Fierce Highland Secrets
(2026)(The fourth book in the Reckless Hearts of the Highlands series)
A Story by Larissa Emerald
The Raven Shifter of Loch Ness
Dr. Maisie MacLeod has built her career on stories she does not believe.
Sent to Loch Ness to document disappearing Highland folklore before a shoreline development project changes the village forever, Maisie plans to collect a few legends, dismiss a few monster sightings, and return to Edinburgh with research strong enough to secure her future.
She does not plan to be robbed by a sarcastic raven.
Nor does she expect the thief to become Cor Rìbhach—a maddeningly clever, dangerously handsome raven shifter who claims she must leave Loch Ness before the next full moon… or lose far more than her academic reputation.
Something ancient has awakened beneath the loch.
For centuries, the Hidden Deep kept the Highlands’ most painful truths: lost songs, unspoken apologies, broken promises, and memories too heavy to carry alone. But now the darkness beneath the water is collecting again. Villagers are losing their voices. Music is vanishing from the air. And the legendary creature everyone calls Nessie may be the only guardian standing between the village and a flood of magic powerful enough to drown them all.
The silver thistle pin Maisie has carried since childhood is the key to stopping it—and to a secret that binds her family to the loch. With Cor as her reluctant guide, Maisie must follow a forgotten folk-song into the depths, where every hidden truth has teeth and silence can become a monster.
But Cor has secrets of his own. Secrets that may prove he has been using Maisie from the moment she arrived.
To save Loch Ness, Maisie must do the one thing she has always feared: speak her truth without knowing whether anyone will believe her. And Cor must discover that redemption is not an endless punishment—but a choice to be seen, forgiven, and loved.
Because beneath the dark waters of Loch Ness, every secret waits to be heard.
And some hearts are worth risking the truth for.
Fierce Highland Secrets is Book Four in the Reckless Hearts of the Highlands novella series. Each story can be enjoyed as a standalone.
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Dr. Maisie MacLeod has built her career on stories she does not believe.
Sent to Loch Ness to document disappearing Highland folklore before a shoreline development project changes the village forever, Maisie plans to collect a few legends, dismiss a few monster sightings, and return to Edinburgh with research strong enough to secure her future.
She does not plan to be robbed by a sarcastic raven.
Nor does she expect the thief to become Cor Rìbhach—a maddeningly clever, dangerously handsome raven shifter who claims she must leave Loch Ness before the next full moon… or lose far more than her academic reputation.
Something ancient has awakened beneath the loch.
For centuries, the Hidden Deep kept the Highlands’ most painful truths: lost songs, unspoken apologies, broken promises, and memories too heavy to carry alone. But now the darkness beneath the water is collecting again. Villagers are losing their voices. Music is vanishing from the air. And the legendary creature everyone calls Nessie may be the only guardian standing between the village and a flood of magic powerful enough to drown them all.
The silver thistle pin Maisie has carried since childhood is the key to stopping it—and to a secret that binds her family to the loch. With Cor as her reluctant guide, Maisie must follow a forgotten folk-song into the depths, where every hidden truth has teeth and silence can become a monster.
But Cor has secrets of his own. Secrets that may prove he has been using Maisie from the moment she arrived.
To save Loch Ness, Maisie must do the one thing she has always feared: speak her truth without knowing whether anyone will believe her. And Cor must discover that redemption is not an endless punishment—but a choice to be seen, forgiven, and loved.
Because beneath the dark waters of Loch Ness, every secret waits to be heard.
And some hearts are worth risking the truth for.
Fierce Highland Secrets is Book Four in the Reckless Hearts of the Highlands novella series. Each story can be enjoyed as a standalone.
Genre: Paranormal Romance