Showing results by author "Auryn Hadley" in All Categories

Leaving my husband was hard. Trying to face the world alone with my teenage daughter is the sort of thing nightmares are made of, but I caught a break. My best friend just hired me for a great job, with perks like a rent-free house right beside not just one handsome man, but five! Each one is hotter than the last, and all of them seem interested in me. But everyone around us has these strange golden eyes...and there are the questions no one will answer. And who cares if there's a lot of wildlife running around at night? I do, especially when a wolf keeps sneaking into my backyard.

I was a child when my father surrendered me to the Temple of All Gods. No one gave me a choice. No one even bothered to explain. I was simply tossed aside, unwanted. That was the day the God of Temptation claimed me as his. Now, I'm studying how to become the perfect priestess. Life in the temple means embracing my emotions and learning to harness each type of desire. Power, fear, lust, and rage are the most common, but not the only ones. Each has a power. Each has its place. I just have to figure out which kind of priestess I'll become.

Magic is a gift. A pretty miraculous one, in my opinion. It also comes with responsibilities—things like protecting the town that made this possible. Sadly, that means my last battle with the evil coven may have caused a tiny little problem. The spell that protects this place is fading. My power is fine, but a magical ritual like that takes six wixen to make possible. That means I have two choices: I can either let it fade or work with the assholes I just pissed off. Or, maybe I can find a third option?

My five boyfriends - yes, five - are being much too patient with me. That's pissing a few people off. It seems that when living with a pack of wolves, there are certain expectations for the alpha's mate...and I suck at this. A few months ago, I had no idea shifters even existed! I just wanted a safe home, and this is it, although it's not at all what I imagined. When an ex-girlfriend decides to make my life a living hell, pack rules say that if I want to keep my place, I need to win my own fights. That's not easy when she's young, fit, beautiful, and a wolf. And I'm not.

This is supposed to be a good year. With a new set of instructors—and ones I know well—I'm sure it will be. For once, things are finally starting to go my way. My mentors are proud, my family is closer than ever before, and I am happy. Unfortunately, the gods are tired of waiting. Every day, Zeal grows stronger, but Ambition, Inspiration, Perception, Compassion, and Intuition don't. They're fading, with no hope in sight. Except me.

We're tempted to play games, thinking they will give us more power–but that only works if we win. After spending the holidays with my guardian's family, it seems that everyone in the temple has the wrong idea. The Baron isn't my patron. He's not even a friend. In truth, I hate the man. But the rumor mill is strong, and jealousy is running rampant.

I always imagined Death's final kiss would be cold. It wasn't. Four years later, I can still remember the exact shade of his skin: a blue so pale it looked like moonlight. I dream of his touch. Mostly, I paint the man under the heavy cowl, including those perfect lips which ruined mine for anyone else. I'm obsessed with him.

Running to Summerpoint to avoid my failed love life may have seemed drastic, but I'd just inherited a house from a distant relative. The timing was perfect, almost like magic. But the cottage is in need of repairs, the place is in the middle of a forest, and I'm not used to small towns. Then I meet my new contractors. Sexy doesn't begin to describe them. The flirting flows easily, and while they're a well-established couple, it seems they may have room for more. Even better, these guys are quickly getting to be a lot more than just friends.

"Surprise, you're a witch." That's not exactly what I expected when I inherited a cozy little cottage in the woods. Nor to have a cactus as my new door guard or a skunk as my familiar! Still, this whole magic thing is growing on me. The pair of hot boyfriends certainly helps make it easier to accept the insanity. But after dealing a serious blow to the coven of wixen who planned to enslave me, I'm kinda screwed. I may have won that battle, but I learned I do not know enough to stop the upcoming war—and a skunk can only teach me so much.

The angels warned me that I should fear their wrath. Theirs? Please! They have no idea who they're dealing with. Not that I really do either, but I'm quickly figuring out that I'm a whole lot more than just an artist.

For the last ten years, I thought I was nothing special. I was just another priestess in the Temple of Temptation...one of many. Little did I know that my god has plans for me. He intends to make me powerful. But what I will become is up to me. For centuries, things here have always been done the same way—and the gods are now paying for it. Somehow, I'm expected to revive the faith. I'm their last hope, but no one is quite sure how I'm supposed to do that.

I finally did it. I took that last step, and it was everything I wanted. My relationship with my five mates has never been better. They've embraced not only me as a part of their lives but also my daughter, and this feels like the family I always dreamed of. I don't mean just myself and my mates, but the entire pack. They call me "Alpha". No, I'm not the alpha, but I'm learning how to step up. I got this. I'd better, since Wolf's Run has thrown open our doors to more than just wolves, but it seems like my version of winging it is working for all of us.

Zeal is back, and he's seen by more people every day. The God of Temptation grows stronger, but High Priest Kinen has found the one thing that can stop a god: disbelief. The return of our gods means an end to his power, and Kinen isn't ready to lose. Over time, the priests of our temple have surrendered their power in the name of our god. We're trained to obey, to help, and to be Zeal's tools when he cannot help himself. Now, that has become a problem.

The Temple of Temptation is broken. The system is failing the priests who serve faithfully, but Zeal isn't missing. He's simply powerless—or was. As more priests believe in our god, the balance of power has been shifting. Temptation is thriving. Miracles are happening. The High Priest is struggling. In his attempts to control me, he's making it almost impossible to help the other gods. Something has to give, and I'm worried it might be me.

Everyone lies. When working for a sex mage, it's the only way to stay safe. That's the first thing Jaeda learns when she's named as the Chosen. The mage needs a sacrifice, and she's willing to give it. Maybe too willing. After all, this man is lust incarnate; a woman would have to be insane not to want him, even if he is dangerous.

Angels keep screwing everything up. For millennia, the battle between Heaven and Hell has raged unchecked. The souls of humans unknowingly fuel it. That means it's up to us, the worst definition of evil, to save Earth. The problem is that I still can't quite understand why that makes us bad. Are we sinners? Oh yeah. In the best ways possible. Are we cruel? Only to the ones who deserve it. Satan leads us, Lucifer drives the deals, and Beelzebub destroys anything he can get his hands on.

See, I'm a bad, bad girl. The kind who loves Satan. Falling in bed with the demon of seduction, befriending the demon of knowledge, being guarded by Beelzebub, and making deals with Lucifer? This is what I call a normal day. Just one problem: Good and evil aren't at all what I expected. So I'm going all in. These men are my legion and they hold nothing back, so why should I? Just because something's "bad" doesn't mean it can't feel oh so good—and I'm not about to let Heaven ruin this "good" thing.

Clearly, I had issues. After becoming obsessed with death, the angels came for me, and then I ended up in Hell. Oddly, that sounds a lot worse than it really is. Don't get me wrong, the demons in this place are pretty annoying, but there are a few perks. At least four of them. Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Samyaza. I left everything behind to help change the world. Unfortunately, it's not going to be that easy. If I want this, I'm going to have to fight for it. But the heart wants what it wants. And mine is rooting for evil.

All Jade wanted was her own happily ever after. Unfortunately, it's never that easy. Being a woman and a mage complicates things. Falling for three men at the same time? At least that's working out. Everything else is a mess. And it's all the Spider's fault. That man just can't help himself. He wants power, and Xel is the best source he's ever found.

Mages are always men. Until her. They harvest the power of simple, primitive emotions. Until her. Jaeda is something new, and the best way to protect herself is to make sure the enemy doesn't have a clue. That's going to be difficult with an Adevian mage about to take her town.