Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by His Ruthless Brother

Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by His Ruthless BrotherThe moon chose her for an Alpha. He rejected her. His ruthless brother claimed her—and awakened a bond neither of them understands.Elowen of Lyrren has spent thirteen years living as an unwanted guest in Nightholm, the pack that took her in after her family was destroyed. With no inheritance, no status, and only the fading memories of her lost home, she has learned to survive by expecting nothing from anyone.But on the night of the Rite of the First Thread, the moon makes its choice.A powerful mate bond connects Elowen to Evander, the young Alpha of Nightholm. Before four hundred witnesses, he rejects her, choosing a political alliance over the woman the moon has destined for him. The bond tears through Elowen, leaving her wolf trapped behind an invisible barrier as she begins a deadly twenty-eight-night decline. Without another wolf's claim, she will fade away—or be cast beyond the pack's borders to die alone.Then Lucan returns.Known throughout the northern territories as the Fang, Evander's elder brother is a ruthless border commander whose loyalty belongs to the law, his soldiers, and debts that must be repaid. Thirteen years earlier, he carried Elowen from the flames that destroyed her family. She has never forgotten the stranger who saved her, even though she never knew his name.Now, when Elowen prepares to walk willingly toward her death, Lucan intervenes. Before the entire moon court, he makes an extraordinary claim, binding her fading life to his own.His offer comes with strict terms: twenty-five nights beneath his roof, protected by his authority. No promises of love. No tenderness. No explanations. When the final night arrives, he will escort her safely beyond the pack's borders if that is still what she wants.But Lucan's claim is more than a practical act of mercy. His bond reaches the wounded wolf inside Elowen, while the political alliance her rejection was meant to preserve begins to crumble. As old debts resurface and the border stirs with danger, Elowen discovers that the man who claims to feel nothing may have carried the weight of her survival for thirteen years.And the closer she comes to reclaiming her wolf, the more dangerous one question becomes:What happens when the Alpha who rejected her realizes what he has lost—and the brother who claimed her is no longer willing to let her go?The moon tied one thread. An Alpha severed it. Now a ruthless brother has forged a bond of his own, and the price of breaking it may be greater than either of them imagined.