His brother’s Luna, his mate

Prologue

*Ethan*

On a cold and dreary evening of November, my life turns gray. The only thing that saves it from going completely black is Nathan. At the age of seven, older than me by only an hour, my twin becomes the Alpha of Greyfur that night when our parents are killed in a horrific railway accident.

Days later, Nathan holds my hand as we sit dutifully in front of the caskets that contain whatever remains of our parents.

During the evening of the day our parents are buried, Nathan creeps into my bed so neither of us will feel so lost and alone. While we travel to Evermoor castle, where we become the wards of the mad Prince, Nathan unwittingly offers a distraction, providing a place for me to vent my anger and frustration over life’s unfairness.

We constantly shove and slap at each other until the solicitor traveling with us separates us. After we are abandoned so far from home, left in the prince’s keeping, Nathan assures me all will be well, that we began life together in the womb and, therefore, will always remain together. Nathan is my anchor, my solace, my one constant in all matters, all things.

And now she is stealing him away with her silken black hair and her startling blue eyes and her sweet laughter and her gentle smile. Miss Josephine… Josie.

Nathan is blinded by her beauty, her grace, and her attentions, allowing her to take up far too much of his time with rides in the park, rowing on the river, theater, dinners, and… the Goddess forbid… poetry readings.

She is pulling him away from those closest to him, causing him to put aside his love for drinking, w*****g, gambling, and traveling. In six weeks, the Alpha of Ashebury, Prince Killian, and I are going on a trek through the Far East isles. As far as I am concerned, Nathan should be going with us. He had been planning to go with us until Miss Josie asked him not to leave. Without so much as the blink of an eye, Nathan adhered to her wishes and canceled his plans to travel with us.

She has managed to effectively wrap my brother around her littlest finger without much more than an occasional batting of her eyelashes and a fluttering of her fan. It is not to be tolerated. A she-wolf should not have so much influence and control over a man’s life.

I am not certain why I follow her out of the festive ballroom and into the quiet shadows of the garden, why I stop to watch as she leaves the path and disappears into the thicket of rose-adorned trellises and boughs. I know only that I cannot lose Nathan to her.

I hesitate but a minute before darting into an area where the shadows are heavier, the glow from the gaslights lining the path held at bay. Proceeding cautiously until my eyes adjust to the gloom, I finally see her leaning back against the brick wall. Her lips slowly curl up to reveal her winsome smile. She looks so bloody glad to see me.

In spite of the gray darkness, as I step nearer, I can see the adoration in her eyes. No other she-wolf has ever looked at me as though every breath she takes is for me and me alone, as though she exists only for me and my pleasures. It causes a tightening in my gut, a heady sensation of supremacy and purpose.

“I thought you would never get here,” she says in a whispered voice that belongs to angels.

Temptation such as I have never known tears through me, leaving me powerless against her siren’s call. I don’t understand it. In all of my twenty-three years, I have never had a she-wolf create such a maelstrom of confusing and uncomfortable emotions. I should leave now while I can, but she draws me in as though she has been created by the gods for me and no other.

With one hand, I cradle her face, feel the rapid thrum of her pulse against my fingers, and stroke my thumb along her smooth cheek. She releases a soft sigh; her eyes turn languid.

I know it’s wrong, know I will regret it, but I seem incapable of rational thought or action. Leaning in, I take what I have no right to possess; I claim her mouth as though it belongs to me, always has and always will belong to me.

She sighs again, a softer, warmer mewl that travels through me, causes me to harden with such desire that I nearly double over. Drawing her in closer, I angle my head, take the kiss deeper, sweeping my tongue through her luscious mouth.

She tastes of rich champagne with a hint of strawberries. Her slender arms come around my neck; her gloved fingers plow through my thick sandy curls. Her sigh this time turns into a welcoming moan. The passage of time seems to come to a standstill like the clocks at Evermoor castle. No ticking, no movement of the hands, no tolling of the chimes.

I want to stay here forever. Want the night, and every night that follows, to belong only to us.

Drawing back, I hold her languorous gaze. She touches her fingers to the wisps of hair at my temple, such a soft caress. It almost isn’t one at all. She smiles tenderly. “I love you so much, Nathan.”

My brother’s name on her lips is a punch to the gut that nearly takes me to my knees. Her welcome hasn’t been for me. Her passion, her spark, her desire, hasn’t been for me. What a colossal fool I am to have imagined, even for a second, that they had been. Not that I am going to reveal to her exactly how she affects me, how badly I want her.

I force myself to grin devilishly, triumphantly. “If you really loved him, wouldn’t you be able to tell us apart?” Ashe and Killian can. Even the mad Prince, who served as our guardian, can distinguish us.

“Ethan?” she rasps, looking as though her dinner will soon be making a second appearance.

Her obvious revulsion delivers a hard blow to my pride, but keeping my expression impassive, I offer an exaggerated bow. “At your service.”

“You beast.” Her gloved hand meets my cheek with such unexpected force that I stagger back.

I regain my footing, c**k my head. “You enjoyed it, Josie.”

“It’s Miss Josephine. When I marry Nathan, it will be Luna Greyfur. I shall insist you address me properly. And I most certainly did not enjoy it.”

“Liar.” I grin, tamping down the pain.

She shakes her head, “Why would you do such a horrid thing, take such advantage? How could you be so cruel and deceitful?”

Because I have never been able to deny myself anything I want, and I had quite suddenly wanted her. Desperately.

“What’s going on here?” a deep voice asks.

I spin around to see Nathan standing a few feet away, a quizzical look on his face. Not angry, but with an almost innocent expression, as though it would never occur to him that I would do something as dastardly as kiss his betrothed.

“I was waiting for you as we planned,” Josie says sweetly, moving in against Nathan’s side, looking up at him with complete adoration that merely serves to grind salt into my wounded self-esteem. “Ethan happened along, began telling me more details about the journey to the Far East that he and the others have constantly been discussing. It sounds as though it will be the adventure of a lifetime. He would so like for you to go.”

I hate being grateful for the lie she spins, but I know that Nathan would never forgive me if he learned how I had taken advantage of Josie. I wonder why she hasn’t confessed the truth, why she hasn’t taken the opportunity to create a chasm between the brothers that nothing on heaven or earth would ever breach. But more, why is she now encouraging Nathan to go with me?

“You’re adventure enough for me.” Nathan shifts his gaze to me. “I have told you that I have no interest any longer in traveling. I don’t appreciate you going behind my back to use Josie to try to persuade me to change my mind. Now I would welcome your taking your leave so my little tryst in the garden with Josie can continue as intended.”

“Nathan!” Josie gasps.

He waves me off, “Be on your way, Ethan.”

The impatience mirrored in my twin’s voice warns me that if I continue on this course, I will gain nothing except distancing myself from my brother. After giving them a slight bow, I stride away from the couple, the roses, the shadows.

I need a glass of scotch. A bottle would be better. I need to drink myself into oblivion until I can no longer remember the warmth of Josie in my arms or recall how glorious it had felt to have her mouth moving beneath mine. I need to forget that I had ever… for the briefest of moments… wanted her for myself.