By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Renee George

During a high end job, thief Emma Watson gets unwittingly trapped “on the job” after a tripped alarm locks her in a vault. When she finds a skeleton key, a mysterious door appears at the back of the room. The key fits, but instead of finding freedom on the other side, she finds herself in an unfamiliar world where the only two species, witches and wolves, are at war. When she is caught in the magical crossfire, a gorgeous wolf shifter, Keir D’San, rescues her. But when she begins to manifest magic, it sets her on a dangerous path that may lose her the only man she’s ever wanted to love.

Keir has spent his entire life fighting witches. When he comes upon a spirited woman in the middle of another battle with his bitter enemy who is neither a witch nor a wolf, he rescues her. Their chemistry is instant and their attraction explosive. But when Emma begins to turn into the enemy, Keir has to choose between his clan or the woman he knows is his true mate.

I have to confess I bought this book a long time ago and just now got around to reading it. I’m trying to read some of my very large kindle tbr pile and this one is just perfect for the season.

We meet Emma Watson as she attends an event by the very wealthy Lucinda Mowry, she’s going to steal some documents from Lucinda’s vault for her current client. Her boss Mike is her partner for this but neither of them could anticipate what happens next.

Somehow a trip isn’t disabled and Emma is trapped in the vault. Seeking a way out she opens a box to find a key the head of which looks like a spider and then a door appears at the back of the vault. With no alternative she opens the door into a conflict she doesn’t understand with some sort of electric lightning.

She’s hit by a strike and has to run toward the people she was trying to avoid. One of them shoves her behind and tells her to hide but she ends up knocking herself out.

Keir D’San of the San Fe Sang tribe evaluated the woman, she was neither witch nor wolf, he pushed her behind him instructing her to run and hide as he turned to his wolf form to fight the threat coming for them.

I couldn’t help myself from laughing as Emma tries to rationalize where she is. There is nothing that even slightly resembles where she was. Keir the ‘Alpha’ doesn’t understand any of what she’s saying it’s all foreign to him. The modern world doesn’t exist here.

When Keir leaves her to attend to other business Emma leaves what she believes is her prison. Of course Keir is going to follow, he believes she is his mate.

This is a favorite scene.

Keir eyeballed the leafy plant she’d just tripped over.  It was witchvine. “I can tell.”

“You were freaking dragging me, you Neanderthal. It’s not the same as walking on your own volition.” She paused for a moment. “You’re bleeding. Are you okay?”

He pulled his knife from its sheath, knelt by the vine and cut it loose from the ground. “This is too rare a find to leave behind.” He stripped off the bright pink leaves and coiled the vine, almost five feet long, in a loop that he tied to his belt.

“What is it?” Emma moved in for a closer look. “It looks like grapevine, except…” She leaned over the picked up the discarded foliage. “I’ve never seen any grapes with this color of leaves?”

Keir peered at her. “You really don’t know what this is?”

She pursed her lips petulantly and balled her fists onto her hips. Her chest swelled with indignation. “I wouldn’t have asked if I did.”

God, she was beautiful! “It’s wallen ivy, but we just call it witchvine or witch trap.”

“Why?”

“Because it can neutralize a witch’s power when they come in contract with it.”

“You guys really take your fantasy play to the extreme.” She shook her head. “How much farther to St. Louis?”

“What is this Saint Louis?”

“Come on. You can quit messing around with me already.”

“How am I messing with you?”

“This world you claim to live in, full of werewolves and witches, it’s not reality.” She dropped the leaves in her hand. “And I really, really need some reality right now. If you can’t help me get to St. Louis, I’d settle for the nearest hint of civilization. Some place preferably with cell phone reception.”

“There is no such place as this Saint Louis,” he snapped. Her ignorance frustrated him. Had a witch psychic tampered with her memory? He hadn’t dealt much with psychics. Their powers were only really effective against the younglings, which is why he forbid them from joining hunts or battles until after their moonrites.

How good was psychic magic when it was used against other witches?

No, he thought. Emma isn’t a witch. She couldn’t be one of them. Her blue eyes and golden hair were proof. Besides, she hadn’t shown an ounce of magic. If she were a witch, she would have taken steps to protect herself from the lightning wave. She wouldn’t have touched the witchvine leaves.

Finally, he took her hand. “You honestly believe what you’re saying, don’t you?”

“As I said before, I believe what I can see and feel. Or as the people in Missouri say, show me.”

Keir nodded. He let go of Emma’s hand. “Don’t be afraid.”

“Of what?”

“Me.” He focused his energy into taking his third form, his wolf. He felt every aspect of the shift, from his bones reshaping, his muscles changing, the fur sprouting out of his skin, and his fingers shrinking into clawed paws. When he’d achieved complete transformation, the process only taking seconds, he shook his fur and leveled his gaze on Emma.

She stumbled back but didn’t scream or run. In this form, he was nearly as tall as Emma, so it was to her credit that she managed to speak. “That’s not… You can’t be… I’m in a coma. It’s the only explanation.”

Keir made a whimpering noise because he thought a bark or a growl would scare her. Cautiously, he took a step toward her.

Emma swallowed hard but nodded her head. “Okay,” she said. “This is happening. Jesus.” She held out her hand, and he approached her with slow ease until his muzzle met her fingertips. She jerked her hand back. “That felt real.”

Keir lowered his head to her, and she reached out and put her hand between his ears. After a moment, she stroked the fur on his face.

He blinked.

“I believe you,” she said breathlessly.

He shook himself again, and in a few seconds, he was once again a man standing in front of her. She pressed her hand against his chest.

“Where did your clothes go when you changed?” she asked.

“The witches have their magic, and so do we.” He couldn’t hide his smile when he noted a look of disappointment on her face. “I’m happy to lose my clothing if that will make you happy.”

Emma rolled her eyes, but her lips quirked up at the corners. “Shut up.”

“It’s no problem,” he said. “I’m happy to accommodate your every wish.”

“I bet you are.” Emma picked up her bag. “So, werewolves are real. Freaky.” She looked around. “So, I’m not in Missouri anymore. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes.”

“Great.” Her exasperated tone pleased him. It meant she really did believe. “How in the hell did I get here?”

Keir shrugged. “That is the question.”

“Yeah, it is.” Her gaze snapped up, and their eyes met.
George, Renee. Witchmate Kindle Location (723-764). Barkside of the Moon Press. Kindle Edition.

Aerina, the Witch Queen is waiting for someone, I’m guessing Emma, but we don’t know for sure at this point.

There are traitors in both camps, which is apparent since Aerina doesn’t seem to know there are battles going on, and Keir has already questioned his witch prisoner but didn’t get the name.

Now he’s hiding out with Emma who is his mate and she’s starting to exhibit powers she didn’t have before.

A sensuous, intriguing book with plenty of sizzle.

5 Contented Purrs for Renee!

Renee George

USA Today Bestselling author Renee George writes paranormal mysteries and romances because she loves all things whodunit, Otherworldly, and weird. Also, she wishes her pittie, the adorable Kona Princess Warrior, and her beagle, Josie the Incontinent Princess, could talk. Or at least be more like Scooby-Doo and help her unmask villains at the haunted house up the street.

When she’s not writing about mystery-solving werecougars or the adventures of a hapless psychic living among shapeshifters, she is preyed upon by stray kittens who end up living in her house because she can’t say no to those sweet, furry faces. (Someone stop telling them where she lives!)

She resides in Mid-Missouri with her family and spends her non-writing time doing really cool stuff…like watching TV and cleaning up dog poop.