Chapter 70: The Bond Mark’s Secret And A Dangerous Accusation!
Cael burst through the cave entrance like something was chasing him.
His eyes scanned the space immediately, moving fast, searching for something specific. When his gaze landed on Neve sitting by the fire with dried meat in his hand, his entire body seemed to relax for a split second.
Then he moved.
Neve barely had time to wave his free hand in greeting before Cael was there, lifting him off the ground like he weighed nothing at all.
The dried meat fell.
It hit the stone floor, and Neve almost cried for it. But then he felt Cael’s shoulders shaking and forgot about the meat entirely.
"I thought something bad happened to you," Cael said. His voice was rough, like he had been running hard or shouting or both.
"What? What do you mean?" Neve asked, trying to make sense of where this was coming from. "I’m perfectly fine."
He glanced at Ryker, who was sitting on the other side of the cave, being completely ignored by Cael. Ryker looked like he was getting used to this kind of treatment.
"But why was your heart pounding that fast?" Cael asked softly. His hand moved to Neve’s back, holding him close. "Were you threatened? Were you hurt?"
Then his voice went cold suddenly.
His eyes shifted to Ryker, and the look he gave the tiger was absolutely terrifying. It was the look of something dangerous deciding whether to kill something else.
"Did that filthy tiger try anything?" Cael asked.
"Hey," Neve said quickly. He reached up and touched Cael’s cheeks with both hands, trying to redirect his attention and calm him down. "I’m fine. Besides, how do you even know my heart was racing?"
Cael held Neve’s hand and brought it down to his wrist. He pressed his lips to the bond mark there, the matching one on his own wrist.
"Whatever you feel, I always feel it too," Cael said.
Neve’s eyes went wide.
He had thought bond marks were just proof of mating. Visual confirmation that someone had been claimed and bonded. He had not expected them to function as a connection. A link between two people that transmits feelings and sensations.
He wondered if Vaelthorn felt it too.
The thought made him nervous. If his heart raced for any reason, Vaelthorn would know about it from wherever he was sleeping in his mountain. If Neve got hurt or scared or excited, the dragon king would feel it across the distance. That was a lot of information to be sharing with someone who had already shown he was possessive about Neve.
He hoped Vaelthorn would not decide to come running and burn down the entire tribe just because Neve’s heart had been beating a little faster.
He also hoped the bond did not do anything else.
Like transmitting thoughts.
He looked at Cael and decided to test it.
’Cael is so handsome,’ he thought deliberately, watching Cael’s face for any reaction.
Nothing.
’He’s hot, and his body is perfect,’ Neve continued thinking, adding details to make the thought stronger. ’I also like the way his huge dick hits—’
"Neve?" Cael called his name.
Neve sighed in relief.
There was no recognition on Cael’s face. No embarrassment or knowing smile. Cael was looking at him with genuine concern, not like someone who had just heard Neve’s increasingly dirty thoughts.
The bond did not transmit thoughts. Only emotions. Only the physical sensations and feelings.
That was a relief.
Neve released his hand from Cael’s grip.
"I’m fine," he said, nodding his head. "Nothing weird happened."
"Lies," Ryker said from across the cave.
Neve had really hoped Ryker would stay quiet and let this go. But after everything that had happened today, after watching Isabella get dragged away and seeing the young man recover from a poison that should have killed him, Neve doubted Ryker was in the mood to protect him with silence.
Ryker wanted action. Ryker wanted justice.
"Tell me," Cael said, his voice going even colder, "what exactly happened?"
"Ryker," Neve called his name softly, trying to redirect him.
Ryker pretended not to hear his name coming from Neve’s mouth like that.
"Bella had poisoned a beastman from the village with golden frog poison," Ryker said flatly. "And then she tried to blame it on Neve."
Cael’s entire body went rigid.
"What? How could she kill someone just to frame Neve?" Cael’s voice was dangerous now. He was not shocked. He was not confused. He was angry in the specific way that meant someone was going to pay for this. "Neve doesn’t even have poison on him. And he doesn’t know where the poison in the leopard tribe is kept."
Cael started cracking his fingers one by one. The sound was loud and deliberate and meant to be threatening.
"Since she ended up breaking the rules," Cael said, "I’ll make use of this opportunity and kill her."
"Kill her?" Ryker asked, his tone suggesting he was considering this seriously. "She broke the rules, but her plans failed. The beastman is alive."
Cael looked at Ryker like he did not understand the words coming out of the tiger’s mouth.
"How is that possible?" he asked. "That poison can kill within minutes."
"Neve healed him," Ryker said simply.
Cael’s eyes snapped to Neve.
His expression shifted from anger to shock to something more complex, involving calculation and concern.
"You did what?" Cael asked.
"Don’t worry," Neve said quickly, trying to defuse the situation before it could explode. "Bella is locked in the dungeon. She can’t harm me or do anything. I’m safe."
He tried to smile to show that everything was fine. Everything was under control. Nothing bad had happened, and nothing bad would happen.
Cael did not smile back. He lowered his head slowly.
When he looked up at Neve again, his expression was serious in a way that made Neve’s stomach tighten.
"Neve," Cael said quietly. "The one who should be locked in that dungeon right now."
He paused.
"Should be you."
The words hung in the air between them.
Ryker shifted slightly, like he was preparing to defend Neve if Cael made a move toward him.
But Cael was not making any aggressive moves. He was just standing there, holding Neve, looking at him with an expression that was heartbroken and angry at the same time.
"What do you mean?" Neve asked.
"You have a poison cure," Cael said slowly. "A poison cure that should not exist. A cure for the most deadly poison in the beast world."
Neve opened his mouth to respond, but Cael kept talking.
"Do you understand what that means?" Cael asked. "Do you understand what knowing this makes you?"
Neve waited.
"It makes you the most valuable person in this entire world," Cael said. "It makes you more valuable than any chief. More valuable than any warrior. It makes you a target."
Cael’s grip on Neve tightened slightly.
"The one who should be in the dungeon, locked away and protected," he said, "is you."