After a messy breakup that included way too much family “feedback,” Danica made a pact with her cousin: they’ll keep their hearts protected and have fun, without involving any of the overly opinionated Waterhouse matriarchs. Danica is more than a little exhausted navigating a long-standing family feud where Gram thinks the only good mundane is a dead one and Danica’s mother weaves floral crowns for anyone who crosses her path. Three blocks down from the Fix-It Witches, Titus Winnaker, owner of Sugar Daddy’s bakery, has family trouble of his own. After a tragic loss, all he’s got left is his sister, the bakery, and a lifetime of terrible luck in love. Sure, business is sweet, but he can’t seem to shake the romantic curse that’s left him past thirty and still a virgin. He’s decided he’s doomed to be forever alone.Until he meets Danica Waterhouse. The sparks are instant, their attraction irresistible. For him, she’s the one. To her, he’s a firebomb thrown in the middle of a family war. Can a modern witch find love with an old-fashioned mundane who refuses to settle for anything less than forever?

    And it may come to that when she seeks the help of the vampire Drago. Jolene may be half vampire—and free from their manipulations—but the instant flourishing desire the mere presence of Drago stirs within her is undeniable.And Drago can smell it. He can practically taste her emotions, her lust. He knows their attraction is real, and he must have her. But Drago also knows what could happen to Jolene if she were to enter one of those clubs. The thought of another vampire having her drives him wild. Now Drago must do anything to protect her—or risk losing the woman who just might be his mate.Purple Magic previously appeared in Exclusive.

    She had a nice, easy job. She’d managed to escape the not-so-loving attentions of a family who’d rather see her dead than look at her. She had a roof over her head and she didn’t have to fight for every little thing she had.Then she finds herself tangled up with a green-eyed witch by the name of Justin. He’s looking for somebody and for some bizarre reason, he seems to think she can help. All she has to do is say no, and she can go back to her safe little existence. That’s exactly what she needs to do and she knows it.Too bad she’s not very good at following her own advice.The events of this short story take place between A Stroke of Dumb Luck and Blade Song. It can be read as a stand-alone.

    But in the Five Hundred Kingdoms, nothing's ever simple—and the wrong blonde goddess is stolen by mistake, leaving Prince Leopold without his new bride. At least until he braves the realm of the dead to get her back….Cast in Moonlight by New York Times bestselling author Michelle SagaraBarely a teenager, Kaylin Neya is a thief, a fugitive and an attempted assassin. She also has a smart mouth, sharp wits and mysterious markings on her skin. All of which make her perfect bait for a child prostitution sting in the city of Elantra—if she survives her first meeting with the Hawks!Retribution by Cameron HaleyIn the underworld, there are tricks to killing. Like executing rivals at crossroads so ghosts won't follow you home. But sometimes retribution is hard to avoid—and now a supernatural hit man has a contract on Domino Riley's life. Luckily she knows a thing or two about death….

    From humorous to magical, from Christmas to St. Patrick's Day to the 4th of July, these stories are alight with unbridled lust, sensuous passion, and hot, hot sex, guaranteed to entangle your senses and leave you breathless.

    He is also an agent of the Council--the centuries-old cabal that governs vampirekind, preserving their secrecy and destroying those who betray them.When a cryptic summons leads him to the scene of the brutal killing of a powerful Council member, Luca begins the hunt for an assassin among his own people. But instead of a lone killer he discovers a sinister conspiracy of rogue vampires bent on subjugating the mortal world.All that stands in their way are the conduits, humans able to channel spirit warriors into the physical world to protect mankind. Chloe Fallon is a conduit--and a target of the vampire assassin who's killing them. When Luca saves her life, an irresistible bond of trust--along with more passionate feelings--is forged between them. As more victims fall, Chloe and Luca have only each other to depend on to save the world from the reign of monsters--and salvage their own future together.

    These are but a few of the curiosities collected in this volume of short stories by three acclaimed practitioners of paranormal fiction.But The Curiosities is more than the stories. Since 2008, Maggie, Tessa, and Brenna have posted more than 250 works of short fiction to their website merryfates.com. Their goal was simple: create a space for experimentation and improvisation in their writing—all in public and without a backspace key. In that spirit, The Curiosities includes the stories and each author's comments, critiques, and kudos in the margins. Think of it as a guided tour of the creative processes of three acclaimed authors.So, are you curious now?

    Together with his three brothers and a few other unmated members, he fights with The Vampire Coalition to protect humans from fallen vampires. His life is fairly simple. If he has a problem... he solves it. If it's an evil problem... he kills it. But his uncomplicated life is about to end when his mate unexpectedly calls him to her.Brianna Cole is weak, her life force fading away. She thinks she is suffering from a rare form of leukemia. Little does she knows that her illness is much more complicated. She's dying because she has not united with her vampire mate and given him his soul that she has been guarding since birth.Ethan finds Brianna and knows he needs to convince her to mate or watch her die. He's waited for her for five hundred years and he has no intention of letting her go, but she is not in any shape for the dominate, volatile mating ceremony with a vampire. He will have to win the race against time to strengthen Brianna and a battle with a stalking fallen to claim his mate. He is also at war with his mating instincts that make him burn to dominate and conquer her. But Ethan is determined, and the stubborn vampire will do whatever is necessary to possess his soul bonded mate... forever.18+ ONLY - This book contains graphic sex, graphic language, rough sex, domination, bondage and other subjects that are intended for adults only. This is a romance but contains very erotic content. It is not a true BDSM novella, so if you prefer the SM element you won't find it here. There's no real pain inflicted. It is more romance with alpha male domination being part of the vampire nature and mating instincts. However, it does contain all of the above sexual content in the 18+ warning. Download only if you love a little (or maybe a lot) of kink and heat in you alpha male vampires romances. : )

    When he mistakenly recovers the wrong fae, the dragon under his skin responds in a way he never could have predicted, and he discovers he’s found the woman destined to him by the Fates – his Chosen.Runa Charon is an anomaly among her kind, the mortal offspring of a human and a fae. Unlike other sidhe, she longs to experience pleasure instead of pain, love instead of lust. Immortally strong but mortally fragile, she’s been sheltered all of her life. When the opportunity to meet a Draigen from the Otherworld arises, she can’t resist the temptation and travels to meet the man who will change her destiny.Unlike other netherworld creatures, Draigen mate for life, choosing to follow the path of their beloved mate in this reality or the next. Knowing a future can only span one lifetime, will they settle for less than an eternity? Or will they be grateful for the gift of each day?Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Dubious consent, violence.

    As a last resort, she signs up for the Midnight Liaisons dating service, never expecting that she’d find the alpha she seeks. She certainly didn’t expect Jackson Wilder, a laid back, sexy-as-sin outsider who claims to be an alpha.But Alice has a problem that most female wolf alphas don’t — she’s a virgin. And the female alpha of a wolf pack always belongs to a male alpha. Luckily for her, Jackson’s utterly gorgeous and willing to take things slow. But is he alpha enough to help her save her pack…or is he too easy-going to be the man she needs?

    14 sleuths are gathered together for the first time in all-original tales of unusual cases which require services that go far beyond mere deduction!Meet our detectives, from these fine agencies.Danny Hendrickson—from Laura Anne Gilman’s Cosa Nostradamus series.Kate Connor—from Julie Kenner’s Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom series.John Taylor—from Simon R. Green’s Nightside series.Jill Kismet—from Lilith Saintcrow’s Jill Kismet series.Jessi Hardin—from Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series.Quincey Morris—from Justin Gustainis’ Morris/Chastain Investigations series.Marla Mason—from T.A. Pratt’s Marla Mason series.Tony Foster—from Tanya Huff’s Smoke and Shadows series.Dawn Madison—from Chris Marie Green’s Vampire Babylon series.Pete Caldecott—from Caitlin Kittredge’s Black London series.Tony Giodone—from C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp’s Tales of the Sazi series.Jezebel—from Jackie Kessler’s Hell on Earth series.Piers Knight—from C.J. Henderson’s Brooklyn Knight series.Cassiel—from Rachel Caine’s Outcast Season series.Demons may lurk, werewolves may prowl, vampires may ride the wind. These are things that go “bump in the night,” but we are the ones who “bump back!”

     In life, Samantha Wheaton often got the last word—and not much has changed after her death. To find out what really happened to her sister, boundary witch Allison “Lex” Luther will travel to Los Angeles to talk to Cruz, the former LAPD detective who investigated the murder. When Jesse proves reluctant to talk, however, Lex must find more of the people connected to the Henry Remus case –including a young woman with a very ugly dog and very familiar powers. As she searches for answers, Lex finds herself venturing deeper down a rabbit hole—one that may lead her to a big bad wolf. Note: This story is set between Boundary Crossed and Boundary Lines.

    She was terrified of disappearing into the aimless vortex that awaited the lost and the young that haunted her neck of the woods. Until the night she actually stopped looking at her books and looked up. What awaited her was a world she had only read about--one filled with fantastical creatures that she was sure she could never be. And then Adrian walked in--and she discovered that risking your life was nothing compared to facing who you really were. And then falling in love.

    What about the were-goats? The were-crows and were-wasps? Here are seventeen stories of urban fantasy by today’s leading science fiction and fantasy authors that introduce you to some of those other were-creatures, the ones hiding in the dark background shadows, waiting to bite. Join Seanan McGuire, Ashley McConnell, Susan Jett, Eliora Smith, David B. Coe, April Steenburgh, Gini Koch, Mike Barretta, Elizabeth Kite, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jean Marie Ward, Katharine Kerr, Sarah Brand, Anneliese Belmond, Faith Hunter, Patricia Bray, and Phyllis Ames as they take you into the hidden corners of our world to see some lesser known were-creatures. You may want to bring along some silver … just in case.Introduction copyright © 2016 by Joshua Palmatier“Best In Show” copyright © 2016 by Seanan McGuire“We Dig” copyright © 2016 by Ashley McConnell“Eyes Like Pearls” copyright © 2016 by Susan Jett“Among the Grapevines, Growing” copyright © 2016 by Eliora Smith“A Party For Bailey” copyright © 2016 by David B. Coe“Cry Murder” copyright © 2016 by April Steenburgh“Missy the Were-Pomeranian vs the Masters of Mediocre Doom” copyright © 2016 by Jeanne Cook (Gini Koch)“Paper Wasp” copyright © 2016 by Mike Barretta“Point Five” copyright © 2016 by Elizabeth Kite“The Promise of Death” copyright © 2016 by Danielle Ackley-McPhail“The Five Bean Solution” copyright © 2016 by Jean Marie Ward“Witness Report” copyright © 2016 by Katharine Kerr“Attack of the Were-Zombie Friendship With Benefits”copyright © 2016 by Sarah Brand“The Whale” copyright © 2016 by Anneliese Belmond“Anzu, Duba, Beast” copyright © 2016 by Faith Hunter“Shiftr” copyright © 2016 by Patricia Bray“Sniff For Your Life” copyright © 2016 by Phyllis Irene Radford

    During her nightly, clandestine swim in the freezing winter ocean, a grisly find leads Jane to startling revelations about her heritage: she is only half-human. Now, Jane must enter a world filled with supernatural creatures alternatively terrifying, beautiful, and deadly- all of which perfectly describe her new "friend," Ryu, a gorgeous and powerful vampire. It is a world where nothing can be taken for granted: a dog can heal with a lick; spirits bag your groceries; and whatever you do, never-ever rub the genie's lamp. If you love Sookie Stackhouse, then you'll want to dive into Nicole Peeler's enchanting debut novel.