The Vampire Queen is barren and without an heir she cannot remain on the throne. She marries and adopts a stepson, Rodney. If she produces no children, he will inherit the throne. She will mold him to be the leader she wants and though he may sit on the throne, she will be in the shadows with the power.
It's a fitting plan, until a soothsayer proclaims Rodney has a fated mate. The Queen's own brother, Decardi, the very vampire she's been trying to keep off the throne. Dubbed the Widow of Time, because of all the suitors he's murdered, Decardi has sworn never to take a mate and dethrone his sister.
When Rodney learns his Step Uncle is his fated mate, he sets off to find his banished uncle and claim what is his.
*Trigger warning of mentioned child abuse and associated trauma haunting the person in adulthood. Not graphic or sexual.