Some burdens are inherited. Others are chosen. And some demand blood.
Duncan MacRae has spent his life carrying the weight of his name.
Laird. Warrior. Husband. Father.
And murderer.
Now the secrets he buried beneath his estate are clawing their way into the light. With his clan turning against him, the Crown searching for the truth, and an ancient darkness stirring beneath his home, Duncan can no longer protect his family by hiding what he has done.
Especially when the past delivers one final secret—
a brother Duncan never knew existed.
Callum MacRae was the son meant to be forgotten. The life deemed expendable. And his return reveals a horrifying truth about the MacRae bloodline: the curse haunting their family is far older than Duncan, and every generation has survived by allowing someone else to pay the price.
Now that price may be Maeve.
Isolde has already survived Duncan’s jealousy, his lies, and the terrible truth of the blood spilled in her name. She still loves the man he is trying to become—but love does not erase what came before.
If their marriage is to survive, Duncan must learn the one lesson no MacRae before him ever understood:
Love is not possession. Protection is not control. And no legacy is worth sacrificing the people you love.
As the ancient bargain tightens around their family, Duncan, Isolde, Callum, and Maeve must face the darkness together.
Because this time, the burden will not be passed to another generation.
Even if breaking it costs the MacRaes everything.
The Laird’s Burden is Book Four in The Highlanders Laird Series, a dark Scottish historical romance filled with forbidden secrets, gothic mystery, family betrayal, redemption, and a love powerful enough to challenge generations of blood and darkness.
Genre: Historical Romance
Duncan MacRae has spent his life carrying the weight of his name.
Laird. Warrior. Husband. Father.
And murderer.
Now the secrets he buried beneath his estate are clawing their way into the light. With his clan turning against him, the Crown searching for the truth, and an ancient darkness stirring beneath his home, Duncan can no longer protect his family by hiding what he has done.
Especially when the past delivers one final secret—
a brother Duncan never knew existed.
Callum MacRae was the son meant to be forgotten. The life deemed expendable. And his return reveals a horrifying truth about the MacRae bloodline: the curse haunting their family is far older than Duncan, and every generation has survived by allowing someone else to pay the price.
Now that price may be Maeve.
Isolde has already survived Duncan’s jealousy, his lies, and the terrible truth of the blood spilled in her name. She still loves the man he is trying to become—but love does not erase what came before.
If their marriage is to survive, Duncan must learn the one lesson no MacRae before him ever understood:
Love is not possession. Protection is not control. And no legacy is worth sacrificing the people you love.
As the ancient bargain tightens around their family, Duncan, Isolde, Callum, and Maeve must face the darkness together.
Because this time, the burden will not be passed to another generation.
Even if breaking it costs the MacRaes everything.
The Laird’s Burden is Book Four in The Highlanders Laird Series, a dark Scottish historical romance filled with forbidden secrets, gothic mystery, family betrayal, redemption, and a love powerful enough to challenge generations of blood and darkness.
Genre: Historical Romance
Used availability for Ashley Brooks's The Laird's Burden