His Hybrid Queen

Chapter 29

Claire

The dark clouds obscured the horizon. The wind had picked up speed and was blowing my hair in every direction. They had announced that a strong blizzard was coming tomorrow, but I didn’t think the storm would have started already.  

I hated to see Victor walk away from me. I felt like I had no other choice but to watch him go. His boots made a crunching sound as he stepped on the patches of snow. When he got closer to Nicolai, I muted all the surrounding noise and focused my hearing on the two.

“What do you want?” Victor said as he stood a few feet away from the prince. 

It didn’t surprise me that he didn't observe normal protocol for visiting royalty. Nicolai was basically trespassing on our territory. He came unannounced and was most likely responsible for the state of our men. 

“I want what’s mine.” Nicolai replied with an even tone.

“You have nothing here!”

“Yes, I do.” Nicolai threw an icy glare my way.

“You’re too late. We’re already marked and mated.” Victor stated. He pulled the collar of his shirt to the side, revealing the mating mark. If the circumstances were different, I would have turned beet red out of embarrassment. I didn’t want my intimate life to become public knowledge.

“I claimed her first!” The prince said angrily.

“She was mine way before you even knew she existed. She gave herself to me before her coronation. And if that’s not enough, we’re true mates which makes your claim void.” 

“Impossible! I didn’t smell any other male on her!”

“You can’t blame me for your faulty nose.”

“My nose is fine!”

Victor was impassible like always as he delivered blow after blow. Of course, Nicolai didn’t know that I was masking my scent and was starting to lose his cool at that remark. I could see his jaw muscle work as he ground his teeth. A few seconds passed as the two Alphas stared at each other in silence and I held my breath. 

“There is an easy way to fix this.” Nicolai broke the heavy silence, a smirk tugging at his lips slightly.

“Let’s hear it.”

“A duel, a challenge for the Alpha title if you want. If I win, I’ll have your crown and your queen.” The prince said defiantly. 

Red flags were popping everywhere. I could almost hear the alarm siren blaring in my ears. The prince was confident. A little too confident to my taste. I heard werebears were large and strong. What they lack in agility they compensate with raw power. He was an Alpha prince and he could be the equal of the Alpha of werewolves at best. Besides Victor wasn’t just any werewolf, he was a Lycan. Maybe Nicolai didn’t know that, or worse. He already knew and that’s why he brought the witch with him. Nicolai wasn’t going to fight fair. Of that, I was sure.

“Victor don’t-” I wanted to warn him but caught off the mind-link before I could finish the sentence.

“What do I get if I win?” Victor asked.

“You can have her.” Nicolai pointed with his thumb to the witch behind him. “She can be useful in more than one way. If you know what I mean.” He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

It didn’t take a genius to understand what the prince was implying. He was offering her like she was some kind of property or an object to be passed down. Though she didn’t seem to mind, with the way she wiggled her dainty fingers at Victor. I squeezed my fists tight until my fingernails dug into my palm. Just the idea of another female touching my man was making me furious. My wolf agreed with an angry growl.

“I don’t want her.” I trusted Victor and I believed in the strength of our relationship to know that he would reject the offer. But it felt good to hear the words. It was reassuring in a way.

“There must be something that you want. Anya is a sorceress and necromancer. She can bring a loved one back from the dead.” The prince offered. 

He didn’t sound like it, but he was getting desperate, and more questions arose in my mind. If Anya the sorceress was his mistress, why would he want me? I thought before that he could gain power by claiming me as his mate. But why would he still want me if he could have the Alpha title by winning the challenge? I racked my brain but his motive was still unclear. 

“The dead have no place among the living.” Victor countered sternly. “I have nothing to gain from accepting the challenge. Not that I have to. Since you’re trespassing on my territory, I can do with you whatever I see fit.” Victor turned around. “You have five minutes to pack up and go back to where you come from.” He said as he walked away from Nicolai.

I let out an audible sigh. I was relieved that Victor didn’t accept the challenge. He was more sensible than that. I didn’t have a sliver of doubt that he would come out victorious. Either he decided to spare his opponent’s life or not, there was a risk that the conflict won’t end simply with the fight.

“Is the little wolf running back crying to his mommy?” 

Victor stopped in his tracks. His body was rigid with tension and his hands were curled in tight fists by his sides. The subject of his mother was a delicate one. And I feared that Nicolai might have gotten under his skin.

“Oh right! You can’t. Because she’s already dead.”

Oh no! He didn’t! It was a dirty jab. It was like rubbing salt into an open wound. One cannot bring up someone’s dead mother without expecting consequences. Nicolai didn’t stop there. He kept teasing as he mimicked a crying baby. And that was the breaking point for Victor. He whipped around, shrugging off his leather jacket. Nicolai seemed more than happy to see Victor stomp towards him. He dropped his coat to the ground and assumed a fighting position with a s**t-eating grin on his face.

Though the two men were of similar size, Nicolai looked bigger. He had a strong man body, with his muscles hiding under a layer of fat. However, it would take more than strength to take down Victor. My Alpha King was a superior fighter. He was powerful and skilled. He trained every day and had more martial arts under his belt than an MMA professional. But I couldn’t help worrying about seeing him get hurt. 

I started to chew on my inner cheek when Victor gave the first blow. Nicolai had his forearms in front of him in a boxing defense position. It prevented Victor’s punches from landing on his face. He was pounding him ferociously like a sandbag without giving him a second of respite. The sound of Victor’s knuckles hitting Nicolai’s arms matched the thumping of my heart. When he took a step back, he wasn’t even panting. Knowing him he didn’t start fighting yet. He was just warming up. I couldn’t say the same thing about his opponent. Bruises started to form on Nicolai’s arms.

The two Alphas started circling each other. Victor had an open stance as if he was inviting the other man to land his first hit. An inexperienced fighter would think there was plenty of openings, but it was a lure to trick his adversaries. Nicolai took the bait and attacked. Victor countered the punch and caught his arm, then gave him a series of successive blows to his side. I could hear his ribs c***k. Victor finished with a right hook to the jaw, making Nicolai stumble back. 

“Is that all you got? Boy?” Nicolai spat blood before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. 

Did he have a death wish or something? Why did he keep provoking Victor this way? The sorceress was still as a statue, watching the fight from above. Something about the whole situation wasn’t right. That sinking feeling in my guts kept intensifying. It was like a sense of impending doom. 

Nicolai attacked again. This time, Victor twisted Nicolai’s arm behind him then he kicked him in the back sending him to the ground. I heard a sickening pop and Nicolai let down a scream before as fell face down. He rolled to his side, and with a pained expression on his face, he put back in place his dislocated shoulder. I would have felt sorry for him if he didn’t deserve it. 

Slowly, the prince stood on his feet. He was covered with dirt and his body was riddled with black and blue. I wondered why he wasn’t healing. I thought that all shifters had super healing powers. For some reason, that wasn’t the case for Nicolai. He looked behind him towards the sorceress and she nodded at him. She lifted her hands and the tendrils of smoke started elongating and flying around. Nicolai reached to his boot and pulled out a dagger that reflected the grey sky. A silver blade. No!

In the following seconds, time seemed to slow down. Everything was happening in slow motion, but I couldn’t move fast enough to stop it. The black tendrils shot towards us, draping around Victor first, then me and the rest of our men. It solidified into black ropes and formed a tight net around our bodies preventing us from moving or even breathing. The bears shifted and ran forward to attack us. Unable to move a single muscle, we were easy prey. Literally sitting ducks. Nicolai Lifted the dagger up in the air as he approached Victor. His eyes were wide in surprise and fear. 

Then, that nightmare I had months ago became reality right in front of my eyes. I was helpless and powerless as I watched the blade go down and sink inside Victor’s chest.