Bald Eagle (MMM)
Zeus's Pack 7

Professional Reviews

5 HEARTS: "Bald Eagle has had a rough time of it. Besides not really knowing why his parents named him that, he had been the whipping boy for the previous alpha. In all the books up to this point, all of the former soldiers were (and still are) worried about him. In book four, we meet Cheyenne, Torem's younger brother. That is also when we discover that as he is an Omega and can heal injuries, but not just the superficial ones. He heals from the inside out, which launches one to live through every horrific experience in their life. The entire pack warned Chey to NEVER touch Eagle. Ever. I had been looking forward to this book because having read about Eagle in the others, and seeing Chey have his heart broken because he couldn't touch his mate, I really wanted to see how Ms. Hagen told us the story and see if the boys could get the healing they both needed so badly. This is when Dr. Max enters the picture. Eagle had gone with a pack member to the Emergency Room (he was bored) and caught a whiff of Max…and ran. Turns out, Max is the third mate of this trio and he doesn't understand why Chey is freaked out when Max touches him. The three of them have a lot to get through, including Chey being kidnapped, the rescue and Eagle being thrown into his healing. I will not lie to you. I didn't know I would be reviewing this and glanced at the 'scores' other readers had given this book. I didn't agree with other ratings because I think Ms. Hagen did an excellent job of taking us, as well as Max, Chey and the Pack through Eagle's healing. What he had gone through was horrific, I'm sure it was not fun to even write about it, and I had my arms around myself with tissues in hand for some of them. Ms. Hagen definitely teases us with some characters from the upcoming books Nazaryth (which I pre-ordered) and Memphis. I clearly love Ms. Hagen's stories, this series and I thought Eagle's story was worth the wait!" -- Teresa T., The Romance Studio

5 ANGELS: "Before Zeus took over the pack, the warriors were abused by their old leader Jackson, but the warrior who took the brunt of the physical and sexual abuse was Bald Eagle. The torture he endured caused psychological scars that he doesn't think he will ever overcome. When his mate Chey arrived he was frightened that the monster inside of him could hurt Chey. When he learned that Chey's omega power of healing caused Chey pain while the patient relived the past, Eagle vowed never to touch his mate to protect him. Chey wants his mate more than anything and he is dying a little every day watching Eagle suffer. When Max, a doctor and shifter, first meets Eagle he immediately knows Eagle is his mate. When Eagle panics and runs away Max is left wondering if his dream of being happily mated will remain just that, a dream. On the way home, Max feels like something is watching him, but passes it off as nerves when he doesn't see anything. But, in Pack Valley reality and fantasy take on a new meaning. Max goes to Theo's with a friend to eat and to his surprise runs into his second mate Chey. Chey is overjoyed to find that he can touch Max without causing him pain, but what about Eagle? Before anything gets settled, Chey's old Beta kidnaps him so his pack can use his powers for their own gain. Will Max and Eagle find a way to free Chey? Can they overcome the obstacles in their path and build a life together? It was heartbreaking as Eagle's past unfolded and how it affected everyone. The abuse Eagle endured as the hands of their insane old alpha Jackson was horrifying, but the way he was used to keep the other warriors in line was terrible. It was fascinating how Chey's ability to heal causes the individual to relive the past, but I have always been told that if you talk about terrible experiences they lose their power over you, similar to how Chey's powers worked. It must have been hard for Chey to see what happened to Eagle even when he knew in the end it would help him. As a doctor, Max had to sit by and watch his mates in pain unable to do anything, but his staying at their side kept them focused on their goal, being together. The many paranormal aspects of the story kept the reader wondering what was yet to come. This is a wonderful series and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a great paranormal story." -- Teresa, Fallen Angel Reviews

4 STARS: "Bald Eagle is a story that I have been looking forward to. This is the seventh story in the Zeus’s Pack series. For some unknown reason all of the warriors in Zeus’s Pack seem to have two mates and Eagle turns out to be no exception. The problem is that Eagle has some of the worst scars that were inflicted by the crazy, dead, ex-alpha Jackson. Bald Eagle was the one Jackson punished for all sins, real and imagined. Eagle was physically beat, raped and mentally broken. Eagle has no idea what a normal life looks like. Enter one of his mates, Chey. Chey is an Omega who can heal both physical and mental scars, but the one being healed has to WANT to be healed, and Eagle isn’t sure about that because he knows that Chey will also absorb his pain and humiliation. Eagle and Chey dance around each other for a while, both longing for the other, but never moving forward until their third mate Dr. Max enters the picture and forces them to do something. It just so happens that Max is a lion shifter (Eagle and Chey are grey wolves) and Max is the type who sees what it wants and goes after it. He’s over the moon about finding his two mates and can’t wait to have them all together. However, there are dark forces combining that cause our group of three to be apart for longer than they would like. In many ways this book is a transition that is setting up the greater story arc that Ms. Hagen has in mind. This arc includes not only Zeus’s Pack, but also the Brac Pack, the Demon Warriors, Christians Coven and newly introduced in this book The Exiled. The overall story about Eagle, Chey and Max was good. I wish we got to see the three of them together a little more. Max is great and I like the fact that he is the more dominate of the group, but that he is willing to give Chey and Eagle the space they need to learn who they are. I was anticipating this story, and it did not disappoint!" -- GennieG, Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

4 STARS: "BALD EAGLE is an excellent MMM erotic romance. The characters are wonderful, the romance emotionally and sexually intimate and the shifter world interesting--what's not to love?! Eagle's former wolf alpha tortured him and his fellow soldiers for years but he's never been able to heal enough to claim Chey. As the new pack's emotional and physical healer, Chey has wanted to heal Eagle but Eagle just pushes his mate away. Then the two meet Dr. Max Samuel, a lion shifter, and they all recognize their mate status. But before the trio can work out their relationship, Chey is captured by a rival pack. Now Eagle and Max rush to rescue Chey but in doing so, Eagle will have to face the nightmares that may cause him to lose his mates. I adore emotionally injured leads whose love interests help heal them and that is exactly what this story is. Eagle's torture by his former alpha is disgusting, though not overly descriptive, and it was painful to read but his strength and desire to live made him such a compelling character. I hadn't read the previous books in the series but I suspect Eagle's story is one that series fans have been waiting for and I'm sure they weren't disappointed. Eagle's fear of hurting the gentle Chey is believable and Max, as their third mate, enables the trio to have a sexual relationship. Chey's kindness and compassion enables the three to connect on a deeply emotional level and that was wonderful to read, and something Eagle well deserved. This menage romance was one of the best I've read recently. The plot involving the rival pack and the mysterious paranormals provides necessary tension but it doesn't overshadow the romance. I was worried that Chey's kidnapping would keep the trio apart too long but that wasn't the case; it was all integrated really well and made for a quick and wonderful read. The secondary characters of packmates and townspeople were compelling too. I love the community feel of this book. The ending involving all the pack throwing a birthday party is so charming and heartwarming. These characters were so well written that I plan to start the series at book one to catch up with all their stories. BALD EAGLE is simply a must read for fans of MMM romance." -- J9, The Romance Reviews

Excerpt

Story EXCERPT

Bald Eagle watched Cheyenne from across the room as the music blared in Theo’s Bar and Grill. His fingers itched to pull the smaller wolf into his arms and hold onto him forever. His soft features called to Eagle like nothing he’d ever felt before. The way his mate laughed made his chest tighten at the musical lilt. He wanted to be the one to make Chey laugh. Eagle was desperate to be the one to make his mate smile.

Eagle just wanted.

Eagle just needed.

His wolf whined and clawed to get at the small man as he stood across the bar watching Chey intently. His entire body screamed to take Chey and claim him. Eagle had been fighting the need for a very long time now, and it wasn’t getting any easier.

Too bad he couldn’t touch one inch of the man’s body.

Chey was an omega, able to heal physical wounds. But more importantly, and what kept them apart, was the fact that he was able to heal from the inside out as well.

Eagle feared the second most of all. It was that fear that kept him from claiming the small man. Not only would Eagle relive his past, but Chey would absorb what had happened to Eagle and hold the pain inside until it slowly dissipated. There was no way he could do that to Chey.

After what the ex-alpha, Jackson, had done to his psyche, Eagle wasn’t sure he could survive if he came into contact with Chey.

He wasn’t sure Chey would survive it.

The trick to Chey healing someone’s soul was that the person being healed had to journey back to the time when life was the most screwed up for the person.

For Eagle, that would encompass too many years to count. He was sure his mind would fracture after such a fucked-up ass journey. Any sane man’s would. Chey was much smaller, weaker than Eagle. It would destroy the man.

It was a chance Eagle wasn’t willing to risk.

Eagle seemed to be Jackson’s favorite whipping boy. Something he never understood. He constantly asked himself why Jackson had targeted him. He still didn’t have an answer. The asshole died before Eagle could beat it out of him.

“You gonna take your turn or what?” Memphis, one of the soldiers of Zeus’s pack, asked as he stood there holding his pool stick.

Eagle tapped his pool stick on the floor as he walked around the billiard table. They were hanging out at Theo’s Bar and Grill, a place where everyone in town came to unwind, including the soldiers. Eagle raised his pool stick to make his shot, then his eyes snapped up and his head swung around.

Chey’s laughter floated to Eagle like serene water and wrapped around his head, his heart, and his mind. His gut clenched at the sound. For a split second, a flicker of time, their eyes locked and Eagle saw the sadness in his mate’s chocolate-brown eyes before Chey glanced away.

Eagle rolled his shoulders and jerked his head from side to side, hearing his vertebra crack up his back as he repositioned his stick. He didn’t have a chance in hell of mating Chey, so he needed to forget the man.

He needed to move on.

Fuck, he just needed.

“Take your shot before I grow gray hairs,” Memphis complained with a childish whine as he picked up his glass mug of beer and took a long drink.

Eagle shot him a dry look before pulling his arm back and taking his shot. His fingers curled in when he heard Chey laugh once more. He couldn’t take this. It was too much. Eagle needed to get the hell out of there before he forgot why he had to stay away from Chey and claimed the man right there in Theo’s.

Fuck if that thought wasn’t making him hard as steel.

“I concede,” Eagle said as he tossed the stick up onto the green felt of the pool table and walked toward the door. He had to get out of there. The sound of Chey’s voice was causing havoc to his body. And since he couldn’t claim the gorgeous man, it was only torture to his libido.

As he passed his mate, they locked eyes once more. Eagle could see the yearning in Chey’s eyes, the longing to be near him, to touch him, but there was nothing he could do about it. He refused to go through the torture Jackson had worked on him again. He knew in his heart that he wouldn’t survive and neither would Chey.

Eagle heard the other mates whispering to Chey as he passed by his mate’s table, refusing to look. He ignored it as he stepped out into the chilly night. Eagle breathed in a lungful of cold, crisp air as he stood there, wondering if he was ever going to have a happily ever after.

Did those actually exist anymore? Eagle wasn’t so sure that they did, but he prayed that maybe one day he would find out and he would have one with Chey.

A man could dream.

“You okay, man?”

Eagle nodded as Sherriff Jesse DeKalb walked up onto the sidewalk, stopping when he was a foot away from Eagle. The sheriff shoved his hands in his jacket, looking out over the quiet streets of Pride Pack Valley. This late at night, with the streets empty of people, it almost looked serene, inviting. “You look troubled,” Jesse commented offhandedly without looking at Eagle.

“I always looked troubled. That’s the problem.”

Eagle didn’t mean to sound so defeated, but he was tired of living this way, tired of feeling like all hope was lost. He was sick up to his ears with the shit. He wasn’t sure what he should do, but he was tired of yearning for someone that he could never touch.

Adult EXCERPT

 Chey waited with bated breath to see what Eagle was going to do. He wasn’t going to give up on his mate. Chey would never give up on Eagle. “I need you, Eagle.”

Eagle shuddered as he gazed up at Max. Chey could see the desperation in Eagle’s eyes. He glanced up at Max to see Max staring commandingly at Eagle. Eagle seemed to relax as Max ran his hands over Eagle’s chest. “Go get back in bed, Chey.”

Chey quickly obeyed Max. He crawled onto the bed as he watched both his stronger mates standing there. It was a spectacular sight to behold. Max grabbed Eagle’s hand, laying it on his chest as he began to take his shirt off. Chey shivered as smooth, golden skin was slowly exposed to his greedy eyes.

When Eagle pulled his hand away, Max grabbed it, placing it back onto his chest as he shook his head. Eagle stood very still, continuing to gaze up at Max. The prolonged anticipation was almost unbearable, but Chey got to his knees, watching the struggle in Eagle’s eyes.

“Take my pants off, Eagle, slowly,” Max commanded gently. Eagle dropped to his knees without hesitation, slowly lowering Max’s scrubs. Max stepped out of them, kicking them aside as Eagle rose.

Max grabbed Eagle by his shoulders, spun him around, and then led him over to the bed. Chey scrambled to move out of the way as Max laid Eagle down gently. He waved at Chey to come closer.

Chey bit his lip as he moved back over, his eyes darting between Eagle and Max.

Eagle pushed further onto the bed, his eyes never leaving Max’s. Chey wasn’t sure what was happening, but he wanted both men with a deep desire burning inside of him. Max glanced over at Chey, looking over him seductively. A warm shudder passed through him as Max’s eyes settled on his cock.

“I want you to straddle Eagle’s lap.”

“No, I—”

“Do it,” Max gently commanded Chey as he cut Eagle’s protest short.

Chey slid one leg over Eagle’s waist, looking down at his mate. Eagle finally broke eye contact with Max and stared at Chey with hesitation in his eyes.

Chey leaned forward, mustering up his bravery as he took the kiss to Eagle. He’d never been the one to make the first move, but he knew Eagle needed him to do this.

Eagle groaned as he opened wide, taking Chey’s tongue in a sensual duel as his hands gripped Chey’s sides. Before the grip became oppressive, Eagle’s grip loosened. Chey broke the kiss and looked back, seeing Max’s fingers manacled around Eagle’s wrists.

Chey looked up at Max. His jaw was firm as he nodded at Chey. He turned his head back around, leaning back in and kissing Eagle with all the gentleness that was inside of him. Eagle whimpered as he hips hitched.

When Max’s slick, wet fingers entered him, Chey gasped. He groaned into Eagle’s mouth, pushing his ass back as Max stretched him. Chey pulled his head back when he felt Eagle’s canines. He looked down to see that they had indeed slid from their sheaths. Eagle’s eyes had shifted as well. Fuck if that wasn’t a beautiful sight.

Chey’s eyes closed slightly and his lips parted when Max slid a hand up his back and then pressed a strong palm between his shoulder blades. Chey submitted, lowering his shoulders and raising his ass higher as Max added another finger.

“It feels so good,” he said to Eagle as his mate lay there panting heavily, his eyes darting between Chey and Max.

“Did I hurt you?” Eagle asked as he cupped Chey’s face. “I didn’t mean to. You have to know that.”

Chey nodded as he grinned at Eagle. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

Eagle grabbed Chey around his shoulders, burying his face in Chey’s neck. Chey held on as Max removed his fingers and then pulled Chey’s hips up, lowering him onto Eagle’s hard cock. They both groaned as Chey slowly impaled himself. Eagle released Chey, his head rolling back as he moaned.

Max’s hand stilled Chey. He wondered what was going on as he looked over his shoulder at Max. His eyes widened as he watched Max push Eagle’s legs back. He had to be entering Eagle. Chey panted as he watched Max pull back and then thrust forward.

Max smiled down at him and then leaned forward, taking Chey’s lips in an all-consuming kiss. The kiss became a hypnotic spell as Chey gave himself over to his two lovers, his mates. He keened into Max’s mouth as Eagle thrust his hips up, driving his cock deeper into Chey’s ass.

Max smiled into Chey’s mouth and then moved away. The palms of Chey’s hands landed on Eagle’s chest as he began to bounce up and down, driving Eagle’s cock into him over and over again. He was finally able to touch Eagle. The realization swam through him as Chey bit his bottom lip, gazing down into Eagle’s stunning blue eyes.

“Eagle,” he whispered, awed by the lust he could see burning in the man’s blue eyes. He had waited so long for this moment and had actually started to think it would never come. Not only had it come, but he had Max here as well. Maybe all of the years he had spent thinking life wasn’t worth living were finally over.