CHAPTER FIVE: THE MATE BOND SNAPS
Damon's POV
The message was written in blood on a piece of torn fabric.
Return the traitor Selene, or her execution will be the least of your worries. - Caleb Thorne
I stared at the words, my wolf snarling inside my mind.
"They're threatening us," Ronan said from beside me.
"Over one girl."
"Not just any girl." I crumpled the message in my fist.
"Their Alpha
"Not just any girl." I crumpled the message in my fist.
"Their Alpha's son's mate."
Ronan's eyes widened. "She's bonded to Caleb Thorne?"
"Was bonded." I turned away from the border, my mind racing.
"He rejected her. Tried to kill her."
"And now he wants her back?" Ronan shook his head.
"This doesn't make sense. Why go through the trouble of framing her, trying to execute her, only to demand her return?"
That was the question, wasn't it?
"There's something else going on here," I muttered.
"Something we're not seeing."
"What do you want to do?"
I looked back at the message, at the threat written in blood. Every Alpha instinct in me bristled at being threatened on my own territory.
"We do nothing," I said finally.
"She stays here. If Crescent wants to make a move, let them come."
Ronan's expression darkened. "You're really willing to risk war over a Crescent wolf?"
"I'm not risking anything. They won't attack—they know they'd lose."
I started walking back toward the packhouse.
"But keep patrols doubled on the borders. If they try anything, I want to know immediately."
"Damon…"
"That's an order, Ronan."
He fell silent, but I could feel his disapproval radiating like heat.
I didn't care. Something about this entire situation felt wrong, and until I figured out what, Selene wasn't going anywhere.
By the time I returned to my house, the sun was setting. I found Selene in the kitchen, attempting to make tea with one hand while keeping the other pressed against her bandaged shoulder.
"You should be resting," I said from the doorway.
She jumped, nearly dropping the kettle.
"You startled me."
"This is my house."
"I'm aware." She turned back to the tea, her movements careful.
"I needed to do something. Sitting in that room was driving me crazy."
I watched her struggle with the kettle for a moment before stepping forward. "Let me."
"I can manage."
"You're making a mess." I took the kettle from her hands, our fingers brushing briefly.
The moment our skin touched, everything changed.
A shockwave of energy slammed into me, so powerful it nearly drove me to my knees. The world tilted, colors bleeding too bright, sounds becoming too sharp. Every nerve ending in my body ignited at once.
And then I felt it.
The bond.
Mate.
My wolf howled the word with such force it echoed through my entire being. The recognition was instant, undeniable, and completely catastrophic.
No.
No, this couldn't be happening.
I stumbled backward, the kettle clattering to the floor. Hot water splashed across the tiles, but I barely noticed.
Selene was staring at me with wide, horrified eyes. Her face had gone pale, one hand pressed against her chest as if she could feel her heart trying to break through her ribs.
She felt it too.
"No," she whispered, echoing my thoughts exactly. "This can't be real."
The bond pulled at me, urging me toward her. My wolf was going mad, demanding I claim what was ours, mark her, protect her.
I gritted my teeth against the urge, forcing myself to stay still.
"This is impossible," I growled.
"I already have a mate," Selene said, her voice shaking.
"I am bonded to Caleb—"
"He rejected you."
The words came out harsher than I intended.
"The bond is broken."
"But the heavens wouldn't... they wouldn't pair me with..."
She trailed off, looking at me with something close to despair.
"With you."
The words stung more than they should have.
"Trust me," I said coldly,
"I'm just as thrilled about this as you are."
We stood there in the ruined kitchen, staring at each other across an impossible divide. The mate bond hummed between us, trying to pull us together while everything else screamed at us to stay apart.
She was Crescent. The enemy. The very thing I'd been taught to hate since I was old enough to understand what hate was.
And the heavens had decided she was my perfect match.
"This doesn't change anything," I said finally, my voice rough.
"You're still my prisoner. This bond means nothing."
"Agreed." She lifted her chin, defiant despite the tears gathering in her eyes.
"I don't want this any more than you do."
"Good."
"Fine."
We glared at each other, the bond pulling tighter with every second of denial.
"I need to go," I muttered, already turning toward the door.
"Damon, wait—"
I left before she could finish, slamming the door behind me.
Outside, I braced my hands against the wall and tried to breathe. My wolf was clawing at my insides, furious at me for walking away from our mate.
"She's ours", he snarled.
"Go back. Claim her."
"She's a Crescent," I said aloud, my voice echoing in the empty night.
"She's our mate."
"I don't care."
Liar.
I slammed my fist into the wall, relishing the crack of stone and the sharp bite of pain. It gave me something else to focus on besides the bond screaming at me to go back inside.
This was a nightmare.
The one thing I'd sworn I'd never do—show mercy to a Crescent—and now fate had made one of them my mate.
"Alpha?"
I looked up to find Lyra approaching, her expression wary. She must have seen me leave in a hurry.
"What happened?" she asked.
I couldn't tell her. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
"Nothing," I said, forcing my voice to steady.
"Just a long day."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Damon, I've known you for ten years. I can tell when you're lying."
"Drop it, Lyra."
"It's her, isn't it?" Her voice turned sharp.
"That Crescent girl. What did she do?"
"Nothing. She did nothing."
"Then why do you look like your world just ended?"
Because it had.
Before I could answer, a commotion erupted from the main packhouse. Shouts, running footsteps, the sharp crack of gunfire.
My head snapped up.
"What the—"
"Alpha!" A guard came sprinting toward us, his face pale.
"We're under attack!"
"By who?"
"Rogues. At least twenty of them, hitting the eastern border."
Lyra was already moving, her hand going to the weapon at her side.
"I'll mobilize the defense—"
"No." Something felt wrong about this.
"This is a distraction."
"What?"
I was already running back toward my house.
"The attack is a diversion. They're after Selene."
I burst through the front door, my heart pounding.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
"Selene!" I shouted, taking the stairs three at a time.
The guest room was empty,
the window thrown wide open.
And on the bed, written in what looked like lipstick, was a message:
"Come to the old mill at midnight. Come alone. Or she dies. - A Friend"
Rage flooded through me, hot and absolute.
Someone had taken my mate.
And they were going to pay for it in blood.