Rival reporter Bill Dangerfield is interested in the case too. Chase doesn’t need him getting in the way of her solving this mystery.
Marc Marquez the rookie police officer offers to help Chase, but she doesn't know how deep the New Orleans Police force are involved in the criminal activity. Chase is positive she witnessed a cop disposing of a corpse.
Voodoo, suspense, dirty secrets, and the temptation of two gorgeous men won’t stop Chase from scooping this hot report.
www.rosepressey.com
Interested in something sexy, paranormal, and a little…ODD?
Check out the Odd Series by Virginia Nelson!
ODD STUFF, Odd Series Book 1
Janie Smith always pretended to be normal. When her witch bestie gets tangled in a murder investigation, she finds it hard to stick to the mundane and save the day. Janie snarks her way through the paranormal world, fumbling again and again, determined not to give into temptation... But when your closest pal is suspected to have murdered a vampire, how do you prove she didn’t kill someone who has no pulse?
ODD MELODY, Odd Series Book 2
Janie Smith is ready to get her life in order. She just needs to control her powers, feed without killing someone, deal with a sick witch, a vampire boyfriend committed by fate to another, and an ancient serial killer’s ghost hidden inside an unsuspecting human. Oh, and she must also put up with Queen Mab’s unwanted elfin fiancé while dodging Chance, her supposed soul mate, while helping her daughter adjust to life after divorce. Seriously, not a big deal.
UNDER A WOLF MOON -
ODD WOLF, Odd Series Book 3
Five brand new, hot paranormal romance stories from bestselling authors. Alpha heroes and heroines with dark pasts and the need to discover their own happy ever after will draw you in and make you turn to the next page.
Odd Wolf - Dara is Alpha and used to taking control of the situation when it goes swirly. A rogue on her turf means a fight, and she’s ready to take him on. A woman with no plans to be tamed and a rogue wolf with no plans to stick around shouldn’t have more than a brief meeting to establish boundaries and be done. However, when Dara meets Lynwood, the call to mate might drown out logic altogether.
ODD MATE, Odd Series Book 4
Coming Soon!
ODD FATE, Odd Series Book 5
Coming Soon!
FIND MORE ABOUT VIRGINIA NELSON ON HER WEBSITE.
http://virg-nelson.com
Spirits, Stilettos, and a Silver Bustier
http://deannachase.com/pyper-rayne-series/spirits-stilettos-and-a-silver-bustier/
All Pyper Rayne—medium and coffee shop owner—wanted was the perfect vintage dress. What she got was a dead shop owner and a sexy ghost who’s suddenly everywhere—at her shop, in her car, and even lounging in her bedroom. But he’s not just any ghost. He’s a witch and able to appear in solid form…sometimes. If only he’d stop disappearing on her.
And Pyper needs his help. When she becomes target numero uno and the prime suspect in the shop owner’s death, it appears her ghost holds the key to solving the murder. In between stolen kisses, Pyper will need to get to the bottom of all of his secrets if she wants to stay alive and out of jail…and maybe finally get that date he keeps promising her.
Bayou Wolf
By Heather Long
The rise of so many lone wolves into a prospective sixth pack brings the Alphas of all the North American packs to Willow Bend for a summit. Having so many powerful dominants in one place invites challenges and hazards. No protocol can be ignored and none feels the strain more than Lincoln Buckley. He’s been charged by his Alpha to act as liaison for the Delta Crescent Alpha—the fierce and wildly beautiful Serafina Andre.
Serafina stands apart from her ‘fellow’ Alphas. As the only female to hold sway over a North American pack, she only has Delta Crescent’s interests in mind. She expects challenges from the other male Alphas, dominants all, due to their need to protect females. It doesn’t surprise her in the least to find out the wolf assigned as her liaison has also been tasked with her protection. What does startle her is the depth of her interest in him.
An Alpha doesn’t submit, no matter how much the woman in her might crave him. Her pack must come first, especially since what Willow Bend proposes is insanity…
Prologue
Mason
Ryan slid his hands in his pockets. If the wolf demonstrated no other tells, the act of tucking his hands into the pockets of his slacks told Mason a great deal. His father-in-law—a grounded parent, clever attorney, and dangerous wolf in his own right—remained uncertain about Mason’s proposal. While not entirely certain it would work, Mason believed the gamble to be worth it.
“Who else have you discussed this with?” Ryan asked into the quiet. Melissa lay sound asleep on her tummy on the thick rug in front of the fireplace. At eighteen months, she’d long since mastered walking and ran everywhere. Her boundless energy, however, came at a price. When she collapsed to sleep, she crashed hard.
Plucking her blanket off the back of the sofa, Mason crouched next to his daughter and covered her. Alexis currently trained with Claire Buckley, an odd match-up Mason wouldn’t have considered before his mate interceded on a fight between Ranae and Claire—well, a one-sided fight anyway. Turned wolves didn’t always know their own strength or how to use their speed to their advantage.
A natural born wolf, Claire not only survived her years in Sutter Butte, she’d also proved tenacious in her oath to attack no one since being allowed to return to Willow Bend. Will and skill combined to make her a formidable fighter. Talent and disposition made her an invaluable instructor. Mason wanted the best for his mate and Claire delivered.
Some questioned his choice, but Mason trusted his instincts. He’d trusted Claire when she said, “I want to come home.” Her mating to Tyler back on track, Claire proved an invaluable member of the pack and the perfect instructor for Mason’s mate. Not that Alexis will ever need to fight to survive, not again.
“Mason?” Amusement colored the reminder, and Mason pushed to his feet.
“Only Alexis. She has unique perspective on wolf politics.” And he’d only discussed the bare bones of the idea with her.
“Does she know about you and Serafina?” Shocked, Mason swung around to stare at his father-in-law. How the hell did Ryan know about Serafina? It had been brief, hot, and over years before. The faint hint of amusement on Ryan’s face vanished. “I know a lot of things. It doesn’t matter how I do. What does matter is whether bringing Serafina Andre here along with the other Alphas bothers my daughter.”
His daughter. “She’s my mate.” Mason met stony glare for stony glare. “One has nothing to do with the other.”
“You keep telling yourself that, son.” Ryan shook his head and glanced at the sleeping baby on the floor. “That said, it isn’t done. Meetings between Alphas, on the very rare occasion that they happen, typically occur on neutral territory. It’s safer for everyone involved.”
“We did all right with Salvatore.” He’d liked the Italian Alpha, a far more powerful wolf than he ever let show, yet he’d been a gracious guest. If he’d chosen to make Luciana’s cause his, he could have been a terrific threat. Scratching his jaw, Mason wrestled with the plan. “How often have Alphas met, anyway? I remember representatives at Serafina’s ascension. None came to mine. Brett was already Alpha when I left Willow Bend—newly-minted, but still Alpha.”
The same Alpha who’d granted Mason sanctuary for a time, but without Mason bowing to him, he couldn’t stay in Hudson River. They’d parted amicably enough. Hell, Mason half-considered the New Yorker a friend.
“Honestly?” Ryan shrugged. “Toman met with none of them if he could help it. I think the last time may have been at the end of the war, but that was before my time. He never hosted them here. It’s a crazy kind of dangerous to bring all the alphas together in one location, especially if the location happens to be your territory.”
“I’ve alread
y considered the potential downside to having them here versus a more neutral location. Having them here gives us an excuse for the meeting…”
“An excuse?” Ryan’s eyebrows rose. “Mason Clayborne is hosting a personal auction of his territory, first come first serve?”
He chuckled and clapped Ryan on the shoulder as he circled the sofa and headed into the kitchen. The bar separating the two rooms let him keep an eye on the sleeping cub while he poured coffee. “Yes, something that lets the alphas save face with their own packs, yet agree to the meeting within territory. I’m young enough, they can see it as a foolish gesture without threat while appreciating the additional security it will provide them.”
“What are you up to?” Intrigue filled the sharp wolf’s eyes, exactly the expression Mason hoped to see.
Spurred on by glee, he smiled. “That’s the point. They’re all going to wonder what I’m up to, or at least some of them will. Brett will come because, while I owed him a favor, he owes me one now.”
“Gillian?” Not much escaped the attorney.
“Exactly. He bonded with her during her previous visit, and she’s still tacitly connected to him. She’s my wolf, but I think he still needs her on some level. So she’s all the leverage I need there.”
“Okay, that’s one,” Ryan said then folded his arms. No longer uncertain, he seemed to understand Mason had a plan. “What about the other three?”
“Serafina owes me a favor. I’ll call that in to get her here. Cassius…I have an in with Cassius.”
Ryan frowned. “Tyler won’t like you asking Claire to do that.”
“No, he won’t. But Claire will do it and, between us, we can get Cassius here. That only leaves Diesel.” The Yukon Alpha wouldn’t be easy to persuade. Chances were he wouldn’t show up at all, except Gillian would prove very useful in persuading their healer to come for a visit. The healers talked, they all did. Some thought their alphas didn’t know, or maybe they simply didn’t care if their alphas did, but the healers shared bonds. With everything that happened in Brett’s pack, coupled with the headache Mason continued guarding in Nebraska, a conference of the healers would give them all the cover they needed. If the Yukon healer came, then Diesel would have no choice.
“Oh.” Ryan laughed softly. “You are an evil bastard.”
“Yes.” Mason grinned, raising his coffee cup. “I am.”
Chapter One
Serafina
The mid-morning sun flooded the windows with a bright glow, warming the tiled floors. Seated in a tilted chair, balanced on its back legs with her feet propped on the edge of the table, Serafina soaked in the buzz of conversation surrounding her. Amy Lange, the Delta Crescent Traiteur, occupied the breakfast nook bench. A cup of coffee sat on the table to her right, some beignets to her left and her hands full of a crocheting project she’d become obsessed with while Trish LeClere swiped one beignet after the other. One of her pack’s finest Hounds, Trish pulled rotation for guarding the Alpha, but she would have been at coffee regardless. A morning among friends offered her the perfect start to the day.
“What is that going to be?” Trish asked, nibbling on her second swiped beignet.
“Theoretically?” Amy grinned. “Or actually?”
“Pretty sure she meant what it’s supposed to be.” Serafina eyed the wool concoction. A deep shade of evergreen, it filled Amy’s lap before spilling onto the table. Still, she continued hooking and tugging the yarn.
“Well, I wanted to make a scarf, then it got too wide. So I thought maybe a shawl, but I couldn’t figure out the angles, so now it’s going to be a blanket.”
“For a horse?” Regina paused in cursing the eggs she fried to glance over her shoulder. Her platinum blonde hair seemed to glow beneath the rainbow streaks of blue, green, purple and pink.
Instead of being offended, Amy simply stuck her tongue out. “Maybe.”
Serafina chuckled. She loved having them all so close. Sometimes life sent her wolves in different directions. Delta Crescent had nearly three thousand wolves all told. One of the largest packs in the States, but they were scattered over the Gulf Coast with some wolves living as far away as the Florida Keys and as far north as southern Virginia. By right of territory, she controlled one of the largest assets in the States and preferred Louisiana to all of them.
Born there, she’d likely die there. Another sip of coffee and she debated whether she should turn her phone over. With so many pack members, someone always needed her. If it were an emergency, they called. All other messages were sent via texts or emails. The information age made life both easier and far more complicated.
As if summoned by the thought, her phone rang. Scowling, she flipped the phone and stared at the caller identification.
Mason Clayborne.
The others quieted as she answered. “Good morning, cher.”
A soft masculine chuckle greeted her. “Good morning, Serafina. First or second cup?”
The problem with former lovers—they learned all the bad habits and how to use them to their advantage. “Third, actually.”
“Excellent, then you’re available for a business call.”
“Unfortunately.” She glanced at Amy, and the woman rolled her eyes, but she bundled her crochet before grabbing her coffee. Trish scooped up the plate of beignets and led the way out to the long porch on the far side of the house. It gave Serafina privacy, yet they remained close enough for her to join them after she and Mason finished.
Regina set a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her, then raised her eyebrows. She’d been fixing breakfast for all of them. Should she stay or should she go?
Serafina considered the question while asking Mason. “Is this in regard to our earlier conversation?” In other words, was he calling about the missing wolves? Mason and Julian, the Chief Enforcer, had been a pain in her ass over the last several days.
“Yes.”
Mouthing ‘go’ to Regina, Serafina drained her third cup of coffee. Only once her ears told her she was alone did she ask. “What’s going on?”
“I want to invite you to bring your healer to Willow Bend along with a nominal number of Hounds, if you feel it necessary.”
An unexpected invitation. “I’ll repeat my earlier question, what’s going on?”
“Truthfully? We’ve got a big problem. I want the healers here to confer on some information my healer uncovered over the last year, things I think they should really put their heads together about while you, me, Cassius, Diesel and Brett discuss another, graver matter.”
All the Alphas? In one place? Mason was either insane or dangerously brilliant. Unfortunately, those ideas were not mutually exclusive. “What is the graver matter?”
“We found the missing wolves,” Mason continued, his tone even and assured. She concentrated on catching any nuance of a lie, though in her experience Mason played it straight with her from the day she’d met him up to the day he’d walked away.
“And you’re calling me instead of Julian because…?” Rayne Barrows had been one of her people. He’d grown up only a few miles from her and functioned as a Hound for her father when he’d been Alpha. Like her and so many of the other Hounds, he’d defended her father’s right to rule. When Papa passed, Rayne surrendered to her rather than fight for dominance, then he’d left to go Lone Wolf. She held a lot of affection for Rayne and his family. If the Enforcers hunted him, she wanted no part of it.
“Because the missing wolves formed a pack.” The words dropped like a localized detonation. She’d seen enough construction jobs where they imploded a building before they began to recognize the sensation. Her nostrils flared and she scented the air, assuring herself no one lingered close enough to hear his words. “Before you say anything, the Enforcers were handling it, but the new pack is nearly two hundred strong now. This isn’t some rebellion. It’s a full pack, led by an Alpha.”
“Isn’t that the job of the Enforcers?” she asked slowly. “To keep the Lone Wolves in line so we d
on’t get a clusterfuck of this proportion?”
“Yes and, to their credit, they tried.” Since Mason liked the Enforcers even less than she did and lived under their thumb for several years, she accepted the defense. “The Alpha isn’t one of our Lone Wolves, but…”
“Rayne’s mate.” He’d gone and mated himself to some Italian wolf and brought her back to the States with him. She knew the story, heard the reports from the Enforcers while they investigated the missing wolves. “They were collecting wolves.”
“Pretty much. Sera,” Mason dropped any pretense of boldness and sounded a tad tired. “They’re tucked away in a town in Nebraska. I have it surrounded by Hunters, and I locked them down. The Enforcers can’t take on a whole pack. Even if they worked in concert, it would be too much for them. It’s up to us.”
“Sounds like it’s up to you.” His request didn’t fool her. Mason already assigned enough wolves to handle the task. “Are you planning to bring the other Alphas together for a little assassination and takeover plot?”
“Yes, because Willow Bend isn’t large enough for me. I need the whole country.” He laughed. “Seriously?”
“It’s a thought, a clever one, really. Why do you really want us? Do you want to sanction them?” Shock rippled through her at the possibility.
“I don’t know.” Honesty echoed in his words. “It’s a thought. I have a unique perspective most of you don’t possess. I’ve been a Lone Wolf. I know how it feels to be on the outside, to feel like there is no place I belong. This Alpha, she’s young in her power, but she has the right idea. She knows she faces threats from all sides, yet she isn’t backing down, not even to her own brother. And he’s one of the most powerful wolves I’ve ever encountered. Sera, I need your help and your wisdom. You have another unique perspective.”
Big Bad Billionaire (The Woolven Secret Book 1) Page 17