Riley’s POV

“I reject you, Cane Dravenmoor, as a mate and denounce whatever shitty bond that binds us.”

The words came out of my mouth without hesitation, sharp and final, and the second they landed, I felt the effect of it.

Cane gasped like something inside him had been torn open. His body stiffened instantly, his chest rising sharply as if he had forgotten how to breathe for a moment, and his eyes locked onto mine with something raw and unguarded that I had not seen before. 

The calm control he had been holding onto shattered right there in front of me, and for a second, I saw the real...