The Secret Vampire Lord's Contract Bride

“I lived in my brother's cramped house, working eighteen-hour days restoring old books while drowning in debt. Then my sister-in-law decided my future was the perfect bargaining chip to secure a lucrative timber contract. She demanded I marry Billy Tucker, the arrogant, abusive son of the local sawmill owner. When I refused, Billy cornered me in the kitchen, his beefy hand reaching for me. He sneered that nobody in Duskport tells a Tucker no, and that I belonged to him whether I signed the papers willingly or not. My sister-in-law cursed me as an ungrateful brat, screaming that I was ruining their livelihood. And my own brother? He just stared at his boots, swallowing his guilt as they sold me off like cheap merchandise. I backed away, my chest trembling with panic and disgust. Was my life really worth nothing more than a logging deal? Was there truly no escape from this rain-soaked town and the family that betrayed me? Just as Billy lunged forward, my phone buzzed with a blocked number. "We have a solution to your current domestic impasse," a chilling, ice-cold voice said. The offer was a 'Blood Ward Accord'-absolute protection from my relatives, in exchange for marrying Julian Sinclair. He was supposedly a broke, unemployed rideshare driver. But when he took my hand, his skin was as cold as a frozen lake, and his eyes burned with a terrifying, inhuman stillness. I didn't care. To escape the monsters in my family, I ran into the freezing storm and signed my soul over to a real one.”