Free Web NovelChapter 193: Chapter 193
Riley’s POV
"I reject you, Cane Dravenmoor, as a mate and denounce whatever shitty bond that binds us."
The words came out of my mouth without hesitation, sharp and final, and the second they landed, I felt the effect of it.
Cane gasped like something inside him had been torn open. His body stiffened instantly, his chest rising sharply as if he had forgotten how to breathe for a moment, and his eyes locked onto mine with something raw and unguarded that I had not seen before.
The calm control he had been holding onto shattered right there in front of me, and for a second, I saw the real impact of what I had just done.
But I didn’t stay.
I didn’t give him time to speak. I didn’t give myself time to think.
I turned around immediately and walked out of the room with fast, determined steps, my heart pounding hard in my chest as everything caught up to me all at once.
I didn’t care what that bond meant.
I didn’t care what consequences would follow.
I didn’t care about his reaction or what he was going to say.
All I cared about was getting out of that room and finding Anna.
There was no time to stand there and argue with him.
There was no time to deal with whatever he had done to me while I was unconscious.
There was no time to process the fact that he had marked me without asking. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
I stepped out into the hallway and kept moving, my pace quick and restless as my mind raced.
Anna.
I needed to find Anna.
That was the only thing that mattered right now.
I moved through the corridors without slowing down, passing doors and turns that I didn’t recognize, and it hit me hard that I had no idea where I was going. I didn’t know this place well enough to navigate it properly, and I didn’t know where Anna could even be.
But I kept moving anyway.
Stopping was not an option.
I pushed through another set of doors and stepped into a larger open space, and immediately I was surrounded by people. freёwebnovel.com
There were so many of them.
Different groups talking, walking, moving around like everything was normal, like nothing was wrong, and for a second it threw me off because it felt so disconnected from everything I had just been through.
I stepped into the crowd, my eyes scanning quickly, searching every face, every movement, every direction.
"Anna," I muttered under my breath as I moved, hoping somehow I would see her, hoping she would just appear in front of me.
But she didn’t.
I kept walking, weaving through people, my shoulders brushing against strangers who barely looked at me, and my frustration started building because I had no clue where to even begin.
Then something hit me me like a wave.
At first it was just a change in sound.
A break in the normal noise.
Then someone screamed.
It was loud and sudden, cutting through everything, and it made me stop for a second as my head snapped toward the direction it came from.
Then another scream followed.
And then another.
Voices started rising, overlapping, people shouting over each other, and the calm atmosphere broke instantly.
Confusion hit me first.
"What is going on?" I said under my breath, my eyes moving quickly as I tried to understand what was happening.
Then panic spread through the crowd.
People started running.
Not slowly, not in an organized way, but fast and chaotic, pushing past each other, trying to get away from something I couldn’t even see yet.
Fear hit me immediately.
I didn’t wait.
The last time I stood still and tried to figure things out, it ended badly.
The last time I didn’t move when something felt wrong, I got taken by Laden.
The memory came back fast and sharp, and I felt my body tense immediately.
I was not making that mistake again.
I turned quickly, ready to move with the crowd, ready to get out of there before whatever was coming reached me.
But the moment I tried to take a step, my body refused to move.
My feet stayed planted to the ground.
At first, I thought I hesitated without realizing it.
But then I tried again.
And again.
And nothing happened.
"What the hell is this?" I said, my voice low but tense as I forced my legs to move.
They didn’t respond.
A cold feeling spread through me instantly, starting from my chest and moving outward, making my entire body stiffen.
This wasn’t fear.
Something was holding me.
I tried again, pushing harder, willing my body to move, but it was like I was locked in place by something stronger than me.
My breathing became uneven as I looked around, watching people run past me, their faces filled with panic as they tried to escape.
No one stopped.
No one looked at me long enough to notice that I was stuck.
I was standing in the middle of chaos, completely unable to move.
"Move," I whispered to myself, my jaw tightening as I tried again.
Nothing.
My chest tightened as the realization settled in.
This wasn’t normal.
This was intentional.
Someone was doing this.
But just then I felt it.
A presence.
Heavy and cold, pressing into the space around me in a way that made it harder to breathe.
It felt powerful.
My body reacted immediately, my muscles tensing even more as a wave of unease hit me hard.
This wasn’t random.
Someone was here.
Someone strong.
My throat went dry as I tried to turn my head, trying to locate where it was coming from.
Then I heard a voice.
Clear and Calm.
And completely in control.
"Release her, Berlin."
The words cut through everything around me, and the effect was immediate.
The force holding me shifted slightly, just enough for me to feel the change, but not enough for me to move.
My heart pounded harder as I tried to understand what was happening.
Who the hell was Berlin?
And who just gave that order?
