Free Web NovelChapter 220: Chapter 220
Cane’s POV
Leslie hadn’t even finished her words before I moved.
I turned and rushed out of the room without another thought, my steps hitting the floor hard and fast as I pushed my body forward with everything I had. My chest felt tight but I didn’t slow down.
Gunnar couldn’t die. Not like this. Not now.
"No... no... no..." I muttered under my breath as I ran, my mind refusing to accept what I had just seen. His face, pale. His body, too still. His pulse fading under Leslie’s fingers.
Not Gunnar.
I picked up my speed, ignoring the strain in my legs as I cut through the corridors, turning corners sharply, not caring who I passed or who called my name. The only thing in my head was getting to her.
Mother.
She would know. She had to know.
I reached her wing faster than I expected, my breath coming out harder now as I slowed just enough to take the turn toward her chambers-but then I stopped.
There were guards.
Not just any guards.
Royal guards.
They stood in a straight line in front of her door, fully armed, their expressions set and alert.
This wasn’t normal. Not even close.
My eyes narrowed immediately as I walked toward them, my steps slowing but my body still tense, ready.
The moment they saw me, they bowed.
"Alpha Cane," one of them said.
I didn’t respond to the greeting. My focus stayed on the door behind them.
I stepped forward.
One of the guards moved quickly, blocking my path.
"There had been an instruction," he said carefully, "from the Alpha King. No one is to enter the Luna’s chambers."
I froze for half a second.
Then my head snapped toward him.
"What?" My voice came out low at first, then rose sharply. "Move."
The guard didn’t move.
"Alpha," he started again, more cautious now, "we were ordered-"
"Get out of my way!" I thundered, my voice echoing through the hall as anger snapped through me. "Move!"
They hesitated.
That was their mistake.
My claws slid out instantly, the shift quick and sharp as they extended from my fingers. I stepped closer, my eyes locked on them, my voice dropping into something far more dangerous.
"I won’t repeat myself."
That was all it took. They stepped aside immediately.
I didn’t wait another second. I pushed forward, reached the door, and kicked it open with force.
The door slammed against the wall.
And what I saw inside stopped me cold for a split second.
"Mother-"
She was on the bed. Tied.
Her wrists bound tightly to the bedposts, her ankles restrained the same way, her body struggling against the ropes. A cloth was tied around her mouth, cutting off any sound she had tried to make.
My chest tightened instantly, anger surging through me again.
"What the hell is this?"
I moved to her in seconds. My claws were still out, and I used them without hesitation, slicing through the ropes one after the other. The restraints fell away quickly, leaving marks on her skin where they had been too tight.
The moment her hands were free, I pulled the cloth from her mouth.
She gasped, pulling in air sharply, her chest rising and falling as she tried to steady herself.
"Mother," I said, gripping her shoulders. "What happened?"
She looked at me, and I saw it immediately.
Fear. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Not confusion. Not panic.
Real fucking fear.
Her lips parted, but for a moment, no words came out. Then her eyes watered and tears slipped down her cheeks before she could stop them.
"It’s Sebastian," she said finally, her voice shaking. "Your father... he’s not himself."
My jaw tightened instantly."What do you mean not himself?"
She shook her head, trying to sit up properly now that she was free. "He came in here... he wasn’t speaking clearly. His eyes... something was wrong. I tried to ask him what was happening, but he didn’t answer. He just..." She swallowed hard. "He tied me down. He said no one was to see me. No one."
My hands curled into fists at my sides.
"What did he do after that?"
"He left," she said. "Just like that. And the guards came shortly after. I tried to call out, but-" Her voice broke slightly, and she looked away for a second.
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to stay focused.
This didn’t make sense.
Father didn’t act like this especially to mother. Not without reason.
But I couldn’t deal with that now.
Gunnar was utmost priority now.
I stepped closer again, my voice firm. "Mother, listen to me."
She looked back at me immediately.
"Gunnar is dying."
Her expression changed at once. "What?"
"The blade he was stabbed with," I continued quickly, not wasting time. "Emberkin said it’s called Blackbane core or something like that. Leslie has tried everything. He’s not responding. His pulse is dropping fast. He could die any minute."
She stared at me, trying to process the words. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
"Mother," I said again, more urgent now. "You have to help him."
She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she repeated quietly, "Blackbane core?"
I nodded. "Yes."
The reaction from her was instant.
Her face lost color. Her body stiffened slightly, and she took a small step back like the name alone had hit her.
My brows pulled together. "What is it?"
She shook her head slowly, almost like she didn’t want to believe what she had just heard. "No... that’s not possible."
"Mother." I called, a nauseous feeling I didn’t want rising in my chest.
She looked at me again and the fear I had seen earlier was back, stronger now.
"Why is this happening?" she whispered, more to herself than to me.
I stepped closer, my patience running thin. "What’s wrong? Is it the blade?"
She pressed a hand to her head for a moment, then dropped it, her voice unsteady. "Blackbane core isn’t just any weapon. It was made to kill Alphas in a way nothing else can heal them. It doesn’t just wound the body. It spreads through the blood. It shuts everything down slowly, piece by piece."
My stomach tightened."Then there has to be a way to stop it."
She didn’t respond.
"Mother," I pushed, my voice rising. "There has to be something please." Desperation etched in my voice right now.
She looked at me, and this time there was no hesitation in her expression.
Only certainty.
"That blade," she said quietly, "is the same one that killed Gunnar’s father."
The words hit hard.
I didn’t move.
For a second, I just stared at her, waiting for her to say something else, something that would change what she had just said.
But she didn’t.
My voice came out lower now. "What the-?"
Her lips parted slightly, but it took her a moment to speak again.
"I was there when it happened," she said. "We tried everything. Every healer. Every remedy. Nothing worked."
My chest felt tight again at the words she dropped.
"Then we try again," I said. "We don’t just stand here and accept it."
Her eyes softened for a second, but then she shook her head.
"It didn’t matter what we did back then," she said. "And it won’t matter now, Cane"
My jaw clenched. "You don’t know that mother unless you try.."
"I do," she replied, her voice breaking slightly despite her effort to stay calm. "Because there is no cure for it."
Silence filled the room.
I stared at her, waiting. Waiting for her to take it back. Waiting for her to correct herself, but she didn’t.
"There is nothing I can do, Cane," she said, her voice quieter now but firm. "Blackbane core does not have a cure."
