. . The holidays always seem to bring out the best in everyone, with heartfelt hugs for long-missed friends, sincere smiles in the spirit of the season, and a feeling of magic in the air . . .Here, for the first time, is a collection of paranormal romances celebrating the holidays as never before. From a shape-shifting leopardess who wants a pack-mate to be her soulmate to a surprise snowstorm that brings a surprise gift, these all-new tales by Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh, and Jean Johnson will stir your spirit in all the right places.

    In return for the ability to change at will into a coldhearted predator, Konstantine promised his soul—and the soul of his descendents—to the devil.Then one day a dangerous prophecy reveals the truth: One family has been chosen to battle the darkness—or face damnation.Ann Smith loves her dynamic boss, Jasha Wilder, but her daring plan to seduce him goes awry when she encounters a powerful wolf who, before her horrified eyes, changes into the man she adores. She soon discovers that she can't escape her destiny, for Jasha is Konstantine's descendant, and Ann is the woman fated to break the curse that binds his soul.

    The fact she’s deaf doesn’t make her survival skills any weaker, and she’s been craving the chance to escape into the Yukon wilderness. Only the sexy beast of a man she bumps into at the cabin starts cravings of another kind, setting her hormones raging as well as raising strange questions about wolves, and mates, and pack challenges.All wilderness guide Keil Lynus wanted was a nice quiet retreat before challenging for the Alpha position of his Alaskan pack. He wasn’t planning on meeting his destined mate, or finding out she’s not aware she has the genes of a wolf. Between dealing with his accident-prone younger brother, a deaf mate with an attitude and an impending duel to the death, his week—and his bed—is suddenly full.Far from the relaxing getaway any of them had in mind…Warning: Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “talking with your hands”. Includes dangerous use of sarcasm and hot nookie in a remote wilderness sauna.-----This NORTHERN LIGHTS EDITION is a revised and extended version of the 2009 original.

    Ironically, what she fears most is the person who was put on the Earth just for her. Your true mate wasn't supposed to be cruel and twisted; wasn't supposed to be someone who’d never love or want to claim you. The rumors that her true mate is dead bring her only relief. Bree's intent on moving forward with her life and building a future with someone else. Sadly, the male she wants most is one she can never have—a hot-as-sin wolverine shifter who happens to be her boss … and the cousin of her predestined mate.Aleksandr “Alex” Devereaux detests being bullshitted, but he’s been lying to himself for years—pretending he thinks of Bree as extended family; that he doesn't want her so bad he aches with it; that he can't feel himself weakening against her pull. The night they spend together changes everything. He's done fighting himself on what he wants. Someone isn't happy about that. Possibly the same 'someone' who's playing mind games with Bree, trying to scare her. They're succeeding, because too many leads point to the possibility that the culprit could be the one person that she's determined to believe is dead.

    Stealing from five of them? I must have a death wish. Contrary to popular opinion, I really don’t have a death wish. Yes, I’m a thief, but after almost being torn limb from limb by an irate panther shifter, I’ve given up my law-breaking ways. From now on, I’m sticking to the straight and narrow. Then Drakkar Raedwulf dangles one tempting, yet impossible job in front of me. Steal a gemstone from the five dragon princes. I’m not a fool, but Silas, the closest thing I have to a father, is gravely ill. He’ll die if I can’t get him the treatment he needs. Treatments that are far more expensive than I can afford with my crappy minimum-wage job. So I take the job. And promptly get caught by the five princes. Bastian. Casius. Rhys. Mateo. Erik. And that’s where my story really begins… Because the dragons are cursed, and my blood might be the secret to freeing them. Episode 1 of the reverse harem serial Blood Prophecy. Adult situations. Snarky heroine who likes to swear from time to time. 18+. ***A new episode will be released every three weeks. Five episodes will be bundled together at the end for those who enjoy longer books so they can read it in one go. If you don't like serials, please wait until the omnibus edition is out.***

    Must be enthusiastic about interactions with vampires. Must be willing to undergo a stringent medical exam. Must be prepared to sign a contractual agreement which would include a non-disclosure clause. Limited positions available… York has always wanted a female of his very own. One to love and care for. One who will love him in return. More than anything he wants a family… he longs to hear the sound of children’s laughter filling his home. It is his deepest desire. Since most vampire females are not able to birth young, a program is started to ensure the continuation of the vampire species. The vampire elite must fight, fist and fang, for a much sought after place in the program and a chance to date human women. There are a multitude of beautiful human females in attendance. They have been handpicked to ensure that they are irresistible to vampire males. Why is it then that York wants the one female he can’t have? When Cassidy is selected for the trial phase of the program, she is ecstatic. This is the break she’s been waiting for. Her job is to root out any vampires with bloodlust. She’s quaking in her boots because she could end up dead. This position certainly isn’t for sissies. Thing is, it’s only three days of her life. All she needs to do is to allow a few of them to drink from her and survive long enough to get paid. Then she’s home free. Besides, she quit her job in order to be here so she so doesn’t have any other options available to her. Three days… pity one big, badass vampire is determined to get in the way of her plans. The story contains strong sexual themes/language and is not intended for readers under the age of 18. This is a standalone novel. No cliffhanger!

    As the two males run for their lives, they find that not only are they having to battle their enemy, but they are also fighting a growing attraction to each other.Jacyn had always considered himself a pretty normal guy. Little did he know that he couldn't be more wrong. Attacked by a group of gunmen, he suddenly finds himself shot at, kidnapped and chained to a wall. Not exactly the kind of day a normal guy has. All he knows is that all of it is somehow connected to his birth family. Rescued by a tall dangerous looking stranger who claims to have been sent by his long-lost family, Jacyn doesn't know whether to run with him or away from him. Especially when the stranger claims to be able to shift into a jaguar.The last thing Logan wants is to be rounding up some stray jaguar shifter, but he has never refused an order. Even as he tells himself the mission will be a snap, he finds himself having to launch a one-cat rescue party when Jacyn gets himself captured by their enemy.As the two males run for their lives, they find that not only are they having to battle their enemy, but they are also fighting a growing attraction to each other. Passion is the last thing they should be thinking about, however. Because if they don't keep their attention focused on the enemy, they could very well pay the ultimate price.

     Abandoned as a child and unable to remember her past, Morgan was raised as a hunter, one of an elite group of fighters sworn to protect humans from the dangerous paranormal creatures who invade our world…creatures such as herself. Her life changes the day she’s summoned to the Academy of Assassins, a school that trains witches and hunters to eradicate paranormals who prey on humans. Her first assignment—find and eliminate the killer who is using the Academy as their own personal hunting ground. As Morgan delves deeper into the investigation, she will need to dodge assassination attempts, avoid the distraction of romantic entanglements with the devilishly handsome security expert, Kincade, and his maddeningly overprotective teammates, while keeping the volatile magic in her blood concealed from those who would use it for their own purposes. When the danger increases and the school is threatened, Morgan must unearth her missing memories before someone finishes the job they started so long ago—killing her and unleashing a plague that will consume the world.

    Ward burned every bridge he had discovering her location, and then almost froze to death in the Colorado mountains tracking her new pack down. And that’s just the beginning of his struggle.Henry Dormer is an alpha werewolf and an elite black ops soldier who failed his last mission. He returns home, hoping for some time to recuperate and help settle the pack’s newest member, a little pup named Ava who can’t shift back to her human form. Instead he meets Ward, who refuses to leave his daughter without a fight. The two men are as different as night and day, but their respect for each other strikes a spark of mutual interest that quickly grows into a flame. They might find something special together—love, passion, and even a family—if they can survive trigger-happy pack guardians, violent werewolf politics, and meddling government agencies that are just as likely to get their alpha soldiers killed as bring them home safely.

    as long as they never learn her secret. I’m Officer Essie Shaw, and I shouldn’t exist. If anyone finds out their friendly neighborhood beat cop is a nephilim — public enemy number one — I’ll be imprisoned. Or worse, dissected. I survive by keeping my head down and my barely-there magic under wraps. But when I lose a fight with a strange, smoke-like wraith, I’m confronted with my worst nightmare. A Joined Parliament Team of Agents — supernatural monster hunters who’d arrest me in a heartbeat if they knew the truth — a no-nonsense angel whose mere gaze captures my soul, a vampire with a breathtaking bite, an incubus with enticing hellfire in his eyes, and, worst of all, my smoldering-hot ex-partner, turned werewolf thanks to my rookie mistake. This wraith has been picking off veterans of the recently won war against the archangel Michael, and the bodies are piling up. My unwanted connection to it, along with the team’s skills, could be the key to trapping it in magical stasis. Question is, am I strong enough to serve as bait, while keeping the secret that could brand me their enemy? Destined Darkness is the first book in the Nephilim’s Destiny series, an action-packed full-length paranormal romance with four irresistible guys and a kick-ass heroine who doesn’t have to choose.

    Preventing your possible murder? Even better.Alice Clark, a Wyr and schoolteacher, has had two friends murdered in as many days, and she's just found the body of a third. She arrives at the scene only minutes before Gideon Riehl, a wolf Wyr and current detective in the Wyr Division of Violent Crime—and, as Alice oh-so-inconveniently recognizes at first sight, her mate.But the sudden connection Riehl and Alice feel is complicated when the murders are linked to a serial killer who last struck seven years ago, killing seven people in seven days. They have just one night before the killer strikes again. And every sign points to Alice as the next victim. Product WarningsThis book contains a hot police detective, a violent murderer on the hunt, and a heroine that can blend in anywhere...

    When the woman who had taken her in and nurtured her is brutally murdered she sets out to find justice. She is quickly found by a local Wolfpack during their investigation into the murder of a human on their territory. Anna finds unexpected allies in the Seaside Wolf Pack and realizes that there might be a place for her to belong in their world. She starts to realize how empty her life has been when six wolves in particular take her under their wing and make it their goal to bring her into the fold. Will she finally find a place where she belongs and a pack that can give her the acceptance she craves?Seaside Wolf Pack SeriesBook 1: Finding Somewhere to BelongBook 1.5: Finding AnnaBook 2: Finding the Fire WithinBook 3: Finding the Power Within*This is a slow(ish) burn RH series that focuses on a MC that comes from an abusive past and works to rise above it to become a better, stronger person.

    In that time, she’s witnessed much that leads her to believe there is something strange about Monroe and his staff. Tight-lipped and unwilling to rock the boat, Lilly performs her duties with skilled efficiency. Nothing could make her falter from her schooled indifference to the odd occurrences that plague StoneCrow…that is until King Mulholland arrives. After years of being surrounded by Monroe’s gorgeous staff, Lilly is disconcerted to find that she cannot shake her attraction to King. Worse, he’s assigned as Monroe’s Chief of Security meaning he’s constantly in her presence. The distraction of King coupled with sudden threats at home has Lilly wondering if the two aren’t somehow connected. Are Monroe and King hiding something? Skin Walker, King Mulholland, is called home to repay a debt to his friend, and Dominant Skin Walker, Monroe StoneCrow. Determined to even the field and then move on, King goes to great lengths to avoid Monroe’s machinations where pairing Walkers is concerned. Only two things stand between King and his freedom: Monroe’s scheming, and Lilly Worthington. Inexplicably drawn to Monroe’s personal assistant, King is certain Monroe is somehow to blame. King struggles to fight his urges where Lilly is concerned; however, when Lilly is attacked all bets are off. Single-minded, feral, possession consumes him and his need to protect Lilly begins to outweigh his desire to play hardball with Monroe. When King is finally stricken with what Monroe calls the affliction, King is more than ready to claim his angel…he is eager!

    Owning a bar takes work and that was all I wanted. Serving cold beers and paying my taxes. Those were the responsibilities I wanted for the rest of my life.I didn’t ask to be a werecat. I didn’t ask for the responsibility to uphold an ancient treaty. I didn’t ask to get pulled into the middle of a werewolf pack’s coup.But Carey Everson, the very human daughter of a werewolf Alpha, needs me. Her father’s enemies are on her heels and I’m her last defense. And I’ll be that defense until my final breath, even if it means challenging the very Laws that govern the supernatural. I gave her my word.My name is Jacky Leon and nothing is going to stop me from honoring my word.

    Dragons. Intrigue. Romance. More than anything, I crave adventure. But in the disease ridden land of Verald, life is mapped out much like the well-established rings of our kingdom. At the very heart reigns our vicious king and Lord Irrik, an invincible dragon shifter, at his side. Their power poisons the land and the people, leading to a steadily mounting number of enemies. But change is coming. When the rebellion surges, the king strikes back. Captured by Lord Irrik, I'm suddenly embroiled in a deadly game. One where I'm desperate to understand the rules. Because I'm not only fighting for my life... but also a love that could be the very key to my freedom.