Showing results by narrator "Cris Dukehart" in All Categories

I'm learning to embrace who and what I am, but there's one thing I can't face: the night Zak betrayed me. But even with the mysteries of our shared past hanging between us, I can't turn Zak away when he asks for my help.

Modern medicine has conquered or contained many of the diseases that used to carry children away before their time, reducing mortality and improving health. Vaccination and treatment are widely available. There are still monsters left to fight, but the old ones, the simple ones, trouble us no more. Or so we thought. For with the reduction in danger comes the erosion of memory, as pandemics fade from memory into story into fairy tale. Those old diseases can't have been so bad, people say, or we wouldn't be here to talk about them. They're never coming back.... It begins with a fever.

Three months ago, I landed a job as a bartender. But not at a bar-at a guild. Yeah, the magic kind. I'm not a badass mage like my three smokin' hot best friends. I'm not a sorcerer or an alchemist, or even a wussy witch. I'm just a human, slinging drinks like a pro and keeping my non-magical nose out of mythic business. Seriously, I know my limits. So why am I currently standing in a black-magic ritual circle across from a fae lord? Somewhere behind me, my three mage friends are battling for their lives.

My name is Charlotte, and I have a special gift: I talk to the dead. Make no mistake, I can't summon them. I'm able only to see and speak to the spirits that linger when they're unable to cross over. They're somehow weighted to the world with unfinished affairs. And for the last six years, I've relentlessly used my gift to help their lost souls. But it's come at a price. My life is dark. Feeling despondent, I've begun to give up. And in helping the dead, I've realized I haven't allowed myself to live.

The stakes have never been higher for Carolina Cold Fury goalie Ryker Evans. With his contract running out, he's got a year left to prove that he's still at the top of his game. And since his wife left him, Ryker has been balancing life as a pro hockey star and a single parent to two daughters. Management is waiting for him to screw up. The fans are ready to pounce. Everybody's taking dirty shots - except for the fiery redhead whose faith in Ryker gives him a fresh start.

He doesn't have a name. He doesn't have a clan. The humans who held him prisoner for 40 years have taken them away. He knew nothing but captivity until nearly a year ago, when he was released into the light. Now Tiger lives in the Austin Shiftertown, where he struggles to belong and searches for an identity. Carly Randal thinks her fabulous life is complete - until her car breaks down on the side of the road and the only one around to help her is a wild-looking Shifter. Tiger takes one look at Carly and knows instantly that she will be his mate. As Carly is drawn into Tiger's Shifter world, she risks everything she has for that forbidden something she still wants.

Adelaide—heiress to the wealthiest man in the Ceithren Empire—has felt a void since her sister's death. Just as she's resigned herself to the empty life her father chose for her, a relic from a world that shouldn't exist plunges her into chaos. Clark—son of the greatest terrorist the empire has ever known—is still reeling from his father's death. Since then, his life has boiled down to two things: his brothers and his next mission. When his mission to bring back a mystical artifact goes awry, he's forced to choose between getting the job done and saving the life of a spoiled socialite.

Jace Warden is sent to the Shiftertown in Austin to find a way to free all Shifters from their Collars. But pulling off the Collars can cause Shifters to go mad or kill them outright. In Austin, Jace meets Deni Rowe, a wolf Shifter with troubles of her own-she was deliberately run down in the road, and while her body has healed, she still has episodes of total memory loss during which she retreats into her pure animal self.

Being sired by a Madrid is supposed to be a blessing, but for Tempest, it's a curse that leaves her orphaned, penniless, and enslaved to a blood thirsty crown on the brink of war. Found too unruly to become a ward of the court, she's thrust into the care of the King's Hounds - the assassins and warriors responsible for protecting the kingdom. Driven by rage and an oath to avenge her mother's memory, Tempest throws herself into training.

Graham McNeil knows that his pack is unruly, but he's not sure he can take the next step toward pack stability. After losing his first mate long ago, Graham has worked hard to keep his heart in check. Besides, even if he was inclined to choose a new mate, his girlfriend, Misty, is human - a fact that won't sit well with Graham's old-fashioned pack.But Misty is going through a crisis of her own, one that brings danger and death to the pack. With the wolves doubly convinced that there needs to be a shake-up, Graham must now defend his leadership.

Lucas Fournier is only serious about one thing: hockey. The league's fun-loving charmer, Luc is always up for a good prank or a great lay, and he has no intention of settling down. But being traded to the Carolina Cold Fury - and to play alongside his big brother, Max - is no joke. With another title in sight, the last thing Luc wants is to let his new teammates down. To succeed, Luc will need to keep his head in the game and the most...er, demanding member of his anatomy in check. But when temptation hits, Luc hits back harder.

The ice is a cold mistress. As the league's most eligible goalie, Max Fournier has access to his fair share of willing puck bunnies, but right now he's more interested in bringing home another championship than a one-night stand. A romantic at heart, Max believes in love; he's just not great at relationships. So when he finally meets a nice girl who's not blinded by his celebrity, he's feeling the heat - and the pressure to save her from herself.

No one plays like Reed Olson, whether it's hockey season or not. After back-to-back NHL championships, he's craving a little R&R. Reed leans to a specific type - blond, busty, and interested - and fortunately he has a little black book full of options. So why is it he can't stop dreaming about the new girl who just moved in next door? A certified brainiac, she seems to want nothing to do with the hard-bodied athlete. Josie Ives desperately needs something her celebrity neighbor obviously doesn't: solitude. Reed is everything she imagined - a little too good-looking.

The Allies have solidified their hold on the Large Magellanic Cloud and turn their sights on the Inner Stars and Perseus Arm. With forces spread thin, they must depend on superior technology and quantum entanglement communication to retain their edge. But their enemies have not been idle. Ascended AIs move to destroy Tangel, as Garza and the Orion Widows strike out at both Tangel and Airtha. Deep in the Transcend, Justin readies his new stasis ship for an assault on Vela, and the League of Sentients dithers on whether to join the fight.

When Kim Fraser enters the lair of shifter Liam Morrissey to get answers for a client accused of murder, she is unprepared for her attraction to him. But her venture into Shiftertown uncovers too many secrets the shifters want kept secret. The unmated Liam is forced to protect Kim against the wrath of his clan leader and his own father. What Liam doesn't expect when he makes the mate claim for Kim's own protection is a powerful attraction to the courageous and warm-hearted human woman.

Off the ice, elite defenseman Hawke Therrien enjoys his fair share of booze and good times. And why shouldn't he? He's worked his way up from the minor leagues and made himself a star. The only thing Hawke misses from that life is the pierced, tattooed free spirit who broke his heart without so much as an explanation. She's almost unrecognizable when she walks back into his life seven years later, except for the look in her eyes that feels like a punch to the gut.

Tanis and Sera have taken the I2 to Khardine, the new capital of the Transcend, and must now travel to the Inner Stars and meet with Scipian Empress, Diana - who they hope will be an ally to the Transcend. With the Trisilieds Kingdom, the Hegemony of Worlds, and the Nietzschean Empire all aligned with the Orion Guard - not to mention a civil war brewing in the Transcend - they will need all the help they can get to secure the Inner Stars. But Empress Diana has her own plans for the Inner Stars, and while they may dovetail with the Transcend's for now, they may not always do so....

Sera must return to Khardine, where new challenges await, and preprations for the march on Airtha begin. Meanwhile Tanis turns toward the Praesepe Cluster. There, a handfull of interstellar nations hold out against the encroaching Nietzschean Empire. Sera's Hand agents are certain that the Nietzscheans are backed by Orion, and Nadine is sent in ahead to connect with agents in Septhia before the I2 arrives.

As one of the league's toughest enforcers, Van Turner is ruthless on the ice. He plays hard because it's the only way to channel the rage boiling inside, and a reputation as an A-hole is better than everyone knowing the truth. Van has spent his entire life running from a secret that's kept him from getting involved in relationships-or accepting lucrative deals with East Coast teams. Then the Carolina Cold Fury makes him an offer he can't refuse...and Van meets a woman he can't resist.

In detective Mera Maurea's experience, three things motivate a murder: secrets, convenience, or passion. But none of the three can explain why the Summer King is dead. With a tight deadline hanging over her head, Mera has to figure out who's the culprit before the frail balance that holds the nation of Tagrad together crumbles into dust. To aid her - or turn her life into a living hell, hard to tell which - is her fae partner Sebastian Dhay, a snarky detective with a penchant for the illegal. He's a volatile wild card who will do anything to solve the murder, even if it means his doom.