New York Times best-selling author Hannah Howell is a master of Scottish historical romance. In Highland Hero, she shares four of her finest short stories featuring heroes as wild and captivating as the Highlands themselves.

Storm Eldon was first caught up in the war between England and Scotland as a young girl, when she and her family were held hostage by their sworn enemies, the MacLagans. Years later, Storm finds herself trapped in the clutches of her Scottish adversaries once again. Now she must fight to preserve her loyalties, guard her virtue, and resist the charms of Tavis MacLagan, her handsome Highland captor....

On the eve of her wedding to the heir of Saiturn Manor, the stunningly beautiful Gytha is shocked to learn that her betrothed, a man she barely knew, is dead. Now she must marry the new heir, Thayer Saiturn, a battle-hardened knight known as the Red Devil.... With a face scarred in battle and a heart broken in love, Thayer has no interest in marriage. But not even the Red Devil can break the promise his foster-father made years ago and soon finds himself married to a woman whose exquisite beauty and sweet innocence intrigue him.

For Chloe Wherlocke, it all begins with a vision - a glimpse into the future that foretells a terrible plot against Lord Julian Kenwood and his newborn son. Chloe's psychic gift allows her to save the child from certain death, but the earl remains in grave peril.... Julian Kenwood knows someone is trying to kill him, and he suspects his scheming wife and her lover are behind the plot. But Julian is shocked when Chloe, a captivating, dark-haired stranger, warns him that sinister forces are indeed at hand - and exposes a devastating secret that changes his life forever....

As wild as the rugged north country where she was raised, Saxan Honey Todd has sworn to avenge the murder of her twin brother. Recklessly, she gallops across the English countryside in pursuit of the man she believes to be his murderer: Botolf, Earl of Regenford. As hard and unyielding as the armor he wears in battle, Botolf is irresistibly drawn to the impetuous beauty who has come to wage war with him. Saxan stirs his passion to the point of madness, but to love her would be madness indeed.

Annabel was about to take the veil to become a nun, when her mother suddenly arrived at the abbey to take her home...so that she can marry the Scottish laird who is betrothed to her runaway sister! She knows nothing about being a wife, nothing about how to run a household, and definitely nothing about the marriage bed. From the moment Ross MacKay sets eyes on Annabel, he is taken with his shy, sweet bride...and the fact that she's blessed with lush curves only makes him utter his own prayers of thanks. But when an enemy endangers her life, he'll move the Highlands themselves to save her.

The windswept Scottish Highlands hold great beauty, but also great danger. So when Aimil Mengue's abducted by a feuding clan, she's right to fear for her life - and her virtue. For Aimil's keeper is the infamous warrior Parlan MacGuin. Aimil sets out to hate him, but Parlan is more honorable - and infinitely more alluring - than expected. Though betrothed to another, Aimil cannot deny her startling desire for the man who holds her captive. Parlan MacGuin knows well his reputation as a fierce warrior; he uses it to claim land and lovers.

Fleeing with only her bow, horse, enormous pet wolf, and the cryptic clues hidden in her mother's medicine journal, healer Meg Boswell gallops north toward freedom, running from the man who falsely accused her mother of witchcraft. Cursed with magical healing abilities, Meg knows that if she's captured, she will die like her mother - atop a blazing witch's pyre.

Clever and bold, Ella Sutherland has won the right to call herself chief of her clan and struggles to hold onto the chiefdom against those who doubt a woman’s rule. When she’s captured by the darkly handsome Sinclair chief, she chooses death over wedding him and giving up her clan to their long-time enemy. For she has a secret, an oath she took years ago to protect and keep the clan seat for a great ruler to come. Cain refuses to let his brother, Death, honor Ella’s choice with an execution. He’s never before met a woman so brave and passionate.

Lady Eve Sotherby dreams of escaping her horrid life in England, yet she has nowhere to run. So when she spies a posting for a companion in the Highlands, she seizes the chance to disappear. She’s heard tales about the barbaric Highlanders, of course, but no one can be worse than the beast she once foolishly agreed to wed. And never mind that she doesn’t meet any of the requirements for the position: must have no family, must love the cold, and must know the healing arts.

Marian Fletcher Blackley, Duchess of Endsmere, is on the run from the English Crown for killing her abusive husband...no matter that it was self-defense. She has only one safe place to go - the MacKinlay clan in Scotland, where her sister is the laird's wife.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and no one is more desperate than Highlander Alasdair MacRae. His clan is on the verge of disaster thanks to continuous raids from the lying, thieving, murdering MacKenzies. Their latest strike has left Alasdair’s family on the precipice of starvation, and his brother badly wounded. The time has come to hit back, and what better blow to deliver than to kidnap his enemy’s daughter and use her to negotiate much-needed peace.

On the run from a dangerous man, Ava Sutton flees to the Isle of Mull off the coast of Scotland. Masquerading as a titled, English lady, Ava must convince the cynical and darkly handsome chief of the Macleans of Aros to wed her before the devil tracks her down. Tor Maclean, the new chief of Aros Castle, has sworn off marriage after his first wife tricked him into it. Despite his efforts to scare away the Englishwoman, his father arranged for him to wed, Tor is drawn to her fire, courage, and beauty.

Best-selling author Monica McCarty transports listeners to the 14th-century Scottish highlands in this dazzling novel. Warrior Tor MacLeod is picked by Robert the Bruce to lead the fight against English rule. Despite Tor’s rigid disposition and devotion to his craft, his new bride is determined to warm his heart.

A lass begging to marry him might top the list of "oddest things to happen," but Chief Adam Macquarie is desperate. And no matter how much he hates to do it, he's not above lying to get what he wants. Starting with the fact that he just omitted the truth about the situation back at his home - where there are no women and only a handful of other people. Because he has a secret need for a wife himself, one she won't be too happy about when she finds out.

New York Times best-selling author Hannah Howell is a master of Scottish historical romance. In Highland Hero, she shares four of her finest short stories featuring heroes as wild and captivating as the Highlands themselves.

Storm Eldon was first caught up in the war between England and Scotland as a young girl, when she and her family were held hostage by their sworn enemies, the MacLagans. Years later, Storm finds herself trapped in the clutches of her Scottish adversaries once again. Now she must fight to preserve her loyalties, guard her virtue, and resist the charms of Tavis MacLagan, her handsome Highland captor....

Left a bequest by a woman with rare psychic powers, Eada of Pevensey suddenly finds herself in possession of a box containing a mysterious document...and something even more extraordinary: the gift of second sight. Now she can actually "see" her chilling fate: a Norman invader with sea-dark eyes riding across the fields to claim her lands...and her love.

Cathal MacNachton and Connall MacAdie are cousins bound by far more than blood ties and the rugged Highland landscape their clan calls home. The ancient curse of their ancestry has fated them to live by night with an unquenchable thirst that neither can tame. The only thing that can save their souls is marriage to Outsiders - mortals whose untainted blood will weaken the curse in their children and break the chains of fear that have made their clan a breed apart.

Pleasance Dunstan is used to silently bearing the cruelties put upon her by her thoughtless family. But nothing can prepare her for the greatest indignity of all: being sold into servitude to a man as wild as Tearlach O'Duine. His untamed ways are whispered of throughout town, and he has set his sights on Pleasance to be more than his servant. He will have her in his bed.

For Chloe Wherlocke, it all begins with a vision - a glimpse into the future that foretells a terrible plot against Lord Julian Kenwood and his newborn son. Chloe's psychic gift allows her to save the child from certain death, but the earl remains in grave peril.... Julian Kenwood knows someone is trying to kill him, and he suspects his scheming wife and her lover are behind the plot. But Julian is shocked when Chloe, a captivating, dark-haired stranger, warns him that sinister forces are indeed at hand - and exposes a devastating secret that changes his life forever....

On the eve of her wedding to the heir of Saiturn Manor, the stunningly beautiful Gytha is shocked to learn that her betrothed, a man she barely knew, is dead. Now she must marry the new heir, Thayer Saiturn, a battle-hardened knight known as the Red Devil.... With a face scarred in battle and a heart broken in love, Thayer has no interest in marriage. But not even the Red Devil can break the promise his foster-father made years ago and soon finds himself married to a woman whose exquisite beauty and sweet innocence intrigue him.

The windswept Scottish Highlands hold great beauty, but also great danger. So when Aimil Mengue's abducted by a feuding clan, she's right to fear for her life - and her virtue. For Aimil's keeper is the infamous warrior Parlan MacGuin. Aimil sets out to hate him, but Parlan is more honorable - and infinitely more alluring - than expected. Though betrothed to another, Aimil cannot deny her startling desire for the man who holds her captive. Parlan MacGuin knows well his reputation as a fierce warrior; he uses it to claim land and lovers.

"Kiss of the Vampire" by Hannah Howell Seeking the truth of his tortured heritage at court, Jankyn McNachton finds something he never expected - true desire. Efrica Callan is beautiful, innocent, and possessed of a courageous heart. She spurns the men who court her dowry, but all Jankyn can offer Efrica is life in the darkness - and in his arms.

As wild as the rugged north country where she was raised, Saxan Honey Todd has sworn to avenge the murder of her twin brother. Recklessly, she gallops across the English countryside in pursuit of the man she believes to be his murderer: Botolf, Earl of Regenford. As hard and unyielding as the armor he wears in battle, Botolf is irresistibly drawn to the impetuous beauty who has come to wage war with him. Saxan stirs his passion to the point of madness, but to love her would be madness indeed.

Faced with a feud with the Sinclairs that is growing deadly, Laird Tristan Mackay is bound by duty to his clan to make peace with the enemy. Tristan arranges a marriage for his stepbrother, Sir Alan, but never imagines that he would meet the woman he longs to marry. When things sour quickly between Tristan's stepbrother and Lady Mairghread Sinclair, Tristan is determined to make her his.

At age 11, Alex Sinclair pledges an oath to the Duke of Chatham promising to serve and protect his illegitimate daughter, Lucy FitzHarris. Nine years later, the duke unexpectedly takes Alex up on his vow, offering the future Laird of Balforss his daughter's hand in marriage. Now a man, hotheaded Alex has difficulty convincing Lucy - who would rather starve to death than marry a vulgar Scot - to go through with the arranged marriage.

Thane MacQuarie, chieftain of Clan MacQuarie, has his sights set on taking over Duart Castle and exacting vengeance on the mother who abandoned him. But when he witnesses a cruel man leave his wife, Tamsin Garvie, to drown on a rock in the sea, Thane can’t ignore the plight of the red-haired beauty. Left to die by her brutal husband, Tamsin prays for rescue, knowing she must survive to save her young daughter from the monster she married. Thane delivers her from the icy grip of Loch Tuath, but Tamsin’s injuries require more aid than he can provide.

Maggie Ramsay has never forgotten Randall Baines, the English lord who tormented her beloved sister when they were children. After her sister is injured in a senseless accident, she decides to make Baines pay for what he did...only she gets more than she bargained for. Her brother's mysterious friend joins her as soon as she leaves her clan alone, insisting on keeping her safe, and when they reach Baines's castle, she learns the lord is now an earl and his cruelty to women and lassies has only escalated. The discovery fills her with a fire that will not be banked.

Adair Radcliffe is only a child when her family perishes in the War of the Roses, so her real father, the womanizing King Edward IV, takes her in, honoring his promise to her mother. Once Adair turns 16, the king marries her off without her knowledge - and to her later outrage - in a wedding by proxy. But when tragedy leaves her a widow twice over, Adair realizes that her already tenuous social position has sunk even lower. Now, all she can do is hope that the Scottish laird to whom she is sold will have mercy on her. But little does master or servant suspect that love knows no rank.