Alpha’s Promise (Dark Protectors)

Alpha’s Promise
by Rebecca Zanetti
Release Date: June 25, 2019
Publisher:  Lyrical Press
Book #10 in the Dark Protectors series
Number of pages:  345
Kindle edition
Source: MCL
Paranormal Romance M/F
Rating: XXX
Read 2/19/21 to 2/20/21

Though he has vampire, demon, and Viking blood rushing through his veins, Ivar Kjeidsen’s soul-crushing trip to hell broke him in ways he can barely fathom.  One vow keeps the deadly immortal standing: To rescue the vampire brother who had sacrificed freedom for him.  To do that, Ivar needs the help of a brilliant physicist with wary brown eyes, fierce brilliance, and skin that’s way too soft.

Dr. Promise Williams understands the underpinnings of the universe but has never figured out the human beings inhabiting it.   Her function is to think—and not feel—until she’s touched by a vampire who’s nowhere near human. The primal hunger in his eyes awakens feelings in her that defy calculation. As she shows him the way to step between worlds, he brands her with a pleasure that could last more than a lifetime . . .

Poor Ivar. He’s been to hell and back and just wants to save his brother/friend from said hell. Knowing Quade has been there much longer than he ever was, and feeling as though he abandoned him, is really doing a number on Ivar. He’s extremely irritable and quick to temper. He needs to lock these impulses down before someone gets hurt. Unfortunately, he scares the bejeezus out of Promise when he’s unable to get his feelings under control. Now it’s going to be much harder to convince the physicist to help the Seven since, in her eyes, they are the enemy.

Luckily, Promise is one to trust her instincts. For some reason, once she’s not being held at gunpoint and yelled at, she is able to sense that Ivar truly means her no harm. She even starts to believe he does want to protect her. It helps that they have amazing chemistry that makes it hard for them to really keep any distance. In fact, Promise comes to trust Ivar so much that she makes some decisions in this story that aren’t what I’m used to heroine’s making when in similar situations. It was refreshing to have things go a bit differently than I expected.

Promise is actually very scientifically minded and tends to need proof of everything. Or at least that’s what she thinks of herself. As this story progresses, she starts to realize that there are some things that she has to trust. Like that gut instinct to believe that Ivar and his friends are the good guys. As Promise gets to know the other people in their inner circle, including other scientists, she starts to understand that the world doesn’t have to be just black and white.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the heat between Promise and Ivar, I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t put a bit of a warning here. There is definitely a scene that I would consider to be dubious consent. Now, things play out well in the end. The situation is even touched on a bit. But that doesn’t negate that there was a moment that Ivar overstepped, no matter what it turns out Promise wanted. For me, the scene worked. I just know that it won’t work for everyone.

That all being said, I found this to be another wonderful book in this phenomenal series.

4.5 stars