Jeaniene Frost's story, One for the Money, features vampires Cat and Bones trying to protect a spoiled heiress with a price on her head and an undead hitman on her trail. Previously published in Death's Excellent Vacation. Also includes the first three chapters from Jeaniene's story in The Bite Before Christmas anthology, as well as a sneak peek at ONCE BURNED, the first novel in the new Night Prince series. Ilona Andrews' story, A Questionable Client, is a prequel to her award-winning Kate Daniels series. In a world beset by magic waves, Kate Daniels works as a mercenary. She is tired, hungry, and there is foul-smelling blood on her boots. All she wants to do is to go home, but when Mercenary Guild offers her a job she can't refuse, she finds herself protecting a man against Russian wizards. Previously published in Dark and Stormy Knights. Also includes first two chapters of FATE'S EDGE, book 3 in the Edge series, and first two chapters of Magic Grieves, a Kate Daniels novella.

    Of miniscule stature, rather beastly looks, and with fragile, delicate wings, even his family has shunned him, banished him from his beloved Paris. That he is the only gargoyle ever to help defeat the Dark Lord and his hordes of minions makes no impression. But now Levet has come home, determined to be restored to the official Gargoyle Guild. To do so, he must confront the most feared gargoyle in all of Europe. The one who tried to kill him as a child: his own mother. . .With few allies, Levet's survival may depend on the aid of two strangers: Valla, a beautiful but damaged nymph, and Elijah, the fiercely possessive, love-struck vampire clan chief to whom she can't quite surrender--unless Levet has something to do with it. . .

    If he could grant her wish, she'd finally be safe. He would protect her. But what would he ask in return...?Enjoy this short free prequel and a sneak peek of The Goblin King, the first of a highly imaginative new paranormal series by Shona Husk.

    Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret--they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there's Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it's time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.With a brand-new cast of characters, a fascinating and fresh world to discover, and a few surprise appearances from some of the Blue Blood fan favorites, this is a page-turning, deliciously fun, magical summer read fraught with love affairs, witchcraft, and an unforgettable battle between good and evil.

    The timing of the story sort of puts it between A Perfect Blood and Ever After, but the feeling of it is seriously slanted toward Ever After. If you get a chance to read it, I’d [author] be curious to know what you think about the “voice.” One of the things I tried to do–besides get a chance to see Rachel and Trent work together–was to give it a more mainstream feel since there’s the chance readers who would normally never pick up the Hollows might be reading it.

    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...

    But all that was about to change.Katya Zhuvova fled a country that fearedher gifts, but her escape to Seattle left her at themercy of a ruthless man. With no one left toturn to, Katya hatches a desperate escape plan.Undercover Detective Nigel Ferris is determinedto bring down a prostitution ring, whatever the cost.In order to get the answers he needs, he attemptsto win the trust of one of the prostitutes involved—but one look at the deceptively sultry Katyaand the cool, objective cop disappears.Before either can put their plans into place,Mother Nature shrugs: a cataclysm rocks Seattle,and life is turned upside down. Brought together by chance, Nigel and Katyaare in the fight for their lives. Surrounded by deathand fear, shattered by immeasurable loss, they have only a bond forged in fire to cling to as they struggleto survive in a world gone straight to hell.

    In Jim Butcher’s ”Curses”, Harry Dresden investigates how to lift a curse laid by the Fair Folk on the Chicago Cubs. In Patricia Briggs’ “Fairy Gifts,”, a vampire is called home by magic to save the Fae who freed him from a dark curse. In Melissa Marr’s “Guns for the Dead”, the newly dead Frankie Lee seeks a job in the afterlife on the wrong side of the law. In Holly Black’s “Noble Rot”, a dying rock star discovers that the young woman who brings him food every day has some strange appetites of her own.Featuring original stories from 20 authors, this dark, captivating, fabulous, and fantastical collection is not to be missed!Contents:Curses / by Jim Butcher --How the pooka came to New York City / by Delia Sherman --On the slide / by Richard Bowes --The Duke of Riverside / by Ellen Kushner --Oblivion by Calvin Klein / by Christopher Fowler --Fairy gifts / by Patricia Briggs --Picking up the pieces / by Pat Cadigan --Underbridge / by Peter S. Beagle --Priced to sell / by Naomi Novik --The bricks of Gelecek / by Matthew Kressel --Weston walks / by Kit Reed --The projected girl/ by Lavie Tidhar --The way station / by Nathan Ballingrud --Guns for the dead / by Melissa Marr --And go like this / by John Crowley --Noble rot / by Holly Black --Daddy longlegs of the evening / by Jeffrey Ford --The skinny girl / by Lucius Shepard --The Colliers' Venus (1893) / by Caitlín R. Kiernan --King pole, gallows pole, bottle tree / by Elizabeth Bear.

    But returning home to Gatlin, South Carolina was just the beginning...Wounded during a climactic battle, Link discovers that tending his injuries won't be as simple as visiting a doctor and that healing his arm should be the least of his worries. For being bitten by a Supernatural does more than break the skin -- it changes a person, inside and out, turning Link into someone more and more like the dark creature who injured him.In this never-before-seen short story by New York Times bestselling authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, listeners witness Link's heart-racing transformation. Dream Dark is set before the much-anticipated third Beautiful Creatures novel, Beautiful Chaos, and as a special bonus includes an exclusive sneak peek at the first five chapters.Dream Dark word count: ~10,000

    If she succeeds, maybe she’ll even land her dream job: working for the F.R.U., the enforcers of the supernatural world.  But when she sees that her new partner is a hunky shapeshifter, things get complicated.  Steve, too gorgeous to be trusted and capable of seeing through her tough-as-nails exterior, knows just how to get under her skin.  And only hours into the mission, Della realizes rogue vampires aren’t the only threat she’s facing. If she’s ever going to complete her assignment, she’ll need his help…but learning to trust him will be her hardest challenge yet.

    And the only protective shields he’s never been able to find a way around are those of the powerful Keene Family.For a long time, Jeff has only had eyes for the beautiful Fallon Keene. Unfortunately, she is the only sister of the lethal North American Central Pack Apex Gabriel Keene. The intricate balances of power and politics make it all but impossible for Fallon to trust her feelings.But fate takes a hand when the Pack’s totem is stolen—threatening the Keene family’s rule—and Fallon enlists Jeff’s help to retrieve it before the Pack is thrown into chaos. Can she and Jeff find the totem, and restore order, before it’s too late? And will Jeff finally be able to prove himself to the only person he truly loves?

    Secret McQueen needs to find two in one night. Of course, it’ll mean pulling off the impossible—find and kill a displaced rogue vampire without disrupting the first promising date she’s had in ages. As a werewolf hybrid used to walking a fine line of survival in the vampire world, though, Secret eats impossible for breakfast.Somewhere between hello and the first round of drinks, Secret makes her move. Her target, Hollywood’s biggest star, shouldn’t be hard to spot. Just look for swarms of fans. Except every time her vampire liaison, Holden, helps keep her mission on track, her date runs further off the rails.Either Holden has a hidden agenda, or he knows more than he’s letting on about her quarry. One way or another, Secret is determined to get her man, and meet Mr. Right. Or die trying.Warning: This book contains a sword-wielding assassin whose barbs are sharper than her blade, a vampire with serious brooding issues but a skilled tongue, and an A-lister with a bad habit of eating his fans.The 2017 second edition contains minor wording tweaks but no story tweaks from the 2011 original.

    It’s an even thinner one between wrong and dead…Terrible has always been on the wrong side of the law, living up to the only name anyone ever gave him. As the chief enforcer for Downside’s most powerful criminal, it’s his job to collect debts and protection money by any means necessary. And he’s very good at his job.But part of that job is also to keep Bump’s various employees safe. So when a street dealer is found dead and a prostitute is brutally attacked, Terrible immediately starts using his fists to hunt down the ones responsible.He’s determined to find and destroy them. They’re determined to use his desire for the woman he secretly loves to break him.

    Lindy's Diary captures all the romance and edgy mystery of the original!Diary,I am locked away . . . with no one to confide in but you . . . and him. His fur, those claws—they caught me off guard at first, but now I'm noticing something else about him—something deeper. It's the look in his eye. It tells me he's got a secret to keep. That's okay—I've got one, too. I think I'm falling in love with him. . . .Lindy

    But when a powerful enemy threatens their beloved city of Boston, they form a reluctant alliance. It's supposed to be temporary--just one night, in fact. But as the tension between them builds to the breaking point, neither is prepared for what happens next.Taming the Vampire is a sexy paranormal romance novella of 17,000 words, or about 60 pages. It's the first book in the Blood and Absinthe series.The Blood and Absinthe series:Book 1 - Taming the Vampire (a novella)Book 2 - Bound by the Vampire (a novella)Book 3 - Claiming the Vampire (a full-length novel)Book 4 - Drawn to the Vampire (a full-length novel)Book 5 - Caught by the Wolf (coming in 2014!)EXCERPT"I'll stay on one condition," he said.Her heart thumped against her ribs. "What?""We'll do the ritual, but on my terms."She wished he wasn't so tall. It gave him an unfair advantage, being able to tower over her like this. It was hard to breathe, hard to-- "What do you mean, your terms?""Do you want to know a secret?"Her blood was rushing in her ears. She couldn't speak.He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her hard against him. She gasped, as shocked as if she'd stepped into icy water. She felt his strength, his power, and for a second her own power seemed to desert her. He bent his head close to hers. "I want you," he whispered.Her face flamed, like a teenager's."I've wanted you from the first moment I saw you," he said, and now his lips were on her throat, at her pulse point, against her collar bone.She opened her mouth but no words came out. Her eyes closed and her head went back, and he kissed his way up her throat, to her ear, and then he was whispering to her again."I can make you feel good, Liz. Better than anyone's ever made you feel."