Night Play, Sherrilyn Kenyon

So, back in Night Embrace, we meet Vane and his brother, Fang, very briefly. They were wolves who could take the form of humans. Vane helped Talon by protecting Sunshine during the day when she needed to be out.

We find out later that in return the Daimon's attacked his pack and killed a bunch of the women and children, including their sister and her new litter.

As punishment for the decision that lead to the Daimon's attack and, therefore, their sister's death, their father (gleefully) sentences them to death. Something he's been wanting to do since they were born. To ensure he gets rid of them, he also sends some Daimon's after them.

Vane manages to fight them off, but Fang is seriously wounded and goes into a coma.

Now, present day, Fang is still in a coma and he and Vane are staying at Sanctuary. Hiding really. Their father is still out to kill them, after all. Well, once he confirms they are in fact alive.

Anyway. Back to Night Embrace. When Vane was protecting Sunshine a friend of hers, Bride, comes to chat. Vane is immediately attracted to her, but doesn't make a move because a) he's busy protecting Sunshine, and b) Bride is human and Vane is a wolf.

Only he's not.
If you remember, the Weres are of 2 types. Animals who can become human, and humans who can become animal. But Vane is different. He started life as an animal, but at puberty, when he should have developed the ability to become a human when he wanted, he actually became human. His "base" form became a human and he could become a wolf when he wanted.

Not exactly a safe thing to be when you live with wolves who hate humans.

So, now, Vane sees Bride in her shop when he's on his way back to Sanctuary. He gives in to his desire to see and talk to her. Bride is his mate and they fall in love. They defeat his father and Vane finds out he has another brother who, like him switched at puberty. Only Fury (yes, Fury) went from being a human to a wolf. Just as would have happened to Vane had his father discovered his change, Fury's mother (well, both their mother) tried to kill him. Fury ran off and joined his father's pack without telling anyone who he was.

I enjoyed Bride and Vane. Oh, and Fang does come out of his coma at the end. When we've seen Fang previously, he's been a smart mouthed dork, so I'm glad he's back up and running. Plus, Acheron says Fang and Fury have both met their mates. I look forward to those stories.

It was a sweet story, but I don't know that it took the overall plot of the world forward much. But that's ok. It doesn't always have to. Generally, I'm really liking this series.

Night Play, Sherrilyn Kenyon