P. Kelner, editors of Home Improvement: Undead Edition? Your worst school nightmares—taking that math test you never studied for, finding yourself naked in school assembly, not knowing which door to enter—will pale in comparison to these thirteen original stories that take academic anxiety to whole new realms. In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s story, "Playing Possum," Sookie Stackhouse brings enough birthday cupcakes for her nephew's entire class but finds she's one short when the angry ex-boyfriend of the school secretary shows up. When her guardian, Kate Daniels, sends her undercover to a school for exceptional children, teenaged Julie learns an all-new definition of "exceptional," in New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews's "Magic Tests." For those who like fangs with their forensics, New York Times bestselling author Nancy Holder offers "VSI," in which FBI agent Claire is tested as never before in a school for Vampire Scene Investigation. And in New York Times bestselling author Thomas Sniegoski's "The Bad Hour," Remy Chandler and his dog Marlowe find evil unleashed in an obedience school. You'll need more than an apple to stave off the creatures in these and nine other stories. Remember your first lesson: resistance is fruitless! Includes stories by: ILONA ANDREWS, AMBER BENSON, RHYS BOWEN, MIKE CAREY, CHARLAINE HARRIS, DONALD HARSTAD, STEVE HOCKENSMITH, NANCY HOLDER, FAITH HUNTER, TONI L.P. KELNER, MARJORIE LIU, JONATHAN MABERRY, THOMAS SNIEGOSKI

    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.

    But when she’s railroaded into a charity gig, she finds herself back on the set, this time with a cast of photogenic college kids, an up-and-coming Russian spiritualist, and a tale of missing girls and murder in New England. It’s cheesy, but that’s show business. With her werewolf Alpha lover, Jeremy Danvers, along to keep her nights interesting, it’s not so bad really. Until the bloody ghosts show up. Jaime has never faced spirits like these, and no matter how hard she tries, they won’t be ignored.

    Though forbidden contact with the warriors who have come to the temple for relief, Avani can't keep her distance from Rais, her uncle's protege and one of the most dangerous fighters the wolves have ever known.As the royal heir, Rais is destined to take a mate and ascend the throne, but first he must complete his service as a warrior. The Temple's priestesses offer him relief in the meantime, though there's one he's vowed never to touch. He remembers Avani as the innocent girl she was when they met, but the intervening years have made her a woman. A woman the wolf burns to claim...

    Their attempt at a romantic getaway is quickly interrupted when one of Ethan's vampire friends shows up at their door--covered in blood and accused of killing her shifter husband.Merit and her Master soon discover their vacation spot is far less idyllic than it appears. A centuries old quarrel between local vampires and shifters has made the town a perpetual supernatural battle zone, and this fresh blood has stirred the already volatile pot. Now, Merit and Ethan must put their passion on pause to figure out who's really responsible for the murder before all hell breaks loose...

    Between his boss, a hybrid lycanthrope female on a mission to claim her mate, and his pack on a mission to change his relationship status, he’s in for a week he’ll never forget.Warning: This novella contains humor, romance, magic, a temporary escape from life, bodies, and puns. No plots were severely harmed during testing but they were put in time out due to hysterics.

    Sexy, wild, out-of-this-world talents that can leave any woman feeling weak at the knees (among other body parts), they're the ones to call when you want pleasure that lasts…and lasts...SHELLY LAURENSTONCAN'T GET ENOUGHEven for a dragon, Ailean the Wicked has a bad reputation. For 150 years he's been renowned for his fighting prowess, but now he's got a new conquest in mind-a gorgeous dragoness known as Shalin the Innocent. Ailean suspects she's anything but. And while he's saving her from her enemies, he plans to prove that, even in human form, a bad-boy dragon can show a girl a good time that's truly off the scale...CYNTHIA EDENSPELLBOUNDNo witch in her right mind would summon an immortal soul-hunter to her aid, but Serena Tyme needs Luis D'Amil's help to destroy the warlock who's stalking her coven. And she's willing to pay any price he names…especially when the tall, dark, sexy-as-hell assassin shows her he can work some sensual magic of his own...NOELLE MACKTURN ME ONFinally, Beth Danforth has found a man who can flip her switch. That's because supersexy Justin Watts, CEO of SpectraSign, is literally made of light, with a dazzling, custom-built body. The only thing he needs to maintain his energy level is to turn up the heat with a real woman, and with Beth, the results are guaranteed to be electrifying.

    But when he finds a witch in the practice of her art in clear view of the stage, he must act… for dragons are the keepers of the peace between the mortal and immortal realms. But never has duty been so sweetly sexy and delicious to the touch as a witch whose very skin sparks pleasure. He becomes lost in his bed, breaking his own cardinal rule—never seduce a woman for more than a night. As one pleasure-drenched night bleeds into the next, he runs afoul of a danger he ought already know… never cross a witch.Of Bards and Witches is a short standalone backstory of Leonidas Smoke, prince of the House of Smoke, from the bestselling Fallen Immortals series. It contains flaming HOT dragon shifters and sexy witches.**Of Bards And Witches can be read independently of the novel series**

    That's why I decided to join the assassination class at Mount Olympus Academy. A monster killed my father and grandmother - and I'm going to make them pay.But first I have to learn how.I'm Edie. Once I was just a normal girl with asthma and a bad back. Now, though, I'm at a school taught by Greek gods. My classmates are vampires, witches, and shifters. We're all training to fight in the war between the gods and monsters.There's also...Val. He's a vampire, but he's different from the others. Plus, he's got secrets too.I get secrets. The wings that sprout from my back were hidden from me my entire life. I also sometimes breathe fire. But no one - including me - can figure out what I fully shift into. Honestly...a part of me doesn't want to know.But if I'm going to avenge my family, I need to figure it out before I flunk out.Fire & Flood is a young adult magic academy fantasy novel with non-stop action. It contains a spunky heroine, one best friend with the gift of sight...to see tomorrow's lunch menu, a mean-girl vampire roommate with a carnivorous plant, and a meet-cute with her roommate's hot twin brother that almost kills them both.

    She did not believe in vampires, until she turns into one. Should she follow her vampire cousin's lead and walk away from everything she knows, or join Shadow Falls, a camp for special teens?This short story from C.C. Hunter gives readers a look into Della's history.

    Carly - Securing the safety of Sierra’s children is my priority. When the plan is fast-tracked by Victor’s attempt at controlling the situation, more than custody is threatened. The catastrophic results change everything. Lily - Discovering my husband would kill to have the power he craves unleashed my fearless warrior. Now it’s up to me to save the Veilleux from themselves, and I’ll do whatever is necessary.

    Her lover, the werewolf Lovejoy, is tethered to his pack and his work in the Bay Area and can’t go with her — even if she asks him too, which she hasn’t. Their affaire started as a very casual thing and seems to be ending in the same way.Or is it?This short interstitial story it told from Lovejoy’s perspective and comes just after events chronicled in The Enforcer Enigma. It features side characters from the San Andreas Shifter series.This story will probably not make sense if you haven’t read the first three books in the series (The Sumage Solution, The Omega Objection, The Enforcer Enigma). Mana and Lovejoy’s romance runs through the background of those books. This story picks up assuming you have already been witness to Lovejoy and Mana’s relationship development. It’s also Gail’s take on a dark fairy tale (with a kitsune drag queen and a happy ending, of course) but you have been warned.

    She knows better than most the devastation caused by a dragon bite. And when Kei the Dragonslayer appears on her doorstep, torn and bleeding, she knows he has only weeks to live. Kei has been a dragon slayer all his life, but when he becomes the victim of a dragon bite, he turns to Lorran, the only woman who might be able to save him from sure death. As the dragon venom flows through his body, the desire and need for Lorran's touch fill his every thought. Though he doesn't understand it, he knows - Lorran belongs to him. As his desires grow stronger and wilder than ever before, it seems only Lorran can ease the powerful sexual urges created by the dragon's kiss.

    On one side, the Night World, ruled by the Blood Lords and the Beast Kind. On the other, the elusive Fae and the humans, protected by their steadfast mages. A city held together by nothing more than a treaty-and even then, just barely...I was born of a Fae mother, but I had no place amongst her kind. They called me "soulless." An abomination. Perhaps they're right...I'm a wraith, a shadow who slips between worlds. I was given into the service of a Blood Lord who raised me to be his most feared assassin. Still, I'm nothing more than a slave to my master, and to the need that only he can fulfill...Then he orders me to kill Simon DuCaine, a powerful sunmage. In the blaze of his magic, my own disappears. Instead of seeking revenge, Simon shows me mercy. He wants to free me. But that's one thing my master and his kind will never allow.And even if I thought I could trust Simon, stepping from the shadow into the light isn't as simple as it sounds...

    But that was then. This is now. As a marine biologist, Maris Xayer is used to observing all types of marine life, but she never imagined she’d come face to tail with an Ujal. In the middle of a hurricane, Maris and Vados came together—ahem—and then he disappeared. She figured it was a one-storm stand with an Ujal and moved on. Except Vados hadn’t really gone anywhere and now the sexy as sin, red-skinned Ujal is back. For her. **This is a stand alone 37 page SHORT STORY.**