A pair of scorching shapeshifter romance novellas by two of the genre’s hottest New York Times bestselling authors:Shelly Laurenston's Miss CongenialityCynthia Eden's Wicked Ways*-*From Shelly Laurenston -- Miss Congeniality (Magnus Pack, #3.5; Pride, #0.75; Smith's Shifter World, #3.5) It's those damn stockings that get me every time. They have this sexy little line down the back and I can't help but stare at her legs -- constantly. And you'd think she'd be all over me like every other female in the Seattle area. I'm young, good looking, and one day I'll be Alpha Male of my family's Pack. But Professor Irene Conridge acts like I don't even exist. How is that possible? Now she's got enemies coming out of the woodwork and I have to protect her.Why? Because that's the kind of man I am. Yes, I am that amazing. Of course, it doesn't hurt that while I work to secure her safety, she'll be hanging out at my house. That's hours -- days even -- that I've got Professor Irene Conridge -- right where I want her.*-*From Cynthia Eden -- Wicked WaysI'm too dangerous for her. I know it -- but I can't get my sexy new neighbour out of my head. When I hear her scream one night, the absolute last thing I expect to see is Miranda Shaw -- star of my hottest fantasies -- being attacked by a vampire! Now the undead jerk is after her, and I am the only thing standing between the beautiful lady and a killer who just won't stop. Well, too bad for him, because that vamp has just made the worst mistake of his afterlife -- he's tangled with a former FBI agent, who is also a jaguar-shifter of considerable power ...Sparks fly between Miranda and me -- despite her reluctance -- but she's so busy watching out for the vamp, that she won't see me closing in on her -- not until it's too late -- and I'm about to show her just how wild I can get ... Is she ready for the feral intensity of my animal state?

    With four new stories, this is a collection packed with more surprises than Christmas morning, and more chills than the snowiest winter night . . .

    Crazy were-cats or not, an evening at Genesis is exactly what she needs. And when she meets the hotter than hot, super-sexy owner, Alex O’Connell, the alpha lion shifter is just the man to fit the bill for a one-night stand.Dumped like a rotting piece of meat by her ex, Maya is on the prowl, fixin' to do whatever it takes to get herself a piece of the gorgeous fur-ball. Besides, what’s the harm in a girl having a little bit of fun?

    However, the more he gets to know his overly perky neighbor, the more he craves her—naked in his grasp—a desire worse than his addiction to honey and pie. Miranda’s on a mission for the Furry United Coalition, and it involves secretly guarding one grumpy ol’ bear. Staying focused on the job isn’t easy when all she can think about is turning his frown upside down, a task made harder when she gets a glimpse of his passion. When she hears about his theory on woodland creatures and predators not mixing, she thinks all is lost, but she didn’t count on a bear’s curious nature—and possessive need. When an evil force abducts Chase, Miranda unleashes her bunny in order to save him, but the revelation of her shifter side puts her in danger. Is one ornery bear enough to save her from a mad scientist? And if he does, can a bear forget her woodland creature status long enough to love her and make her his mate? Warning: Pies were harmed in the making of this story and naughty references made about honey that might offend some readers

    While working on the set of a ghost-busting reality show in a haunted castle, she meets a sexy vampire, and together they prevent a Master Demon from killing everyone in the castle. In “Undead Sublet” by Molly Harper, executive chef Tess Maitland is banned from her five-star kitchen in Chicago to recover from “exhaustion.” Choosing a random rental house in Half-Moon Hollow to spend time in, she’s unaware that the house comes with a strange man. Even though Sam Masden’s ex-wife has rented the house out from under him, the divorce settlement allows him access to it for another ninety days. With Tess unable to go anywhere else, and Sam unwilling, a war of epic proportions is declared—and romantic sparks and heavy pots fly. Jessica Sims’s “Out With a Fang” features Ruby Sommers, a lonely were-jaguar who signs up for a blind date through the paranormal dating agency Midnight Liaisons. When she arrives, she finds out that her date, a vampire, was the human she’d been in love with four years ago but was forced to dump.

    Get in, get it up and get gone. But when she meets Zack Connor, she realizes her future might have a lot more dog jokes in it than she ever imagined.word count: 16,652

    I am Glheanna the Decimator. I am a warrior. A soldier. I know no fear. No pain. No mercy. I do, however, know acute embarrassment! How could I not after getting dumped by a bastard dragon in front of my own troops? So I tuck tail and return to my cave, drowning my sorrows in ale—as is my family’s way. But instead of leaving me to my misery, I’ve been summoned to the Dragon Queen’s court. As if my life wasn’t pathetic enough, Her Majesty now has me escorting the highborn Bram the Merciful through dangerous territories—not exactly the best use of my military training. And just so he can negotiate with enemy dragons instead of battling them? Honestly, what has my world come to? Then again…Bram is quite easy on the eyes. And the perfect distraction for what ails me. Perhaps I’m looking at all this the wrong way. Maybe there is a place for a little “mercy” in my life…

    . . 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.

    A wicked hot and surly shifter guardian who is strictly off limits. Which means things are about to turn very bad...Lucas Gunn has been kidnapped, examined and tortured. His only remaining tie to the outside world is in his dreams and the incredible woman who appears in them nightly. He thought she was nothing more than a figment of his imagination. Then she came for him.Kira MacDonald is in trouble… Her psychic ability to “see” things has gone haywire. She’s being plagued by false visions and dreams of a man she’s never met. She’s desperate for a cure, which means finding and bonding with a mate. Something she fears more than losing her mind. Too bad fate has other plans for her. Plans that include her rescuing one dark, controlling shifter.Passion and Pride. Duty and Danger. In the end, there's really only one choice...

    But the gift of their abilities comes at a price…After a massacre decimates half his team and leaves him crippled, Jaxon Law must relearn how to fight—and battle the anger and guilt threatening to overwhelm him. But when he rescues a beautiful woman who reawakens his primal instincts, Jax is unprepared for the dangers that lie ahead.On the run from her employer, brilliant lab assistant Kira Locke has evidence that leads the Alpha Pack on a hunt for someone targeting human civilians with Psy abilities. And as Jax and Kira circle both the killer and each other, Jax will have to decide if the deep connection he feels with Kira is worth breaking the ultimate shifter rule—because bonding with Kira means putting his abilities at risk, and they might be the only tools he has to keep his mate alive…

    JC decides that maybe a dog might be a better companion than the boyfriends she's had, so she heads off to her local animal shelter to find a puppy that needs a home. Like a cute ball of fluff, ya know?When she comes home, it's with a beast that the shelter says is part wolf -- and destined to die. He's mean, he's ornery, he has enough fleas to require fumigation, and he's a hairdresser's nightmare, but JC is compelled to adopt him. The shelter is amazed when he only responds to her (no surprise for you there I'll bet). After a trip to PETsMART and a bath, JC dubs her new buddy Fluffy. Fluffy loves steak and hates her ex-boyfriend Jess, which is just fine by JC. He's her perfect match -- so perfect she thinks if only he were a man they could pick out china together.But Fluffy likes to roam and when he takes off one night JC's new neighbor Max Adams consoles her by inviting her in for pizza. Max is hot and he has a great head of hair. JC and Max have nothing in common -- he's a country boy and she's a city girl -- but sexually speaking (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) Max is like no other man she's met. He does have some peculiarities though, like a strange affinity for red meat, and his allergic reaction to anything silver. All of this has JC wondering where Max comes from and why -- despite their differences -- she can't keep her hands off of him!Oh, and the biggest plus of all? Max really digs her big, mangy mutt Fluffy.

    Released from the magic pokey and paroled with limited power is enough to make any witch grumpy.However, if you throw in a recently resurrected cat, a lime-green Kia and a sexy egotistical werewolf, it’s enough to make a gal fly off the edge.Not to mention a mission…with no freaking directions.So here I sit in Asscrack, West Virginia trying to figure out how to complete my mysterious mission before All Hallows Eve when I’ll get turned into a mortal.The animals in the area are convinced I’m the Shifter Whisperer (whatever the hell that is) and the hotter-than- asphalt-in-August werewolf thinks I’m his mate.Now apparently I’m slated to save a bunch of hairy freaks of nature?If they think I’m the right witch for the job, they’ve swallowed some bad brew.

    But waiting within are passions that no Collar can contain.Like most Shifters, Liam Morrissey has learned that trusting humans leads to no good. But when a beautiful attorney enters Shiftertown alone, Liam's alpha nature leaves him no choice but to offer his protection.Tasked with defending a Shifter accused of murder, attorney Kim Fraser is completely out of her depth in the mysterious world of Shifters. To prove her client's innocence, Kim will need the help of someone on the inside, even though relying on Liam goes against everything society says about Shifters.And when an un-Collared Shifter threatens both Kim and Liam, the young attorney will have to learn to trust her unlikely protector and face the passion she feels for a man who can't be tamed.

    But is she ready for the fierce demands of the mating bond? Stroke of Enticement A wary young teacher, skeptical about love, arouses the man—and the animal—in an aggressive leopard changeling who must prove his affections are true. Declaration of Courtship Grace, a shy submissive wolf, finds herself pursued by the last man she ever would have imagined: a SnowDancer lieutenant said to be “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.” Texture of Intimacy SnowDancer healer Lara discovers the searing joys—and unexpected challenges—of being mated to quiet, powerful Walker, a man used to keeping his silence.Note: Some of these short stories have been published separately as digital e-books or as parts of multi-author anthologies.

    Alexander "Bunny" Bunsun is that Bear. Something's not right with his cousin Chloe, and he's come to Halle, PA, to sort it out, turn his Harley around and head home to Oregon. Until an enticing scent lures him into the local tattoo shop. There she is. An inked, Southern-drawled she-Wolf with lime-green hair. His perfect mate. Tabitha Garwood's rotten day just got worse. Her Outcast status makes her a target for harassment with alarming regularity. And now, in the middle of a root touch-up, looking like a half-melted Skittle, she's met her destined mate. The only upside? She finally has a protector in the form of a huge, tattooed, shaved-head Bear who vibrates with carefully restrained power. When Chloe is left for dead and Tabby is threatened, only Alex can keep his growing family safe. Giving Tabby the loving home she needs, though, could come at a price-Alex must give up the control he's worked a lifetime to attain. Which means someone could die at the hands-and claws-of his beast. Warning: This novel contains explicit sex, graphic language, a hunky Bear named Bunny and... Yes. I said a Bear named Bunny. I don't know about you but I'm not brave enough to make fun of it.