In this powerful and exciting fantasy set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, humans and the shape-shifting Others will see whether they can live side by side...without destroying one another.
There are ghost towns in the world—places where the humans were annihilated in retaliation for the slaughter of the shape-shifting Others.
One of those places is Bennett, a town at the northern end of the Elder Hills—a town surrounded by the wild country. Now efforts are being made to resettle Bennett as a community where humans and Others live and work together. A young female police officer has been hired as the deputy to a Wolfgard sheriff. A deadly type of Other wants to run a human-style saloon. And a couple with four foster children—one of whom is a blood prophet—hope to find acceptance.
But as they reopen the stores and the professional offices and start to make lives for themselves, the town of Bennett attracts the attention of other humans looking for profit. And the arrival of the outlaw Blackstone Clan will either unite Others and humans...or bury them all.
While most of Maria, New Mexico is getting into the holiday spirit, coyote shifter Diana Shapely has more pressing concerns. For one thing, the due date of her twin niece and nephew is rapidly approaching and she needs to find them the absolute perfect welcome-to-the-world gifts. For another, the girlfriend she ghosted a year ago just showed up out of the blue.
Lanie Chappell is a tough cookie who knows how to take "no" for an answer, but she also knows there's something off about Diana's rambling rationale for dumping her. Diana claimed she merely wanted to protect human Lanie from the dangerous world of shapeshifters, but Lanie had never asked to be coddled. She didn't spend more than a decade in the Army hiding from challenges. Furthermore, if there's anyone who needs her back watched, it's Diana.
The truth is that Diana was terrified that Lanie would realize Diana didn't stack up. After being told all her life that she'd never make anything of herself, Diana decided that she'd rather cut her losses than be the one who gets left.
Steady Lanie is the soothing counterbalance to Diana's wilder spirit and the champion she's always wanted. But if Diana can't shake off the deep-seated insults of the past, she'll never be able to claim the mate she deserves.
***This Masters of Maria novella stands alone and can be read as independent of the rest of the series.***
Agent Cooper Dayton is going to meet his boyfriend’s werewolf family. Unarmed. On their turf.
And he’s bringing his cat.
When Agent Cooper Dayton agreed to attend the funeral for Oliver Park’s grandfather, he didn’t know what he was getting into. Turns out, the deceased was the alpha of the most powerful werewolf pack on the eastern seaboard. And his death is highly suspicious. Regardless, Cooper is determined to love and support Park the way Park has been there for him.
But Park left him woefully unprepared for the wolf pack politics and etiquette. Rival packs? A seating order at the dinner table? A mysterious figure named the Shepherd? The worst is that Park didn’t tell his family one key thing about Cooper. Cooper feels two steps behind, and reticent Park is no help.
There are plenty of pack members eager to open up about Park and why Cooper is wrong for him. Their stories make Cooper wonder if he’s holding Park back. But there’s no time to get into it…as lethal tranquilizer darts start to fly, Cooper needs to solve the mystery of the alpha’s death and fight for the man he loves—all before someone else dies.