BERKLEY SENSATION, SIGNET ECLIPSE, & SIGNET SELECT SS AS DARKNESS FALLS SS COMPLIMENTARY PARANORMAL ROMANCE SAMPLER SIGNET SELECT 160210_AsDarkness_FM_pi-iv.indd 1 2/22/12 9:02 PM Published by Berkley and NAL Books, divisions of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—​­110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Excerpt from Alpha Instinct © Katie Reus, 2012 Excerpt from Dire Needs © Stephanie Tyler, 2012 Excerpt from Wicked Edge © Nina Bangs, 2012 Excerpt from Chaos Burning © Lauren Dane, 2012 Excerpt from Darkness Devours © Keri Arthur, 2012 Excerpt from Liquid Lies © Hanna Martine, 2012 First published by Berkley and NAL Books, divisions of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. First Printing, 2012 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Copyright 2012 All rights reserved BERKLEY and NAL are registered trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 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Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. 20p 20p6 21p 21p6 22p 160210_AsDarkness_FM_pi-iv.indd 2 2/22/12 9:02 PM SS AS DARKNESS FALLS ALPHA INSTINCT 1 by Katie Reus DIRE NEEDS 35 by Stephanie Tyler WICKED EDGE 67 by Nina Bangs CHAOS BURNING 87 by Lauren Dane DARKNESS DEVOURS 103 by Keri Arthur LIQUID LIES 129 by Hanna Martine SS SIGNET SELECT Signet Select, Signet Eclipse, and Berkley Sensation Penguin Group (USA) Companies 160210_AsDarkness_FM_pi-iv.indd 3 2/22/12 9:02 PM ALPHA INSTINCT A Moon Shifter Novel by Katie Reus Available now in paperback from Signet Eclipse Ana Cordona has been a strong leader for the lupine shift- ers who survived after all the males and most of the females in her pack were mysteriously poisoned. As tough as she is, with no Alpha male, the pack is vulnerable to the devious shifter Sean Taggart, who wants to claim both their ranch and Ana as his own. When Connor Armstrong comes back into her life, promising protection, it’s almost enough to make Ana forget how he walked out on her before— and reluctantly accept his offer to mate. The minute Connor sees Ana again, a raw hunger re- awakens. He must have her for his bondmate— his wolf cries out for it. But his human side knows he must proceed with caution because of their complicated past. If he is to truly have her, body and soul, he must go beyond his burn- ing desire and win back her heart. Whatever it takes, he is determined not to leave her side again. But Taggart and his rival pack are not their only ene- mies. A human element in town is targeting shifters. Their N 1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 1 22/22/12/22/12 88:39:39 PMPM plan threatens not only Ana and Connor’s future, but the lives of the entire pack . “[A] perfect blend of shifter, suspense and sexiness . a winner.” —Caridad Piñeiro, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost “A wild, hot ride . The story grabs you and doesn’t let go.” —Cynthia Eden, author of Deadly Heat N 1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 2 22/22/12/22/12 88:39:39 PMPM CHAPTER 1 Analena Cordona shoved her hands into the pockets of her thick, quilted down jacket. Not because she was cold, but because for the second time in the past ten minutes she was questioning her decision to meet Sean Taggart without an escort. It was likely stupid— scratch that; defi nitely stupid— but she couldn’t drag one of her sisters or cousins along to meet with him. Taggart was one of the most devious shifters she’d ever met, and she couldn’t risk her pack getting hurt. Despite her effort to appear casual, an unwanted shiver skit- tered down her spine. If need be, she was ready to run at a moment’s notice. The wind howled mercilessly through the trees of Fontana Mountain and when it shifted south she caught Taggart’s dis- tinctive, foul scent. He was close. Watching her, no doubt. Pervy bastard. “I know you’re there, Sean. Come out now so we can get this over with.” She was thankful her voice didn’t shake. To her surprise, a hulking brown- and- white wolf emerged from a cluster of trees. What the hell? They’d agreed to come in human form. Glancing around, she saw he hadn’t brought N 1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 3 22/22/12/22/12 88:39:39 PMPM 4 KATIE REUS anyone else. That tamed her nerves a little but not much. He was still older and stronger and a lot more ruthless. Even though she tried to mask it, he had to smell her fear. “What are you doing?” she snapped, hoping her anger would cover her alarm. When the animal stood a few feet in front of her, he changed to his human form. Ana looked away but could hear his bones break, shift and realign. Many shifters didn’t mind others watching them change, but to her it was such a private, painful thing, she didn’t do it in front of just anyone. She turned back to face him and immediately wanted to wipe the smirk off his face. Of course he’d be arrogant enough to stand naked in front of her when they were supposed to be having a serious meeting. She attempted to keep the loathing out of her voice. “I thought we agreed to come in human form.” He shrugged and had the nerve to grab himself. “I wanted the exercise. Besides, you should get to see what’s going to be yours soon.” Mine? Gross. Bile rose in her throat, but she pushed it down. Sure, the man had a nice body, but what lay under- neath that exterior scared her. She’d seen the way he treated the women of his pack. He was mean just for the sake of being mean. As Alpha, he should set a better example, but no one had stood up to him yet. “Excuse me?” “That’s why you wanted to meet, isn’t it? To proposi- tion me?” “Not exactly.” She cleared her throat and looked around. A light layer of snow had fallen over the normally grassy incline. Other than the wind and rustling trees, she was sud- denly aware of how alone she really was. She was at least two N miles from her family’s ranch. “We’ve had a few attacks over 1160210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd60210_AsDarkness_TX_p1-156.indd 4 22/22/12/22/12 88:39:39 PMPM ALPHA INSTINCT 5 the past couple weeks. Some of our cattle have gone missing and I’ve found a few mutilated cows. And just this morning I found one of my sister’s horses dead.” The increasing vandalism against her pack’s ranch was a message. Taggart wanted to unite his pack with hers and would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. She was sur- prised he hadn’t done worse. “And you think my pack had something to do with it?” His voice was monotone. She noticed he didn’t deny it. “I didn’t say that. I don’t know many humans who venture into our territory, so I just wanted to let you know about it.” He crossed his arms over his bare chest and she forced herself to keep her eyes on his face.