DEATHMATE

Chapter 8 Blood on the Border

The forest didn’t wait for us. The air thickened with the smell of danger, bitter and sharp, the kind that clung to your tongue and made your wolf rise before your brain caught up. Kade was already ahead in wolf form, a blur of silver power weaving between the trees. I shifted mid-run, my bones snapping into the familiar rhythm of fur and muscle, and chased after him.

The border wasn’t far, but every leap felt like the world was shifting under our paws.

Ahead, lights flickered—torches, flames, and shadows moving fast. Voices rose in shouts, mixed with snarls. There was no mistaking it.

A fight.

When we burst through the last line of trees, the scene hit me like a punch to the chest. Warriors circled around two fallen wolves—both ours. Blood stained the dirt. The wind carried the scent of rogues… and something else. Something unfamiliar.

Kade shifted back instantly, fury burning in his eyes. “What happened?!”

Beta Rowan rushed forward, breathing hard. “They came out of nowhere. Fast. Organized. Not like normal rogues.”

Kade’s eyes snapped to the bodies on the ground. “Damn it.” He didn’t shout. His anger was quieter than thunder but twice as dangerous.

I shifted back too, my heart hammering with the memory of the rogues earlier. “They were testing us.”

Rowan nodded. “We think so. A warning. They didn’t try to take territory—they tried to send a message.”

Kade crouched beside one of the fallen wolves, his throat tightening. “They’re from our northern patrol team. They never get caught off guard.”

That was bad. Really bad.

Another warrior approached quickly. “Alpha—there’s something you should see.”

Kade stood, wiped the blood from his hand, and followed him. I stayed close. The air tingled with unease, pressing against my skin. When we reached a patch of disturbed dirt near the treeline, I froze.

A symbol was carved into the ground.

A spiral with three claw marks slashing through it.

I felt my wolf recoil.

“No…” I whispered. “That’s—the Bloodbound Crest.”

Rowan’s face paled. “You know this symbol?”

“Everyone knows it.” My voice was barely a breath. “They’re not rogues. They’re worse.”

Kade’s jaw tightened. “Alpha Kieran.”

The name sent a chill through the clearing. A ruthless alpha known for tearing down packs and rebuilding them under his rule. He didn’t fight for survival—he fought for conquest. For domination.

“He’s not supposed to be anywhere near our territory,” Rowan said.

“He isn’t,” Kade replied. “Which means he wants something.”

I swallowed, throat tight. “Or someone.”

Kade’s eyes snapped to mine. And for a moment, the world stilled. His gaze softened—just a little—before he slammed his walls back up.

“We’re heading back,” he ordered. “Aria, stay with Rowan.”

I frowned. “I can fight just as well as any of these warriors.”

“This isn’t about fighting,” he shot back. “This is about keeping you alive.”

The words hit harder than claws.

Rowan raised a hand gently. “He’s not wrong. If Kieran is involved, things are about to get messy.”

Kade’s wolf glowed beneath his skin, anger pulsing like heat waves. “We regroup at the packhouse. No one goes anywhere alone.”

When he turned away, Rowan leaned close. “He’s terrified.”

I blinked. “Of what?”

“Of losing you.”

My heart stumbled, confused and aching all at once. “Why me?”

Rowan’s expression softened. “Because even if he won’t say it… you’re not just a pack member to him.”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t breathe. Kade was already shifting back into wolf form, his massive silhouette disappearing into the trees as he led the warriors home.

But the moment his figure disappeared, a strange whisper drifted through the wind. It wasn’t a voice. Not exactly. More like a call. A pull.

My wolf froze.

Rowan noticed my sudden stillness. “Aria?”

I stared into the dark forest where the symbol had been carved, where the scent lingered, sharp and cold.

Something—someone—was calling me.

Not Kade.

Not the pack.

Something older.

Darker.

Familiar in a way that made my blood run cold.

“I need to go,” I whispered, taking a step.

Rowan grabbed my arm. “Aria, don’t. Kade just said—”

But the call hit me again, this time slicing right through my chest. I stumbled forward, gripping my ribs.

Rowan’s face changed instantly. “What is that?”

“I… I don’t know,” I gasped, even though a part of me did.

It was a bond.

But not the one with Kade.

A different bond.

No—an older tie. A severed piece of magic buried deep in my blood, stirring awake.

I pressed my hand to the ground as another wave of energy pulsed through the air.

Rowan crouched beside me. “Aria, talk to me. What’s happening?”

“I think…” My voice shook. “I think they weren’t here for the pack.”

“Then what?”

“They were here for me.”

Rowan’s eyes widened.

And that’s when the howl rose again.

But this time, it wasn’t a warning.

It was a call.

A claim.

A summoning.

And it was calling my name.

Rowan straightened, panic flickering in his expression. “We need to get back to Kade. Now.”

He pulled me up, but the moment we turned, a figure stepped from the trees.

A man.

Tall.

Black hair.

Moonlit eyes glowing with something ancient, powerful, and terrifyingly familiar.

“Aria,” he said softly, like he’d known my name his whole life.

My blood froze.

Kade hadn’t been wrong.

Alpha Kieran had come.

But he wasn’t staring at the bodies.

He wasn’t looking at our warriors.

He was looking at me.

And he was smiling.