Wild Things: A Chicagolands Vampire Novel (Chicagoland Vampires)

“[FOR] FANS OF CHARLAINE HARRIS’S SOOKIE STACKHOUSE SERIES AND LAURELL K. HAMILTON’S ANITA BLAKE.” —
Library Journal

Praise for Chloe Neill’s

Chicagoland Vampires Novels

Biting Bad

“Neill is a rising star and her Chicago is undergoing major upheaval, placing vampire heroine Merit at the epicenter of the trouble. As always, there is heart-pounding danger, high-stakes drama, and excitement as Merit, Ethan, and crew take on a treacherous new enemy!”

—
RT Book Reviews

“This is the Chicagoland Vampires book that you will be unable to put down. Chloe Neill brought her A game, and I can’t wait to see where she goes from here.”

—Vampire Book Club

“Neill’s plot is full of twists and turns and keeps the reader guessing until the end. We are anxiously waiting to see what Neill has in store for Merit and Ethan next.”

—Heroes and Heartbreakers

House Rules

“Rising star Neill has made the learning curve for her gutsy heroine, Merit, quite steep, which means the journey is all the more spellbinding.”

—
Romantic Times

“Strong characters, wry humor . . . and a mystery plot worthy of speed- page-turning.”

—Vampire Book Club

“Every person in Neill’s world is vibrant and real. You want to be friends with them; you want to know what’s going on. In many ways, Neill’s Chicago is an edgier, urban Bon Temps.”

—Heroes and Heartbreakers

Biting Cold

“Chloe Neill keeps readers right on the precipice of anticipation.”

—Fresh Fiction

“A REFRESHING TAKE ON URBAN FANTASY.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Chloe Neill delivers another engaging plot, but better yet,
Biting Cold
reminds us this urban fantasy series is about strong, well-developed characters. Ones we can get invested in and wish were real so we could indulge in a pizza and sing-along movie night at their place.”

—Vampire Book Club

“[Merit’s] a character I fully root for.”

—Hardcore Heroines

Hard Bitten

“Delivers enough action, plot twists, and fights to satisfy the most jaded urban fantasy reader.”

—Monsters and Critics

“A fast and exciting read.”

—Fresh Fiction

“A descriptive, imaginative, and striking world . . . rich with real-world problems as well as otherworldly creatures . . . roughly fantastic from beginning to end, with one of the best endings in urban fantasy history.”

—
Romantic Times

Twice Bitten

“The pages turn fast enough to satisfy vampire and romance fans alike.”

—
Booklist

“Neill continues to hit the sweet spot with her blend of high-stakes drama, romantic entanglements, and a touch of humor . . . certain to whet readers’ appetites for more in this entertaining series!”

—
Romantic Times
(4½ stars)

Friday Night Bites

“Wonderfully entertaining, and impossible to set down.”

—Darque Reviews

“First-rate fun!”

—
Romantic Times

Some Girls Bite

“Neill creates a strong-minded, sharp-witted heroine who will appeal to fans of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series and Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake.”

—
Library Journal

“IF YOU LOVED NANCY DREW BUT ALWAYS WISHED SHE WAS AN UNDEAD, SWORD-WIELDING BADASS, MERIT IS YOUR KIND OF GIRL.”—
Geek Monthly

“With her wonderfully compelling reluctant vampire heroine and her careful world building, I was drawn into
Some Girls Bite
from page one and kept reading far into the night.”

—
USA Today
bestselling author Julie Kenner

“Smart, sexy, and delightful. A must-read.”

—Candace Havens, author of
Dragons Prefer Blondes

“A fun cast of quirky characters and smoking-hot sexual tension . . . a stunning combination.”

—Tate Hallaway, author of
Honeymoon of the Dead

“Packed with complex subplots, embittered family members, and politics, this is an excellent first installment to what should be an outstanding series in a crowded field.”

—Monsters and Critics

“There’s a new talent in town, and . . . she’s here to stay. . . . An indomitable and funny heroine . . . truly excellent.”

—
Romantic Times

“Engaging, well-executed, and populated with characters you can’t help but love. It was impossible to set down.”

—Darque Reviews

“I can just about guarantee that readers will want to read more of this series. . . . Vampire fiction fans should be well served by this vamp-centric story too.”

—LoveVampires

“GO BUY IT NOW! It’s a great urban fantasy that reads a little like Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire series.”

—Literary Escapism

“Chloe Neill . . . has created an interesting vampire mythology and a heroine who has spunk and daring; she’s kick-ass without the hard edges.”

—Romance Novel TV

“Not only action-packed, it’s hilarious. I couldn’t put it down. . . . [Merit is] extremely charming . . . a great read.”

—Wicked Little Pixie

OTHER NOVELS BY CHLOE NEILL

The Chicagoland Vampires Novels

Some Girls Bite

Friday Night Bites

Twice Bitten

Hard Bitten

Drink Deep

Biting Cold

House Rules

Biting Bad

“High Stakes” novella in
Kicking It

Howling for You
(A Penguin Special)

The Dark Elite Novels

Firespell

Hexbound

Charmfall

A CHICAGOLAND VAMPIRES NOVEL

WILD THINGS

CHLOE NEILL

New American Library

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 375 Hudson Street,

New York, New York 10014

USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China

penguin.com

A Penguin Random House Company

First published by New American Library,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) LLC

Copyright © Chloe Neill, 2014

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:

Neill, Chloe.

Wild things: a Chicagoland vampires novel/Chloe Neill.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-101-63765-4

1. Merit (Fictitious character: Neill)—Fiction. 2. Vampires—Fiction. 3. Chicago (Ill.)—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3614.E4432W55 2014

813'.6—dc23 2013038459

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Acknowledgments

Thanks, as always, to the usual crew of fantastic Novitiates who assist in the development of these books, including my editor, Jessica Wade, my agent, Lucienne Diver, and my continuity editor and assistant, Krista McNamara.

Very special thanks to Jesse Feldman, who offered valuable editing advice, and to Penguin’s fantastic publicity and marketing staff, including Jessica Butler and Jodi Rosoff, without whom no one would know these books existed.

Keely Buesing and Debi Murray provided very helpful advice on medical matters, and Nicole Peeler taught me an outlining trick that kept this book miraculously on track.

To the other fantastic romance and fantasy authors I’ve had the good fortune to meet at conferences over the last year, it has been an absolute pleasure, and I look forward to future shenanigans.

The heartiest of thanks to SHB, who has the unfortunate job of putting up with me when I’m days away from a deadline or sweating the small stuff. You’re the best.