“Don't worry. I won't tell if you don't. I was just leaving anyway,” I say conspiratorially. I give him my most disarming smile before waving and leaving him staring after me dumbfounded.
I was cutting it close this morning, but it was my responsibility to make sure we covered our tracks.
Humans weren't supposed to believe in Monsters or magic.
It's why the ball was never held at the same place twice. It was why you couldn't buy or bribe yourself a ticket. It was why even though the Monster community would start buzzing about the ball as soon as the calendar said October, it would be nothing but speculation. You either received your ticket delivered by the light of the moon, or you heard all about it the day after the ball.
Secrecy was key.
This year's ball had held a few troublemakers, and I chuckle thinking of the Hunter and Agent who were clever enough to find loopholes. I frown as I think of the poor girl waking up in an unfamiliar city, but the secret romantic part of myself knows the handsome man she was here with will find her.
I glance over my shoulder, unsurprised to see the grounds keeper still staring after me. Unfortunately, my pull was magnified by a thousand today. It always was when I was this sated after the ball. The poor man hadn't stood a chance. I waved one last time before heading to the desolate highway. My part was finally done.
This year's ball had been another resounding success. Memories had been made. Hungers had been sated. And love had been found. Because every Monster knew if you were truly lucky…
What happens at the ball doesn't have to stay at the ball.
XOXO
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I have to thank Bam Shepherd for organizing and inviting me to be a part of this amazing collection. She built a world and let eleven authors play in her creation. You totally rock!!
Also a huge thank you to all the reviewers, bloggers, and readers. You guys give me the encouragement to keep writing and I love you for it! THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.
-JL Weil
I feel so honored and humbled to be part of this anthology and among these amazingly talented authors. Many of whom I call friends. This project has been so much fun to be a part of, and I’ve loved every moment of it. A huge thank you to Amber Shepherd (Bamella) and Heather Hildenbrand for inviting me to participate and allowing my characters to attend the ball!
To my husband and daughter, thank you for loving me and sharing your time with the characters I write and being understanding of my deadlines. It’s because of both of you that I get to play in these worlds.
Sarah Hershman, and the team at Hershman Rights Management, thank you for your ongoing love and support.
Liz Ferry at Per Se Editing, as always, thank you for coming into my life and polishing my stories so they shine. You always have my back, a kind word, and the best interests of my characters and stories at heart. I feel so lucky to call you friend and editor.
Colleen Oppenheim, thank you for coming into my life! Seriously. I was a hot mess.
A HUGE thank you to Randi’s Rebels. Y’all are the best reader group a girl could ask for.
Thanks to my family and friends, I love you all.
To the readers, as always, thank you for reading my stories.
Thank you for continuing to take chances on me and the stories I write.
Thank you for trusting me with your imagination.
I am honored to be part of your literary world.
-Randi Cooley Wilson
HUGE thanks Bam for inviting me into this amazing anthology. The Monster Ball was a fun and deliciously wicked world, and I loved writing in it.
Dawn, as always, you polish up my words and make everything you touch better. Thank you!
Jackie, I SO appreciate your perspective and skills. Danke!
Lela, thanks for always having my back. #bestPAever
Warning: vague gratitude post forthcoming! These last few months have challenged me in many ways—part of the journey of life—and I’ve been blessed to learn a bit of wisdom, albeit reluctantly. If you’ve interacted with me (or tried to), you may have noticed I’ve been slower to respond—or haven’t responded at all, depending on the amount of chaos. And while I won’t go into any details, I’m grateful for the support and friendships of so many of you. So thanks.
Jason, Jacob, Seth, Anna- I love you.
-Raye Wagner
Special thanks to the woman of the hour: Amber Shepherd! Thanks “Bam” for handing me my silver ticket when you invited me to participate in this exciting project. The second you told me about it I was sold! And that was before I realized how much work you put into creating the location of the ball, mysterious proprietor, signature cocktails, and all the colorful staff members and musicians for our characters to interact with. It’s been such a blast and a true pleasure to join you in this adventure! xox
Thanks to Heather Hildenbrand for her tireless work formatting and distributing this book. To my sister anthology authors for making this such a fun project. I’d party with you and your characters anytime, anyplace!
To Hollie Westring for her wonderful rounds of copy edits. You are always a joy to work with, Hollie! And a special thank you to our volunteer proofreaders: Dawn Yacovetta and Jackie Bentley! Thanks for all your final fixes and suggestions.
Big, huge thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about The Monster Ball early, posted reviews, shared graphics, and participated in our games and shenanigans. With special gratitude to Monster Nation, Nikki’s Ninjas, Jocqueline Protho and all of Joc’s talented volunteer narrators at The Audio Flow for the audio teasers!
If you like feisty females and your fantasy a bit on the dark side, I hope you will take a look at my other book titles: Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter; Spellbound Trilogy; and Wolf Hollow Shifters. I have fun with all types of supernaturals! Thank you for joining Aerith and Jhaeros at the ball. Continue their story in the full-length, fantastical, follow-up novel, STOLEN PRINCESS.
-Nikki Jefford
About The Authors
Alyssa Rose Ivy is the bestselling author of more than forty novels with over 750,000 books sold worldwide. She loves to weave stories with romance and humor, and she is best known for writing about college boys with wings. After surviving law school and earning her masters in library science, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. She lives in Alabama with her husband and two children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.
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Desni Dantone resides in Pennsylvania with her three boys. When she's not breaking up a fight, or kissing boo-boos, she can usually be found hard at work with her computer and a hot cup of tea nearby, or her nose in a book. She will devour anything with angsty romance and sharp-witted characters, so it’s no surprise that she loves to write them that way.
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Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. (She’s only slightly socially awkward as a result.) She writes romance of all kinds with plenty of abs and angst. She’s also a semi-professional lip sync battler. Her most frequent hobbies are riding motorcycles and avoiding killer slugs.
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Jane Washington is a quarter-century-old caffeine-addicted manic, stuffed into the body of a passably-functioning human being. She lives in Australia, with a few cacti and a miniature dachshund [see: dictator]. She writes borderline unconven
tional romance books ... and then tells everyone not to read them.
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Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina where she spends most of her time writing New Adult and Young Adult Fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.
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J.L. Weil lives in Illinois where she writes Teen & New Adult Paranormal Romances about spunky, smart mouth girls who always wind up in dire situations. For every sassy girl, there is an equally mouthwatering, overprotective guy. Of course, there is lots of kissing.
And stuff.
An admitted addict to Love Pink clothes, raspberry mochas from Starbucks, and Jensen Ackles. She loves gushing about books and Supernatural with her readers.
She is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the International Bestselling Raven & Divisa series.
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Melissa Haag--rockstar, string bean fanatic, and wine snob--chooses to write and speak fiction at will. She's best known for her skewed views of reality and her inability to pronounce common words. To learn more about Melissa Haag, read her books.
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Nikki Jefford is a third-generation Alaskan living in the Pacific Northwest, wondering why she didn't choose someplace sunnier.
She is an award-winning, bestselling author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and quirky combinations in-between.
Nikki shares her home with a Westie named Cosmo, and her French husband, whom she wouldn't trade in for anyone—not even Spike or Mr. Darcy!
If you enjoyed this novella, please check out more of Nikki’s story escapes: Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Spellbound Trilogy, and Wolf Hollow Shifters.
To get in on the fun and adventure, visit Nikki at her website for release alerts, updates, exclusive giveaways, and a free story when you subscribe to her newsletter.
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Randi Cooley Wilson is an award-nominated, bestselling author of The Revelation Series, The Royal Protector Academy Novels, The Dark Soul Trilogy and the upcoming Knightress Series. Randi’s books have been featured on Good Morning America, British Glamour Magazine, USA Today, and in the Emmy’s Gifting Suite. Her books range in genre, and include contemporary romance, urban/high fantasy, and paranormal romance, for both young adult and adult readers. Randi makes stuff up, devours romance books, drinks lots of wine and coffee, and has a slight addiction to bracelets. She resides in Massachusetts with her daughter and husband, and their fur-baby, Coco Chanel.
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Raye Wagner hates writing bios. She’d much rather tell you a story. She’s partial to fantasy, with dragons or magic or something so she can lie and not feel guilty. When she isn’t writing, dreaming, or lying, Raye is with her family . . . preferably at the beach.
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Stacey Marie Brown is a lover of hot fictional bad boys and sarcastic heroines who kick butt. She also enjoys books, travel, TV shows, hiking, writing, design, and archery. Stacey swears she is part gypsy, being lucky enough to live and travel all over the world.
She grew up in Northern California, where she ran around on her family’s farm, raising animals, riding horses, playing flashlight tag, and turning hay bales into cool forts.
When she’s not writing she’s out hiking, spending time with friends, and traveling. She also volunteers helping animals and is eco-friendly. She feels all animals, people, and the environment should be treated kindly.
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The Monster Ball: A Paranormal Romance Anthology Page 69