I thought my brother stole everything from me.

I was wrong. He saved me from making the biggest mistake of my life.

My name is Ethan Blackwood.

Former Beta. Exiled wolf. The man who lost his mate before he ever had her.

I spent months drowning in anger and whiskey, blaming my brother for taking Aria. Hating him for the mate bond that ripped my world apart.

Then I met her.

Sophie Mitchell.

She walked into the bar where I was drinking myself to death, and everything changed.

One look at those green eyes and I felt it?the pull. The bond. The thing I thought I'd never have.

But Sophie isn't some innocent wolf looking for her happily ever after.

She's running. From a pack that wants her dead. From an Alpha who thinks he owns her. From a past so dark she won't even tell me her real name.

And me? I'm the idiot who decided to protect her.

The problem?

Her psychotic ex-Alpha just declared war on my brother's pack to get her back.

The rogues who've been attacking our borders? They're working for him.

And Sophie? She's not just some random wolf on the run.

She's the key to destroying everything my brother built.

The pack that took me in after my exile wants me to turn her over. To trade one girl for the safety of hundreds.

My brother?the mighty Alpha King?says I'm a fool for trusting her.

And Sophie? She just told me she's been lying about everything since the day we met.

I should walk away. Let her face her demons alone.

But I've already lost one mate. I'm not losing another.

Even if saving her means going to war.

Even if it means betraying my new pack.

Even if it means facing the monster who made her this way.

Because some mates are worth burning the whole world down for.