Knots of the Hybrid Queen: Claimed by Four Alphas

Chapter 47: The Choice

Kael was dying and there was nothing I could do except stand there watching healers work while his bond got quieter and more distant and my brain kept replaying the moment demon claws tore through his ribs like he was made of paper.

Three hours. Three hours of surgery and healing magic and watching his chest rise and fall in shallow breaths that kept getting shallower.

Through the bond I felt him slipping further away and every time I tried to push energy at him to keep him anchored the healers told me to stop because I was interfering with their work, which was probably true but also how was I supposed to just stand here and watch him die?

"You should rest." Draven’s voice came from somewhere to my left but I couldn’t look away from Kael’s too-pale face long enough to acknowledge him.

Rest. Right. Because sleeping while my mate died was totally an option.

"The demon’s still out there." Marcus appeared in the doorway with that grim expression that meant bad news. "Scouts tracked it east. It’s wounded but mobile. We could pursue if—"

"No." The word came out flat. Final.

"Selene, if we don’t finish it now—"

"I’m not leaving him." I cut him off and I knew that was the wrong tactical choice, knew letting the demon escape meant it would come back stronger eventually, knew I was choosing personal over strategic.

Didn’t care.

Through the bonds I felt Riven’s understanding mixing with Thorne’s feral approval mixing with Draven’s quiet support, and at least the three of them got it even if Marcus didn’t.

"The alliance—" He tried again.

"The alliance can handle a wounded demon returning in months." My voice came out rough. Hoarse. "I can’t handle losing Kael today. So we’re not pursuing. We’re defending what we have left and hoping it’s enough."

Silence while he processed that.

Then he nodded once and left, and I went back to watching Kael’s chest rise and fall and trying not to focus on how each breath sounded more labored than the last.

The healers worked for another hour before the lead one—Meredith, I think her name was—stepped back with blood on her hands and exhaustion written across her face.

"We’ve done everything we can." Her voice was gentle. Careful. "The rest is up to him. And you."

Up to him and me. Right. No pressure.

"What do you mean me?" Because I’d tried pushing energy through the bond and they’d told me to stop, so what else was I supposed to do?

"The mate bond can anchor him." She gestured to the space beside Kael’s bed. "Stay close. Let him feel you. It might be enough."

Might be enough. Not will be. Might.

I sank into the chair that had basically become my permanent residence this week and took Kael’s hand, and through our bond I felt him respond—barely, just a flicker—but it was there.

"I’m here." My voice cracked. "I’m not going anywhere. You hear me? You’re not allowed to die because I need you and the pack needs you and if you die I’m going to be so angry at you." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Through the bond I caught something that might have been amusement.

Good. If he could still find me annoying he was still fighting.

Hours passed in silence broken only by medical machines beeping and healers checking vitals, and I just sat there holding his hand and trying not to think about what happened if this wasn’t enough.

Around hour six his eyes opened.

Just barely. Just enough to find me.

"You stayed." His voice was barely a whisper. Rough.

"Of course I stayed." The tears came before I could stop them. "Where else would I go?"

"Demon." Just the one word but I understood what he was asking.

"Escaped. Wounded. We let it go." I waited for him to be angry that I’d chosen him over finishing the threat.

Instead through the bond I felt relief mixing with love so fierce it stole my breath.

"Good choice." His thumb traced my knuckles. "Love over duty. Always."

Love over duty. Right. Except duty was keeping everyone else alive and love was keeping him alive and I’d chosen one over the other and fifty-three people had died because I wasn’t strong enough to save both.

"Don’t." His voice was firmer now. "I can feel you spiraling. Stop."

"Fifty-three people died." The number sat in my chest like lead. "And the demon’s still out there. And I chose you over stopping it. That’s not spiraling, that’s just facts."

"Facts are you’re alive. I’m alive. The alliance held." He tried to sit up and immediately regretted it based on the way he went pale and had to lie back down. "We survived. That’s enough."

Enough. Was it though?

Through the bond I felt Riven’s agreement and Thorne’s feral certainty and Draven’s quiet support, and maybe they were right, maybe surviving was enough when the alternative was everyone dying.

But the demon was still out there and it would come back and next time we might not be so lucky.

"How long until it attacks again?" I had to ask even though I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer.

"Months." Draven appeared in the doorway with Morgana behind him. "We tracked its injuries. It’s crippled. Won’t be combat-ready for at least six months. Maybe longer."

Six months. Half a year to prepare for round three.

Half a year to figure out how to kill it instead of just wounding it again.

"The prophecy." Morgana stepped forward with her tablet. "There’s a second verse. I found it in the archives after the battle."

A second verse. Of course there was. Because one cryptic prophecy wasn’t enough, apparently we needed two.

"What does it say?" My voice came out tired. Defeated.

She pulled up text that looked even older than the first verse, and when she read it out loud my blood went cold.

"The shadowed blood will bind the beasts or break them. But binding is not ending. The Queen must choose—destroy the darkness at the root or watch it grow eternal."

Destroy the darkness at the root.

The demon wasn’t the root. It was just—what, a symptom? A piece of something bigger?

"What’s the root?" The question came out quieter than I meant.

"We don’t know." Morgana’s voice was grim. "But if the demon is just one manifestation of a larger darkness, killing it won’t end the threat. We need to find the source."

The source. Right. Because fighting one demon wasn’t enough, now we needed to track down whatever ancient evil was spawning them.

No pressure.

Through the bonds I felt all four alphas responding—Kael’s determination even while injured, Riven’s strategic thinking already mapping possibilities, Draven’s clinical assessment of threat levels, Thorne’s feral readiness to fight whatever came next.

"Six months." I heard my voice go flat. "We have six months to figure out what the root is and how to destroy it before the demon comes back."

"Essentially yes." Morgana made notes on her tablet.

Six months to save everyone.

Six months to become strong enough to end this instead of just surviving it.

Six months to figure out how to be the Hybrid Queen the prophecy needed instead of the disaster I clearly was.

Starting tomorrow.

Tonight I was just going to sit here and hold Kael’s hand and be grateful he was still breathing.