Chapter 125: The System Glitch And Cael’s Promise!
Neve’s eyes darkened when he said those words.
But somehow, he did not want to say them. Because do what himself? There was no way he could go against Soren. Not when Soren was this dangerous. Not when Soren had just killed someone in front of the entire tribe without hesitation.
"But somehow, I can’t stand and watch when I can do something," Neve muttered again and quickly slammed his hand over his mouth.
He had not meant to say that out loud.
He never said that. The words had just spilled out before he could stop them.
His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he lifted his head to look across the crowd. He found Soren slowly walking down from the small podium. Their eyes met.
Soren smirked when their gazes connected. It was a smirk filled with possession and arrogance. Like he had already won. Like Neve was already his.
Then Soren walked away with his blabbermouth guard following close behind, whispering something to him as they left.
Neve frowned deeply.
There was no way he was going to be Soren’s mate. Whether Soren liked it or not. Whether Soren had announced it publicly or not. Neve would find a way out of this.
Besides, the system did not even count Soren as one of his mates. Soren was not on the list.
He turned his head to look at the system hovering in his vision and immediately froze.
It was glitching.
The screen was flickering. The letters were scrambled. The text was distorted.
He arched his brow as he tried to reach out and touch it, even though he knew intellectually that his hand would just pass through since it was not a physical object.
’Hey system?’ he called out mentally, trying to communicate with it.
But there was no response.
The screen continued glitching as a few letters popped in and out of focus in front of him.
{Sy#s?m U##va?lab&e}
System unavailable.
He was not foolish. He could read it even with the letters missing. The message was clear.
He frowned.
This was the first time it had ever happened. The system had been his constant companion since he arrived in this world. Even though it was straight up annoying. It had provided him with missions and rewards and information. And now it was just gone. Unavailable.
But right now was not the time to think about it. Right now, he needed to process what had just happened.
Doris was killed. Dead. Her body left bleeding on the platform in front of the entire village.
He did not know if it was because he had gotten used to this world. If death of beastmen did not faze him anymore after seeing so much suffering and violence.
But he felt sad and guilty like it was his fault. Because it was his fault. If he had not asked her to steal the weapon, she would still be alive.
"Let’s go, Kelly," Neve said, turning away from the crowd.
Cael was not here. Neve realized this fact as he looked around. Cael was nowhere in the crowd.
Sure, Neve could tell that Soren had ordered him to eliminate Doris. But out of frustration and rage, Soren had killed Doris himself. He had not even let Cael do it. He had taken that burden from his brother.
But wait.
Cael must have felt something watching his brother kill someone he had been ordered to kill. Cael must have felt worthless being used by his brother like that. Being commanded to participate in murder.
Neve wanted him to feel that. Wanted him to understand the gravity of what Soren was capable of. Maybe that would finally get Cael to buckle up and see more reasons to eliminate his brother. Maybe that would push Cael to commit fully to the plan.
Neve and Kelly walked through the snow and got back to the cave.
.
.
Popi was at the cave entrance with Doris’s siblings.
The three young beastmen were no longer crying. They were not moving or talking. All three of them were asleep on the floor, curled up against each other.
Neve raised a brow, confused about how Popi had managed to calm them down so quickly.
She waved a small pouch of sleeping powder in response to his unspoken question.
Neve shook his head and knelt down close to the children to check on them. He made sure they were breathing properly. Made sure they were not injured. Made sure they were safe.
"What about her?" Popi asked. She had not been there to watch what happened. She had not heard what Soren had said to Neve in front of everyone.
"She’s dead," Neve said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
He paused, unable to speak further about what else had happened. He could not even talk about how angry he was. How pissed he was about what Soren had announced so publicly.
Kelly stepped in and helped him complete the statement.
"Soren wants to become mate with Neve," Kelly said bluntly. "Seems like that guard heard our earlier discussion in the cave and reported everything back to Soren. He told Soren about our plans. About everything we discussed."
Popi’s expression shifted to alarm.
"At least he didn’t hear about the plan with the fox tribe," she said, trying to find something positive in the situation. "He would have had all of us killed already if he knew about that."
Neve shook his head, still focused on the immediate problem.
"That is still a major problem though," Neve said. "How am I supposed to reject him? I don’t know his plan and I definitely do not know how to go about this. He has public claim on me now. Everyone in the tribe saw him announce that I’m going to be his mate."
Popi rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"I can’t say much because I’m not a male and I haven’t gotten marked before," she said. "I don’t have experience with this kind of situation."
It was true. Neve suddenly felt guilty. If he were not here, Popi would have spent the rest of her life bonded to Ryker. She would have had a different fate.
"What if he suddenly wants to mate with me?" Neve asked, his hand moving to his stomach protectively. "What if he does something to harm the cubs?"
The thought terrified him.
"Don’t worry."
Cael walked into the cave.
His expression was cold and filled with something that Neve could not quite identify. But he liked it. He liked the intensity he saw in Cael’s eyes. The determination. The protective rage.
Cael had clearly heard what Soren had said. He knew what his brother had announced.
"Nothing will happen to my cubs," Cael said, his voice low and dangerous.
He walked closer to Neve and placed his hand on the red panda’s stomach gently, his touch both tender and possessive.
"If they are threatened," Cael continued, his eyes becoming darker and colder, "I just have to take another life like I’ve always done."