Outlander: Blood Of My Blood Something Borrowed

For five years, the entire vampire world knew that Caelan Vale only drank my blood. Not because I was special. Simply because he chose me, and everyone assumed that made me the Vampire Prince’s only blood source. His only exception. Until tonight. The man who never allowed anyone to touch him lowered his head and drank from another woman’s hand. Isolde Voss. Caelan’s real fiancée. “Claire, you didn’t actually think a human could become a Prince's consort, did you?” I stood there without moving. Humans could only ever remain human. I thought I was the exception. In the end, I never even qualified to be one. I placed the blood bond release papers in front of him and told him they were travel documents. Caelan didn’t even lower his eyes. The black fountain pen slid across the page as he signed his name with careless ease, just like everything he had done to me over the past five years. He had no idea that what he was personally letting go of was not just me. Beneath my cloak, I was already carrying his only half-blood heir. Later, everyone searched for the runaway human. But by then, I had already erased my scent. This time, even the high and mighty Vampire Prince would not find me so easily. Once, I was the one begging for his love. Now, it was his turn.

Finlay MacLeod, the leader of Clan MacLeod, is bound by duty to marry Ailsa MacDonnell, a woman from a rival clan, to secure peace in the Highlands. But each night, he is drawn into the arms of Moira MacEacharn, a mysterious and seductive dark priestess who has haunted him since childhood. Fin believes he is in love, unaware that Moira’s power over him is anything but natural. As Fin’s devotion to Moira threatens the fragile truce between the clans, Ailsa—a healer and practitioner of white magic—begins to suspect that he is under a powerful enchantment. Determined to save him and prevent war, she unearths the truth of an ancient curse binding Fin to the priestess. But breaking the curse proves impossible, as magic demands payment, and Moira refuses to relinquish her claim. Caught between two women and two destinies, Fin must decide whether to fight for his freedom or surrender to the dark pull of the priestess, even as his choices risk the lives of everyone he holds dear.

In VOWED (Book #7 of the Vampire Journals), Caitlin and Caleb find themselves in medieval Scotland, in 1350,of the quest for the Holy Grail said to contain the key to true vampire immortality. Landing on the shores of the ancient Isle of Skye, a remote island off the Western coast of Scotland where only the most elite warriors live and train, they are ecstatic to reunite with Sam and Polly, Scarlet and Ruth, a human king and his warriors, and with all of Aiden’s coven. <br><br>Before they can continue their mission for the fourth and final key, the time has come for Caleb and Caitlin to wed.<br><br>Simultaneously, Sam and Polly, to their own surprise, are each falling deeply in love with one another. As their relationship accelerates, Sam surprises Polly with a vow of his own. And Polly surprises him with her own shocking news. <br><br>But all is not well beneath the surface. Blake has appeared again, and his deep love for Caitlin might just threaten her union, on the day before her wedding. Sera has appeared again, too, and vows to break apart what she cannot have. <br><br>Scarlet, too, finds herself in danger, as the source of her deep powers are revealed—along with the revelation of who are her true parents.

I'd upset my fiancé again, the men I'd grown up beside. All because I wanted to borrow thirty million from him to buy back a ruby brooch. Adrian was heir to the Vampire Prince. To him, the money was nothing. But in front of every servant in the house, his face went cold. "Elena. Don't be greedy." Disdain filled his eyes. "Yes, your mother died saving me fifteen years ago, yet I agreed to marry you." "You're only human. Don't presume on that." My throat closed. I'd been about to explain that the brooch was the only thing I had left of my mother. But Adrian had already looked away, impatient. "Whatever it is, it can wait until I'm back. Stop making a scene." I ran my thumb over the few thin bills in my pocket and lowered my head. A whole year of quiet work for the manor's servants, and that was all I'd saved. I was still wiping my eyes when I got back to my room, and my father called again. "Elena, have you decided? This is for your own good. No matter how long you wait, young Master Adrian will never marry you." "Why don’t you take your stepsister's place. Marry into the North instead. You'll have an easier life." This time, I didn't argue. "Fine. I'll do it." "But I want thirty million in return."

During my three-year-old son's preschool physical, his blood type didn't match mine or my wife's. I had just printed the divorce papers when I suddenly heard my son's voice. [This disgusting man is so stupid. He's raised me, his own little brother, as his son for years and still has no idea!] [Lol, hurry up and get divorced. Once they divorce, I can cling openly to my real mom!] [And divorced men are unwanted anyway. From now on, every dollar he earns will be mine!] My wife was still anxiously explaining, "Honey! I really never betrayed you! Do you really want a divorce?" I looked at my son's tightly closed lips and excited eyes, then tore up the divorce papers instead. "No divorce. Since he isn't our child anyway, let's throw him away."

Three years earlier, my adoptive parents were arrested for human trafficking, and the police finally tracked down my biological family. However, tragedy struck before they could bring me home. They were involved in a car accident on their way to pick me up. My parents and younger sister were killed instantly. Only my older brother, Derrick, survived because he had been working overtime that night. Not long after the accident, he was diagnosed with ALS. When we finally met, hatred filled his eyes. “If it were not for you, our family would still be together.” From that moment, I carried the weight of three deaths on my shoulders. I also took responsibility for the debt left behind by the accident, along with the rest of Derrick’s life. I dropped out of school and worked four jobs at the same time. When I felt hungry, I survived on cheap bread. When I became sick, I endured it and kept going. Every dollar I earned went toward Derrick’s medication. For three years, that was my life. Until one day, while delivering food to a private club, I saw the person who was supposed to be bedridden at home, waiting for me to turn him over in bed. Derrick. He stood beside a billiards table with a cue in his hand. His movements were smooth, precise, and completely free. No trace of illness could be seen. He struck the cue ball cleanly. One of his friends laughed and said, “Derrick, you have been faking ALS for three years. Even if this was a test, do you not think it has gone on long enough?” Derrick lined up another shot without looking up. “Harriet was raised by traffickers for ten years. No one knows what she learned from them. How could we bring her back into the Lawson family without testing her first? “Besides, Sheila was terrified that we would abandon her once we found our real family. She cried about it more than once. We needed to give her time to adjust.” A flicker of discomfort crossed his friend’s face. “However, Harriet has worked herself to the bone to pay for your treatment.” Another ball dropped into a pocket. Derrick smiled, pleased with himself. “Sheila and my parents are flying back tomorrow. Once they arrive, I will arrange for Harriet to return to the Lawson family. After that, I will make it up to her.” I lowered my head as a burning sensation rose inside my nose. A mechanical voice suddenly echoed in my mind. [Congratulations, Host. The Obsession Commission has been completed. Would you like to claim your reward?] I wiped away the blood that trickled from my nose. “Yes,” I replied quietly. “Claim it.” In three days, I would finally be going home. The Lawson family had never been the home I wanted.