Free Web NovelChapter 176: Chapter 176
Riley’s POV
Oh hell no.
The second I felt his fangs press against my neck, my brain finally caught up with everything that was happening.
This was not part of the plan. Not even close.
I pushed against his chest immediately. "Nope. Absolutely not. We are not doing that."
But Cane was faster.
Way faster.
His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me right back under him like I weighed nothing. His eyes were still glowing, still wild, and it was very clear he was not thinking straight at all.
"Riley..." he growled again, like that was the only word he remembered.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time," I snapped, trying to twist out of his grip. "But we’re not doing the biting thing, okay? That’s off the table."
He leaned down again, aiming straight for my neck.
I shoved his face away.
"Cane! Focus!" I yelled. "You need to wake up, not turn me into your personal chew toy! You can’t mark me, I won’t allow it"
He didn’t listen. Of course he didn’t listen.
Instead, he grabbed my waist again and tried to pin me down, his grip tight and unrelenting.
"Oh my God, you are impossible!" I groaned, managing to shove my knee between us and push him back just enough to slip out from under him.
I scrambled off him fast. Like, fast fast. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Barefoot, half-dressed now, heart racing, I jumped to the other side of the room.
"Okay," I said, pointing at him like that was going to magically fix everything. "Stay. Right. There."
He did not stay there. Not even for a second.
He got off the bed slowly at first, like a predator sizing me up, his eyes locked on me in a way that made my stomach flip.
"Yeah... I don’t like that look," I muttered, already backing away.
"Riley," he repeated again, stepping closer.
"No," I said immediately, shaking my head. "Wrong answer. Try again. Maybe something like ’I’m calm’ or ’I won’t bite you.’ That would be great."
But he lunged.
I screamed and jumped out of the way just in time, nearly slipping on the floor as I ran around the bed.
"Are you serious right now?!" I yelled, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him out of pure instinct.
He caught it.
Then dropped it like it meant nothing.
"Great. That didn’t work," I said, already moving again.
He came after me again, faster this time, and I dashed toward the table, nearly knocking over a bottle in the process.
"Your brother is going to kill me if I break anything," I muttered as I grabbed the edge of the table and used it to swing myself around it.
Cane followed.
Of course he did.
"Okay, listen," I said quickly, holding my hands up like I could reason with him. "We need to have a conversation. A real one. With words not fucking teeth."
He tilted his head slightly, like he was trying to understand.
For one second, I thought it worked.
Then he stepped forward again.
"Nope, never mind, you still seem wild and mindless," I said, immediately backing up again.
He moved faster.
I yelped and ran again, circling the room, my heart pounding as I tried to keep distance between us.
"This is not funny!" I yelled, even though part of me knew it kind of was. "You are supposed to be healing, not chasing me around like I’m your next meal!"
He growled.
"Yeah, I heard that," I shot back. "Still not helpful!"
I grabbed a chair and dragged it between us like that was going to stop him.
It did not.
He pushed it aside easily and kept coming.
"Okay, new plan," I said quickly, backing toward the wall. "You sit down, calm down. Deal?"
He was not interested in deals.
At all.
He closed the distance again, and I tried to slip past him, but this time he anticipated it.
His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me back hard against him.
I gasped.
"Got you," he growled, his voice low and rough right by my ear.
"Okay, okay, okay," I said quickly, trying to pry his hand off. "This is getting out of hand. Literally. Let go."
He didn’t.
Instead, he turned me around to face him, his grip tight, his eyes still locked on mine like I was the only thing he could see.
"You are not marking me," I said firmly, even though my voice came out a little breathless. "We did the bond thing, that’s enough. We’re done. Finished. End of story. You’re supposed to be healing not this"
He didn’t respond instead he just leaned closer.
And I knew exactly what he was about to do.
"Nope!" I snapped, pushing against his chest again, but this time he held on tighter.
"Cane, listen to me," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "You need to come back to your senses. This isn’t you. You don’t just go around biting people marking permission, okay? That’s not normal behavior!"
His grip tightened slightly, enough to remind me I wasn’t getting out easily.
"Cane," I said again, more serious this time. "Stop."
For a second...
He hesitated.
Just a second.
But I saw it.
And I held onto that.
"That’s it," I said quickly. "You’re still in there. You just need to focus. You don’t need to mark me to fix this. We already—"
But he moved again fast, too fast. frёeωebɳovel.com
I barely had time to react before he had me pinned again, this time against the wall, his hand gripping my wrist above my head.
"Okay, this is getting really old," I snapped, trying to pull free.
His other hand came up, brushing along my neck, and I froze for a second.
But because something felt... off and different. Like something was building under my skin.
"Cane..." I started, my voice quieter now.
He leaned in again, his fangs right there, so close I could feel his breath against my skin.
And then—
Something snapped inside me.
A sudden rush of energy shot through my body, sharp and strong, like something waking up that had been sleeping this whole time.
My breath caught."What—"
Before I could even finish the thought, it exploded out.
A sharp pulse sraight from me.
Cane’s body jerked instantly. His grip loosened instantly and then—he dropped down, just like that.
One second he was holding me.
The next, he was on the floor. Unconscious again.
I stood there, frozen, my heart racing as I stared down at him.
"What... what just happened?"
Before I could even process it, the door slammed open and Gunnar rushed in.
His eyes went straight to Cane on the floor. Then to me.
And the look on his face changed immediately.
"It didn’t work?" he asked.
