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.

    A female werewolf helps a sheriff track down a killer “In Sheep’s Clothing.” A woman must repay her family’s debt to a shapeshifting magician in “Grace of Small Magics.” Please note: Each of these stories previously appeared in print in The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance. This is a collected e-book edition of Ilona Andrews’, Jeaniene Frost’s, and Meljean Brook’s contributions.

    The only thing that threatens to shatter his hard-won control is Esme, his closest friend and the only woman he's ever wanted. If the stubborn beauty ever realized precisely what was going through his mind, their friendship would be ruined.For six months, Esme has waited for Rip to recover and take her as his thrall, not daring to hope for more. Too afraid to put her heart on the line, she is devastated when Rip reveals that he never had any intentions of making her his.But when a savage gang of Slashers start causing havoc in Whitechapel, Rip and Esme have no choice. They must face up to the depth of the passion that burns between them and forge a new relationship…or risk losing each other forever.

    But once she realized what she had become, Katie wanted nothing to do with her new state. Running off to college seemed like a good idea until mating season hit. Now the fever to reproduce is so great she can’t think straight. Brindle Lindholm has his true mate locked in forever. If only Katie would come to her senses and accept that they are meant to be together. Mating season has come, and he knows Katie has to be suffering in heat. Brindle is the only one who can satiate the need, and even though his heart will have to stand the rejection that is sure to follow, he knows he must go to her. When their coupling satisfies more than sexual need, it changes their future, forever. **This is a complete story. The Winter Valley Wolves can be read in any order.**

    Proceed with caution.Catering to the magical is a tough gig on a good day, but Bailey has few other options. Spiking drinks with pixie dust keeps the locals happy and beats cleaning up the world's nastiest magical substances. She could live without serving Police Chief Samuel Quinn most days of the week, especially after destroying his marriage.But when she's targeted with a cell phone bomb containing gorgon dust capable of transforming her beloved home into a stone tomb, she's tossed head first into a mess with her sexiest enemy. Add in his ex-wife angling for revenge, and Bailey must use every trick up her sleeve to survive.The last thing she needs is to fall in love with Manhattan's Most Wanted Bachelor.Saving Manhattan will be tough enough.

    In "Seeing Eye" by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother—and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher's "Last Call," wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers—the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer.For anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who's imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection of short stories!

    Accepting her dad’s invitation to work at his hotel offers an escape from her ex-boyfriend and the chance to spend the summer with her best friend. Meeting a guy is the last thing on her mind—until she sees Levi.Unable to resist the infuriating yet alluring Levi, Allie finds herself at the center of a supernatural society and forced to decide between following the path she has always trusted or saving a city that might just save her.

    Her last patient arrives unconscious and naked. She’s lead to believe he’s a psyche patient off his meds. However, once he awakens, Janet is charmed by his million-dollar smile and agrees to give him a ride home. Werewolf, Max Ritter notices the sassy nurse when he wakes after a night under the full moon. Unfortunately, his archrival is drawn to Janet as well. In order to keep her out of harm's way, he opts to keep her close. When the chemistry between them sparks, Max discovers a completely new reason to keep Janet safe.

    She doesn't have time for arrogant customers, even a gorgeous corporate raider in a bespoke suit with muscles that just don't stop. Until, of course, he buys her restaurant and saves her life. Logan Chase, alpha of his lion shifter pride, is intrigued when the feisty chef kicks him out of her restaurant. He's enraged when someone attacks her. And he's intoxicated when he finally gets close enough to kiss her. But when he shifts in front of her and his lion comes out to play, he risks losing Natalia forever. Natalia just wants to cook and snuggle with a nice guy. Shacking up with a man who's also a lion means inviting a new level of crazy into her life, along with his unruly brothers, and even her werewolf best friends warn her away. Can she and Logan create a steamy relationship from scratch, or are they a recipe for disaster?

     Gingerbread houses, caroling carolers, brightly trimmed trees, big family dinners, pristine snowfalls-the familiar pleasures of the season. But what better pleasure is there than a good holiday story? So open this winter solstice sampler and indulge in fully festive fantasies, nightmares before Christmas, and stunning space-age celebrations. These stories will warm hearts and minds like a blazing Yule log. Fantastic Holiday Stories by Kevin J. Anderson, Mercedes Lackey, Mike Resnick, Kristine Rusch, Jonathan Maberry, Eric James Stone, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Quincy J. Allen, Ken Scholes, Sam Knight, David Boop, Heather Graham, Brad R. Torgersen, and Patricia Briggs.

    A scientist and a single mother, she's used to fighting for what she wants, keeping a cool head, and doing whatever it takes to protect her daughter Janie. But "whatever it takes" has never before included a shotgun wedding to a dangerous-looking stranger with an attitude problem. Or Else! Sure, the mysterious Talen says that he's there to protect Cara and Janie. He also says that he's a three-hundred-year-old vampire. Of course, the way he touches her, Cara might actually believe he's had that long to practice. . .

    Free online fiction from author website

    In these novellas, the Norseston alpha plays matchmaker for the pack’s lonely, rough-around-the-edges, single wolves. CONTAINS: BEAST After a brutal fight left werewolf Anton Denis half blind, he closed himself off to the possibility of taking a mate. It’d take a special woman to love the man behind the scars, and meek Christina Stilton insists that woman is her. LONER Darius used to being on the fringes, but Stephanie understands how that feels all too well. He may lack polish, but he has the tenderness that was lacking in Stephanie’s previous relationships. They’re both loners in their own ways, but if they can come together to find a common thread, the mates could ignite a romance hot enough to make them both howl. IDLER Lisa is convinced that her born-alpha mate has the potential to solve big problems, but not without incentive. He’s a wolf with a troubled past, and if she pushes too hard, she’ll lose his trust. She can’t afford that. Colt may not only be the ticket to a better life for her sisters, but possibly the closest thing to a perfect mate a domineering Type A personality like her will ever find. SCION Old grudges form a seemingly insurmountable wedge between the Madeiras and Carbones, but the wolf goddess will only grant Vic and Ashley with perfect mates once. If they’re to have a hopeful future in the Norseton pack, they must set aside the insults of the past. It may take a small miracle for them to manage it. ____ Also available in the Norseton Wolves series: #5 - MAKER #6 - ELDER #7 - SCOUT #8 - SEER #9 - ANGEL

     Six Dark Tales. Six Sensual Stories. Six Page Turners. ROUGH RHYTHM: A Made In Jersey Novella by Tessa Bailey Band manager James Brandon never expected to find the satisfaction he’d been chasing, let alone stumble upon it in some sleezy Hollywood meat market. Yet the girl’s quiet pride spoke to him from across the bar. But after losing the grip on his dark desires that one fateful night, James has spent the last four years atoning for letting her down. Rock band drummer Lita Regina has had enough of James’s guilt. She wants the explosive man she met that night in Hollywood. And she’ll stop at nothing to revive him. DEVOTED: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella by Lexi Blake Amy Slaten has devoted her life to Slaten Industries. After ousting her corrupt father and taking over the CEO role, she thought she could relax and enjoy taking her company to the next level. But an old business rivalry rears its ugly head. When Flynn Adler realizes the woman he’s falling for is none other than the CEO of the firm he needs to take down, he has to make a choice. Does he take care of the woman he’s falling in love with or the business he’s worked a lifetime to build? Z: A Demonica Novella by Larissa Ione Zhubaal has spent decades searching for the angel he loved and lost nearly a century ago. Not even her death can keep him from trying to find her. But as time passes, he’s losing hope… As an emim, Vex has always felt like a second-class citizen. But if she manages to secure a deal with the Grim Reaper she will have earned her place in the world. The only obstacle in the way of her plan is a sexy hardass called Z. Soon it becomes clear that they have a powerful connection rooted in the past… FALLING UNDER YOU: A Fixed Trilogy Novella by Laurelin Paige Norma Anders has always prided herself on her intelligence and determination. She climbed out of poverty, put herself through school and is now a chief financial advisor at Pierce Industries. She’s certainly a woman who won’t be topped. Not in business anyway. But she’s pretty sure she’d like to be topped in the bedroom. Unfortunately most men see independence and ambition in a woman and they run. Then the most unlikely candidate steps up. Boyd, her much-too-young and oh-so-hot assistant surprises her one night with bold suggestions and an authoritative demeanor he’s never shown her in the office. CRAVING HIS COMMAND: A Doms of Genesis Novella by Jenna Jacob Mercy O’Connor—known as Symoné at Club Genesis—craves the chance to experience true surrender. The only problem is, she’s set her sights on sexy, commanding Sir Justice, who studies her with his dissecting, arousing stare…but never offers to show her his ropes. If Kellan Graham let himself believe in love at first sight, Symoné would own his heart. After having his life ripped apart, he’s spent years inventing ways to resist simple lust, but each time this beautiful submissive turns her pleading eyes to him, she ignites a complicated conflagration of desire Kellan can’t fight. AMERICAN QUEEN by Sierra Simone It starts with a stolen kiss under an English sky, and it ends with a walk down the aisle. It starts with the President sending his best friend to woo me on his behalf, and it ends with my heart split in two. It starts with buried secrets and dangerous desires…and ends with the three of us bound together with a hateful love sharper than any barbed wire.

    But is he mortal? Or is he an ancient god, a sorcerer, or a mythical beast who can possess a woman's heart...and her very soul?Four of romance's most popular authors have created this spellbinding collection of stores filled with dark passion and desire. Under the cover of darkness, their heroes inhabit worlds haunted by ageless hungers and deadly forces stronger than any seen by day...and vanquished only by the power of love.Now travel into realms where dazzling wonders roam the night, where magic replaces reason, and where a kiss unleashes a raging fire in the blood. And here, if you dare, discover the seduction that begins at the bewitching hour when a man and woman partake in...Midnight Pleasures.Darkfest by Amanda AshleyThe price of saving her dying mother is Channa's promise to spend a year at the castle of tormented nobleman, Lord Darkfest...to obey him as his servant or, as his secrets are revealed, to become his salvation. And her own.Phantom Lover by Sherrilyn KenyonHaunted by recurring nightmares of terrifying beasts, Erin McDaniels is afraid to sleep-until a hero arrives in her dreams to save her...and makes erotic, incredible love to her. But can she find him again when she is awake?NOTE: This story has been re-released in the Dark Bites anthologyUnder Her Spell by Maggie ShayneA consultant for a TV series about one gorgeous witch, "white witch" Melissa St. Cloud plans to make the show authentic. But once on the set she is pulled into the arms of a man who opens up a doorway to the darkside and chilling peril.A Wulf's Curse by Ronda ThompsonRunning away from an arranged marriage, Elise steals aboard a wagon in a traveling circus and finds herself in the bed of the Beast Master, Sterling Wulf, who is something other than he seems...and suddenly all Elise desires.