Chapter 7
Damon's POV
Midnight approached with agonizing slowness.
I stood in my office, surrounded by my best warriors, planning the rescue. Ronan was arguing for a full assault team. Lyra wanted to go in herself with a small strike force.
But the message had been clear: Come alone.
"If this is a trap—" Ronan started.
"It's definitely a trap," I cut him off.
"But they have Selene. I'm not taking chances with her life."
"Since when do you care about a Crescent's life?"
Lyra's voice was sharp, suspicious.
I didn't answer. Couldn't answer.
Because the truth was, I cared far more than I should. The bond had changed everything, had made the impossible suddenly vital. The thought of Selene in danger, hurt, scared—it made my wolf rage against my control.
"Damon!"
I froze.
"Alpha?" Ronan noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
The voice had come from inside my head—desperate, frightened, and unmistakably "her".
"Damon, please, if you can hear me—"
"Selene?" I sent back down the bond, hardly believing it was working.
The connection solidified, and suddenly I could feel her; her fear, her pain, her desperate determination.
"Don't drink the wine!" Her mental voice was frantic.
"Tonight at the celebration—someone poisoned it; you can't drink anything—"
"Slow down. What celebration?"
"Lyra's welcome feast. They're going to poison you. It's all planned. Please, you have to believe me—"
My gaze snapped to Lyra, who was watching me with a concerned expression.
The celebration. It had been her idea, thrown together quickly for her return.
"Where are you?" I demanded down the bond.
"I don't know. An old building, smells like mildew. There's a broken window facing—" The connection wavered.
"'They're coming back. Damon, forget about me, just don't drink—*
" I am coming for you."
"No! It's a trap! They want—"
The bond went silent.
"Damon?" Ronan was at my side now. "What's happening?"
I made a split-second decision.
"Ronan, I need you to go to the celebration in my place."
"What?"
"Make an excuse. Say I'm handling border security. But don't drink anything, and watch everyone carefully. Someone there is planning to poison me."
His eyes widened. "How do you—"
"Just trust me." I was already moving toward the door.
"Lyra, gather your best trackers. We have a different location to check."
"Where?" she asked.
"Old buildings with broken windows. Abandoned places on our territory."
I grabbed my weapons from the wall.
"Selene sent me a warning through the mate bond."
The words were out before I could stop them.
Ronan and Lyra stared at me in stunned silence.
"The mate bond," Lyra repeated slowly. "You're saying that Crescent girl is your—"
"Yes." I cut her off, not wanting to hear her say it out loud. "And right now, she's being held by whoever is trying to kill me. So we need to find her. Now."
For a moment, I thought Lyra might argue. Might refuse.
Then she nodded sharply. "There are three abandoned structures on our territory. The old mill is the most isolated."
The mill. Of course.
"That's where we're going." I headed for the door.
"Move fast. We may already be too late."
The old mill loomed against the night sky like a broken tooth. Its windows were shattered, its walls crumbling, and the whole structure leaned precariously to one side.
Perfect place for an ambush.
I could smell them—three distinct scents, all trying to mask themselves but failing. They were inside, waiting.
And somewhere in there was Selene.
I signaled for Lyra and the others to fan out, surrounding the building. Then I stepped through the front entrance alone, my gun drawn.
"I'm here!" I called out. "As requested. Now let her go."
Silence.
Then, from the shadows:
"Drop your weapon, Alpha."
I recognized the voice—one of my own border patrol. A traitor in my pack.
I set the gun down slowly.
"Where is she?"
"Upstairs. Alive. For now." A figure emerged, masked but familiar in build and stance.
"But whether she stays that way depends on you."
"What do you want?"
"Justice." Another figure appeared, then a third. All masked. All armed.
"For what your father did twenty years ago. For every Crescent wolf you've executed since."
"This isn't justice. It's revenge."
"Is there a difference?" The leader pulled off their mask.
My blood turned to ice.
It was Marcus—my father's former Beta. A wolf I'd trusted for years. A wolf I'd thought died in a rogue attack two years ago.
"Surprised?" He smiled, cold and bitter.
"You should be. I've been very patient, Damon. Waiting for the right moment. Gathering allies. Planning your downfall."
"Marcus, what happened to you?"
"What happened?" His voice rose.
"Your father happened! He killed my mate during that raid twenty years ago. Said she was colluding with Crescent. She wasn't. She was innocent. And he slaughtered her anyway."
"I didn't know—"
"Of course you didn't! Because your father was a monster who hid his crimes behind honor and duty!"
Marcus stepped closer, his eyes blazing.
"So I decided to take everything from you, the way he took everything from me. Your pack. Your life. And now, your mate."
The last word hit like a physical blow.
"You know," I said quietly.
"I figured it out when I saw how you looked at her. How you couldn't bring yourself to kill her." He laughed bitterly.,
"The heavens have a cruel sense of humor, don't they? Binding you to the very thing you hate most."
"Let her go, Marcus. She's innocent in all this."
"So was my mate." He raised his gun, pointing it directly at my chest. "But that didn't save her. And it won't save you."
Before he could pull the trigger, the world exploded into chaos.
Lyra and the warriors burst through the windows, weapons drawn. Marcus's allies opened fire. The mill erupted into a firefight, bullets ricocheting off rusted metal and crumbling stone.
I dove for cover, my only thought: Selene.
I had to reach her.
I fought my way through the chaos, taking down two of Marcus's wolves before reaching the stairs. They creaked dangerously under my weight as I climbed.
"Selene!" I shouted over the gunfire.
A muffled sound—up and to the left.
I kicked open the door.
She was there, tied to a support beam, gagged, her eyes wide with terror and relief.
"I have got you," I breathed, already working on the ropes.
They came free, and she collapsed into my arms. I pulled the gag from her mouth.
"You came," she whispered.
"Of course I came. You're my—" I stopped myself.
But she finished it for me. "Mate."
Our eyes met, and for one impossible moment, the world fell away. The gunfire, the danger, the pack lines that divided us—none of it mattered.
"Thank you," I said quietly. "For the warning."
"Thank you for believing me."
Footsteps pounded up the stairs.
I pushed Selene behind me, raising my weapon.
But it was Lyra who appeared, blood splattered across her face. "We need to move! Marcus planted explosives—this whole building is about to—"
The world went white.
The explosion threw us backward, the floor giving way beneath our feet. I grabbed Selene, pulling her against me as we fell through smoke and flame and chaos.
We hit the ground floor hard. Pain shot through my back, but I didn't let go of her.
"Run!" I shouted to anyone who could hear.
We stumbled out of the collapsing mill, coughing and choking on smoke. Behind us, the structure folded in on itself with a deafening roar.
When the dust finally settled, I did a quick count. Lyra was alive, bleeding but standing. Four of my warriors had made it out.
And Marcus was nowhere to be seen.
"Is everyone—" I started.
Then I saw her.
Selene was on her knees, blood spreading across her shirt from her shoulder wound that had reopened.
But she was alive.
I dropped beside her, pulling her into my arms.
"You're okay. You're going to be okay."
She looked up at me, her eyes glassy with pain.
"The celebration. Did Ronan—"
"He knows. He'll stop it."
She sagged against me in relief.
Around us, my wolves were staring. At me. At her. At the way I was holding her like s
he was the most precious thing in the world.
The secret was out.
But as I lifted Selene into my arms and carried her toward home, I realized something:
I didn't care.
Let them know. Let them judge.
She was my mate, and I would burn the world down before I let anyone take her from me again.