MATED TO THE LONE WOLF

Chapter 6:part two

The heavy oak doors of the Great Hall slammed shut with a deafening thud that echoed off the high vaulted ceilings. Ramond threw his weight against the wood, lifting the massive iron locking bar and dropping it into the heavy stone brackets with a definitive, ringing clank. Inside, the atmosphere was suffocating, thick with the scent of sweat, pine smoke, and the heavy metallic tang of blood.The Great Hall, usually a place of feasting and pack diplomacy, had been converted into a grim fortress. The grand tables had been overturned and stacked against the lower windows to form makeshift barricades. Women, children, and the injured were being ushered down into the reinforced cellars through a trapdoor near the kitchens, their hushed cries muffled by the stone flooring.Talia stood at the center hearth, a massive oak table serving as her command post. She was mapping out the inner perimeter defenses with the remaining pack elders, her face a mask of grim determination. She looked up the moment the heavy doors bar dropped, her sharp, calculating eyes sweeping over Ramond before landing squarely on Lizzie.Talia paused. Her gaze lingered on the blood coating Lizzie’s hands, the splatters on her face, and the tightly gripped steel blade that she still refused to let go of."Report, Ramond," Talia commanded, her voice carrying easily over the ambient noise of the hall."The western wall has breached entirely, Alpha," Ramond said, walking toward the table while keeping one eye on the doors. "The courtyard is lost. The enemy's secondary wave is inside the inner perimeter. But we made them pay for every inch." He paused, looking down at Lizzie, who had followed him into the light of the hearth fire. "And the omega held her own. She took down one of their vanguard alphas in the eastern courtyard."A heavy silence descended over the elders at the table. To them, an omega fighting was an anomaly; an omega killing a trained alpha warrior was an impossibility.Talia’s eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise. She stepped away from the table, her leather armor creaking as she walked over to Lizzie. She didn't offer comfort, nor did she offer pity. Instead, she reached out and gently took Lizzie’s wrist, lifting her hand to inspect the blade. She noted the depth of the blood on the steel, calculating the nature of the wound it had inflicted.A slow, respectful nod followed. "An omega drawing first blood against a trained vanguard," Talia murmured, looking into Lizzie's eyes with a newfound intensity. "Impressive, Lizzie. Most seasoned fighters freeze their first time. I knew that blade suited you. You didn't let the uniform define your capability.""There's no time to celebrate," Lizzie said, her voice remarkably even despite the adrenaline still humming through her veins. She pulled her wrist back gently, pointing toward the upper levels of the hall. "They're coming for the rear high-windows next."Talia frowned, turning back to the map. "The high-windows? They're fifteen feet up and barred.""They have climbing hooks," Lizzie explained quickly, remembering the sights she had caught while running through the chaos outside. "I saw their specialized vanguard squads gathering near the armory before we retreated. They aren't trying to ram the main doors; they know it's a bottleneck. They're going to bypass the ground defenses entirely, break the high glass, and drop into our rear."Ramond swore under his breath, his eyes darting up to the dark, timbered rafters that crisscrossed the ceiling. If the enemy managed to establish a high-ground position inside the hall, the defensive line at the main door would be slaughtered from above.Talia’s expression hardened, a grim smile touching her lips. "Then we don't wait for them to drop in uninvited. They think they're catching us unaware." She turned to Ramond. "Take the archers and the spear-men into the upper rafters. Hide in the shadows of the crossbeams. When they break the glass, let them get halfway through the frames before you pin them to the walls."Understood," Ramond said, already gesturing to a group of five archers who were stringing their bows near the back wall. He looked back at Lizzie, a flash of reluctance in his eyes. "Lizzie, come with us. It's safer in the rafters.""No," Talia countered, her tone leaving no room for argument. "I need her down here. She knows what their vanguard looks like, and her size makes her invisible in a melee. Lizzie, you stay with me at the primary choke point near the cellar entrance. If any of them survive the archers and drop down, we bottleneck them between the hearth and the stairs."Lizzie looked at Ramond, seeing the silent plea for her safety in his eyes, but she shook her head. She had spent her whole life hiding in the shadows of others, waiting for the storm to pass. Today, the storm had found her, and she had discovered she could bite back."I'll stay with Talia," Lizzie said firmly.Ramond held her gaze for a long second, then gave a single, tight nod. "Keep your eyes open," he muttered, before turning and leading his men up the narrow wooden spiral staircase toward the dark rafters above.Talia watched him go, then turned to Lizzie, drawing her own heavy broadsword. "Well, Lizzie," the alpha leader said, her voice dropping to a low, fierce purr as the faint sound of scratching hooks began to echo against the high glass windows above. "Let's show these raiders how Blackwood defends its home."