What Does 'Blood Is Thicker Than Water' Really Mean?

"This doesn't make sense," I whispered, my hand on the door knob. "We can't tell mom and dad," he whispered back into the darkness. "You can't be my mate!?" I hissed back, "You're my brother." "I'm not going to resist the sparks, April," he growled, "or the pull, and feeling of want... Do you hear me?" "W-what?" "I want you so bad it hurts," he whispered. It was like my lips moved and spoke for me. "Then take me." His warm lips smashed onto mine, finding them in the dark. Sparks lit the tiny closet up, and suddenly I knew where he was, almost as if we were in a room full of light. I could see every move he made, and I wanted him to make a move on me. I kissed him back with force and longing. My first kiss is with my brother. My mate

My dad has died in a car crash when I'm seven years old. So, my mom marries her first love, Robert Hayes, and integrates me into his family. During the first meal with my new family, Robert announces a newly instated family rule. "From now on, we have to split the bills in this family." Once I eat a piece of steak, Robert tells me to pay him 300 dollars for the meal. I just look at my stepsister, Harper Hayes, who's digging into her meal happily. "Harper ate steak as well. Why didn't you ask her to pay you back, Dad?" "That's because Harper's my biological daughter. I love her, and she has the bloodline privileges," Robert answers. Then, I glance at Mom. So, Robert adds, "Your mom is my wife. I love her, which means she has privileges as well. But in your case, we're not related by blood, nor do we have any ties of affection with each other. I'm not obligated to raise you at all, Maddie."

For five years, the entire vampire world knew that Caelan Vale only drank my blood. Not because I was special. Simply because he chose me, and everyone assumed that made me the Vampire Prince’s only blood source. His only exception. Until tonight. The man who never allowed anyone to touch him lowered his head and drank from another woman’s hand. Isolde Voss. Caelan’s real fiancée. “Claire, you didn’t actually think a human could become a Prince's consort, did you?” I stood there without moving. Humans could only ever remain human. I thought I was the exception. In the end, I never even qualified to be one. I placed the blood bond release papers in front of him and told him they were travel documents. Caelan didn’t even lower his eyes. The black fountain pen slid across the page as he signed his name with careless ease, just like everything he had done to me over the past five years. He had no idea that what he was personally letting go of was not just me. Beneath my cloak, I was already carrying his only half-blood heir. Later, everyone searched for the runaway human. But by then, I had already erased my scent. This time, even the high and mighty Vampire Prince would not find me so easily. Once, I was the one begging for his love. Now, it was his turn.

My sister was the golden child, the pride of our family, but she had a rare blood disorder that required treatments costing thousands every month. To keep her alive, I became her personal blood donor, working nonstop to pay for her care and delivering food all day and night. But one day, she nearly died from hemorrhaging after trying to abort a pregnancy. That’s when I learned the child she was carrying belonged to my boyfriend. When I confronted him, he didn’t even flinch. Instead, he dragged me to the operating table himself. “You were born to be her blood bank. Dying for her? It’s the best thing you’ll ever do.” I was left there, bleeding out, my life slipping away with every drop. But as death closed in, something changed. The people who once hoped I’d disappear—the ones who used me, betrayed me—they all began to unravel, losing their insanity.

My sister is diagnosed with leukemia after a medical checkup at the hospital where I work. My bone marrow is a match for her. Out of curiosity, I tell my family I'm the one who's sick. They vehemently oppose to her donating her bone marrow to me. "A bone marrow donation is risky! We can't let your sister put herself in danger." "Don't drag your sister into this just because you're sick. Everyone's life and death is fated—you have to accept your destiny." My sister also refuses to help me, brushing me off with the excuse that she's preparing to conceive. My relationship with my family is strained, so their behavior thoroughly destroys it. When I realize this, I leave the diagnosis report behind and walk out on them.

My foster sister, Gloria Binder, and I married a pair of werewolf brothers. I married the older brother, the steady one who ran the Dixon household. She married the man who held power over the entire pack. We got pregnant in the same year. In a couple of months, they would be able to take a sample of our babies' cardiogen and use it as medicine to treat their fathers' illness. Two months before my due date, the gates of the outer villa were kicked open. The intruders beat me, fists and boots coming down hard, then forced a bowl of labor-inducing medicine down my throat. I screamed at the maid beside me to run and get my mate. But all I got back was his message. He was furious. "You said you wanted peace and quiet and insisted on staying at the secluded villa to rest. Now you're pulling something this low just to drag me over there? I don't have time to waste on you. Judy needs a few plants moved into her yard. She's delicate and can't do heavy work. I'm helping her." The medicine had already taken effect. I could feel the baby thrashing, as if it were about to tear its way out of me. I would have died from the pain if Gloria hadn't come back from gathering herbs and saved my life. She sent people to find my mate and demand justice for me. Yet, all she got was another message. "You're living just fine in the villa. Who would dare hurt you? I need to help my brother plant a few more shrubs for Judy. I don't have time for your petty drama!" Gloria was pregnant, too. After being beaten and kicked, she lost her baby. We lay in a pool of blood, holding each other. "Gloria," I whispered through tears, "I don't want to repay any debts anymore. I want to sever my bond with Lesley."