Hawk has been blessed by the goddess Athena for more than a hundred and forty-four years to fight the evil that permeates the earth, the Keres female spirits death-army. When a new plague of victims arises, a flock of five Birds of Prey move to Atlanta to eradicate the enemy. Second in command, Hawk has seen his fair share of the enemy’s handiwork. What he doesn’t expect is to patrol one night and find a mortal fighting tooth and nail with one of his own enemies—the Keres’ army of Blood Demons. Aaron is just trying to get through college, he really is. But, try as he might, his grades are still slipping, so he has to spend late nights in the library instead of partying. After a late night walking home from the library, he finds himself attacked by a grim-faced man who tries to dig a hole into Aaron’s chest with wicked looking claws. When a gold-eyed sexy stranger comes to help him out, he doesn’t expect to get nabbed for seeing too much and end up in the middle of a war he didn’t ask to be invited to. But once he’s in and spends more time with gold eyes, does Aaron really want to go back to the way things were before?

    With one bite, he can wipe clean a vampire’s mind, creating a mindless drone. Because of this, Carson has spent his entire twenty-three years sheltered at home. That changes, however, when his entire family is murdered. On the run and near death, Carson meets Commander Lincoln Samuels, a beautiful vampire who tries to heal him. In doing so, Carson is bonded to Lincoln and turned into something the vampire world has never seen.Lincoln is a Sanatore vampire with the ability to heal other vampires. He heads a team in the New Vampire Justice police force in Utica, NY. Late one night, he’s called to a local Vampire Blood Market where a starving Tabula Rosa vampire is about to be executed by one of his officers. Feeling a strong connection to Carson, Lincoln wants to heal the broken man despite knowing the risk in doing so—it could destroy Lincoln and cost him the chance to love again. And he soon discovers there’s a greater evil threatening to take Carson from him.Can two vampires who have loved and painfully lost in the past learn to trust one another, defeat the evil rising against them, and dare to love forever?

    Like Peter, a young man with a strict rule about one-night stands with locals. He breaks that rule for Lucien, the owner of The Den, a rival nightclub where there are no boundaries, no taboos. Only he doesn't realize just who Lucien is when he does. When Peter finds out that the man he wants to get to know even more is a vampire, he figures he should have stuck to that rule. He's not fan of vampires or most other creatures of the night, but Lucien is relentless in his seduction. Peter resists Lucien as long as he can, but when he gives in, he does it in a big way, falling headfirst in to the dark, violent world of vampires, werewolves, and other creatures he's only read about. Peter and Lucien begin a very dangerous dance of sensual heat and deep emotion, one that causes them nothing but trouble. No one approves of the human and vampire match, including those in Lucien's Coven, old enemies, and even older friends. Peter and Lucien have to struggle to stay together and protect those they love. Can they beat the forces that will try to tear them apart forever? And can they face what will become of Peter if they stay together?

    Not that his luck with snakes has been any better. It's not easy being a wereboa constrictor in a world that worships werewolves.When the customer he's been watching for months turns out to be an interested wolf, his first instinct is to flee, but his attraction to Brad Cannidy is undeniable despite the strained relations between their families. Then Jeff’s anaconda ex-boyfriend re-enters his life as a pair of snakeskin boots, the hunt begins for the murderer who is turning weres into accessories, and Jeff will have to decide if a boa and a wolf can really mate for life. Read an excerpt here

    Frankie isn’t hanging around to see if the man will do it again. Now, if only his ex-boyfriend will take the hint and disappear from his life. Needing a night out to forget his troubles, Frankie heads to Hot Encounters nightclub...only to come face-to-face with a master vampire who wants Frankie for his very own.Merrick Winters is a five-hundred-year-old vampire bored with life and the monotony of the same men throwing themselves at him day after day. He needs a challenge, and the sexy little man dancing in his club turns out to be just that.The mate-bond makes the strong attraction between Frankie and Merrick inevitable, but will outside forces tear them apart before they can really get started in a relationship?

    He’s smart, he’s cautious, and he’s determined keep it safe.Donte Fedelta has only ever loved one man and the journal that celebrates their affair has finally resurfaced. He’s not above using every trick, including seduction and outright theft, to get it back. He knows Adin’s no match for a centuries-old vampire on a quest.Adin Tredeger wants that journal. Donte wants it back. Neither man is prepared for something—or someone—they might want more.

    Commitment? Relationship? Love, for all the gods’ sakes? What does a vampire need those for? He’s completely content treating his long string of one-off lovers as midnight snacks. He makes it good for them and has no reason for guilt or grief. Some nights still induce an odd, hollow ache, but he can just drown it in the next conquest. Master of his universe, he lives without a care…until he encounters a bizarre creature feeding in an alley.It’s caught his scent, and now that it’s hunting him, Rafael remembers a word from his childhood. Krsnik—the hunters, the monsters who feed on the blood of vampires. He could run, but he’d be running forever, and that would sure as hell take the fun out of life. Time to figure out what the creature really is, what can defeat it, and why he feels so drawn to it.

    And to be fair, he hates me right back. We do our best to avoid each other at all costs, except when we feel the overwhelming urge to kick each other’s asses.Which is exactly what happened one clichéd dark and stormy night. Fists flying, thunder rumbling, and lightning flashing were apparently the magic combination to set off a bonding curse someone had set on us.Now we’re stuck in closer proximity than either of us have ever wanted. The fighting is getting worse, but the bond is eager for that energy to change to something way hotter and a lot more dangerous.I don’t want to be anywhere near Ethan, and I don’t want to sleep with him, and I certainly don’t want to be married to him for the rest of eternity…do I?

    Rowan Connelly is not what he expected. For one, the man doesn't have a submissive bone in his body. Even worse, Rowan is a wolf, one of the most dangerous and hated enemies of a vampire. But giving Rowan up isn't an option.Discovering that he is the mate of a vampire isn't so bad for Rowan, but the things required of him as the mate of the leader of a vampire tribe just might be more than he can handle.When Rowan is kidnapped, not once but twice, Luca knows he has to do everything in his power to keep his mate safe, something that would be much easier if Rowan would accept his place as the mate of a vampire and behave. Instead, Rowan is drawing Luca into more trouble with every breath.And Luca just can't seem to mind.

    What lies Outside it?Raine O'Kelly has a gift. The very power of nature is his to command. When his gift lands him in trouble with the government, Raine find himself thrown into The Prison; one of the most feared punishments for those citizens who won't conform to The City's ideals.Abused, scared, and slowly dying of deprivation from the one thing his body truly needs, an accident lands him in the infirmary, which leads him to be given to The Prison’s most feared inmate… The Beast.When The Beast defends him from the guards, Raine finds himself inexplicably drawn to the misunderstood man. A man with unique abilities of his own, the Beast’s animalistic desires form a connection between them that cannot be denied. When he learns The Beast comes from Outside the City, is Raine willing to take the chance on escape with the mysterious man?Escape won't be easy, and there are dangers waiting for them on The Outside, ready to strike at the fragile relationship between the two men. When The Beast’s past comes to light, will Raine be able to put aside his own fears in order to fight for the life the two of them could have together? Or will he fold under the pressure?Will he get his happily ever after?Or will he become just another victim of the Nature of the Beast?

    While on a trip to celebrate his recovery, he gets lost in the woods and meets an unusual wolf. When the animal turns out to be more than just a wolf, Reed is astonished and a little afraid.Werewolf Ethan Amhurst has been alone a long time. Finding Reed lost on his property seems to be a stroke of luck. He wants to show Reed that his scars don’t matter, but can there be any future for a werewolf and a scarred ex-model?

     Maelgwn, leader of a clutch of gargoyles in Durango, Colorado, only planned to be in Stone Ridge a few days to help a fellow gargoyle’s mate through laying their first egg. His plan to leave changes when he scents his mate in the hospital. He discovers his mate is Bobby Truman, a human who has no idea the paranormal world exists, even though a number of his friends are shifters. Maelgwn begins the arduous process of watching and waiting, searching for that perfect opportunity to make contact with his mate. Bobby Truman is tired of his boyfriend, Seth’s, abusive friends, especially when Seth doesn’t do anything about their antics. The broken nose, compliments of Seth’s buddy Grant, is the final straw. When he’s attacked by muggers and rescued by a mysterious stranger in the dark, Bobby hopes it’s the opportunity he needs to make a clean break from Seth. Even if it doesn’t work out with Maelgwn, maybe Bobby can keep his new love interest’s attention long enough to prove to Seth they are really done. Bobby thinks it’s odd that Maelgwn won’t come into the light, always meeting him after dark, but he’s nowhere near prepared for the truth when it finally comes out. Can Maelgwn convince Bobby that the things that go bump in the night aren’t always bad and to take his place at Maelgwn’s side in a paranormal world? Even when that means uprooting his life and moving?

    A werewolf sent to retrieve him with one thought – that only the guilty run.Vampire Micah Jamieson is found guilty of killing his human husband. He runs from the execution he is facing to get home. He just has to pray he’ll reach home before supernatural law enforcement, in the shape of a Glitnir Court Retriever close in on him.Wolf shifter and Retriever, Connor Strand easily captures Micah and he’s fully prepared to take the runaway in. But his wolf has other ideas.Something about Micah challenges Connor and his long held beliefs. What if Micah is actually innocent? Will Connor put to one side his own prejudices, and then risk both his life and career to keep Micah safe?

    Winner Takes All by Laura Baumbach -- Two vampires face off in a deadly bet that has the winner claiming everything the loser owns--including the loser's innocent, unaware human offspring. Gift of the Raven by Angela Fiddler -- Cory has always been mercurial; passionate one second and frozen the next, but when he was hot, he was scorching. Luke had brought him up as a vampire but couldn't keep him the first time around. But now evil's come on an arctic wind, and they'll need each other to fight it. Wolfe's Recluse by Jet Mykles -- Can Wolfe lure Matt out of his apartment for the first time in two years? Is the gorgeous Wolfe temptation enough for Matt to overcome his fear of vampires?

    When she announces in the middle of a vacation in New Orleans that she's managed to obtain an invitation to a notorious local Vampyre Haven at the historic Maison Bertrand, Brady reluctantly agrees to accompany her. He's never understood her fascination with "the lifestyle," as Tessa calls it, but complete in Gothic makeup and black Victorian garb, he goes with her to the mansion in the bayou for what he believes amounts to an elaborate Halloween party.He couldn't be more wrong. Brady almost immediately realizes he's in over his head: he's not put off by the decor, or even the drugs, but when they stumble across rooms where blood play is on display, he decides it's time to leave. But Tessa isn't ready to go, the doorman Gerard keeps referring to him as "the offering," and some of the more insistent guests have chosen him as a party favor when he is rescued by the enigmatic Lucien Bertrand. Or is he only getting into deeper trouble?Part of Dreamspinner Press's Daily Dose 2010: Midsummer's Nightmare.