MATED TO THE LONE WOLF

Chapter 5:part one

The southern border of the Blackwood territory was a jagged scar of limestone cliffs and dense briars. By the time Ramond reached the ridge line, the scent of pine had been entirely choked out by the sharp, copper stench of fresh blood and the foul, sulfurous musk of the Blood Moon pack.Two Blackwood sentinels lay in the crushed ferns, their throats torn open. Standing over them were four massive wolves, their fur matted with mud and gore. At the center of the intrusive pack stood Silas, the Blood Moon Alpha. In his human form, Silas was a towering, gaunt nightmare of a man, covered in ritualistic scars that map-lined his pale skin. He wore a heavy cloak made from the hide of a slaughtered Alpha, and his amber eyes gleamed with sadistic amusement as Ramond crashed through the brush.Ramond shifted back into his human form seamlessly, his naked chest heaving, his midnight-black hair falling wildly into his eyes. Marcus and a dozen heavy enforcers fanned out behind him, their lips peeled back over glistening fangs, low growls vibrating the very earth beneath their paws."You are stepping on Blackwood dirt, Silas," Ramond growled, his voice carrying the full, suffocating weight of his Alpha aura. The surrounding trees seemed to tremble under the frequency of his command. "Leave now, or your head will decorate my boundary gates before sunset."Silas chuckled, a dry, raspy sound that made the hairs on the back of Marcus’s neck stand up. He kicked the body of the fallen Blackwood warrior carelessly. "I merely came to collect what belongs to me, Ramond. You harbor a runaway omega. A thief who fled her debts to the Blood Moon. Hand over the girl, Lizzie, and perhaps I will leave your pathetic little valley intact.""She belongs to no one but the moon," Ramond spat, his fists clenching until his knuckles turned bone-white. The mate bond in his chest throbbed, a violent, protective instinct roaring through his veins. The thought of Silas even looking at Lizzie made his wolf scream for s*******r. "She is my true mate. Marked and chosen. If you want her, you will have to tear her from my cold, dead hands.""That," Silas smiled, revealing rows of unnaturally sharp, filed teeth, "is precisely the plan."Silas didn't give an order; he simply threw his head back and howled. The sound was a jagged shard of glass that tore through the valley. From the shadows of the limestone cliffs, dozens of Blood Moon warriors materialized, shifting mid-air as they lunged down upon the Blackwood line.The clash was instantaneous and catastrophic. Ramond met Silas’s lead enforcer head-on, his claws extended as he tore through the beast’s windpipe in a single, fluid motion. Blood sprayed across the gray stones, but there was no time to celebrate. Two more wolves slammed into his ribs, dragging him down into the dirt.Ramond roared, unleashing a burst of raw Alpha energy that physically threw the attackers off him. He shifted back into his massive, midnight-black wolf form, his jaws snapping bone, his paws crushing skulls. He was a whirlwind of black fur and red fury, driven by the absolute necessity to survive and return to his mate.But the Blood Moon pack had the advantage of numbers and surprise. Marcus was fighting off three warriors at once, his shoulder bleeding heavily. For every rogue wolf Ramond tore apart, two more seemed to emerge from the brush. Silas himself remained on the ridge, watching the c*****e with a cold, calculating gaze, waiting for Ramond to tire.Through the chaos, Ramond felt a sharp, agonizing pull in his chest—a sudden spike of terror radiating from the mate bond. It wasn't his own fear. It was Lizzie’s.He looked back toward the heart of the valley, realization hitting him like a physical blow. The attack on the southern border was a diversion. Silas had sent a secondary strike force directly into the village.