Tonisha W

I was warned about Tristan Cole. "Stay away from him," people said. "He's cruel." "He's cold." "He's damaged." It's easy to judge a man because of his past. To look at Tristan and see a monster. But I couldn't do that. I had to accept the wreckage that lived inside of him, because it also lived inside of me.

Boraleashe Cavalerie was the opposite of his titan brothers. He was stoic, disagreeable, and his attitude towards others was just as biting as his frost. All titans were required to gift their pure hearts to another—to fall in love—as praise to the divinities for their dominion over an element. Refusal to pledge their heart was considered an act of defiance to the gods. There would be judgment . . . and atonement.

I had a stable life as a fire captain in Seattle, married to one of my best friends and raising two awesome kids. Now, my kids are grown, and my marriage is toast. I'm solidly past forty and back in my tiny hometown of Mount Hope, Oregon, filling in as a firefighter. My future is one big question mark keeping me up at night. Also keeping me up? The short-order cook at Honey's Hotcake Hut.

Working with kids is totally my jam, and I'm damn good at what I do. Just call me Maxy Frickin' Poppins! When a new job prospect comes my way, I'm intrigued. A chance to move to Mystic Hollow (aka Monsters Hollow) to be a well-paid manny for two adorable orclings? Talk about a dream position. Sold! But when I lock eyes with the seriously sexy orc who's their guardian—and my new de facto boss—for the first time, I'm a goner. Big, muscular, and green all over–he's giving me full-on Hulk meets stern professor vibes—and I like it.

Callen Sinclair has been the bane of my existence since I was six years old. You’d think that would have been my first red flag. I mean... you’d be wrong, but you could think it. In my defense, my brother’s best friend also happens to be the scorching-hot tight end for the Philadelphia Kings football team. He’s cocky and confident, with a sinfully sexy smile that could make a good girl do very bad things. Lucky for me, I’ve never been a good girl.

Theo and Laurie have been best friends for six years, but despite doing everything together, they’ve never been anything more than best friends and roommates. Then someone calls them boyfriends and upends their neat little world. As the pair struggle to put a lid on their feelings, a random email from Theo’s brother throws him even further off balance, and all Laurie can do is offer a niche form of stress relief. But Laurie’s support doesn’t stop at rope garters.

Theo Coatl was supposed to be just a job. On paper, my twin and I are recent grads moving into the eccentric artist's mansion for a once-in-a-lifetime internship opportunity. In reality, Dre and I are spies for our clan—a pair of supes known as Shock and Awe who could melt our enemy's brain as easily as we could extract the intel we were after. Whatever works. Our mark isn't the only one keeping secrets, and Theo's proximity is… doing things to me. This man could fulfill every dark desire I've buried beneath the surface, things even my twin doesn't know I crave.

Ever since we found the two Outcasts, it's been my goal to get them to join our beach tribe. Handsome, impossible Juth has resisted all my efforts to recruit him and his small son. He's made it very clear that he doesn't belong with us. But when I'm trapped at Juth's side as the beach is invaded by monsters, everything changes. He talks to me instead of pointedly ignoring me. We become friends. Heck, we even share a few stolen kisses. And when the rescue party arrives, he announces to everyone that I'm his mate and he's joining the tribe.

A legal technicality might be the reason I’m out of prison after serving only two years of what should have been multiple life sentences, but all I care about now is finding the man who put me behind bars in the first place. JJ Ferguson needs to see firsthand what his lies have turned me into. Two years ago, JJ and I should have been talking about our future together. Our lives had changed that night, just not in the way they should have.

There are some things you just don't do… Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't break the law. And absolutely do not, under any circumstance, sleep with your best friend's son. I've always prided myself on being a good man. I am a doctor after all. I consider myself to be a by-the-book man. A man with strong morals and a clear conscience. That is until a night out of town with too many drinks finds me naked and sweaty with the one person I shouldn't be rolling around in the sheets with.