**The Vampire Duke's Forbidden Mate**When Maren's mating mark bloomed like spilled wine across her skin, the whole village called her lucky. A human, chosen by fate itself, bound for the capital and a vampire lord who would want her, claim her, *love* her.She believed it too — until she met Cassian.Charming. Devoted. Everything a woman could ask for. Until Maren discovers the truth beneath his perfect smile: a man who mistakes possession for love, and will destroy everything she cares about to keep her.Desperate to protect her sister from Cassian's obsession, Maren makes a bargain with the one man powerful enough to help her — Rhystan Valcourt, the Duke everyone fears and no one refuses.He agrees to help her. He won't say what he wants in return.Every day she stays in his debt is a day closer to losing herself to a man she was never meant to want — and further from the fate that was supposed to be hers.In a world where mates are chosen by blood and bond, Maren must decide: does she belong to the man fate marked her for, or the one she can't stop choosing for herself?