At the end of Wolfsbane, Calla had a huge weight on her shoulders. Not only was she still coming to terms with the lies of the Keepers, and the pain she felt for leaving her family, she was faced with helping her little brother Ansel; who had his wolf striped from him, and quite possibly may have lost her first love; Ren forever. 
 She can't loose Ren however, her heart won't let her. So she goes back to the home that they would have shared with their pack; had she not left the night of their bonding to save Shane, finding him there. And though she is in love with Shay, her heart still holds a place for him. When he agrees to return with her to the Academy with the other Searchers however, there is nothing but anger between him and the Scion, and sexual tension between him and Calla. Everything will have to wait though. The war is upon them, and until it's done, Calla will not choose a mate, so the drama continues. 
 The three of them along with the other searchers continue on their quest to find the pieces to the two swords that Shay will need to defeat his "uncle" and close The Rift. Along the way they battle Bears, Bats, and Firewolves, and lose a few good friends as well. It's at the end though where things really get your emotions going as lives we wanted to spare were not, and lives are restored exactly where we did. New romances were even developed. With that said however, I found the actual ending a bit flat. 
 It takes a good writer to know when there series has run its course. Perhaps Ms. Cremer saw that for her beloved Nightshade. What started out with a bang in the first book, seems to have gone out with a whimper with its last, or perhaps a little sad howl.