His Hybrid Queen

Chapter 30

Warning: this chapter contains description of violence

Claire

NO! I screamed, but the sound reverberated in my head. This can’t be real! It must be a horrible nightmare. I watched in horror and shock as the bears attacked our men and Nicolai stabbed Victor repeatedly. I was the only one who was spared. For some unknown reason, he needed me unharmed. 

My mate was being stabbed in front of my eyes and I couldn’t move a single muscle to try and stop it. I called to whatever creature I had inside me. It wanted to get out as much as I wanted to break free. I could feel my inner gate open up, letting the power flow through my body. My skin started to tingle and warmth spread from my chest and all over me. I let out a blood-curdling scream and the tendrils broke down to pieces before turning into ashes.

Without losing a beat, I sprinted off towards my mate. Nicolai stepped back when I got free, then he climbed up the hill to stand next to the sorceress. The tendrils that were constricting Victor disappeared and he stumbled a little. His hand reached to his wounds then he lifted it to look at it. He seemed confused when he noticed the blood on his hand as if he was incapable of bleeding. He wobbled in his feet and I got to him just as he fell on his knees.

I looked at the bloodied dagger. It wasn’t just silver. It was a cursed weapon. The cuts it makes will never heal. Victor’s wounds weren’t healing and blood kept pouring out. The sound of his heartbeat wasn’t as strong and steady as it always was. The sound was a faint and irregular thump. I knew it was a matter of time before I heard the last beat. Unless some sort of miracle happened, I had only a few minutes left to spend with my mate. 

I held Victor in my arms and he lifted a bloody hand to cup my face. He gave me a wistful smile as he murmured “I love you” in my mind. He was too weak to even talk. I leaned on his hand and I whispered back “I love you too”. His eyes became unfocused and his hand fell from my face. I couldn’t help the heavy tears as I sobbed painfully and held him close to me. This wasn’t fair. He can’t be going so soon. We didn’t have enough time to love each other. 

We were supposed to spend our lives together, laughing and bickering until our hair turned grey and our skin wrinkled. We were supposed to have our house with a white picket fence around a green yard. We were supposed to have many children so none of them ever felt lonely. But without him, I won’t have any of that. If he dies, I’m going to die too. Because I can’t imagine a world where he doesn’t live. Maybe if we had a child, I would have found the strength to survive. But since I had the miscarriage, that was another thing I’ll never have. 

Despite all the fights and the heartache, I loved Victor more than I thought was possible. I loved him more than life. With him, I knew what it felt like to love and to be loved. With him, I knew how it felt to be happy and to have someone to go home to. After what we’ve been through, we finally worked everything out. And now this man was taking it all away from me. The enchanted blade meant that Nicolai came prepared and with the intention to kill. 

I laid Victor gently on the ground. I placed a chaste kiss on his cold lips and tasted the saltiness of my tears. 

“We’ll be together soon,” I promised, my voice strangled with sorrow. 

As I looked at Victor’s limp body and hooded eyes, rage like I never felt before took over me. It woke the creature that was dormant for years inside of me. Every cell of my body was vibrating with intense energy. Releasing the creature and its power would be devastating and would kill me in the process. But I didn’t care anymore. I’d welcome death with open arms if it meant I get to be reunited with Victor in the afterlife.

I looked up to the two people responsible for my misery. Fire kindled in my chest and spread through my veins and into my limbs. The creature was rising and brought with it a blazing inferno that will destroy everything in its path. But I wasn’t afraid anymore. I didn’t have anything left to lose. I embraced the fire and let it consume me. The snow was melting around me, but surprisingly I didn’t feel hot at all. I was just warm. The tingling sensation intensified. When I looked at my hands, my skin was breaking like fractured marble. I turned them around and saw pieces of ember flake from my fingertips and progress up my palms and my arms.

I closed my eyes and I let the creature take possession of my body. Whatever changes were happening to my flesh and bones, it wasn’t painless. Though it didn’t compare to the ache in my heart to the loss of my mate. I felt weightless and powerful as if I was raised off the surface of the earth. When I opened my eyes again, I was a little disoriented and my body felt weird.  I felt like I was perched up high in the sky. My loud heartbeat clouded the other sounds around me and my vision was distorted. When I huffed through my nose, my breath made tiny clouds in the cold air.

For a moment I forgot where I was or what I was doing here. Until I saw the devil in the shape of a man and a woman. Nicolai and Anya looked so small. I focused my eyes on them, and they became so close as if I zoomed with a high-tech camera. The colors were a little off and the lines blurred, but I could see Nicolai’s heart beating and the blood flowing through his veins. The sorceress was dark from the inside out. Even her soul was rotten as if she didn’t belong among the living and should have been in the gutters of hell instead.

“I must say I’m impressed. I thought your kind was long gone from this world. Though I’m curious to find out what you’re capable of. Except looking ugly and watching your mate getting killed.” The sorceress said.

SHUT UP! I wanted to yell at her but an animalistic growl left my throat. 

“What a nasty breath! You should try a mint or two!” The witch mocked waving her hand in front of her face.

My rage came back ten folds and my chest rumbled. I let the beast in me take the reins because I didn’t feel like I was in control of my body or my powers. Something was bubbling and boiling in my belly. I felt the liquid rise up my throat and I could taste it on the tip of my tongue. I needed to get that thing out of me and I started coughing. If I was going to lurch I wanted to make sure to do it on the evil pair and humiliate them before I took their lives. 

I coughed again as if I had a hairball in my mouth. The back of my throat cackled and I smelled a hint of smoke. I took a deep breath and with a strong exhale I tried to clear my airways. To my absolute surprise and my enemies’ dismay, purple fire came out of my mouth. I directed the flame at Nicolai and Anya. After a few seconds, I had to take a breath and the fire stopped.

The wind whipped around, chasing the smoke. I expected to see two charred bodies but instead, the prince and his sidekick were standing unscathed inside a defensive shield bubble. The dark witch started cackling with a burst of evil laughter.

“I’m Anya the great-granddaughter of the mighty Rasputin. Do you think a little fire will kill me? Hahaha!”

I stomped my feet letting out a loud ear-splitting growl. The ground vibrated beneath me and the trees shook as flocks of birds flew away. Something was happening in the air. I couldn’t quite describe it but I could feel it all around me. It was eerily quiet for a few moments until I heard a c***k. Anya’s smug face took a look of panic as her eyes zigzagged in their sockets. I wasn’t sure how it worked, but the shield was weakening. 

I followed my instincts and I tried again, though I didn’t know what I was actually doing. To the ears, it sounded like a monstrous rumble. But in my head, it was a melodious chant. The creature was calling some power from deep inside. It was calling to the magic of nature in the air, in the trees, and in the earth. It was a strong and pure kind of magic. I felt more than saw it gather around the witch in a whirlwind. 

When the air settled around again. The witch was panting with effort to maintain her shield in vain. It crumbled and vanished in the air like dust. The black tendrils rose like vines and closed around her like a grim cocoon. Nicolai realized he was left defenseless so he spun on his heels and started running away. He can run but he cannot hide. I returned my attention to the witch and her tendrils. My throat tickled again and I knew what was coming. I opened my mouth and released the fire on my enemy. 

It didn’t take long for the tendrils to wither and fall into crumbs. Anya raised her hands to counter the attack but she was failing. I advanced and she walked back. Her defensive shield was getting smaller and the flame caught at the ends of her garments. 

DIE b***h! I screamed and showered her with another intense blaze.  I didn’t spare her remains another glance and jumped forward to chase the coward who stabbed my mate.

The muscles in my shoulders twitched. I looked back and saw two large wings spread and flip up and down. I flew up in the air and chased the criminal in no time. I dipped down and ripped off his head in one clean bite before I spat it away.

Now that my revenge was complete, the anger left the place to immense grief. I needed to be with my mate. I needed to see his face and touch him again. I returned to the battlefield. The men scattered away when they saw me. But I didn’t care about them. I only cared about the man lying still and bloody on the ground. The bond between us tugged and squeezed at my heart. A knot formed in my throat and a pained wail escaped my mouth. Tears gathered in my eyes and fell heavily on Victor’s body. 

I wanted to touch him and be close to him in his last moments. But when I looked at my hands and feet, all I saw were big paws with dark claws. Red and purple scales covered my chunky legs and arms. I have turned into a winged Godzilla and couldn't hug the man I loved for the last time. I fell to my knees as more keening cries of grief filled the air. A huff of smoke and embers floated around before the sounds turned to sobs. I recognized my own voice and I felt the wet grass against my skin. That’s when I knew I was human again. All strength had drained from my body, and all I could do was to crawl to reach Victor. 

I laid by his side and rested my head on his shoulder, making sure not to touch his wounds and hurt him. The creature receded to the back of my mind, the same way my wolf did when this whole ordeal started. I was utterly alone and devastated. I had nothing left and I wished death would come and take me already. I was exhausted physically and emotionally.

I closed my eyes and drifted away to wherever my soul needed to go.