Twilight, Tennessee ~ Present Day
 
 

Erin Morgan’s sixth sense is telling her to hightail it away from Sno-Med Corporation and Dr. Cinatas. Initially, Erin was excited to be working for a corporation that specialized in blood transfusions for cancer patients. But then one night, she saw something she shouldn’t have, and now her life is in danger. Driving along a mountainous road, Erin runs into some fog and can’t see a thing. All of a sudden there’s a thud and her windshield cracks. Did she hit an animal, a person? To her horror it’s neither. The evil thing looking back at her is nothing she’s ever seen before. The big silver wolf that comes out of nowhere to fight the creature is another story. However, when the wolf looks at her and tells her to “leave now,” Erin wonders if she’s going crazy before she passes out. When she wakes, it’s daylight, and instead of a black monster and a silver wolf, Erin finds the most gorgeous naked man on the hood of her car.
 

A Blood Hunter, protector of the human race, Jared Hunter saves Erin Morgan from death at the hands of a Tsara, a poisonous creature and a minion of Heldon. But, in the process, Jared is bitten, and in that moment, he knows his soul is damned and waits for his brethren to come and kill him. Instead of sweet death, Jared wakes to find the Tsara poison working through his mortal body. Aragon and the others have sealed the poison within him, and pain wracks him every moment with only Erin’s touch easing the fire raging inside. Her Elan blood calls to him demanding he gorge himself on it. Does she know the danger she is in every moment she stays by his side? No matter. He will protect her from the Vladarian Order — an army of evil warriors – and from the beast within. There is an old legend that one who is damned can be saved by true love. Is Jared willing to risk all to see if Erin can break the curse?
 

Erin and Jared are on a dangerous and treacherous road with so little time to stop Dr. Cinatas and the vile creatures seeking to destroy Erin. When their journey leads them to Dr. Emerald Linton, a clinical psychologist who claims she’s been waiting for Jared and Erin, Erin is even more confused. How did Emerald know they would be in the mountains at the Sacred Stones? Is Jared really dying because he saved her?
 

Author Jennifer St. Giles begins a new series of shapeshifters and otherworldly creatures with TOUCH A DARK WOLF. Readers meet a group of warriors, the Blood Hunters, who fight for the safety of us mere mortals with no recognition of their heroics. Erin and Jared are intriguing, well-written characters who draw the reader into the story. Jared is a sexy, powerful male who doesn’t understand the feelings welling up inside him for Erin. He understands the need for her Elan blood, but this other stuff is beyond him. Of course, he gets the hang of it pretty darn quick. Erin is a nurse who finds helping people a fulfilling career. However, when she finds dead bodies drained of their blood, Erin knows something isn’t right with the lab or Dr. Cinatas. Secondary characters include Emerald, a strange lady but one worth having on your side; Annette Batista, who has a hard time believing in the supernatural, and vaguely mentioned are the other Blood Hunters, Aragon, Sven, Navarre and York.
 

For a spine-tingling and engrossing read, pick up a copy of Jennifer St. Giles’s TOUCH A DARK WOLF. I can’t wait to see which warrior’s story is told next.
 

“Dazzling start to new romance series inhabited with shapeshifters and other mystical beings.”
 

Erin Morgan loves her job at Sno-Med Clinic, working for Dr. Cinatas, until the day she discovers the dead bodies of innocent people murdered for the treatment of Sno-Med’s wealthy clients. Fleeing to the Tennessee Mountains, she is nearly attacked by a feral wolf, only to be rescued by a second wolf. She runs her car off the road, and when she awakens it is to discover the most beautiful man she’s ever seen lying on the hood of her car, gloriously naked.
 

Jared Hunter has only been a human for a few hours, having lost his immortality saving Erin. Now he is condemned, the poison from the battle he fought for Erin turning him into the very evil he has dedicated his existence to fighting. He is consumed by a horrifying bloodlust, a craving for the lovely Erin that will soon lead to his death. With Erin’s touch the pain recedes, and though he finds himself attracted to her, he fights the attraction, fearful of hurting her. When Dr. Cinatas comes after her, Jared vows to protect her and keep her safe from the evil he brings.
 

Jennifer St. Giles has crafted a dazzling world of shapeshifters and mystical beings, overseen by the mysterious and heroic warriors known as The Shadowmen.
 

Erin and Jared’s relationship is sensual and intense, each needing the other to survive, and the evil of Dr. Cinatas is truly frightening. Ms. St. Giles has created a wonderful supporting cast of characters and an exciting battle between good and evil that will entertain to the last page.
 

When Erin Morgan arrived for work one day at the Sno-Med Clinic, the last thing she expected to step into was a murder mystery. Running from her boss, Dr. Anthony Cinatas, Erin finds herself even deeper in mystery as she learns that there are more creatures lurking; and she’s appealing to a host of them. While seeking a hiding place in Tennessee, Erin gets into a strange car accident, involving a black creature and a silver wolf. Upon rousing after the accident, she finds herself in a pasture, with a naked man on the hood of her Tahoe, and only a minimal recollection of what happened.
 

Erin learns that the man’s name is Jared and decides right away that she has to help him recover, whether she caused his wounds or not. Jared explains that he was a Blood Hunter from the spirit world and has been condemned to a mortal life after battle with a Tsara. At first Erin thinks Jared is delusional because of his injuries or a mental instability, but soon after their meeting she begins to believe in his version of reality. The Tsara bite infects Jared slowly with an evil force, threatening to take over.
 

Erin and Jared are rescued by a psychic who says she’s known of their arrival for months and has been waiting for them. With the help of their savior and a few other locals, Erin and Jared attempt to get the goods on her boss and Jared tries to reign the evil attempting to take over his body. Is love enough to save him?
 

Touch a Dark Wolf was a fascinating take on werewolf lore. Fast paced, full of mystery and a touch of danger, I couldn’t put the book down. While Erin and Jared feel an almost immediate attraction, Erin is not willing to get lost in her desires so quickly, while Jared, new to the mortal world, struggles to understand his feelings. As Erin teaches Jared about the world and her, he also learns more about himself and desires to be able to stay with Erin. There is a very intimate trust between these two so powerful it can be felt throughout most of the story, even before they are willing to admit it. The plot was ingenious and very well mapped out, while the majority of the story focused on the plot, Erin and Jared’s romance was not downplayed. I would absolutely recommend Touch a Dark Wolf to any paranormal fan.
 

Reviewed in August 2006 by Kristen.