MONSTERS IN LOVE VOL. 6: LOST IN THE UNDERWORLD

  A Monster Paranormal Romance Anthology

  COPYRIGHT

  Monsters in Love vol. 6: Lost in the Underworld Anthology | Copyright © 2024 by Darklight Press

  First Edition

  “Lost and Found” Copyright © 2024 Allegra Hall

  “Penny (Not So) Dreadful” Copyright © 2024 Vivienne Hart

  “An Excerpt From The Intimate Diary of Our Lady Including An Account of Her Captivity Under Orcus, God of Death” Copyright © 2024 Kass O’Shire

  “The Underworld’s Pet” Copyright © 2024 Kassandra Cross

  “Fooling the Ferryman” Copyright © 2024 Wren K. Morris

  “Anubis’ Embrace: Secrets in the Shadows” Copyright © 2024 YD La Mar

  “Haunted Heart” Copyright © 2024 Dalia Davies

  “A Dash of Demon” Copyright © 2024 Karla Doyle

  “Temple of the Dead” Copyright © 2024 S.J. Sanders

  “Ravished by the Reaper” Copyright © 2024 Luna Joya

  “Death’s Rapture” Copyright © 2024 Rebel Moxie

  “My Deal with the Demon Marquis” Copyright © 2024 Leona Wilde

  “Amor Fati” Copyright © 2024 Vera Valentine

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by Anna Spies of Atra Luna Graphik Design.

  www.atraluna.de

  The digital ebook format for this anthology is authorized for distribution exclusively through Amazon.

  If you found the ebook for free after the release date on any website other than Amazon, it was most likely pirated. This is a federal crime, but worse, the authors receive no money for this work, and will be liable for fines and account suspensions.

  When books are pirated, authors stop writing.

  Monsters in Love is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  For permission requests or other inquiries, write to Evangeline Priest at monstersinloveanthology@gmail.com.

  Contents

  FOREWORD

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  LOST AND FOUND

  Allegra Hall

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Interlude

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Allegra Hall

  PENNY (NOT SO) DREADFUL

  Vivienne Hart

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  About the Author

  Also by Vivienne Hart

  AN EXCERPT FROM THE INTIMATE DIARY OF OUR LADY INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF HER CAPTIVITY UNDER ORCUS, GOD OF DEATH

  Kass O’Shire

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  In Which the Lady Convenes the Conclave of Gods... With One Notable Exception

  Chapter Two

  In Which the Lady is Kidnapped, Confronted, and Propositioned

  Chapter Three

  In Which an Agreement, A Farewell, and the Lady Enters Her Lake

  Chapter Four

  In Which Orders are Issued, Power is Exchanged, and a Bond Snaps into Place

  Chapter Five

  In Which the Lady Wakes in a Location Most Unfamiliar needs fn

  Chapter Six

  In Which a Meal is Consumed in a Fashion Most Unfamiliar

  Chapter Seven

  In Which A Name in Chosen

  Chapter Eight

  In Which Orcus Practices Restraint

  Chapter Nine

  In Which Expectations are Further Subverted During the First Session fn

  Chapter Ten

  In Which A Debrief Leads to an Alternate Form of Rehabilitation

  Chapter Eleven

  In Which … Perhaps…

  Chapter Twelve

  In Which Orcus’s Plans Bear Fruit

  Chapter Thirteen

  In Which the Single Most Perfect Worship

  Chapter Fourteen

  In Which the Lady is Given a New Role

  Chapter Fifteen

  In Which Lessons in Patience

  Chapter Sixteen

  In Which the Lady Comprehends the Extent of her Submission

  Chapter Seventeen

  In Which a Promise, a Miracle, a Prayer

  About the Author

  Also By Kass O’Shire

  THE UNDERWORLD’S PET

  Kassandra Cross

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Also By Kassandra Cross

  FOOLING THE FERRYMAN

  Wren K. Morris

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  About the Author

  ANUBIS’ EMBRACE: SECRETS IN THE SHADOWS

  YD LA MAR

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  A Grave Mistake

  Chapter Two

  The Vexation of Mortals

  Chapter Three

  Unexpected Encounters

  Chapter Four

  Revelations and Revelry

  Chapter Five

  Unforeseen Connections

  Chapter Six

  The Awkward Awakening

  Chapter Seven

  The Unexpected Attraction

  Chapter Eight

  Divine Disapproval

  Chapter Nine

  The Temptation

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by YD La Mar

  HAUNTED HEART

  Dalia Davies

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  About the Author

  Also by Dalia Davies

  A DASH OF DEMON

  Karla Doyle

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  About the Author

  Also By Karla Doyle

  TEMPLE OF THE DEAD

  SJ Sanders

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  About the Author

  RAVISHED BY THE REAPER

  Luna Joya

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also By Luna Joya

  DEATH’S RAPTURE

  Rebel Moxie

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  About the Author

  MY DEAL WITH THE DEMON MARQUIS

  Leona Wilde

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight


  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  About the Author

  Also by Leona Wilde

  AMOR FATI

  Vera Valentine

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  About the Author

  Also by Vera Valentine

  AFTERWORD

  Dear Monster Lover,

  Monsters in Love is an ongoing anthology series. Each volume is limited edition, and will be available for purchase for three months in digital and print format.

  This volume will be available for purchase in digital and print format until December 26, 2024.

  Future Monsters in Love anthology volumes and release schedule are listed below. We thank you in advance for preordering in support of our stories.

  Monsters in Love vol 7: Lost in the Stars

  Releasing March 2025

  Monsters in Love vol 8: Lost in the Swamp

  Releasing September 2025

  Thank you for all your love and support. Your preorder lets us know that you want to read more of our work.

  Much love,

  Eva Priest

  Creative Director, Darklight Press

  Please note that this anthology features a diverse range of stories that span from sweet to spicy, and all the delicious flavors in between. Please consult each story’s content warnings for further details.

  They may contain the following themes, tropes, and triggers:

  Abduction, Assault, BDSM, Criminal Acts, Dark Themes, Fighting, Forced Marriage, Graphic Sex, Heat, Hauntings, Hunting, Kinks, Menage, Mind-linking, Nightmares, Power Exchange, Size Difference, Why Choose.

  Please proceed with caution.

  LOST AND FOUND

  ALLEGRA HALL

  Change is afoot for Zak, an orc who lost his big acting break in the fallout from the Unravelling five years ago, when the universal glamour was lifted from the world and the existence of non-humans was revealed. Switching careers and downgrading his living arrangements as a 31-year-old was never part of the plan, but the room he rents is tidy, even if it overlooks the abandoned — and supposedly haunted — house next door. That place gives him the creeps, and it doesn’t take long for Zak to find out why.

  A ghost lives there.

  As Zak works through his initial fear, he finds that Rose the ghost isn’t such terrible company after all. Her sad eyes draw him in, her reappearance every night after sunset intrigues him, and her pointed ears, missing memories, and green glow leave him wondering what she really is, and if she’s actually dead after all.

  Rose may have last been alive in 1915, but the heart wants what it wants, and Zak wants nothing more than to bring her back.

  This novella is set in a fantasy version of contemporary Auckland, New Zealand, in the Unravelling Monsters Universe. New Zealand English is used and spoken by the characters within this story, including New Zealand slang and sayings. The novel is written in New Zealand English, please be aware that words are often spelled differently to their US English counterparts.

  I have included a short glossary of New Zealand slang below:

  Nah: No

  All good: It’s fine/no problem

  Hen’s do: Bachelorette party

  She was all good about… : She was fine with it

  Maccas: McDonald’s

  Scoffing: Scarfing (eating very quickly).

  Doco: Documentary

  Content warnings

  Frequent references to death. FMC is presumed to be a ghost and therefore presumed to be dead. Memory loss inflicted by magic (not an illness). Brief mentions of the historic drowning and death of a child (the child is related to side characters). Mentions of discriminatory practices regarding the hiring of characters based on species. Explicit language. Explicit sex.

  Further notes (not warnings) on content:

  The MMC is a male entertainer working for a male strip show. I am a sex-positive author that loves seeing representation of all careers in romance novels. A male entertainer currently in the industry was consulted when writing this story, and I’m very grateful to him for answering all my questions and sharing his perspective on male entertainment.

  Zak

  “I appreciate the help,” I say, setting down the final cardboard box of stuff in my new room.

  Josh, a tall and lean werecat I only met an hour ago, grunts as he also sets a box down on the hardwood floor. “It’s all good.” He’s one of the other guys living here. “I’m glad you’re moving in; it’s gonna make a difference to the rent each week, that’s for sure. I’ll see you later tonight; it’s $4 day at Pizza Parlour, so that’s dinner sorted.”

  “Sounds great,” I say, doing my best to keep my tone light as he leaves.

  I start unpacking, shoving clothes into drawers and setting up my laptop on the desk that’s far too small for me. The bed is also too small, so I’m going to have to work out something better in the long term. For now, I’ll have to sleep diagonally across the mattress and curl up on my side, I guess.

  I’m trying not to feel like an absolute failure moving into this place, but I’m not having much success. The house is nice enough; an old bungalow in Grey Lynn with high ceilings — a must for a guy my size — and a tidy back garden, but it’s the fact that I’m sharing the place with four university students. It’s a flat. I’m thirty-one, and I’m moving into a student flat because I couldn’t afford my own apartment anymore.