Gunnar’s POV
The mont the word left his mouth, everything inside reacted at once, but I forced myself to stay where I was instead of charging at him, because sothing about this entire situation felt wrong in a way I couldn’t ignore, and reacting without thinking would only make it worse.
Mate.
The word echoed in my head again, but I pushed it aside and focused on what actually mattered right now.
Riley.
My eyes moved past Emberkin imdiately, locking onto her again, and the longer I looked at her, the more it confird what I had already started to suspect the mont she walked in with him.
Sothing was wrong.
Not sothing small I could overlook.
Sothing serious.
Riley wasn’t reacting the way she should have been.
She wasn’t even reacting the way I knew she would have, especially after Anna is here with .
She should have been the first to run to her.
She should have said sothing.
Done sothing.
But she didn’t.
She just stood there, her body stiff, her posture tense, her eyes shifting slightly between us but not locking onto anyone properly, and that alone was enough to make my chest tighten.
And then I looked at Anna again.
Sa thing.
No reaction.
No movent.
No urgency.
Nothing.
That wasn’t normal.
That wasn’t how either of them should be acting right now.
My jaw tightened hard as the realization settled deeper.
What the hell has this bastard done?
I didn’t say it out loud, but I knew my brothers saw it too because they didn’t hesitate.
Cane stepped forward first, his focus completely on Riley, his voice firm when he called her na.
"Riley."
Caden moved with him without hesitation, both of them heading straight toward and for a second I almost let it happen, almost let them reach her just to see if she would react differently once they were close.
But Emberkin moved.
He simply lifted his hand slightly in their direction and spoke in a calm tone that carried far more weight than it should have.
"Stop."
Cane slowed just slightly, not because he wanted to, but because sothing in the air shifted the mont Emberkin spoke, sothing that made every instinct in my body go alert at once.
Caden didn’t stop imdiately.
He pushed forward another step, his fists clenched, his eyes locked directly on Emberkin now instead of Riley.
"Move your hand," Caden said, his voice low and dangerous, the kind of tone that always ant he was seconds away from losing patience completely.
Emberkin didn’t move.
He didn’t even look bothered.
Instead, he kept his posture relaxed, his gaze steady, like he was watching sothing predictable unfold right in front of him.
"I wouldn’t take another step if I were you," Emberkin said calmly, like he was giving advice instead of a warning.
That was enough to push Caden over the edge.
"You don’t give orders," Caden snapped, and before I could step in or say anything else, he moved.
Fast and direct with no hesitation.
He launched straight at Emberkin, his fist coming up hard and aid directly for his face, and the mont that happened, everything broke.
The impact should have connected.
It should have landed.
But Emberkin blocked it cleanly like he had already seen it coming before Caden even moved, his hand catching Caden’s wrist mid-swing with almost no effort at all.
The fight started imdiately after that.
Caden pulled free and swung again, harder this ti, faster, his full strength behind it, and Emberkin t him head-on without stepping back, without showing any sign of strain or urgency.
They moved quickly across the space, exchanging hits, blocking, countering, both of them fully engaged, but the difference between them beca obvious within seconds.
Caden was strong.
He always had been.
As an Alpha, his strength alone could overwhelm most opponents without much effort, but Emberkin wasn’t most opponents.
I clenched my jaw as I watched, my instincts pushing harder now, telling that this wasn’t just a fight and that Caden was walking straight into sothing he couldn’t win.
The stories about Emberkin ca back to without wanting them to.
The rumors about the kind of power he had.
Dark spells. Forbidden techniques. He was the only vampire that practiced dark spells and black magic which made him extrely dangerous and unbeatable.
Watching him now, I believed every single one of them.
Caden lunged forward again, aiming directly for Emberkin’s chest this ti, putting everything into the hit, but Emberkin didn’t even try to dodge.
Instead, he lifted his hand slightly.
And then it happened.
A force hit Caden hard.
Strong enough to throw him back across the hall like he had been hit by sothing massive, his body slamming into the ground with enough impact to make the sound echo through the entire space.
A sharp breath left him as he landed, and imdiately after, blood ca with it, spilling from his mouth as he tried to push himself up again.
Cane reacted instantly.
He stepped forward, ready to jump in, ready to continue the fight without hesitation, but I moved faster.
I grabbed him and pulled him back hard before he could take another step.
"Don’t," I said firmly.
He turned on imdiately, anger clear on his face, his body tense and ready to break free from my grip.
"He just took Caden down," Cane snapped. "You expect to stand here?"
"Yes," I replied without hesitation. "Because this is exactly what he wants."
That made him pause.
Not because he agreed.
Because he understood.
"This isn’t a random fight," I continued, keeping my voice steady. "This is planned."
Cane’s expression tightened, but he didn’t move forward again.
That was enough.
I let go of him and stepped forward slowly.
Every movent of mine intentional.
My focus stayed locked on Emberkin as I closed the distance between us, and the closer I got, the clearer it beca that he wasn’t even slightly affected by what just happened.
No heavy breathing.
No tension.
No signs of effort.
If anything, he looked more relaxed now than before.
That alone confird it.
I stopped directly in front of him.
Close enough to see the details of his mask again, the way it covered most of his face but left just enough visible to read his expression.
And he was smiling.
Of course he was.
"You’re exactly who I wanted," he said calmly.
My jaw tightened, but I didn’t react to the tone.
"What do you want?" I asked directly, keeping my voice steady and controlled.
"You already know," he replied without hesitation.
"No," I said, holding his gaze. "I want to hear you say it clearly."
For a brief mont, his expression shifted, just slightly, like he appreciated that response more than he expected to.
Then he spoke again.
"I want the bond broken," he said, his tone calm but firm. "And I want it done properly."
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