Dire Bound: The hottest enemies to lovers fantasy romance of 2025 and SUNDAY TIMES bestseller (The Wolves of Ruin)

Dire Bound follows Meryn Cooper, who has long despised the Bonded: elite warriors who form mental links with the massive, vicious direwolves they ride. While they live in luxury, she is focused on keeping her family out of poverty. When her younger sister, Saela, is kidnapped and taken across the border by immortal monsters her country has fought for centuries, Meryn is left with one aim: to bring her home.

To cross the front, she enlists in the army and is forced into the Bonding Trials, where a single mistake can cost her life. Four months of training at the castle push her to the edge as she is bound to a feral direwolf that refuses to communicate. Surrounded by trainees who resent her “common” blood, and under the scrutiny of her cold, beautiful instructor Stark Therion, Meryn must endure a world where everything is a contest and danger is constant.

Key details

• Title: Dire Bound
• Series: The Wolves of Ruin
• Described as an enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance
• Described as a Sunday Times bestseller

Synopsis

Meryn Cooper enters the deadly Bonding Trials to gain the chance to cross the border and search for her kidnapped sister. At the castle, she faces four months of training, a direwolf bond that will not respond, and rivals looking for any opportunity to see her fail. With secrets in the halls and threats behind every smile, survival comes down to a brutal choice: bond or bleed, duel or die.