Swamp

The woman Aelfric was to marry had agreed to undergo this ritual with him. It was the only way for them, as two of the area's few healers, to become strong enough to stop the devastating Swamp Fever from claiming the lives of hundreds of children each year. As healers, they had exceptional training, the problem was power. Aelfric's research had revealed exactly where healing power came from and why, until now, it was so limited. After this ritual, he and his beloved would change the tides of disease and death in these lands, perhaps the entire world forever. Aelfric knew Silver-Dew abhorred the idea of immortality. What they were about to do would rid their bodies of their very souls, freeing the concentrated power of the life-spark to be used for their magic. He'd painstakingly crafted each of them a vessel to safeguard their soul. Sil wore hers around her neck: a beautiful, lovingly crafted pendant with a blood red stone in the center. The stone was rendered from the carefully heated blood of the beast that had captured her, the very beast Aelfric had slain.

Brianna grew up among the socialites and the Occult of New Orleans. When her adoptive father dies when she is only 10 she discovers just how sinister her mother can be. Now 21 she is in a race against time to get out before the Vipers find out exactly what they are losing. So that one day she can return and seek the retribution owed for the death of her father and to keep his coven's legacy from falling into darkness. Following her fathers divine word as a seer she takes to the Bayou to discover "The Beast that is her heart," What she finds is a whole lot of testosterone and a struggling family trying to keep a foothold as their pack dies out. They too have a vendetta of their own, for an old wound that Brianna's presence dredges up in their hearts. Can Brianna avenge herself and her father? Can they each protect their hearts? Because there's more than one beast in the swamp that she is falling for. Will she choose wisely or will she even choose at all? Being tangled in a web of friendships, family and broken souls, will they find their way together? or will the Vipers devour her soul?

In the shadowed swamps of the South, where ancient cypress roots drink deep from the earth, something older and far more dangerous stirs. Rio never asked to be reborn into darkness, but as a fledgling vampire trained by the ruthless and alluring Odessa, he’s learned quickly that survival demands both strength and sacrifice. Haunted by the family he left behind, Rio carries the weight of his choices—yet he can’t ignore the fragile bond forming with Junie Elowen, a newly turned vampire whose bright green eyes hide grief, fear, and an untapped power that could change everything. Odessa’s control slips as her complicated attachment to Rio deepens, forcing him to question where loyalty ends and obsession begins. But greater threats rise when Cassian—an ancient vampire and Junie’s sire—emerges from the shadows, determined to claim what he believes is his. Power struggles ignite, alliances fracture, and the swamp itself seems to whisper warnings of blood yet to be spilled. A story of forbidden bonds, found family, and the price of power, Blood Beneath the Cypress is a dark, atmospheric tale where love and loyalty are as dangerous as the monsters lurking in the night.