Page 29 of His Bullied Fated Mate

I could hear growling, and a second later, I was free.

I turned, taking in Riley, grabbing the guy, and pressing him down to the ground. The man jerked under Riley’s hand. “Let go!” He yelled, his voice echoing around the space. “You can't stop me. Bonding won't keep her yours.”

I stared, my hands shaking now. I didn’t understand what was going on.

A couple of others hurried over, and they pulled him off the ground and started to turn him towards the other side of the street.

“Take him to the infirmary.”

I turned to him, watching Riley look worried still.

They pulled him down the road, and Riley turned to me. His face fell. “Shit, are you okay?”

I blinked and looked back towards the guy. He was still trying to free himself. The guys held him firm.

I swallowed and looked back at Riley. He moved closer. “Are you okay? Shit, the orchid.”

I glanced down, looking at the plant and the damage. I looked back at him, feeling my head starting to kick back on. I suddenly had a hundred questions running through my mind. “What happened to him? What’s going on? Why was he coming at us?”

He frowned. “He wasn't coming after us. He was going after you. It's part of the corruption. It’s been making people lose their control.”

“Why was he coming at me, though? That doesn't make any sense.”

His frown deepened. “Because you're a female and he doesn’t have one. This issue we’ve been having is affecting everyone and kicking into their animalistic side. It’s not been pretty. He wanted what was not his.”

I suddenly wondered what would have happened if Riley hadn’t been here. His answer only left me with ten more questions.

“I should go make sure everything is okay with him. Why don’t you head back to the house, and I’ll see you there later.”

I shook my head. “No. I want to come with.”

His eyebrows went up. “Are you sure? I don’t think that’s the best idea.”

I nodded. He was telling me that there was an issue, and I wasn’t listening. I didn’t truly believe him, but now I wanted to see what was going on. I needed to.

“You really don’t have to go.”

“I want to help. You brought me here because you said you needed me.”

“For me, not everyone else.”

“I want to help. Take me with you.”

He seemed to contemplate it for a moment before he nodded. “Alright.”

We headed to the infirmary, which was a couple of blocks away. I thought it would look like a clinic, but it looked like a home. There was a wrap-around porch and a big glass front door.

Riley opened the door and waved a hand. I stepped in before him and paused. The inside was a wide-open space. He headed down a hallway. I followed him where there were lines of beds set up. My eyes widened as I took it all in.

My heart stopped beating as I took in the disaster that the space was in. Someone was coughing on the bed, and another was curled in a fetal position. I spotted the man from earlier. He was strapped to the bed and pushing against the restraints.

I swallowed. I expected there to be people in pain, but I wasn’t expecting this.

“Are they all being affected?”

“All the ones in this room. We keep them apart from others because they can react differently. We don't want to scare people.”

I looked around the room once more. I knew that he’d been talking about everything, but I never thought it was like this. But then again, I never gave it much thought.