After four broken betrothals, Elizabeth Fraser believes her father's political ambitions will keep her from ever finding a husband. Content to be considered on the shelf, Elizabeth would rather be left in peace as one of the queen's ladies in waiting than engage in flirtations that lead nowhere. She never expected one chance encounter months ago would alter the future she had accepted. Will Elizabeth give Edward a second chance to prove he wants more than a dalliance?

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.

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.

When love collides with vengeance, only the strong will survive...Scotland's throne has been stolen by a Pretender King who means to crush all those who oppose him. Four Highlanders refuse to yield. Hell-bent on revenge, they vow to destroy the Pretender and restore Scotland to its rightful King. Laird Domnall MacAyre is out for blood. He bears a personal vendetta against the murderous traitor who helped the Pretender ascend. But when he tracks the traitor to a remote island keep, he finds the man’s sister in his stead.

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.

Buchanan Mackenzie is a new laird, and he's about to be tested. When his half-brother is killed, he must seek vengeance or face the rage of his clansmen. Beyond spilling blood, fate offers him another solution. Taking the daughter of his enemy will appease his angry men, but it leaves him struggling to find peace over making a hostage of a woman. What sort of man settles his disputes with a helpless woman?

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.

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.

Denied his rightful legacy, Maximilian de Vries devised a plan to avenge himself upon his father and see his own future secured. Allied with his two forgotten half-brothers, he descends upon ancient and mysterious Kilderrick, determined to claim it at any price. A woman rumored to be a witch is the sole one bold enough to defy him but Maximilian has a solution - he will take her to wife, whether she be willing or nay, and seal his claim. But this powerful warrior has yet to match wits with Alys Armstrong, a maiden with a thirst for vengeance and a fury that might exceed his own.

Kerr Gordon, next in line to be chief of the Gordon Clan, is tasked by Mary, Queen of Scots to bring to bring a gift to her cousin—and jailer—Queen Elizabeth of England. When he arrives at Whitehall Palace to find a courtly woman tied up in the stables, he acts to save her, only to be rebuked for dispatching an assassin before she could hear his confession. Queen Elizabeth calls Maggie Darby her sacrificial lamb: Maggie's job is to try on all of the queen's gowns and accessories before she wears them—just in case they're poisoned.

As the daughter of a famed author, Isolde Ophelia Goodnight grew up on tales of brave knights and fair maidens. She never doubted romance would be in her future, too. The storybooks offered endless possibilities. And as she grew older, Izzy crossed them off. One by one by one....Now Izzy's given up yearning for romance. She'll settle for a roof over her head. What fairy tales are left over for an impoverished 26-year-old woman who's never even been kissed?

Orphaned Isabel Fitzhugh is fourteen when she first comes to Wolvesley by the sea, traveling with her cousin to see her wed to the formidable Liam MacTavish. She's unimpressed, with both her current situation and her cousin's husband. She thinks he is aloof and arrogant, well deserving of her cousin. But then Liam intercedes on her behalf against a mean-spirited tormentor and everything changes.

Raised by a tyrannical father, Marion de Lacy yearns for the comfort of belonging to a loving family. So when her father announces her betrothal to an evil knight in exchange for his help to overthrow the king, she concocts a desperate scheme to avoid the marriage: feigning her own death and then fleeing England. But when her plan goes terribly awry and she's captured by the knight, not even her careful preparations could ready her for the Scottish barbarian who rescues her and then informs her that he's to marry her.

Laird Robert Sinclair will stop at nothing to exact revenge on Lord Raef Warren, the English scoundrel who brought war to his doorstep and razed his lands and people. Leaving his clan in the Highlands to conduct covert attacks in the Borderlands, Robert lives to be a thorn in Warren's side. So when he finds a beautiful English lass on her way to marry Warren, he whisks her away to the Highlands with a plan to ransom her back to her dastardly fiancé.

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.

Scotland, 1335: The unconventional Lady Katherine McKenna has been granted a rare privilege: the right to choose her own husband. It’s a more difficult task than she expected. When at last she agrees to a betrothal, it quickly goes awry, leaving Katherine alone in the wilds...and rescued by Laird Lachlan MacTavish.

Sir James McKenna, the second son of the powerful McKenna Chief, knows he has found his destiny when he falls in love with sweet Lady Davina Armstrong, niece of the Armstrong Chief. Orphaned in childhood, Davina has always felt like an outsider, and with James, she finally feels that she belongs. But their plans for a happy future are shattered after a brutal attack by a band of rogues.

English knight Sir Adam Dayne is offered the ultimate prize by the earl who raised him: lordship of Langford castle. All he must do is accept a betrothal to the Scottish Marcher warden's beautiful daughter, a match made to keep peace at the tumultuous Anglo-Scottish border. Sir Adam relishes the prospect - until he meets the woman he is to wed. Lady Cora Maxwell hates everything English, including the self-assured new lord who has claimed her hand in marriage. When Adam proposes a unique challenge, Cora is forced to face her greatest fears.

Successful matchmaker Brianagh O'Rourke believes in happily ever afters...just not her own. She's convinced passion exists only in her dreams. When she reluctantly accepts a marriage proposal, Bri decides she needs a vacation - but she doesn't expect it to be in 15th-century Ireland.

Forced into marriage by their king in order to stop years of inter-clan feuding, Sorcha Campbell and Malcolm MacGregor are each determined to drive the other away. Malcolm knows he can never trust his new shrewish wife, despite the fact that everything he observes seems to prove that she's not only trustworthy, but utterly perfect for him. Sorcha knows she can never let her guard down around the man she believes betrayed her father, yet the longer she's with him, the more she discovers he is nothing like she was led to believe.

Orphaned Isabel Fitzhugh is fourteen when she first comes to Wolvesley by the sea, traveling with her cousin to see her wed to the formidable Liam MacTavish. She's unimpressed, with both her current situation and her cousin's husband. She thinks he is aloof and arrogant, well deserving of her cousin. But then Liam intercedes on her behalf against a mean-spirited tormentor and everything changes.

Earl Hugh Dulonget of Hillcrest was a formidable knight, used to getting what he wanted. This time, he got himself into a bind. His uncle’s will had a codicil: He must marry. And Hugh had just insulted his would-be bride by calling her a peasant! How could he win back her esteem - and her hand? Everyone seemed to have advice. But Hugh had ideas of his own.

Beautiful Lady Emily dreams of the rapture of love and the joys of marriage. The youngest daughter of an English lord at war, she is shaken by the arrival of a mysterious stranger to her father's castle. Could this breathtaking man be Emily's yearned-for lover? Indeed, Draven de Montague, earl of Ravenswood, has come for Emily...but romance has nothing to do with it.

His surcoat still bloody from battle, William FitzAlan comes to claim the strategic borderlands granted to him by the king. One last prize awaits him at the castle gates: the lovely Lady Catherine Rayburn. Catherine risked everything to spy for the crown. Her reward? Her lands are declared forfeit and she is given this choice: marry FitzAlan or be taken to the Tower. Catherine agrees to give her handsome new husband her body, but she's keeping secrets, and dare not give him her heart.

In this delightful tale of medieval passion, a loyal knight competes with a dangerous villain for the affections of King Edward III’s comely goddaughter - who is not really the petulant brat she first appears to be.

They call him the Beast - a hardened mercenary whose heart seems as cold as his icy blue gaze. They do not know his true name: Niall Braewick, son of the Laird of Kincaid. It has been years since he escaped into the forest the night his father was murdered. Now he has returned, ablaze with a vengeful hunger. He will gain the MacClaren chief's trust, gather his clan, and take back his lands. And take the MacClaren's daughter as well....

By day, Lady Jenny Mackintosh helps her widowed mother manage their Highland estate. By night, she risks her life to raise troops, weapons, and coin for the Jacobite rebellion. On one late-night mission, she is confronted by a handsome warrior who happens to be vying for the other side.... Toran Fraser is hellbent on taking down the Jacobites responsible for his mother’s death. When he’s intercepted by Jenny and asked to join her cause, he agrees, knowing she can help him uncover the truth. He never expected she would be his enemy....

Born into riches and groomed in English luxury, Margot Armstrong didn't belong in a Scottish chieftain's devil-may-care world. Three years ago she fled their marriage of convenience and hasn't looked back - except to relive the moments spent in wild, rugged Arran McKenzie's passionate embrace. But as their respective countries' fragile unity threatens to unravel, Margot must return to her husband to uncover his role in the treachery before her family can be accused of it.

Brogan Grant, a Jacobite soldier, fought savagely on the battlefield and barely escaped capture. On the run, Brogan comes across what he thinks is a spy - a bonny lass disguised as a lad, who happens to be the daughter of his clan’s enemy. He admires her bravery, but he knows what can happen to a woman alone in a war-ravaged land. Fiona MacBean is determined to do her part to ensure there’s a Scottish king. In disguise, she delivers coded messages to rebels. There’s only one thing impeding her mission - a striking Highlander hell-bent on sending her home.

Once, Abrielle's name was on the lips of every unwed nobleman in London as a proud exceptional lady coveted for her bearing, her breeding, her wit, and her beauty. But when her stepfather, respected for his courage and valor during the Crusades, is denied his rightful title and the wealth that accompanies it, Abrielle finds herself suddenly disgraced, no longer a suitable match for any proper gentleman.

After four broken betrothals, Elizabeth Fraser believes her father's political ambitions will keep her from ever finding a husband. Content to be considered on the shelf, Elizabeth would rather be left in peace as one of the queen's ladies in waiting than engage in flirtations that lead nowhere. She never expected one chance encounter months ago would alter the future she had accepted. Will Elizabeth give Edward a second chance to prove he wants more than a dalliance?

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.

After months at sea, Leif Ivarrson wants nothing more than to revel in the comforts of home. Yet when word arrives that a new threat has invaded their land, Leif is forced to take up his sword once more. Tasked with rescuing a jarl's niece, Sigrid, from this malicious enemy, Leif departs on a journey that will alter the course of his fate.

Scotland, 1642. Maggie and Lachlan must fight their growing attraction, battling suspicion, and intrigue as religious and political turmoil threaten to tear their clans apart.

Though Honora Tannach came of age amid the misty moors of the Scottish highlands, where warring clans battled to the death for the future of their wild land, nothing frightens her so much as a lifetime trapped in the castle of her cruel stepfather. She is thrilled when a marriage is arranged to the son of a Scottish laird...until her betrothed is revealed to be Cavan Sinclare. Though the savage warrior once saved her life, Honora knows no one can tame the heart of such a brute, no matter now finely chiseled his features or how enticing his eyes...

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.

Ivar Sorenson is not only his father's heir to their jarldom, he's his parents' last remaining son. There isn't much choice for the future jarl when his father demands an alliance with their feuding neighbor. That alliance can only come in the form of a marriage...to a woman Ivar doesn't want and doesn't like. Can Ivar convince his father that a marriage is needed to end the feud? Can he prove that the woman he loves is the woman his tribe needs to lead alongside him?

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....

They call him the Beast - a hardened mercenary whose heart seems as cold as his icy blue gaze. They do not know his true name: Niall Braewick, son of the Laird of Kincaid. It has been years since he escaped into the forest the night his father was murdered. Now he has returned, ablaze with a vengeful hunger. He will gain the MacClaren chief's trust, gather his clan, and take back his lands. And take the MacClaren's daughter as well....

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.