The mate bond I thought I buried years ago was screaming back to life, and it wanted me dead.
I staggered across the border into Stormridge territory with blood pouring down my side. Every
step sent fresh fire through the gashes. They would not close. Normal wounds knit up fast for
us, but these felt cursed, like they wanted to keep me weak. Jax and Finn flanked me the whole
way, their voices cutting through the haze.
"Easy, Eamon. Lean on me if you need to," Jax said, grabbing my arm. "That big black wolf tore
into you good. We are lucky we got out when we did."
"I am fine," I lied through gritted teeth. "Just get me to Mira. She will fix this."
Finn kept glancing back like he expected more Shadowfang wolves to burst out. "You sure you
are okay? You look like you saw a ghost out there. The way you froze when that Alpha pinned
you. What was that about?"
"Later," I snapped. My head pounded too hard for questions. We pushed through the last stretch
of trees until the pack lights appeared. Home. Or what was left of it after years of border scraps.
Mira met us at the edge of the main camp, her healer's bag already slung over her shoulder.
She took one look at me and waved the others off. "You two, go report to the elders. Tell them
the patrol got hit hard. Eamon, inside. Now."
I dropped onto the cot in her tent, the fabric rough against my back. She worked fast, cleaning
the deep claw marks with sharp smelling herbs. The pain made my vision blur.
"These are not closing right," she muttered, pressing a cloth to the worst one. "What kind of wolf
did this? Feels like silver poison but worse."
"New Alpha from Shadowfang," I said, wincing as she stitched. "Big bastard. Black as midnight.
Fought like he knew every move I would make."
Mira paused, her eyes narrowing. "You sound like you recognize him. Talk to me, Eamon. You
have been carrying something heavy since the old war. This connected?"
I stared at the tent roof, jaw tight. "Just heal it. I need to be ready for whatever comes next."
She kept working, but she would not drop it. "You know I have patched you up after every bad
fight. This one has you rattled differently. Those gashes look personal. Like the wolf wanted to
make you suffer slowly."
"Yeah, well, he almost did," I admitted. "Kept saying things that did not make sense. Called me
by name like we had history."
Mira tied off the last stitch and sat back. "History with Shadowfang? You never talked much
about that final battle. The one where you took down their top fighter. People still tell stories
about it. You came back changed."
I sat up slowly, ignoring the pull on my bandages. "Stories are just stories. Get some rest, Mira. I
will too."
But sleep did not come easily. I lay there in my own tent later, staring into the dark. The
nightmares hit hard. I saw it again. That old fight in the rain. My claws are sinking deep into a
chest. The bond snapped like a broken bone. The wolf beneath me shifted back, eyes wide with
betrayal before the light went out. Only now had the face changed in my head. It matched the
Alpha from tonight. Amber's eyes were full of hate. The same sharp jaw. Same voice that
growled "You" like a curse.
I woke up sweating, heart racing. "It cannot be," I whispered to the empty tent. "I felt him die."Outside, the camp stirred with early voices. I stepped out and found Jax waiting with fresh
clothes.
"You look like hell," he said straight up. "The healer says you will live?"
"Barely," I answered. "Any word from the scouts?"
Finn jogged up then, out of breath. "Bad news. Shadowfang hit one of our supply runs near the
river an hour ago. Took out two carts. Guards are saying the new Alpha led it himself. Moved
like smoke."
I clenched my fists. "He is pushing fast. What else?"
"The elders want you in the meeting tent. They heard you faced him directly. Want details."
We headed over quickly. The elders sat around the big table, faces grim. Old Harlan spoke first.
"Eamon, report. What happened out there?"
I kept it short. "Ambush. They came prepared. Their new Alpha is strong. Smart. We barely
held."
One of the younger elders leaned in. "You fought him close. Did he say anything? Any
weakness we can use?"
"He knew my name," I said. "Talked like we met before. But I shook him off. Next time, we'll hit
back harder."
Jax cut in. "Eamon took hits that should have dropped him. But he kept going. We need more
fighters on the borders."
Harlan nodded slowly. "Agreed. Double the patrols. Eamon, you rest up. We cannot lose you."
I left the tent with my head spinning. The bond pull tugged at me again, faint but real. I needed
air. Alone.
"I am going for a quick scout," I told Jax and Finn. "Solo. Clear my head. Do not follow."
Jax frowned. "After last night? Bad idea, boss."
"I will be fine. Stay here and help secure the camp."
I slipped out before they could argue more. The forest swallowed me fast. Moonlight filtered
through the branches as I moved quietly, testing the air. My wounds ached, but the bleeding had
stopped. Good enough.
Then it hit me. That scent. Dark. Smoky. Him. Ronan. It wrapped around me like a rope, pulling
me deeper off the path. Closer than it should be. Way too close to our territory.
"Come on," I muttered. "Show yourself."
I crouched low, following the trail. My heart hammered. Leaves rustled ahead. I shifted partly,
claws ready.
"You really came alone," a deep voice said from the shadows. "Either very brave or very stupid."
I spun. There he stood, half hidden by trees, human form but eyes glowing wolf amber. Ronan.
Tall, dark hair messy from the wind, body tense like a coiled spring.
"You," I breathed. "How are you even here?"
He stepped closer, no fear in his stance. "I could ask you the same. After what you did. You walk
around like nothing happened. Like you did not rip my life away."
My back hit a tree. "I do not know what game this is. I killed a wolf in battle years ago. Felt the
bond break. But you... You look like him. Smell like him."
Ronan laughed, short and bitter. "Felt it break? Good. I lived every second of it dying. Your
claws in my chest. Your face was the last thing I saw. And now here you are, still breathing."
"Wait," I said fast. "If it is really you, why not finish it back there? You had me pinned."His eyes darkened. "Because death is too easy for you, Eamon. I want you to watch everything
you care about burn first. Your pack. Your friends. Then you."
I pushed off the tree. "Big words for someone standing alone in enemy woods. Your pack hit our
supplies tonight. That your move?"
"Part of it," he said, circling slowly. "More coming. Tomorrow night we take the main lines. Cut
you off. Starve you out."
"Why tell me?" I demanded. "Trying to scare me?"
He stopped close enough that I felt his heat. "No. I want you to know it is me doing it. Look in
my eyes and remember what you took."
The bond flared hot between us. My hands itched to grab him. Push him away. Or pull him
closer. "This pull. You feel it too, don't you? Hate and something else."
Ronan snarled low. "Do not talk about the bond. You broke it once. I will break you to match."
Voices echoed distantly. His wolves or mine? Hard to tell.
"You should run," I said. "Before my patrol finds you here."
He smiled coldly. "Or you could come with me now. End this quickly."
I lunged forward without thinking. We crashed together, fists and growls. He pinned me against
the trunk fast, forearm across my throat.
"Still fighting dirty," he growled. "Just like that night."
"Get off me," I rasped. "If you want war, bring it. But do not hide in shadows."
His face was inches from mine. Breathe hot. Eyes locked. For a second, the hate cracked, and I
saw raw pain underneath. "You do not get to tell me how to do this."
Shouts rang out closer. "Eamon? That you?"
Ronan released me with a shove. "Next time you will not be so lucky."
He melted back into the trees. I stood there, chest heaving, wounds reopened and stinging.
Jax burst through the brush. "We heard fighting. You okay? Who was that?"
"Shadow fang scout," I lied quickly. "Gone now. But they are planning something big tomorrow
night on the supply lines."
Finn appeared behind him. "We need to warn the elders. You sure you are good? You are
bleeding again."
I nodded, mind racing. "Yeah. Let us move. We have to prepare."
As we headed back, I kept glancing over my shoulder. That scent lingered. The nightmares
waited for me tonight. And somewhere across the border, Ronan stood in his war room right
now, fists tight, planning how to destroy us all while the same bond burned him alive.
The trap had already closed around me. I just did not know how deep it went yet.
