Claiming the Warlord by Atlas Jones

Evran has everything he never dared to want. A home in the mountains. A place among the Drakkari. And Vaike, the Warlord who chose him when he could have anyone.

When the clans gather at Heldrin’s End for a diplomatic summit, Evran expects politics and posturing. What he doesn’t expect is Torsten, Vaike’s estranged half-brother, who watches Evran with lingering eyes and speaks of Vaike’s rule as though it has an expiration date.

Then an assassin comes for Vaike in the night, and the threats stop being theoretical.
With no proof and no path to justice, Evran makes a dangerous choice: he will get close to Torsten himself. Close enough to uncover the conspiracy and close enough to end it. It means playing a role that makes his skin crawl, wielding charm like a blade, and keeping secrets from the one person who trusts him without question.

Evran has always been the soft one. The gardener. The weaver. The quiet boy from the south who never had anything to lose until six months ago.
But no one told Torsten what happens when you threaten the thing a man loves most.