Night Huntress.

Outtakes From the Grave.

Jeaniene Frost.

Foreword by Jeaniene Frost.

The Night Huntress series is a New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling series that has been published in twenty different countries. Just writing that is humbling, because originally I hadn't intended for it to be a series at all.

Although I had wanted to be a writer since I started fashioning stories out of my dreams at age twelve, I'd never had the fortitude to finish an entire novel. Fast-forward to age twenty-nine when I had a dream about a half-vampire woman arguing with a vampire man about why she'd left him. In the dream, I knew the half-vampire woman still loved her fanged former boyfriend but didn't believe they could make it as a couple. I also knew the man had been looking for her for years and wasn't about to give up now that he'd finally found her. Over the next several days, I couldn't stop thinking about the dream. Who were those people? Why had she left him if she loved him? Why had he kept looking for her even after years of no word? How did they fall in love, and what tore them apart? And how did a half-vampire come to be, anyway? Answering those questions eventually became my first novel, Halfway to the Grave. Thus, Cat and Bones's story was born.

Much to my surprise, Halfway to the Grave didn't finish Cat and Bones's story. In fact, I hadn't even gotten to the scene from my dream yet. So as soon as I finished the first book, I started the second one. When I reached the end of that, I realized I was still nowhere near done with their story, so I started writing the third novel. When I finished that, I immediately started the fourth one.

At this point, my husband suggested that I should see if I could get the first novel published before I kept writing more in the same series. I agreed, albeit reluctantly because I wasn't optimistic about my chances. Still, pursuing publication would be a good way to keep writing while also pacifying my husband, so I began looking into how to get published. This was back in 2004, and I knew nothing about the process, nor did I know anyone in the industry. The digital market didn't exist at this point, so self-publishing wasn't a viable option. My chances seemed limited to having a major publisher take a chance on me or never being published at all.

I'll sum up the next two years by saying that I learned about the industry the hard way, such as being scammed by a pay-for-service literary agent. I also learned the hard way that finishing a novel did not mean the novel was ready to be shopped for publication. Since I had written Halfway to the Grave for my own entertainment, I didn't think about things like pacing, sticking to the main plot instead of exploring side stories, staying within genre constraints, or a host of other things that resulted in many, many cuts and rewrites. In 2006, I signed with a legitimate agent who sold the first two Night Huntress novels to Harper Collins. In late 2007, preorders for Halfway to the Grave were strong enough that Harper bought three more novels before the first one was officially released. Their prediction proved correct: Halfway to the Grave debuted on both the New York Times and the USA Today bestseller lists. No one was more surprised about this than me: I made my editor e-mail me a copy of both lists before I believed her.

I ended up being ridiculously blessed by having all seven novels in the Night Huntress series hit those and other bestseller lists. Cat and Bones's story came to its conclusion in Up from the Grave, although they have and will continue to appear as side characters in spin-off novels from the Night Huntress series. For all the reasons listed above, a lot of scenes from Halfway to the Grave, One Foot in the Grave, At Grave's End, and Destined for an Early Grave ended up on the cutting-room floor. Putting them all together made me realize that they equated to more than the size of a full-length novel.

As mentioned, when I originally wrote the books, I didn't only write scenes that advanced the main plot forward at the most brisk pace possible. Instead, in those first drafts, I took more time to explore the characters through alternate scenarios, multiple side plots, additional backstory, and increased revelations. I also wrote several love scenes that never made it into the final versions of the books. It was very, very hard to take those scenes out and to make a choice between different versions when the time came, which is why I saved those old versions instead of deleting them. Over the years, readers requested that I post some of the deleted scenes and/or alternate versions, and I did release a handful of them. Much to my surprise, the overwhelming response I received was that readers wanted more. That is why I decided to compile the best of the deleted scenes and alternate versions into an anthology of sorts, so that readers could see the untold side of Cat and Bones's story in addition to the official, published novels.

This was a big task. I had several different versions of each of the first four novels spread out across old disks, CDs, and/or backup files on my hard drive. For added amusement, some of the files were password protected, and in the decade-plus since I wrote them, I forgot what the passwords were. That meant I had to comb through over ten years of Sent files on my e-mail to see if I'd e-mailed the story to any friends for feedback (I had, thank God!) Then, once I had versions that I could actually open, I had to comb through them to pull out the scenes and alternate versions that people would hopefully want to read. I also wanted to include commentary as to why a particular scene or version didn't make it into the official version so that readers would get a glimpse into the process. Finally, I sent the entire compilation to be professionally edited and proofread. Needless to say, in its original state, there were grammar and spelling errors galore.

The result is Outtakes from the Grave, which includes both previously published as well as never-before-seen deleted scenes and alternate versions with behind-the-scenes commentary and explanations. Where necessary, I've also included bits of scenes that ended up in the published versions to provide context for the deleted/alternate scenes so that they're easier to read. I hope you enjoy getting a chance to explore the adventures of Cat, Bones, and the Night Huntress gang more deeply with these stories and that you enjoy seeing "what might have been" with versions of events that differ from the ones in the books.

The scenes and versions are listed in chronological order according to the series timeline. Each scene or alternate version is broken into its own individual chapter, so you can read them all or skip to the ones you're most interested in. As always, thank you, readers, for taking this journey along with me. I hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I have.

Chapter One.

Original Beginning of Halfway to the Grave.

Author's note: Beginnings are the bane of my existence. I tend to overwrite them and thus end up cutting a lot from my first draft to my published version. Halfway to the Grave was no different. Not only did I overwrite it, I crossed markets because the original beginning shows Cat as a naive, teenage girl, which would have confused editors and agents into thinking that this was a young adult novel instead of an adult paranormal romance. In addition to that, the former beginning is also very violent as it shows Cat encountering her first vampire, so there wasn't much in it to appeal to an editor or agent even if they did figure out that this was an adult romance. That's why, after several rejections, I cut this from the manuscript after realizing that its innocence-lost, homicidal-tendencies-found theme didn't match with the rest of the novel. The original beginning ends at the first sentence of the published version of Halfway to the Grave.

One more difference that readers will notice is Cat's age. In this version, she's only nineteen when she first meets Bones. This was a combination of authorial intrusion and lack of knowledge about the publishing industry. I was moved out and married at nineteen, so I didn't think it was too young for my heroine to be involved in a passionate relationship. I also knew that Cat would age several years between the first book and the second one, so I wasn't worried about her being that age for the entirety of the storyline. However, the agent I eventually signed with told me I needed to make Cat older because she was too young to be a heroine in the traditional adult market. I compromised by aging her up to twenty and then had to age her up again to twenty-two when Harper Collins acquired the novel. I didn't change much else about Cat to match her new age in the story, so later, some readers correctly pointed out in their reviews that Cat seemed to read younger than twenty-two. In the original beginning, however, she's an innocent sixteen-year-old who's about to go toe-to-toe with her first vampire.

When I left my house that day, I'd had absolutely no intention of killing anyone. I'd been looking for my boyfriend, Danny. I met him a few weeks ago when his car broke down near my grandparents' orchard. Driving late at night was one of the ways I escaped from the taunts of other kids over my illegitimacy. That's how small this town was. People still cared about things like that.

Of course, if you compared being illegitimate next to my father being a vampire, it hardly measured up.

Not that my neighbors knew that. Neither did my grandparents, whom my mother and I lived with. People didn't believe in vampires. Only my mother knew what I was. The man who raped her almost seventeen years ago had redefined the term "necking." At least that explained her distant, suspicious nature when it came to everyone, especially me. My mother hated vampires with a pathological passion, and I was half-vampire whether I wanted to be or not.

Danny hadn't called me all week. I called him Monday and left a message. Tuesday, I called again. Wednesday, I left a more worried message. Had he called but my grandparents hadn't told me? They thought I was too young to date, so that wouldn't have surprised me.

By Thursday, I imagined all sorts of horrible things that might have befallen Danny. He was a victim of a robbery. Or a car accident. Food poisoning. In jail for driving while drinking. My mind was an endless supply of bad possibilities. When Friday came, I was nearly sick with worry. I knew there were other, more terrible things that could have happened to Danny. Things no average police department would know about.

Without telling my mother where I was going, I set off for Danny's apartment. He lived an hour away in Columbus. When I pulled up to his building, I flew out of my truck and pounded on his door. No answer, and his car wasn't there. Okay, no luck here, but someone had to know if he was okay. After a few wrong turns, I found his friend George's frat house where Danny had taken me the previous weekend. I parked out front and pushed my way through the milling college kids.

A guy stopped me on my way to George's room. "Who are you?"

I smiled up at him. "I'm Catherine. I'm looking for George, I was here last week. He, uh, helped me with my license."

George was a counterfeiter in addition to being a college student. Last Saturday he'd made me a license showing I was twenty-one. Danny already had one. That was the point, so I could go to the places Danny went to.

"Wait here. I'll see if George is still around."

A few minutes later George came down, looking confused and slightly irritable. "Cathy, what're you doing here? You didn't lose your ID already, did you?"

"George." My voice cracked a bit from strain. "Have you seen Danny? I haven't been able to get ahold of him all week. Is he all right?"

Something I couldn't name passed over his face. "Yes, Danny's fine. In fact, I think he's at Galaxy, the club the two of you went to last week. You remember where it is?"

"Um, we never made it last weekend." I knew my face was red, but I didn't let it stop me. "Can you give me directions?"

Reluctance was written all over him, but I persisted. When I had the directions, I thanked him and left, so excited to know Danny was okay that I forgot to wonder why he hadn't called me.

Galaxy turned out to be huge. Their doors were open, the sounds of music spilling into the parking lot. I walked up to the entrance hesitantly but with determination, not about to let a thing like nerves stop me. At the door the bouncer gave a hard look at my fake driver's license, holding it under his light and comparing it to my face. I tried to look blase and smiled as if I didn't have a care in the world. All I needed was to go to jail for possession of false identification, but he finally waved me inside. The music was pounding, and it seemed like hundreds of gyrating bodies were all around me. My plain white T-shirt turned hues of neon in the fluorescent glare of the lights. Pushing through the dancers was like walking through deep water. When I found my way to the nearest bar, I scanned the people around it. No Danny yet.

"Buy you a drink?" a voice behind me asked.

I whirled, smiling, but it wasn't Danny. An unknown guy in a red shirt grinned at me.

"No thanks," I said, and turned back to the crowd.

From my vantage point, I noticed there were several bars in the club. Wading once more through the living barricades, I reached the other side in what seemed like an hour. My head had started to pound along with the music, and my eyes were sore from the flashes of light scoring the room. The second and third bars were no more helpful. Despair began to set in that George had been wrong and Danny wasn't here after all. I leaned against the wall, glancing at the second floor of the club. People were gathered by a banister that overlooked the main floor. As I watched, a familiar sandy-colored head came into view.

"Danny!" I yelled, but to no avail as he wouldn't have heard a bullhorn in this noise. With relief, I pushed my way to the stairs and sprinted up them toward Danny.

The broad smile of greeting I wore dropped from my face when I saw him more clearly. A blond girl was in front of him, her hands on his chest. She was grinning as he leaned down to kiss her. I stared, shocked, as Danny put his arms around the girl.

After a long minute, he broke the kiss-and finally noticed me. "Oh shit," he muttered.

I heard him. I shouldn't have with all the background noise, but my hearing wasn't normal. Neither was my eyesight, and I absorbed every emotion on his face as he looked from her to me.

"Catherine! Er... What are you doing here?" Danny stepped back from the pretty blonde, who gave me a belittling glance as she took in my jeans, sneakers, and T-shirt.

"Is this the girl you were telling me about, Danny? The one you just broke up with?"

"What?" It was a gasp of outrage, not a question. My hands balled into fists, and I took several deep breaths to calm down. Control your anger. You can't let anyone know what you are.

"Can you give me a second?" Danny asked the blonde.

She tossed one more snotty glance at me and then smiled. "Sure. I'll be at the bar."

Danny waited until she'd walked away before speaking again. "Catherine, I was going to call you, because I've been thinking. You're just sixteen; I'm almost twenty. You're too young... it wouldn't work out between us."

After everything he'd said to me the previous weekend, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You told me you cared about me, that you'd never felt this way before, that I meant so much to you..." Every item was ticked off in a low hiss. "That was five days ago, Danny! And now you've changed your mind?" My anger covered the hurt welling inside me. I desperately wanted him to take back what he'd just said.

Danny lowered his head, flicking his gaze around him to see if anyone else was paying attention to this scene. The dimple in his chin wrinkled when he pursed his lips, seeming to choose his words. "It's like this, Catherine," he began in a tone he'd never used with me before. "I thought we could have some fun, and you seemed into it as well. Right until it was time to actually have fun, and then you got all coy and hesitant. So I told you what you needed to hear. Get over it-it's not a big deal. It wasn't even that good. Now go on home. Isn't it past your bedtime?"

Danny turned around without another word. He went to the bar, slung an arm around the smirking blonde, and walked away. I watched them go, transfixed, while emotions slammed over me. I had been used, plain and simple. Used like the stupid hick farm girl I apparently was. All week long I'd been worried about Danny. Worried and happy and ignorant and disposable. Tears began to trickle down my cheeks. When I'd first begun dating Danny, I'd thought maybe there was a chance I could live a normal life despite what I was. Hopelessness felt so much harsher after I'd been allowed to hope. My hurt was soon followed by despair. It must be my bloodline. Maybe I was being punished for the evil inside me, no matter that it wasn't my fault it was there.

"He isn't worth it."

I didn't know who the voice behind me belonged to, but without turning around, I nodded. "I guess he isn't." My voice was a rasp. I barely recognized it.

"Have a drink with me."

"Okay."

Still I didn't turn around but kept my eyes on Danny and his blonde until they disappeared into the crowd. A cool hand touched my arm, making me flinch at the twinge of static electricity. I let the guy lead me to the nearby bar and sat on the stool as if in a daze. My unknown escort ordered two gin and tonics. When a cold glass was pressed into my hand, I finally glanced at my new companion.

My first thought was, he looks familiar. I know him, before realizing his face was entirely foreign to me. Black hair brushed his shoulders and his skin was almost the same pale shade as my own. But such skin. Smooth, opalescent... like cream poured over diamonds. Hazel eyes looked right into mine with a stare that seemed to pin me to my seat. The air around him held a faint crackle, as if somehow he'd managed to harness an electrical field as a coat.

Yeah, you could say I knew right away the man sitting next to me was a vampire.

"You're staring." He said it chidingly, but it didn't seem to bother him.

"Yes, I'm staring," I agreed, shock making me numb. Right next to me, sipping a drink, was a real live-sort of-vampire. I couldn't stop looking him up and down. After months of hearing about vampires, here was one in the flesh. My mother had said they looked just like normal people, but she was wrong. With the perfection of his skin and that tingling energy coming off him, I couldn't understand how anyone thought he was human.

A sudden fear gripped me. Could he tell what I was? Was that why he'd stopped me? My stomach gave a frightened lurch. I grabbed the gin and tonic, downing it in one swallow.

The vampire gave me a surprised glance before ordering another one. "Thirsty, aren't you?" he remarked.

"Aren't you?" I blurted out, then nearly choked. Smart one, Catherine.

"Of course." He brought his glass to his mouth and took a sip, then smiled. "That's better."

I suppressed a scoff, my mother's words ringing in my head. They're demons, Catherine. Monsters. All they want to do is trick people so they can get them alone and kill them. We'd see about that.

"What's your name?" My tone was steady, but nerves made me gulp my second drink as quickly as I had the first one. It was finished before he answered me.

"Anthony."

"Anthony what?" I stared right into his eyes now, challenging him. A strange peace had descended over me. It was a savage serenity, but with purpose. Danny had dumped me, I had no friends, and my life was a constant source of shame for my mother. What did I have to lose? This vampire was out for blood, but maybe I could turn the tables on him.

"Anthony Dansen. What's yours, beautiful girl?"

I knew he'd probably given me a fake name, and after Danny, I never wanted to hear another man call me Catherine.

"My name is... Cat." And you are my mouse, or I am yours. May the best beast win.

He smiled, confident and predatory. "Cat what?"

I looked at his hair. It was so dark it could have belonged on a bird's wing. "Raven."

"Isn't that unusual? One half on the opposite spectrum from the other."

With an answering, cold smile, I finished my drink, signaling the waiter for another one. "You have no idea."

After nine more drinks, I allowed Anthony to convince me that I was in no shape to drive. I was kind of surprised that I wasn't drunk from all the booze, but so far so good. Anthony was very considerate, helping me as I pretended to stagger toward the exit. He'd even been a great listener as I told him how I'd been dumped by Danny. Why not? One of us was going to be dead by sunup, so no need to worry about him repeating my humiliating confession. Anthony had oozed sympathy too. It was a good act. If I hadn't known what he was, gullible me might have bought it.

We stopped by my truck so I could get my purse, since I insisted I couldn't leave without it. What he didn't know was that I had a surprise inside that bag, something my mom had given me. I'd soon find out if it was as effective as she'd hoped. I gave Anthony directions in the exact opposite of where I lived. If I died, I didn't want him to look up my family. My driver's license was the fake one, so the address on it was bogus. In short, I was as ready as I was ever going to be.

When I climbed into his car, a lovely dark blue Passat, I put my purse between my body and the interior door. Then I pretended to snooze as we got underway, but in reality, I was reaching into my bag to wrap my fingers around a large silver cross.

I wasn't praying; the cross had a hidden silver dagger inside of it. Some kids got new cars on their sixteenth birthday. My mom had given me a big cross that had a secret switchblade in it. Soon enough I'd find out if silver actually killed vampires, or if crosses repelled them. I would have liked to have had a piece of sharp wood too, just in case, but I hadn't figured on running into a vampire.

Anthony drove in silence for about twenty minutes before he turned off the highway and onto a side road. I knew this because even though my eyes were closed, I could feel the ground change from concrete to bumpy dirt and gravel. Still, I continued my sleeping act. After about fifteen minutes, Anthony stopped. My hand tightened around the cross until it ached. Since my heart was pounding now, which even I could hear, I quit faking sleep and opened my eyes.

Rows of trees were in front of me. Through them, I could see the silvery outline of water. If you wanted to suck someone's blood and dump their body in a secluded place, this spot was postcard-perfect for it.

"Where are we?" I didn't have to fake the tremor in my voice. I was completely alone with a monster who would most likely kill me.

"I wanted to pull off and spend some time with you. You don't like the sound of that?" Anthony made his voice sound vulnerable and sexy. Quite an act, but then practice probably made perfect.

"I want to go home. I'm tired, a little drunk, and I think we should leave."

There. I'd said it firmly. If I was crazy and he was just a regular guy looking for a good time, he'd put the keys back in the ignition and drive off. No harm, no foul.

To my complete lack of surprise, he smiled instead and touched my cheek. "You're beautiful, Cat." He moved closer, leaning in until his mouth was inches from mine. "Kiss me."

His voice dropped to a lower, deeper octave. Smooth as the air outside. He didn't wait for my response but kissed me, his mouth slanting over mine. Anthony's lips were cooler than mine, but I'd been braced for him feeling cold and gross, and I was surprised when he didn't. The thought flashed through my mind that he was a much better kisser than Danny had been too. That was completely absurd, however, because we were here to kill each other.

"Anthony, don't." I pressed against his chest. It didn't move him an inch. My right hand tightened on the concealed cross. "I want to go home."

He stopped kissing me and lifted his head. I screamed, unable to help it. His eyes, which had been hazel at the bar, now glowed a clear bright green. A cruel smile wreathed his face, and yes, poking out from between his lips were pointy, murderous-looking teeth.

"I'm sorry, Cat, but you won't be going anywhere tonight."

His voice had lost that seductive tone. My heart hammered, seeming to be stuck somewhere in my throat. For a few moments that seemed to stretch longer, I watched Anthony bend toward my neck.