Chapter 117: The Failed Mission And The Broken Bond!
Ryker did not mean to suspect that his people were up to something.
He knew the kind of tribe he came from. The Tiger tribe was filled with pride. They were stubborn and fierce and independent. No matter what happened, they would rather choose another chief than to beg for him to return to them.
Especially with the terms they were proposing. Ryker being able to make a decision for himself? He smirked and shook his head at the thought.
The council members would never allow that. Those stubborn old men would always find a way to counter whatever Ryker said. After all, they had done the same thing when he first mentioned his bond with Neve. They had fought him tooth and nail against his choice.
So why would they suddenly change their minds now?
Ryker looked at the man who was already trembling because of the snow. The elder’s head was still pressed into the white powder, his body shaking violently.
"Get up," Ryker commanded, his voice cold and authoritative.
The man lifted his upper body carefully, his knees still bent, so he could meet Ryker’s eyes.
He flinched immediately. Not because of the cold, but because of the coldness he saw in Ryker’s expression. The tiger prince’s eyes were ice. There was no warmth. No compassion. Just calculation and suspicion.
"Ch... Chief?" the man called out hesitantly, dragging his knees backward in the snow.
"I’m going to repeat again," Ryker said, his voice firm. "I’m not your chief anymore. I stopped being your chief the moment you all forced me to choose."
He frowned deeply and took a step closer to the elder, leaning down to his level.
"Who sent you here?" Ryker asked, his voice becoming sharper. "No wait, why are you here? You have a reason, don’t you? You didn’t just wake up and decide to come all this way through the snow this evening for no reason."
"I don’t understand what you mean, Ryker," the elder said, blinking repeatedly, his eyes wide with confusion and fear. "I only came here on behalf of everyone. That’s the only reason. I swear it."
But Ryker could see the hesitation in the man’s eyes. He could see that there was more to the story. There was something the elder was not saying.
Ryker stood up from his crouched position. He was probably interrogating the wrong person. The elder was just a messenger. The real answers would come from somewhere else.
He turned his back and walked toward the cave entrance.
"Ryker?" the man called out desperately, hoping for some kind of response or sign.
"I’m not returning to the Tiger Tribe," Ryker said without turning around. "And since I don’t know what you people are planning, I’m definitely not going to forgive any of you if it concerns my mate."
He walked inside the cave without waiting for a response.
.
.
The elder stood there in the snow, his body trembling from both cold and fear.
He clenched his fist tightly.
"Damn it, I failed," he muttered to himself, trying desperately to keep his legs stable. The cold was getting worse. His fingers were starting to numb.
He turned and looked back toward the village in the distance. He could not see it from where he stood because it was too far away and the snow was falling too heavily. But he knew it was there. He knew what awaited him when he returned with news of his failure.
He swallowed hard and clasped his hands together, steeling himself for what was to come.
"How do I report to the council leader?" he asked himself quietly.
But then another thought occurred to him. A more terrifying one.
"No," he whispered. "How do I report to the leopard tribe chief?"
He had not just failed Ryker and the tiger tribe. He had failed the mission that the leopard tribe chief had given him. Soren had sent him to convince Ryker to return. Soren had wanted to use Ryker to solve whatever problems he was having.
And now he had to tell Soren that the mission had failed.
The elder knew what that meant. He knew the consequence of failing a direct order from a chief. Especially when that chief was as cold and calculating as Soren.
A part of him wanted to run away. He wanted to escape into the snow and never come back. He wanted to disappear into the wilderness and live out his remaining days in solitude rather than face what was waiting for him.
But he knew he would not survive a day outside in this weather. The cold would kill him long before hunger would.
And also, if he ran away, there was no one to take care of his mate. She was waiting for him in the village. She was depending on him. He could not abandon her.
He gritted his teeth and walked forward, trying to look courageous even though his heart was pounding with fear. He walked toward the leopard tribe village, dragging his feet through the snow.
.
.
He finally reached Soren’s cave and saw a bunch of people waiting outside.
Some of the tiger tribe council members were there. But more importantly, he could see the leopard tribe warriors.
And beside them was his beautiful mate.
She looked terrified. Her eyes were wide with fear and worry. She was clearly anxious about what would happen when the elder returned.
"How did it go?" one of the council members asked immediately.
The elder lowered his head slowly and shook it. Just that small gesture was enough.
The message was clear.
He had failed.
All of them lowered their heads at the same time like it was a unified response to receiving bad news. The air around them seemed to grow heavier.
His mate covered her mouth with her hand, her expression shifting to shock and despair.
She slipped to the ground, her legs unable to support her anymore.
The beastman could hear his mate crying. She was making soft sounds of distress and pain. But he did not bother to look at her. He could not. Looking at her would only make this harder.
He walked into Soren’s cave without being asked.
Behind him, his mate continued crying. Other beastmen gathered around her, trying to console her, telling her to hope for the best.
"Maybe he’ll be saved," one of them said, though there was no conviction in his voice.
His mate looked up at the sound of those words and felt a sharp pang in her chest. She closed her eyes as more water rolled down her teary face.
She looked down at her ankle, at the place where her bond mark was located.
It was slowly fading.
The mark that connected her to her mate. The mark that showed the entire tribe that they were bonded. The mark that represented their love and their connection.
It was disappearing.
The color was draining out of it. The light was fading. It was becoming transparent, losing all of its power and meaning.
The whole tribe immediately understood what was happening.
The whole tribe immediately knew he was dead.