty darn sweet, and I loved seeing him unveil them to her one at a time.  It proved just how much he loved her and how hard it was for him to stay away.  And, I was surprised how Breed-like this human could be when it came to protecting his woman!

Dawn was a strong female lead that has known nothing but pain in her life.  It was understandable how delicate she was in the others’ minds.  It would be a normal reaction to treat her with kid gloves, knowing what she has endured.  But it takes a strong mate to finally break through her barriers so she can truly start to heal.

This book ended kind of suddenly though.  I was expecting an epilogue that gave us a glimpse of this couple’s future together, but it wasn’t to be apparently.  I have no doubt they have an amazing and loving future ahead of them, we just didn’t see that in the epilogue.  There was too much that happened at the end of the novel that had to be addressed instead!