SEAL WOLF UNDERCOVER is book 5 in Terry Spear's SEAL Wolf series. Terry Spear spins yet another action-packed tale of two PI werewolves in love. Werewolf private investigators Vaughn Greystroke and Jillian Matthews collide when pursuing fellow werewolf Douglas Wendish's attacker. Unfortunately for Vaughn, he actually ends up pursuing Jillian's brother and she shoots him. Even though they have a very inauspicious first meeting, their mutual attraction proves to be undeniable. Bullets fly, bad guys, wreak havoc, but Terry Spear balances the high- octane action sequences with humor and romance.
I love a romance in which the hero and heroine have a lot in common, and there is a mutual respect and admiration in addition to a physical attraction. Jillian and Vaughn have both been in the military and are now both PIs. Naturally, Jillian is initially a little prickly with Vaughn since he was chasing down her brother, but that issue goes away the longer they get to know each other. I love how Vaughn is drawn to Jillian's intelligence, toughness, and personality, and respects her as a fellow investigator. The teasing between this hero and heroine draws out the sexual tension and makes it all the more amazing when they give in to their desire for each other.
This is a romance full of mystery and suspicious characters galore. It becomes evident pretty early in the story who the bad guys are, but the intrigue comes from trying to figure out the specifics in the intricate conspiracy of thieves. Vaughn and Jillian work with their jaguar counterparts to try and follow the money trail and trip up the assorted villains in their lies. Jillian's brother, and his love life and secrets, throw a nice element of uncertainty in the mix. Jaguar shifters Everett, Demetria, and Howard make great teammates for Vaughn and Jillian, and the chemistry and comradery add a fun spark to a great story.
SEAL WOLF UNDERCOVER is a riveting story with a werewolf and jaguar avengers, and a dazzling romance. Since Douglas took so much punishment in this book, without getting a sweetheart of his own, I hope to read his story in a future Terry Spear book. I eagerly await Terry Spear's next sizzling werewolf romance.
Never be so foolish as to fall for the enemyβ¦
Special wolf agent Jillian Matthews has joined the
jaguar-run United Shifter Force to track down a deadly
criminal. Sheβs even willing to work with PI Vaughn
Greystrokeβuntil the hot, growly SEAL wolf makes the mistake
of getting in her way. Naturally, she shoots him. Who could
blame her?
Vaughn Greystroke has always worked alone. But when a string
of attempted murders puts him in the crosshairs, teaming up
with the Shifter Force begins to sound like a good idea.
Even if he has to work with alluringβand potentially
treacherousβJillian Matthews. Vaughn is a trained SEAL,
after all. He can surely keep his distance from Jillian...no
matter how much sheβs getting under his skin.
For about an hour, he chased the wolf through the underbrush
of the misty forest, the birds diving for cover in the
Douglas fir and western hemlocks as soon as they saw him
coming. Vaughn wondered where the wolf was going. Heβd been
looping around as if trying to reach a location, but then
moving in another direction, most likely fearing Vaughn
would catch up to him.
Then somewhere in the deep forest ahead, the wolf suddenly
howled. Calling for help? Out there?
That meant heβd stopped long enough to howl. Vaughn raced
forward to close the gap, trying to reach him before he ran
off again. Or before reinforcements arrived.
Why else would the wolf howl? Other members of his pack must
be out there. Maybe he thought he could scare Vaughn off,
making him think a wolf shifter pack was out there
and would back him up any minute. Vaughn had even used that
ploy himself a time or two. He wasnβt giving up on his prey
no matter what. He had to learn the truth. Had the wolf
standing next to the bloody mess on the cabin floor been the
same wolf who had torn into Douglas? If the blood on the
wolfβs muzzle was any indication, and the way he had run
off, Vaughn would have to say he certainly could be.
Yet how had a she-wolf, Jillian Matthews, found Douglas,
called Leidolf for help, and not been injured by this same wolf?
The chance this wolf would have left Douglas for dead, run
off, then returned after Leidolfβs people had come for
Douglas would be pretty slim. Unless the wolf had nearly
killed Douglas in anger, then got his rage under control and
came back to get rid of any evidence. Maybe he realized he
hadnβt made sure Douglas was dead and went back to see. What
if Jillian had actually witnessed the attack, and thatβs how
she knew a wolf had severely injured Douglas and needed
Leidolfβs help?
Leidolf hadnβt said Jillian had seen the attack though. Not
that Vaughn had given him a chance to respond much. Except
for a quick mention that Leidolf would give him the cabin
located closest to Douglasβs on the north side while he
investigated the attempted murder, Vaughn hadnβt had time to
do anything else but agree. He was certain Leidolf had as
many questions for him as Vaughn had for Jillian. Like how
had Vaughn happened to be at the cabin so soon after the
incident when he lived in Colorado.
And Vaughn wanted to know just who Jillian was. Douglasβs
girlfriend? He didnβt remember Douglas dating anyone by that
name.
Right now, Vaughn was so busy tracking the wolfβs scent that
when something hit a tree near him, and then a shot rang
out, it took him a second to realize someone was shooting at
him. He growled low, irritated anyone would be hunting out
there. He continued his pursuit, another round slamming into
a tree near his chest. No damn hunter was going to stop
Vaughn in his mission. He had to take down the wolf and
learn if heβd nearly killed Douglas. Vaughn dodged around a
hemlock, hoping the hunter would think heβd taken off in
another direction. But Vaughn couldnβt detour from his path
for long or lose the wolf. As soon as he was in the clear
again, a third round clipped the shrubs in front of him.
Damn it! He would soon be out of the shooterβs
range. Just a little bit further. Then he felt the kick of
the fourth round impact with his right shoulder and the
sound of the round firing right afterward.
Trying to dodge behind a tree to get out of the hunterβs
sights, Vaughn stumbled over fallen branches. He didnβt have
time to look for the shooter. The hunter fired another shot
and the round whizzed past Vaughnβs head, sinking into the
trunk of a massive maple tree with a thud. Hell. No
matter how much he wanted to continue on the wolfβs trail,
he couldnβt. Not with the shooter actively hunting him down.
Right before Vaughn sidetracked to the river a few feet
below the rocky cliff there, he saw something golden moving
so fast in the undergrowth, he could barely believe his eyes.
A big cat? Jaguar? Shifter? What in the world was going on?
Heβd never seen a jaguar shifter before.
Vaughn jumped into the river, the cold water enveloping him
as he went under. He surfaced and let it carry him away, the
whole time mentally cursing the shooter.
What of the cat heβd witnessed running through the woods? He
hadnβt imagined seeing a jaguar. He wasnβt delirious. Yet
seeing one of them in an Oregon forest was like finding a
unicorn. Had one gotten free from the Oregon Zoo? Or a big
cat reserve? Then again, his pack leaders had said jaguar
shifters lived among them. Taking the wolf down had to be
priority, yet he wished heβd been able to chase after the
big cat too and learn what in the world it was doing there,
in the same vicinity as the other trouble.
Hell, maybe the jaguar, and not a wolf, was responsible for
Douglasβs wound.