Free Web NovelChapter 219: Chapter 219
Cane’s POV
It took everything in me to pull away from her.
My hands still felt the shape of her body, the heat of her skin burning into my palms even as I stepped out and shut the door behind me.
My chest rose hard with each breath, my jaw tight, my body still reacting to her touch like I hadn’t left at all. I dragged a hand down my face, forcing my breathing to steady, forcing control back where it belonged.
What the hell was that?
Riley had never been like that. Never bold. Never reckless. Never the one to push buttons.
And yet she had looked straight at me, touched me like she knew exactly what she was doing, like she wanted a reaction and wasn’t afraid of it. I could still hear her voice in my head, low and certain, still feel the way my body had responded before I could stop it.
I exhaled slowly and started walking.
Focus Cane.
Gunnar is important right now.
The corridor felt longer than usual. My boots hit the ground in quick, controlled steps, but my mind kept trying to drag me back to that room, back to her hands, her voice, the look in her eyes. I clenched my fists and forced it away.
Something was wrong with her.
Not weak wrong but different.
First beating up Emberkin and Ethan. Then Daphne and Wendy in their wolf forms. Now this.
And I couldn’t deny it-I didn’t hate this version of her.
That was the problem.
I turned left without slowing, heading straight for Leslie’s quarters. The closer I got, the more the tension in my body shifted. The heat Riley left behind faded, replaced by something sharper, colder.
The door was already slightly open.
I pushed it all the way and stepped inside. freēwēbnovel.com
The air hit me first-thick with herbs and something bitter underneath. Leslie stood by the bed, her hands steady but quick as she worked. Bowls, cloth, and crushed leaves were spread around her, some already soaked dark with whatever mixture she had prepared.
Gunnar lay on the bed, unmoving and still.
Caden stood near him, arms crossed, his eyes fixed on Gunnar’s face like he was waiting for something that wasn’t coming.
I stepped closer. "How’s he doing?"
Leslie didn’t look up right away. She pressed something into Gunnar’s wound, then finally shook her head. "I’m trying," she said, her voice tight. "But this isn’t normal. The blade... whatever it was, it carried something really poisonous with it."
I moved to the other side of the bed, my eyes scanning Gunnar’s face. His skin had lost its usual color, a faint gray tone settling in. His breathing was shallow.
"How bad?" I asked.
Leslie let out a breath. "Bad enough that nothing I’ve used is working. I’ve cleaned the wound, applied every herb I know that can fight poison or infection, but it’s not reacting. It’s spreading instead."
Caden shifted slightly but didn’t take his eyes off Gunnar. "He hasn’t woken up once," he said quietly.
I looked at him, then back at Gunnar. "His pulse?"
Leslie hesitated.
That was enough to tell me.
I exhaled slowly and glanced at Caden. He met my eyes immediately. He knew.
Caden pushed off the wall and stepped forward. "Let’s try something else."
He reached for Gunnar’s hand, lifting it carefully. For a second, he just held it, his expression tightening, then he bent his head and bit down.
His teeth sank into Gunnar’s skin.
I watched closely.
Caden held the bite for a moment, then pulled back, waiting.
Nothing.
Gunnar didn’t react. No flinch. No movement. No change in breathing.
Caden swallowed hard and released his grip, letting Gunnar’s hand fall back onto the bed. "He should’ve responded," he muttered. "Even a little."
Leslie’s hands paused over the herbs. "That’s what I’m saying. This isn’t a normal stab wound."
I stepped closer, my eyes narrowing at the injury.
The edges of it didn’t look right. It wasn’t clean and not jagged either. Something in between, like it was resisting healing.
"What kind of blade does that?" I asked.
"No idea," Leslie replied, frustration clear in her voice. "But whatever it is, it’s not something I’ve treated before."
Caden straightened and ran a hand through his hair. "Then we’re wasting time guessing."
I looked at him.
He met my gaze. "We need Mother."
The word settled heavy in the room.
"She’s dealt with things like this before," he continued. "Vampires. Weapons. Poisons. If anyone knows what that blade is, it’s her."
I didn’t answer right away.
Instead, I looked back at Gunnar.
Still no movement. Still no sign he was fighting.
That wasn’t like him.
I clenched my jaw. "How long do we have?"
Leslie didn’t respond immediately.
I turned to her. "Leslie."
Her hands tightened slightly around the cloth she was holding. Then she finally spoke, her voice lower now.
"His pulse is getting weaker very fast."
Caden stiffened beside me.
Leslie swallowed before continuing. "If this keeps going... he won’t last past today."
The room went quiet.
No one moved.
I stared at Gunnar, my mind already running through options, routes, distances-anything that could get us to an answer faster than time was running out.
Caden stepped back slightly, his expression hardening. "Then we don’t wait."
I nodded once. "We leave now."
Leslie shook her head quickly. "You can’t just move him like this. If whatever’s in him spreads faster-"
"If we don’t move him, he dies here," I cut in.
She froze.
Caden looked between us, then back at Gunnar. "She’s right about one thing. Moving him could make it worse. But doing nothing guarantees it."
Leslie pressed her lips together, clearly torn.
I stepped closer to the bed, my voice firm. "Then we stabilize him just enough to survive it, I’m pretty sure mother would keep him in her quarters, so do it."
"With what?" she asked, frustration slipping through. "I’ve used everything I have."
"Then use it again," I said. "Stronger doses. Whatever slows it down."
She stared at me for a moment, then looked back at Gunnar.
Her hands moved again, faster this time.
Caden exhaled slowly. "I’ll get things ready."
He turned and headed for the door.
I stayed where I was, my eyes fixed on Gunnar.
"Don’t you dare die," I muttered under my breath.
Leslie didn’t say anything as the seconds stretched.
Then-
Her hand stopped.
I noticed it immediately.
"What is it?" I asked.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she slowly reached for Gunnar’s wrist again, pressing her fingers against his pulse point.
Her expression changed.
"Leslie," I called sharper now.
She looked up at me. There was something in her eyes I didn’t like.
"It’s dropping again," she said quietly.
"How fast?"
She hesitated.
"How fast?" I repeated.
Her voice came out almost a whisper.
"Too fast, almost imperceptible."
My chest tightened.
Behind me, the door opened as Caden stepped back in. "We’re rea-"
He stopped when he saw Leslie’s face."What happened?"
Leslie didn’t look away from Gunnar. "He’s crashing."
Caden moved instantly to the bed. "No, no-he was stable a second ago-"
"He’s not anymore," she said.
I stepped forward. "Do something."
"I am!" she snapped, already reaching for another mixture, her hands moving quickly but carefully.
Caden grabbed Gunnar’s shoulder lightly. "Gunnar. Hey. Stay with us. You hear me?"
No response.
His breathing grew weaker.
Leslie pressed the new mixture into the wound, her jaw tight. "Come on..."
Nothing changed.
Caden looked at me, something close to panic breaking through his control. "Cane-"
I didn’t respond.
I was watching Gunnar. Waiting. Counting every fucking breath.
Each one shallower than the last.
Leslie’s hands slowed. Then stopped. Her fingers remained pressed to his wrist.
Silence filled the room.
"Leslie," I said, my voice low.
She didn’t answer.
"Leslie."
She finally looked up.
And the look on her face said everything before she even spoke.
"He’s-"
She didn’t finish.
The word didn’t need to be said.
Caden’s grip tightened on Gunnar’s shoulder. "No."
Leslie shook her head slowly, her voice barely there.
"His pulse..." she whispered. "It’s almost gone."
