His Hybrid Queen

Chapter 28

Claire

Victor has just left with a group of warriors. I couldn’t see him through the trees, but I could sense him going farther as the distance grew between us. An unsettling feeling was gnawing at my insides. He reluctantly let me go to town and didn’t ponder about whether or not I should be coming with him to inspect the breach. He was adamant that I should stay behind in the palace where I was safe. I could protect myself quite well. I knew how to fight and I wasn’t afraid of some rogues. 

Something was tugging at my guts. It felt like tiny tethers stretching and pulling. It wasn’t as strong as the mate bond I had with Victor. So, I knew that something was wrong with the pack members. I closed my eyes and focused my senses in the direction of the northern border. I could almost see them through my mind’s eye. First, I found Victor and his group running. I could only see their shapes made of light and their glow was flowing in the air behind them like a trail. Further away it was Garret and his team as they were slowing down. Ahead of them, I perceived four individuals. Their light was small, flickering and weak.

I couldn’t stay still. There was a danger bigger than what Victor expected. They needed all the help they could get. I opened my eyes and ran outside. I ordered Oliver to shift and jumped on his back. Through the pack link, I called some of the available warriors to secure the other borders and the rest to follow me.

I wasn’t as foolish as to leave the pack vulnerable. There was always a risk that it could be a bilateral attack. The enemy could create a diversion on one side and strike from the other. Luckily, we had enough troops to shield the town where the majority of the pack resided. I told them to seek safe rooms and barricade inside their houses. No one should leave until the danger is cleared out. I just wished it was a false alert or some accident. I didn’t like the way fear had taken over the pack, but their safety was more important. 

I urged Oliver to run faster, despite the freezing wind whipping at my face like sharp needles. He stopped suddenly, and I would’ve flown over if I wasn’t gripping his fur tightly. I jumped off his massive form and ran toward the huddled group in the front. I pushed the hulking men and the wolves out of my way until I reached Victor and Garret. 

They were crouching over the still figures of the patrol guards, talking in hushed tones. They stood up when they noticed me. Victor gave me a pointed look as if to say “What are you doing here?”  I refrained from rolling my eyes at his silent complaint. I approached the unconscious men carefully. They looked as if they were frozen. Their eyes were open but clouded with a white membrane. Their heartbeat was faint and their breathing shallow. They were barely alive and couldn’t remain in this state for too long.

This close to them I knew who rendered them this way. I could feel the ominous energy hovering around and concentrated on the body of its victims. A shiver ran through my body, and it wasn’t the nice kind. “Cover their eyes, and keep them warm. We need to find who did this to them sooner than later. Spread out and secure the perimeter.” I quickly ordered the men to act.

“What is it?” Victor asked me, with concern lacing his words.  

“Dark magic,” I whispered.  I didn’t even want to think of the words, let alone say them out loud. “I think it’s Nicolai. It has the same signature as in his letters.”

Victor gave me a perplexed look before he pulled me to the side, away from earshot.

“How could you tell?” He asked through the mind link so no one could hear us. I could see the wheels turning in his head. And I understood why. 

Though it’s magic that allows us to shift, werewolves cannot sense or wield magic. Except for those with royal blood. According to the legend, the Moon Goddess blessed the first werewolf and his descendants with special powers, so they could overcome any enemy they faced. 

My uncle had his mind tricks. He could see and manipulate memories. I found out at my own expense. That’s how he tricked me into staying the first time I came to the palace. My mother had the power of foresight and premonitions according to her journal. She didn’t write what she saw so I didn’t have a clue about the extent of her abilities. 

Me, however, I keep discovering something new every now and then. What I did earlier and the way I can sense magic now. It must be the powers I inherited from my father. I couldn’t explain it otherwise. He could be any kind of supernatural as far as I know.

“I don’t know how, I just...do,” I told Victor the honest truth. Which wasn’t much.

He opened his mouth to say something, but one of the sentinels attracted our attention. We followed the direction he mentioned towards the edge of the forest. The trees were thinning out as we advanced. When we reached a wide clearing I ordered our men to take formation. I could sense the source of dark magic energy beyond the hill that stood up ahead. It was strong, and I knew that our enemy was right behind it.

This was the moment of truth, to know the identity of the person responsible for the letters and for the paralysis of the patrol guards. Nicolai was definitely involved, but he must have a witch or warlock helping him. I have been researching all this time, trying to find a way to protect myself and the pack from the wrongdoings of black magic. But I came up empty-handed. Unless a white magic witch miraculously fell from the sky and agreed to help us, we were at a disadvantage.

Soon enough, Nicolai emerged from behind the hill. He was wearing a fur coat over camouflage pants and no shirt. At his side stood a tall woman. She was as pale as a porcelain doll. If the whole gothic look, smokey eyes, black hair, and clothes weren’t enough, she was surrounded by a black mist or smoke. More werebears showed up on either side of them.

“Do you see that?” I asked victor without peeling my eyes from our enemies.

“Unless they have more troops hiding, we outnumber them.”

“I mean that thing floating around the witch?” I explained and his silence told me what I needed to know. Somehow, I was the only one who could see it, which raised more questions. Like was I part witch, wizard, or something? Anyhow, now wasn’t the time for that. I needed to focus on the situation at hand.

One of Nicolai’s men broke from the line and walked down raising his hands to show he was unarmed. As if shifters needed any weapon when they already had razor-sharp teeth and claws. Victor told Garret to go and find out what he wants. I watched nervously as the two men met in the middle and talked for a few moments before our beta made his way back.

“The prince wants to talk to the Alpha, alone,” Garret told us.

“Fine.” Victor agreed right away and Garret went to relay the information.

“I don’t like this,” I said. 

“I can handle it.” He said confidently.

Of course, he could. He was the Alpha King of werewolves and a Lycan. He was one of, if not the most powerful shifter on earth. But I couldn’t help that feeling in the pit of my stomach from growing and I didn’t want my mate to go face the danger alone.

“Hey, look at me,” Victor said as he cupped my face. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be alright.” He pressed a kiss on my forehead and I closed my eyes inhaling his scent. It felt like I was sending him off to war. It was like a goodbye and I didn’t want to leave his side for a second.

If I had been nervous before, now I was almost frantic as I followed Victor with my eyes. My heart was pumping loudly in my ears and I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. I trusted Victor to be able to handle himself well in battle. To be honest, it wasn’t Nicolai that I was worried about. But the woman who remained behind. I couldn’t tell where her robes ended and where the black tendrils of smoke began. 

Whatever is going to result from Victor and Nicolai’s discussion, that woman is capable of flipping the situation against us.

Author's note

Sorry for short chapter. I hope you like the update.

I want to clarify a couple of points for the readers after I read some comments.

"Are all werewolves white in this universe?"

No. Every shifter species originates from a different region of the world. Werebears from Russia, panthers from south America, Lions from Africa and werewolves from Europe. It doesn't mean that all of them are white, example: the tribe of Victor's mother are native American. Shifters who have different ethnicity than the group of origin were turned.

"Claire is so stupid!" I keep seeing a lot of comments like this.

She's not stupid. She's young and immature yes. If she doesn't make mistakes, how do you expect her to learn and grow. Besides, if she made all the right decisions the story would have ended at chapter 40. We don't want that do we? And miss all the drama?

"How often do you update?"

Once a week every Saturday.

I can't reply to all the comments, but I'll do my best to clarify any part of the story.