Staring Into the Eyes of Chance by Kay Dee Royal is the first book in her Lycan International Investigation Agency series. And it is definitely a series that I will want to investigate further!
The story begins on Olivia’s wildlife sanctuary in the U.P. (that’s the upper peninsula of Michigan) when the perimeter alarms go off one night. To Olivia, that means some predator is after the animals she is protecting until they can be released back into the wild.
Olivia has a “sixth sense” when it comes to animals, she can sense what they’re feeling. It’s beyond empathy, she truly connects with them, to the point that her sensitivity is considered a psychic ability.
So when she looks out her window and stares straight into the eyes of a huge black-and-silver wolf, and knows for certain that this predator is out there protecting her homestead from something else, she believes that instinct unquestioningly, even though she questions most of the other sensations she gets from the big beast. Because animals do NOT project those sorts of feelings towards humans. Not ever.
But her wolf isn’t just a wolf. The big male is a Lycan, a shapeshifter. Chance and his team of international investigators have chased a crazed Lycan named Smoke all the way from Europe to Olivia’s door. Where Chance has discovered after 300 plus years that the human woman is his primal-mate. A distraction that he absolutely did not need in the middle of the most critical hunt he has ever faced.
Especially since protecting his mate, the Alpha’s mate, distracts his entire team. Because Lycans, like wolves, mate for life — and follow their mates into death.
But that Smoke, they keep finding him, and he keeps eluding them. Almost as if he has a spy in their midst. Or a way of tracking their communications. Or a little bit of both.
Who is Smoke? Or who was Smoke?
Escape Rating B: This story had a lot of fun in it, but at the same time, there are some parts toward the end that are not for the faint of heart. Smoke is truly messed up, and bad stuff happens. I want to read his story, so I’m hoping that we’ll learn more about him in book 2.
Olivia and Chase are perfect for each other. They’ve both graduated from the School of Hard Knocks, and are not looking for a relationship. So when a relationship pretty much slams into them, they’re both surprised, and not necessarily open to the idea.
I want to know more about Olivia’s gift. She’s clearly had some training, but where? how? who? Is it accepted? Inquiring minds are very curious.
The Lycan International Investigations Agency has some neat background, too. They are super-secret and have some friends in very high places. I hope we learn more in later books.
For anyone who enjoys Kate Douglas’ Wolf Tales, I would definitely recommend Staring Into the Eyes of Chance. The Lycans remind me of the Chanku, just with more detectives.
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