5. My mate was blind

Damon

The air was thick with sweat and pine as I ended my training round, the last punch landing with a dull thud against the padded dummy. My knuckles stung, but the pain grounded me.

About thirty minutes before, I finished my training with my warriors. They were some of the best in the Dark Moon Pack.

“Alpha!” a voice called out, breathless and urgent.

I turned sharply. It was one of the gate guards, wide-eyed and panting. “There’s a fight at the border. A rogue tried to force entry. She’s—” He hesitated, swallowing. “She’s handling herself.”

“She?” I asked.

He nodded quickly. “Not one of ours. But… sir, you need to see this.”

I didn’t waste time. I jogged up the incline, boots kicking gravel as I neared the clearing near the southern wall. The scent of unfamiliar wolves hit me immediately.

But it was the female’s scent that threw me off.

It was strong, the faint smell of copper reaching my nostrils.

Benath the strong smell of pine was the faintest whiff of something sweet—vanilla I think.

Mix ti together, and it was uniquely her.

Fuck.

This woman was my mate.

I walked towards her, captivated by her scent.

Then I heard her.

A low growl, followed by the heavy thud of someone hitting the ground.

“We must make her ours!” my wolf growled.

I clamed down on that feeling, digging my claws into the palm of my hand.

“Calm down,” I ordered.

I stepped into view and froze.

She moved like a weapon—fast, controlled, brutal. A thin black ribbon covered her eyes, but it didn’t seem to matter. Her body knew what it was doing. Every kick, every punch, every twist of her hips was precise. Deadly.

This woman, whoever she was, is not a part of the Dark Moon pack.

One of my men tried to step in—idiot. She dropped him without hesitation.

“What the hell…” I muttered, eyes narrowing.

She fought like no wolf I’d seen before. Not recently. Not ever.

Her dark hair clung to her skin, soaked in sweat and rain, and though I couldn’t see her eyes, there was something in the way she moved—like she’d been through hell and made it her training ground.

A growl slipped from my throat, low and involuntary.

MATE, MATE, MY MATE!

“Should we stop her, Alpha?” one of the nearby wolves asked, his stance tense.

“No,” I said coldly, eyes fixed on her. “She’s not finished.”

The wolf hesitated, but my tone left no room for argument. She moved again—fluid, focused. Not a single wasted step. Only someone who had lost everything could fight like that.

Then a voice rang out. “Kaliah—enough!”

She froze. Her breathing was heavy but measured, her fists still clenched. Her head turned slightly toward the voice—her brother.

The idiot guard behind her didn’t get the memo. He lunged again.

She sidestepped, caught his arm mid-air, and flipped him flat on his back.

My Beta stepped forward and looked at me.

“Shall we expel the intruders?”

I ignored him, too caught up in watching the woman.

“Mate!” I shouted, causing my Beta to freeze.

He followed me as I walked towards them.

Then a voice shouted my name.

“Damon!”

This came from her male companion. The voice was familiar, but right now my entire focus was on the woman—my mate.

One of my guards reached over, ripping the blindfold off her face. Her grey eyes revealed, she punched the guard in the throat, but I was focused on her eyes.

She was blind.

My mate… was blind.

A ripple of disbelief ran through me, but I shut it down. I had waited twenty-five years for this bond, dreamt of what she might be like. I never imagined this.

“How dare she—” one of the guards behind me snapped, voice rising in disgust.

“Stop,” I growled, cutting him off with a glare as I stepped forward. “Not another word.”

I looked back at the woman, at her soaked figure and that fierce defiance clinging to her like a second skin. Her face didn’t flinch. She couldn’t see me, and yet somehow, I felt like she was staring straight through me.

Then I saw the man standing beside her.

“Kiran, right?”

He grinned through the tension. “Damon. Good to see you again.”

I barely remembered his face—time had worn it down in my mind—but I remembered what he’d done. Four years ago, in the northern wilds, he had saved my life when he didn’t have to. Risked everything. Pulled me out of a death trap and walked away without asking for a thing.

And I remembered what I’d promised him then. A debt.

“I said I owed you,” I muttered. “Looks like now’s the time to pay up.”

Kiran nodded once. “My sister and I need help.”

A wolf to my right scoffed. “They’re rogues. Not our problem.”

I turned to him, eyes cold. “You think I give a damn about your opinion?”

The wolf stiffened. “I just meant—”

“I know exactly what you meant,” I snapped. “And I’m telling you to drop it.”

“But Alpha—”

I moved fast, grabbing him by the arm and yanking him aside, away from the others. My voice dropped to a low snarl. “You question my orders again, and you’ll be guarding the border in the dead zone for the next six months. Do I make myself clear?”

His eyes widened. “Crystal.”

I let him go and turned back to the siblings.

“I’ll take you both in,” I said firmly.

Kiran exhaled, some of the tension easing from his shoulders. “Thank you.”

The girl, Kaliah, tilted her head slightly. “You don’t even know us.”

“No,” I said. “But I know what you did to my guards without sight. And I know who your brother is. That’s enough for now.”

“Then why are you helping?” Her voice was sharp, not trusting.

Smart girl.

I paused. “Because I’m not in the habit of turning away debts… or mates.”

She stilled. Just for a second. Then her voice dropped, cool and even. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I plan to,” I said, my gaze steady. “You’re staying. Both of you.”

She didn’t reply. She didn’t have to. The bond had already settled in my chest like a brand—unwelcome, impossible to ignore, and absolutely mine.

And I wasn’t letting her go.

***

My beta kept trying to convince me that I was making a mistake. His voice followed me even as I turned to lead the siblings toward the compound.

“Alpha, she’s dangerous,” he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. “She’s blind. A rogue. You saw what she did to our men.”

I stopped walking and turned slowly.

He didn’t take the hint. “What if she’s a spy? What if this is some kind of setup? We don’t know anything about her.”

My jaw tensed. “We know enough.”