With my gift coursing through my veins, the tables have turned on the Draven Campus.

I’m no longer the Giftless reject, no longer the girl who’s fair game to the other students for daring to run away from my Bonds.

But there are bigger problems heading my way.

With destiny pushing me closer and closer to each of my Bonds, I’m fighting tooth and nail against nature to keep my distance.

But they’re fighting harder to keep me in their grasp.

When it becomes clear that the Resistance is closer than we ever thought, I don’t know who I can trust.

Can I finally take control of my gift, or will it take control of me?

NOTE:
Savage Bonds is a full length reverse harem PNR novel with material that may be difficult for some readers. This book will end on a cliffhanger. It’s recommended for 18+ due to language and sexual situations.

First let me say that if you haven’t read the first book, STOP, go back and read it. This book starts where that one leaves off.

If you recall the Resistance has attack the Draven Campus and Oli allows herself to be taken in order to save her friend Sage. When she realizes Gabe has been taken too, she lets out her gift using the same way she did to escape them before.

Kieran, Gryphon and Nox get them out of the camp and to a rendezvous point to await transport. Unfortunately, the resistance catches up and Oli is unwilling to lose any of her bonds or their teams and lets her gift loose again.

This is where we start this book. Three of her bonds have witnessed her gift and Tac teams as well. While freaked out they are alive as North and Atlas arrive on the transport. North starts toward her but stops when he sees the carnage. Atlas ignores it all and scoops her into his arms. On the plane she actually freaks the guys a bit when her bond doesn’t like that Gabe is in pain. She doesn’t just heal him though, she heals all her men. Nox had an injury that was over twenty years old that’s now healed.

Oli doesn’t offer them any answers and just frustrates them more, going to her room with Atlas and Gabe. She’s also determined to return to classes the next day even though it’s only been forty-eight hours since they returned.

North lightens up a bit and allows Oli to have more freedom including a job. Of course, Nox has to show up and make things difficult, and then drives her home. Only to be met by North and he starts with some smoke and restrains the rest of her guys as he berates them.

This is a favorite scene.

I let North lead me through the garage, past each of my Bonds, without a word to any of them. When we get past Nox, the closest to the door out of everyone, everyone, I see the puppy-like creature poke its head out from behind his ear. It sniffs the air and I can tell that it doesn’t like North’s creatures by the way it moves, but it climbs down from his arm and trails after us anyway, doubling in size until it looks like a normal-sized puppy instead of the teeny tiny pup Nox had hiding in his hair.

When North gets us both through the door and into the hallway, he doesn’t let go of my hand as he stalks through to the elevator. I try not to giggle at how ridiculous he looks with the puppy weaving through his feet with every step. It’s playful and cheeky the same way a real puppy would be, snapping at his shoelaces that are bouncing as he walks.

When we stop at the elevator, waiting for it to arrive, he finally notices the puppy and frowns down at it.

I let go of his hand and shift on my feet a little, anxious to be standing here with him while my bond is feeling so volatile, and he reads the action incorrectly.

“He’s not mine, he doesn’t usually leave Nox’s side.”

I shrug and bend down to let the puppy sniff my hand. “I’m not worried about him. He’s a spy, but there’s nothing he can find out about me that Nox can kill me over, so if he wants to tag along, then he can.”

North scowls at me, staring at me like I’ve just announced that I’m secretly a clown on the side, but I just stroke a hand over the puppy’s back. It’s strange because he feels solid under my hand when I’m being affectionate with him but when I’d attempted to flick him in the car, he acted like smoke.

Curious.

“Does he have a name? You’re awfully cute. If Nox named you something stupid I’ll be pissed on your behalf. Oh God, it’s Brutus or Octavius, isn’t it? He picked something stupid, I can tell.” The elevator opens up and when I straighten up to walk in, the puppy jumps up to crawl up my arm and tuck into my hair, the same way he had with Nox earlier. There’s no weight to him at all, but I can feel him moving there all the same.

North pushes the buttons for the third floor and then shoves his hands in his pockets again, scowling at his shoes still. It makes me feel self-conscious, like I’ve done something wrong here, even though I know I haven’t, and I force my mouth to stay shut.

My nervous babble will make things a million times worse right now and I don’t need that.

“He doesn’t have a name… or at least, not one Nox has ever told me before. He doesn’t usually leave Nox’s side.”

He keeps saying that, I’m not sure which one of us he’s trying to convince here. “You know what? Brutus is actually kind of cute. Will he ever grow up and become a fully fledged nightmare?”

North shakes his head as though he’s trying to clear it. “They don’t age, they just… are. Why aren’t you afraid of it? Gryphon told me you saw what they did to the Resistance, you know that it isn’t actually a little puppy.”

Well, that should be obvious. It doesn’t matter what it’s capable of, the puppy has been asking for attention and pets. Why on Earth would I be scared of that? It’s officially the only tolerable part of Nox that I’ve found.

The elevator doors open and I start off down the hallway because I’m very proud to announce that I’ve worked out how to get to my own bedroom… but only from that one elevator. If I use the other one, I’m screwed.

North says, still at my side, “I’ll let them go once you’re in your room, you don’t have to let Bassinger in if he’s still being an idiot about this.”

I sigh and nod my head because it’s easier than explaining that Atlas is never an idiot and he’s very respectful about my boundaries, better than the rest of them put together.

When I slide my key into the lock, I look back at him, ready to just say goodbye and be done with him, but North is just standing there looking hesitant and it’s freaking me the hell out. “Are you okay?”

He scowls again and then says slowly, “If Nox did something, I need you to know that I would take care of it. If he was— if he hurt you—”

Jesus, why does everyone keep trying to talk to me about this today? “He didn’t. I’m fine and I could’ve stopped him if he tried.”

I mean both times, but North is still looking at me like he’s expecting me to cry. Little does he know that I’m currently a mess and cry at stupid shit, so he’s not that far off of the mark.

I duck into my room before I have to talk about this anymore. Maybe someday I can have a real conversation with Nox about what happened, about which parts of it were wrong and which parts I did actually have some control over, but the very idea of them all questioning it and picking it apart when they weren’t even there just… it pisses me off.

Why do I feel as protective of that moment as I do the little puppy in my hair?

Bonds are fucking crazy.
Bree, J. Savage Bonds (The Bonds that Tie Book 2) (Kindle Locations 1012-1054). Kindle Edition.

Okay so I have to admit I’m a bit in love with the smoke puppy now named Brutus. Between the puppy and Gabe getting pillows from all the guys, Oli actually gets some rest.

After a bomb that’s discovered and disarmed at the football stadium, Oli’s bonds learn she is far more powerful than they ever imagined. We also know that she hasn’t shown everything she can do, but she’s not telling any of them or us what that more is. Her bond is also needing more from the guys, so North sets a schedule for her to sleep with all of them.

This book is so enthralling, we learn much about Oli as she also learns more about her bonds. She also gets one of North’s creatures she names August. Is it weird that I love this?

There’s much that happens, and I really can’t say more. I laughed, sniffled, and fanned myself from the heat and I think I screamed too. Oh, and there’s a cliffhanger…

I’ve already finished the next book so that’s up next.

5 Contented Purrs for J!

J. Bree

J Bree is a dreamer, writer, mother, farmer, and cat-wrangler.

The order of priorities changes daily. She lives on a small farm in a tiny rural town in Australia that no one has ever heard of.

She spends her days dreaming about all of her book boyfriends, listening to her partner moan about how the wine grapes are growing, and being a snack bitch to her two kids.

If you want to hear more about all things Mounts Bay then join my readers group! There’s a lot of creative ways to dispose of a body in the Bay so come join the fun.