Reviewed by: Sue Eaton
TITLE: His Rejected Alpha Mate
SERIES: Sweetwater Pack #2
AUTHOR: Jax Stuart
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 96K
RELEASE DATE: October 24 2022
BLURB:
Finally reunited with his son in his new pack, and free of his former mate, Jasper discovers his fated mate in the heart of the Sweetwater pack. Dakota is an unwelcome complication in an overloaded life. Dakota wasn’t looking for a fated mate. The loss of his love, Cooper,
still lingered in his heart. The strange attraction he felt towards his best friend’s papa made sense when he met the man. His true fated mate. Rejected instantly, Dakota brushes aside his hurt to make his case but Jasper stubbornly insists they can’t be together, denying Dakota of the
family he’d started to dream of having. An unexpected pregnancy brings the pair together. Jasper has to learn to trust not only his life, but the life of his kids, to his new mate when an outside threat comes for the Sweetwater pack. Proving his worth to his mate, and to himself, has never been so vital to Dakota, especially with his children, and grandchildren’s lives on the line.
His Rejected Alpha contains references to past abuse, an accidental pregnancy, (whoops), lots of babies and a strange threat to the Sweetwater pack. This book must be read as part of the series due to ongoing plot threads.
REVIEW:
The book weaves together a complicated plot line with many strands, they all centre on Jasper and the clever way it is written shows what happens when everything collides and how unprepared Jasper is to deal with it.
Jasper has endured such a lot, past abuse from his ex, being separated from his son, undergoing therapy to try and come to terms with his past, having guards to protect him from retribution from his ex, if he, ever found him. Then everything changes, his ex is dead, he can go see his son, his guards are reassigned, and he meets his mate. No wonder Jasper is reeling and can’t deal with having a mate on top of everything else. I really felt for Jasper, just one of those changes was a lot, but all of them, all at once, no wonder he didn’t make the best decisions. It was nice to see that Jasper understood the mistakes he made and that he tried hard to develop a good relationship with his son and his mate, despite the rocky start. I did think he jumped at the easy option every time rather than really think through the consequences of his decisions. It was a knee jerk reaction to reject Dakota and then easier to avoid rather than explain.
Dakota was an interesting character, he had a painful past, as well, and didn’t really want a mate as that felt like a betrayal of his lost love. I could feel the conflict within Dakota and his willingness to try, despite the cold way Jasper rejected him. It was poignant that Dakota and Jasper’s adult son, Kade, were already best friends and that Dakota had always been drawn to him. Finding out that Jasper was his mate made that draw understandable.
Jasper was given breathing room and little by little realised that having a mate was a good thing, that Dakota was nothing like his ex and that both him and his daughter would be safe with Dakota. Shove shifter biology into the mix and Jasper didn’t really stand a chance of not mating with Dakota.
Then out of the blue a deadly sickness comes to the pack, pregnant omegas are particularly at risk of losing their babies, so despite just recently mating Jasper must leave Dakota, along with Kade who is mated to the Alpha and is pregnant with triplets. The tension is ramped up as more and more Beta’s fall sick, including Angel, Jasper’s daughter. Will they be able to find a cure? Will Jasper and Dakota’s fragile, brand-new mating survive the separation and sickness?
I really enjoyed the book; the many and varied plot lines were masterfully woven and the book was a delight. I particularly enjoyed the mating tension, no instant I’m your mate lets live happily ever after. It felt like a true relationship that had many ups and downs, hurts and joys to navigate and ultimately be forgiven for acting badly. The sickness kept everything bubbling under the surface and really forced them to understand how much they needed and wanted each other. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
RATING: 
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