Protection of the Pack

The Other Wolf Series, Book 1

By: Heather G. Harris

Narrated by: Alyse Gibbs

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

I’m Lucy. Your average accountant turned alpha werewolf. An affair with the wrong succubus sent me tumbling into a magical realm I'd never even dreamed existed. I was just adjusting to pack life when I was asked to mercy kill the current alpha. I'm not a total bitch, so I did what he asked, but it's left me as alpha of a pack I don't know, full of people who resent that I still live and breathe while the old alpha doesn't.

I'm still trying to find my way in this violent new world when my third in command, Mark, gets brutally murdered right under my damn nose. To regain control of the pack, I'm going to need to find the killer and bring him to vigilante justice—luckily Esme is more than happy to get her paws dirty.

Of course, that's when the werewolf council show up to question me, and things get a little dicey. Thank goodness I have Greg Manners, former dragon brethren and general ass kicker, along to back me up. Now I just need to unravel who'd kill Mark, which it turns out, is a really long list. Mark was a very naughty boy. Now I'm hip deep in suspects, and I need to move fast—before the killer strikes again....

©2022 Heather G Harris (P)2023 Heather G Harris

One of my Favourites of the Year!!

Protection of the Pack is the spin-off series from ‘The Other Realm’ in which we learned about Jessica ‘Jinx’ Sharp. In the Other Wolf series, we follow Jinx’s best friend Luciana ‘Lucy’ Barrett, who was turned into a Werewolf in Book #3 of the Other Realm series, and during that series, she had to kill the Alpha of the Home Counties Pack, Lord Wilfred Samuel. When she killed him, she became the new Alpha of the pack, which was actually Lord Samuel’s aim, he wanted someone he could trust to lead his pack.
But poor Lucy has only been a werewolf for a few weeks, and only known about the Other Realm for the same period, so is basically clueless on how everything is run. Now, she is expected to not only learn how to be a Werewolf, but run an entire Pack. To make things even more interesting, when she was created as a werewolf, she was stabbed with the magical dagger Glimmer, that passed onto her the abilities of a Piper. Piper’s have the power to speak with animals, to control them. Nearly all werewolf/human relationships are one of dominance. When a werewolf is made, a Human gets a ’wolf’ – so that two entities live inside the same body, the human and the wolf. When in human form, the human has control. However, when they shift to wolf form, the wolf can take control, and if they do, the wolf can take control, and if they do, they won’t ever give control back to the human.
However, for Lucy, she can speak to her wolf – Esme – and they are friends, something that has never happened before. And when they change (which is almost instantaneous, again, something that has never been heard of before), Lucy gives Esme control, knowing Esme will give control back as they have a loving relationship. Even better, Esme passes on useful information about Werewolf and Other Law to Lucy. There are also some of the funniest moments in the book when Esme asks Lucy so wonderful questions about human language that makes no sense to her. They leave you on the floor in tears.
Book 1 is a multitude of different things, it is an introduction to Lucy’s story, as we get to meet her, and how she gets set up with the pack. We get to meet Esme, and are introduced to her abilities. There is not just Lucy in this book, but Greg Manners from the Other Realm has also been turned into a werewolf, and has become Lucy’s Second – vowing to be her bodyguard, and loyal lieutenant in the Home Counties Pack. We already know that Manners is a walking weapon from The Other Realm series, but now, he is even more dangerous as he is a werewolf as well. There are some brilliant moments between Lucy and Manners as they adjust to each other.
In the middle of all of this, someone kills the Packs former second, and someone who was one of Lucy’s biggest threats, Mark Oates – who everyone used to hate, but at the same time, he also had a couple of girlfriends in the pack. This unfolds into an intriguing mystery about who killed him, and why. As Lucy and Manners start to investigate, Connection Representations turn up from another Pack to investigate how Lucy was turned and why she is the new Alpha (as it seems suspicious – and it is suspicious about how she can turn so quickly). They also start to investigate the death of the Pack member.
What unfolds is a multi-layered and fascinating storyline that makes for a stunning debut story in this spin-off series. There is always that doubt if a series like this will work, but Lucy is such an amazing character, and with the addition of Esme (there banter is just hilarious and one of the highlights of this book), Manners, as well as several OTHER characters including Witches, Griffons, Dryads, not to mention multiple Werewolves, some we know and a bunch we don’t, this makes for wonderful read. Lucy’s character is so well done, as she struggles with all these new responsibilities, and the pressure of having to look after the entire pack. Lucy is a highly intelligent person, and learns quickly, but she is also smart enough to know how to delegate, and use the resources around her, and it is fascinating watching her learn her new role. Even more compelling is the wonderful portrayal of how she integrates with her new wolf. Esme is more than a friend, she is part of her, and the bond they have is so special. Harris has really captured this so well.
The character writing in this story is not only captivating but just exceptional, and really makes the story a standout.
Even if you haven’t read the Other Realm series, you can pick this up and read it as a new series, Harris has included enough detail for ‘new’ readers to the series. Regardless if you are new or continuing on from The Oher Realm, this is an absolute Must Read, it is just brilliant and was one of my favourite books I have read in the Urban Fantasy genre this year. Book 2 is just as good!!
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!!

Love this audio!

I had already read this story and loved it! However, the audio bring it to life in the best ways! The narration is so clear and able to express each emotion so wonderfully. As someone that listens to audiobooks 1.8x or higher this is not always the case. I truly enjoyed this audio version and can not wait for the rest of the series.

Loved it!

I absolutely adore both this author and the narrator! The author’s intended wit and dry humor (both unparalleled) are portrayed so well by Ms. Gibbs

Amazing continuation of this world

I'm so happy to continue the story from another point of view. And I love all of the characters so much. Heather has created tremendously likable and unlikable characters, camaraderie, loyalty, friendship, and a range of other emotions in a supernatural world. Starting the next book in the series right away!

Loved it!

Heather G Harris was my favorite new author of 2022
I discovered her when I read the Other Realm series.
If you have not read this series don't miss it!
The creation of the new world, the characters, the emotions.
This trilogy is the second in The Other world.
Alyse Gibbs does a great job with the narration. I love the British accent!

Wonderful experience

Loved the story and the narrator was stellar! Highly recommend! Can’t wait for the next one to come out!