Mischief, Mongrels and Mayhem

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Mischief, Mongrels & Mayhem

Copyright © 2014 by Heather Long

ISBN: 978-1-61333-735-6

Cover art by Syneca Featherstone

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

Look for us online at:

www.decadentpublishing.com

ROAR

Coming Soon

Sorority Wolf by Rebecca Royce

Phoenix Rising by Cara Carnes

Imperfect Mate by Lia Davis

Shifted Plans by Brandy Walker

Tempting her Tiger by Virginia Cavanaugh

Also by Heather Long

The Always a Marine Series

Always a Marine

Series so Far (in order by release)

Once Her Man, Always Her Man

Luke & Rebecca

Retreat Hell! She Just Got Here

Logan, Jazz & Zach

Tell It to the Marine

James & Lauren

Introduction of Matt McCall and Damon Sinclair

Features an appearance of Logan Cavanaugh

Proud to Serve Her

Damon & Helena

Matt, James, Lauren, Luke and Rebecca mentioned

Her Marine

Brody & Shannon

No Regrets, No Surrender

Logan, Jazz & Zach

James featured

The Marine Cowboy

A.J. & Sheri

Phone call from Luke

The Two and the Proud

Rowdy & Kim

A Marine and a Gentleman

Brenden & Liam

Appearances of James, Logan, Jazz, Shannon, Rebecca, Lauren

Combat Barbie

Kyle & Mary

Jazz makes an appearance via phone

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Joe & Melody

James makes an appearance

What Part of Marine Don’t You Understand?

Matt & Naomi

Appearances by James and Logan, Damon is mentioned

A Marine Affair

Eli & Rick

Marine Ever After

Paul & Lillianna

Multiple appearances at Luke & Rebecca’s wedding

Marine in the Wind

Greg & Georgia

Appearances by A.J. & Sheri

Marine with Benefits

Derek & Kara

Appearance by Logan

A Marine of Plenty

Charlie & Jana

Appearance by Naomi

A Candle for a Marine

Isaac & Zehava

Appearances by Zach & Shannon

Marine Under the Mistletoe

Kaiden & Rowan

Have Yourself a Marine Christmas

Rebel & Noel

Appearances by Derek, Kara, Luke and James

Lest Old Marines Be Forgot

Tom & Brenda

Appearances by Luke, James, Logan, and Damon

Her Marine Bodyguard

Shannon & Brody

Multiple appearances including Luke, Logan, Zach, Jazz, Mary, Damon & Rowdy

Coming Soon

Black Hills Wolves Series

What a Wolf Wants

Mischief, Mongrels & Mayhem

By

Heather Long

Dear Reader,

Welcome to autumn, 2014. It’s a time for pumpkin spice lattes, cooling days, and kids heading back to school. I swear it feels like just yesterday that we were doing this last year. You know, I have a deep and abiding love for paranormal romance. I actually fell in love with urban fantasy and by extension paranormals thanks to two authors: Anne Rice and Emma Bull. If you’ve never checked them out, you should.

Fortunately, in the years since I read those the genre of paranormal romance has grown by leaps, shifts, fangs, and fur. I’ve always had a soft spot for shifter romance, and if you told me a book had wolves or cats or bears in it—well, I was so there. This hasn’t changed, not one bit. I don’t think there’s enough shifter romance in the world, but I did want to see more—what happens when young shifters leave their packs? What if they go off to school? How do they start over? How does a young wolf or cat or bear or any young person really make that final leap to adulthood?

I am thrilled to introduce Decadent ROAR as an answer to those questions. The line is dedicated to featuring stories about young weres and shifters who have come of age but now must determine the path of the rest of their lives. It's an exciting time of making your own decisions and not having to seek permission, but freedom always comes with a cost. Fortunately for these burgeoning adults, they have the ROAR hotline to reach out to.

Run by the mysterious siblings Hui and Min, 555-ROAR is a line shifters can text or call for help, whether it’s, What’s the best spot to hunt, or I’m in danger. What should I do? It’s a helpline, and a lifeline in some cases. Growing up is hard—being an adult is harder.

So what do we have to kick you off as ROAR launches a new school year? How about a mongrel attending college close to home who must contend with a sexy Alpha and his pride moving into her region? That’s the problem Mischief Missy Jones faces in Mischief, Mongrels & Mayhem by Heather Long.

Pledging a sorority can be hell, but is it so bad when you have a demon on your side? Werewolf Alexandra will have to decide when Kieran promises to turn over heaven and hell to help her out in Sorority Wolf by Rebecca Royce.

Not everyone gets encouragement when they head off into the big, bad world on their own. This couldn’t be more true for fragile and abused Riletta who’s dumped at school with no options, no fallback, and no hope—that is until delicious Macen intervenes in the hot ride that is Phoenix Rising by Cara Carnes.

Choosing college can be a grueling experience, but, then again, so can diving into adulthood and taking responsibility for your actions. Samira faces s a lot of hard choices, none tougher than accepting human Gavin might be her mate in Lia Davis’ Imperfect Mates.

Life is what happens when you’re not paying attention, and the best things don’t always occur in the order you expect. They sure don’t for Avery and Declan. Both are busy setting up their lives but the allure of mating throws them for a loop in Brandy Walker’s Shifted Plans.

Attracting attention from the male species is a hard job, even more so when that male is a shifter. Some lines, though, are hard to cross, and Jordan will fight his attraction to his best friend’s sister, Stacia, with everything he has in Tempting her Tiger by Virginia Cavanaugh.

Ultimately, the question these six stories must answer is not who will they be as adults, but who are they? How do they reconcile everything they've ever known with what can be? It's a new type of shifter romance, with all the love and passion required to achieve a happily ever after....

Thank you for joining us as we launch a hot new series—we’ll do our best to make every single tale memorable.

Happy Reading!

Heather Long and

Decadent Publishing

www.decadentpublishing.com

~Dedication~

For every woman who dared to take control of her life.

Chapter One

Mischief Jones padded along the outcropping to the edge and sprawled on the sun-warmed rock overlooking Lake Mary. The picturesque setting wasn’t lost on her, but she flexed her claws and lowered her head. Eyes closing to mere slits, she soaked up the heat. No morning classes meant she could afford a nap after her hunt. A murmur of voices drifted toward her—hikers on one of the trails below. Mother and daughter. They were arguing.

Flicking her tail, she listened to their debate. The daughter wanted her mother to butt out of her romantic life. Mom’s disapproval of the boyfriend was the least of her issues—which she seemed intent on detailing as they continued their hike. Home to some of the best hiking trails in the region, the lake area offered an increasing level of difficulty higher up toward Lake Catherine. This late into autumn, the weather turned cool and the air crisp, but—on sunny days like today—perfect for hiking.

Mom wanted her daughter to pursue admission to a different college than her boyfriend, to put her education first. The daughter wasn’t remotely interested in the argument. Though Missy couldn’t see them, she could almost hear the girl rolling her eyes at her mother. Having had a similar argument with Nene ten months before, and every month since, she understood the girl’s feelings.

Still, Missy hadn’t elected to enroll at Wasatch College for a boy. She’d done it because Nene—the best foster mother she’d ever known—lived here. Nene, who knew her secret and protected and loved her anyway. No, she wasn’t going to take advantage of some scholarship offer to Princeton. Too much city and too far away from home.

She was satisfied with attending Wasatch College and prowling the mountains away from hunters, vehicles, and trouble. Soon, snow would blanket their valley. Winter had already begun in the higher elevations.

As the hikers moved farther away, Missy let the sun lull her into a doze. Her internal clock had always been pretty accurate, so when she heard the faint vibration of her cell phone, she knew only an hour had passed. Rousing, she dragged herself off the rock and leapt down. Her backpack and clothes were stowed in a safety crate tucked beneath the rock—out of sight and out of the elements.

After one long stretch, she began the shift. Fifteen minutes later, still panting, she dragged her clothes out of the backpack and dressed. She shoved her feet into the abused and scuffed tennis shoes before fishing her phone out and checking her missed calls.

One from Nene. No message. A minute later the phone buzzed again with a text message.

Breakfast. I have to take a group up later today. Meet me in twenty.

Plenty of time to run down the trail. She texted back an acknowledgment and shoved the phone in her pocket. Backpack over her shoulder, she leapt up onto the rock, scanned the area, and then dropped the fifteen feet to the trail below.

Cats always landed on their feet—whether they ran on two or four. Taking off at a jog, she followed the track downward. Breakfast with Nene and afternoon classes served as an excellent capper to a long night, ending in a satisfying hunt and a morning snooze under the sun.

Her life was perfect.

***

Three hours later, she sailed into world history class, still riding her good mood. Though the fall semester, she had amassed over a dozen credits into her degree track thanks to summer courses. Choosing a seat near the top in the back, she dropped her book bag, swung her legs up to rest on the writing table, and flipped open the reading. Last week, Professor Burke had spent the first hour of his three-hour class lecturing the reading material. She’d drifted to sleep in a sunbeam slanting from one of the high windows.

Their homework had been to finish reading the first era chapters focusing on the foundations of human history, thirteen billion to two hundred thousand years ago. Human history…. Unfortunately, nothing in the chapters answering, How did we get here, anyway? covered Missy’s personal questions. Not that she’d expected to find a chapter on humans who became large,