Free Web NovelChapter 174: Chapter 174
Riley’s POV
The moment I finished speaking, I didn’t wait for his reaction.
I just pushed past him and walked out.
No, not walking.
Stormed.
Because if I stayed there one second longer, I was going to either scream or hit him, and honestly, I wasn’t sure which one would come first.
My head was a mess as I moved quickly through the halls.
I was going to see Cane.
And the truth was, I didn’t even know if I could actually help him.
They said it was Gravemaw rogue bites.
I had never heard of that in my life.
Not once.
And now suddenly I was supposed to fix it?
I almost let out a frustrated laugh.
This was insane.
Everything about this place was insane. And somehow, I was stuck right in the middle of it.
I clenched my jaw as I kept walking.
I wasn’t going to mess this up. Not in front of anyone.
Especially not that arrogant, controlling, selfish—
I stopped myself before I went further.
Because getting angry wasn’t going to help.
I needed to focus. Even if I had no idea what I was doing.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him following me quietly, not saying a word.
That alone was annoying.
I almost preferred when he talked, at least then I could argue back.
Now he was just there, calm and watching, and it made me feel like he already expected me to fail.
That thought alone made me walk faster.
I finally reached the chambers where Cane was being kept.
Leslie’s chambers.
I didn’t hesitate. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Gunnar came in right behind me.
The room was quiet. And the moment my eyes landed on Cane, I stopped.
"Oh damn..." I muttered under my breath.
He looked even bad now than few minutes ago.
No... worse than bad.
His skin was pale, almost grey, and he wasn’t moving at all.
For a second, I actually thought—
No.
I walked closer quickly, my heart picking up speed as I leaned down and placed my fingers under his nose.
A second passed. Then another. And then I felt it.
A faint breath.
I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.
"He’s still breathing," I said, more to myself than anyone else.
But barely.
And that wasn’t good at all. freewebnøvel.com
But suddenly, Dahlia’s voice echoed in my head.
’You’re the last bloodline of the Emberwyn.’
I didn’t even fully understand what that meant.
But for some reason... it gave me something.
A small bit of confidence.
Like maybe I wasn’t completely useless here.
Like maybe... just maybe... I could actually do something.
I straightened up and turned around.
Amelia, Caden, Summer... they were still all here.
I took a breath.
"Everyone out," I said.
Silence.
"What?" Caden asked immediately, clearly not expecting that.
"I said leave," I repeated, my tone sharper now.
His expression hardened.
"Why would we do that?" he asked. "That’s my brother."
"And he’s dying," I shot back. "Do you want him alive or not?"
That shut him up for a second.
But not completely.
"What are you planning to do?" he asked, stepping closer.
"Something that requires space," I replied. "So either you trust me or you don’t. But standing here arguing isn’t helping him."
Amelia stepped in before Caden could say anything else.
"Caden," she said softly, placing a hand on his arm.
He looked at her, clearly frustrated.
"I don’t like this," he muttered.
"Neither do I," she replied. "But we don’t have a better option."
Summer stayed quiet the whole time.
She didn’t even look at me. freёwebnovel.com
Not once.
That stung a little because she was just a kid, but I didn’t have time to think about it.
Amelia gently guided her toward the door.
"Come on," she said.
Summer followed without saying a word.
Caden stayed for a few more seconds, staring at me like he didn’t trust me at all.
Then finally, he turned and walked out.
Now it was just me, Leslie...
...and Gunnar.
I turned to him.
"You too," I said.
He didn’t move.
"No," he replied simply.
I blinked."What do you mean no?"
"I’m not leaving," he said, his voice calm but firm.
I stared at him, already feeling my patience snap again.
"Are you serious right now?" I asked. "I just told everyone to leave."
"I’m not everyone," he replied.
"Oh my God," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. "Why are you so difficult?"
"Because I don’t trust you with my brother alone," he said.
That made me laugh."Of course you don’t," I said. "That’s not new."
"You want to be alone with him," he continued. "Why?"
"Because I need to be," I retorted sharply.
"That’s not an answer."
"It’s the only one you’re getting."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"What are you planning to do?" he asked again, his tone more serious now.
I crossed my arms."Something you clearly don’t understand," I said.
"That doesn’t mean I’m leaving," he replied.
"Then he dies," I said flatly.
That did it.
His jaw tightened immediately.
"Watch your mouth," he warned.
"Then stop wasting time!" I snapped. "You said you wanted him alive, right? Then let me do my job!"
"And how do I know you’re not going to mess it up? You’re not a healer or a doctor?" he shot back.
I took a step closer to him."I’m none of those yet you believe in me more than anyone to save him right?"
"Believe If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here," I said. "So either you move, or you keep standing there and watch him die slowly. Your choice."
We stared at each other.
Neither of us backing down.
The tension was thick, and I could tell he hated this.
Hated not being in control.
Hated having to rely on me.
But he didn’t have a choice.
Finally, after a long moment, he exhaled sharply.
Then he turned.
"Don’t try anything stupid," he said coldly as he walked toward the door.
"Same to you," I muttered under my breath.
He stopped for a second, like he heard me, but didn’t turn back.
Then he walked out and the door shut behind him.
I stood there for a second, listening to the silence.
Then I turned to Leslie. She was already staring at me, confused and worried.
"What are you planning?" she asked.
I took a breath.
"I’m going to be honest with you," I said. "I don’t know what Gravemaw is. I don’t know how to heal this."
Her expression dropped slightly.
"But," I continued, "I’m not completely guessing either."
She waited.
"I’m his mate," I said.
Her eyes widened just a little.
"And from what I understand," I went on, "that bond... it does something. It connects us in a way that might help him."
"You’re not seriously thinking—" she started.
"I am," I cut in.
She stared at me like I had just said something crazy.
"You want to use the bond?" she asked.
"Yes."
"That’s risky," she said immediately. "You don’t even fully understand what you are."
"I know," I replied. "But doing nothing is worse."
She didn’t argue with that. But she still looked uneasy.
"What do you need from me?" she asked after a moment.
"I need something that can wake him up," I said. "Anything that can pull him out of that state, even for a short time."
Her brows furrowed. "You think that will be enough?"
"It has to be," I said.
She hesitated."And then?" she asked.
I looked at Cane, then back at her.
"And then I let the mate bond do the rest," I said.
Her eyes widened again as she understood what I meant.
"You’re going to...?" she started, clearly shocked.
"Yes," I said, not looking away this time. "I’m going to mate with him while he’s wild."
