Hidden
Hidden by Kelley Armstrong is a novella, based on two of her major characters in her Women of the Otherworld series.
This book belongs to Elena and Clay, part of the werewolf pack that we got to know starting in the first book of this series. Though the first two books in the Woman of the Otherworld series concentrated on the werewolves, this series has different types of supernatural major characters in her books, such as werewolves, witches, necromancers, demons and vampires. But to me, I loved the werewolves….Elena, Clay and Jeremy. So knowing this was about them, I couldn’t wait to read “Hidden”
It is a week before Christmas, and Elena and Clay take their two 4 year old twins, Kate & Logan, to a cabin in Canada to get a much needed vacation, and to enjoy Christmas alone with just the four of them. Elena arrives at the cabin with the children, ahead of Clay. As she watches her twins play, she studies them and worries that they are far ahead of other children their age. Their senses, reading people, even reading books is very advanced. Elena has struggled with her decision not to allow anyone to tell the children that they are werewolves, though Clay feels maybe it is better to tell them early, so they get used to it as they grow up. There is no certainty that the children will become werewolves when they get older, though Logan is more probable then his sister, Kate.
Shortly after Clay arrives, the appearance of a rogue mutt, threatens their holiday. When investigating who he is, they discover that the town has had some disappearances and a strange death by an animal. Elena, who is now the Alpha elect of their Pack, has a responsibility to investigate rogue wolves (wolves not part of a pack), and if harm has come to humans, the mutt may have to be be killed, as they have broken the laws of werewolves. Clay is the second in command, the protector to both Elena and Jeremy, the Alpha; he calls in reinforcements to come to the cabin and protect the kids, while they go investigate. Especially as the signs do point to two mutts who live nearby, one being the person who visited them on the first day.
It was great to be back into this world, not only to see Elena and Clay, but to see Nick, as well as the two young new pack members from previous books, Reese and Noah. Kate and Logan were precious children, and it was so enjoyable to see their interaction with Elena and Clay. Kate, sensing whether people were lying or dangerous , was an added element that Elena began to notice. In this book, you can see the change in Elena, being groomed to be the Alpha, as her strength and confidence becomes more apparent, and as she handles the crises and deals with her pack. She is happy in her life, so different then when it all began in “Bitten”. She accepts responsibility, is very much in love with Clay, and adores her two children.
The adventure was exciting; as the danger increases the closer they come to finding the truth, as well as the possibility of danger to the children, especially to Kate. It was a great short story, with everything…..Mystery, family, romance, danger, and fun. Just to watch Elena and Clay, with their passion for one another, and how much fun they are as parents. We have known them from the beginning, when Elena hated Clay, their love that brought them together, and her acceptance that she is a werewolf, and now one happy family. The end was awesome, as Elena also comes to a decision about the children.
Very soon, Kelley Armstrong will end this series, with the release of “Thirteen” later this year. I hope after that last book, she revisits the Danvers, and the werewolves again. Fans of the series have been letting Kelley know that they want her to keep this series alive, even if she just does short stories on them. I know I will miss them.
Barb
