The Aphotic

It's 1975, and nine-year-old Talia is not happy. Everything has been different since her little sister Alex came along. Since her dad left. Since all her mother's attention has been focused on anyone and everything but Talia. It's definitely all Alex's fault. Talia hates Alex. She just wants things to be like they used to be. When her dad was home. When everyone cared about her. When there was no Alex. Then she's given a book. One that's special. One that seems only for her. One that can help her take all her anger and frustration and rage and … unleash it.

It's 1981, and in the town they call No Hope, Theo knows Pete is going through a tough time. God knows Theo's been there himself. He offers a hand in friendship, an offer to get a few guys together for some poker, but something holds Pete back. He's just acquired a Book, and this is the day Pete's gonna make his father pay for all the shit Stinky Pete's had to deal with...

Zero does. One of her members broke the rule: no werewolf shall harm or kill another. But the replacement is an overeager fool who refers to himself as the Fed. He’ll risk everything to prove his worth. And he’s out for revenge. Rainer does. Her parents, her sister, her husband, her child…her blood. The werewolves took everyone she loved, and she’s vowed to never let it happen again. But when she finally opens herself up, she puts a whole new family in the werewolves’ path. She’ll risk everything to stop the wolves. Now, she’s out for revenge.

For almost a century, the Clutch has been confined by a small boundary. All attempts to cross it have failed miserably, with no survivors to tell their tales. Chloe and the other vampires long for the life they had before. Back when they could roam and hunt freely. Back when they had control over the wolves. Back before the wolves found that damnable Book and locked them within a few miserable square miles of rock and brush at the edge of Lake Kwanashishing.

When Lex left No Hope, she had no plans to return. Never wanted to. Not after… No. She doesn’t allow herself to go there. Leave it in the rear-view, just like her hometown. Ten years down the road, the past can’t seem to stay in the past and her life is in disarray. She really needs to start getting her shit together. Then her mother is brutally murdered, and Lex finds herself on the long, desolate drive back home. Once there, Lex discovers things are worse than she thought.

Monica should have known better than to remain in New Hope. How stupidly optimistic, how naïve, she’d been. Why did she think her life could be anything but pain and sorrow and regret? Why did she think she could just be okay with murdering her ex-husband, even if he was a blood-thirsty werewolf? Why does she think, now, that drowning her sorrows in booze is the answer?