Bound By Blood

Bound by Blood Hallow Rising, Book One The mountains remember their guardians.And they remember what was sworn. Lyra walks the Appalachian ridgelines as a trusted park ranger-known, respected, and woven into the community she protects. What no one sees is the truth beneath her human skin. She is a dragon. A dragon shifter. For centuries, Lyra has guarded her mountain range in silence, bound by ancient vows older than the roads she patrols and the towns nestled below. She lives carefully among mortals, balancing modern life with an oath that demands restraint, vigilance, and control. Until the Wampus awakens. When a mutilated body is found deep in the mountains and another man vanishes without a trace, Lyra knows exactly what hunts her land. The Wampus is no legend-she is an ancient predator born of old magic. Patient. Intelligent. Lethal. Tracking the creature through shadowed hollers and treacherous ridgelines draws Lyra closer to Taren-a dragon guardian sworn to another range and bound to her through the dream-flame, a rare and intimate magic that allows them to sense one another across distance and time. Their connection burns with restraint, longing, and desire... and with the danger of everything they are forbidden to claim. As the Wampus tightens her grip on a captive still alive, the mountains demand action. Lyra must hunt the predator, save the missing man, and keep the mortal world from discovering what truly walks among them-before blood is spilled that cannot be undone. Dark, atmospheric, and steeped in Appalachian folklore, Bound by Blood is the first book in Hallow Rising, a spicy romantasy series featuring dragon shifters in human form, ancient vows, folklore-rooted danger, and a slow-burn fated romance where devotion is tested, control frays, and old magic rises. Perfect for readers who love: Spicy romantasy with slow-burn tensionDragon shifters and ancient guardiansAppalachian folklore and dark fantasyFated bonds, forbidden longing, and mythic stakes