THE HYBRID QUEEN AWAKENING

WHAT THE NIGHT TOOK

Sean’s POV

Blood Carticons to Athdal Haven

The witch started screaming before she even opened her eyes. At first it was not loud. It was more like a sound stuck in her throat, half a breath, half a noise. Then it got louder. Every vampire in the room stopped moving, except me. I just stood there and watched her.

She sat up really fast. The chains on her wrists made a loud noise against the stone floor, and her body jerked forward while her eyes looked at empty air, but I knew she was seeing something that none of us could see. That is the problem with witches. They see too many things.

“Stop her,” Raze said quietly,

“No,” my father said.

The witch was breathing hard and fast, not steady. Then, slowly, her eyes moved and looked right at me.

“She’s awake,” she said in a rough voice.

My jaw got tight because I did not like where this was going. “Who?”

The witch’s mouth moved at the corner, like she was almost smiling. “The one you touched,” she whispered. “The one who almost pushed death away.”

Something cold went down my back.

“You’re not making sense,” my father said, stepping forward. “Explain it... now.”

“She’s not just a wolf,” the witch said, and her voice was stronger now, which meant she was sure about it. “You felt it, didn’t you?” Her eyes stayed on mine.

“That girl,” she kept going, “the one with the green eyes… she doesn’t belong in your war.”

The room got very quiet. Then my father spoke. “And yet she will decide how it ends.”

The witch made a short laugh. There was no happiness in it, only hate. “Only if you’re stupid enough to use her.”

My father smiled. The kind of smile that meant he had already made his choice and the rest of us just had to follow it. “We don’t need her to agree,” he said. “We only need her to stay alive.”

This was not about land, or getting revenge. He wanted to control everything.

“The mix is not safe,” the witch said, looking at the small glass bottles on the stone table. “Wolfsbane alone burns through vampire blood. Orcus makes it worse. Together....” She stopped talking, and her face got tight. “They need something to balance them.”

“And she is that balance,” my father finished the sentence for her.

The witch did not answer him.

My father turned to me, “Sean.”

I looked at him.

“You will go back to the wolves’ land,” he said. “And you will get the wolfsbane from their lab.”

He started walking toward his chair then stopped, and looked back over his shoulder. “And you will bring me the girl.”

Those words felt heavier than they should have. “I saw her,” I said before I could stop myself.

“Did you?” he asked as he turned and faced me again.

“She’s not trained,” I went on. “She could barely hold herself together.” That was not a lie. But it was not the full truth either.

“Even better,” he said back. “She won’t know what’s coming.”

Something about that felt wrong in my stomach, but I did not argue with him. I never do.

“Take a group with you,” he added. “Go before the sun comes up. The wolves will be distracted.”

“By what?” Corvin asked.

My father smiled again. “By sadness.”

***

The forest felt different in the daytime. Yes, we can walk in the sun. The witch makes us a medicine that stops the sun from burning us to ash, because Vale does not limit his plans to only the night.

We did not run. The smell of wolves got stronger the closer we got, and under that smell was something heavier. Smoke, ash and death.

“They’re all together,” Raze said quietly, saying the obvious thing.

I nodded one time, telling them to move. I could hear the low sound of voices, all held in tight. They were having a ceremony.

That was a perfect distraction for us. We walked around the edge, staying hidden until we saw the building. The lab. It was built into the rock, half-under the ground and covered by roots and stone. It had guards, but not many, because the whole pack was somewhere else mourning.

“Now,” I said, quietly.

We moved fast. Corvin took down two guards before they could make any sound. The smell of wolfsbane was strong inside. Shelves covered the walls. There were jars, dried plants, and bottles of black liquid.

The smell got stronger when I walked up to a locked box on one shelf. It was built strong, and different from the other boxes.

“Open it,” I said.

Before Corvin could move, something changed in the shadows behind us. Someone walked out of the shadows slowly, wearing a black hood that made it hard to see the person’s face.

Raze had his knife out in one second.

“Don’t,” the figure said, and it was a man’s voice.

I lifted my hand, and Raze stopped.

“You’re late,” the figure added, like we had a meeting planned.

“Do I know you?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “And you won’t.”

He stepped forward just enough for the torchlight to show the edge of his jaw. He was a wolf, there was no doubt about it. The smell proved it. From under his cloak he pulled out a small package. “Take it,” he said.

Corvin looked at me, waiting for my order. I stepped up and took the package. It was wolfsbane.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because war was always going to happen,” he said, quietly, like it could not be stopped. “You’re just the ones brave enough to start it.”

Before I could ask more, he stepped back into the shadow and was gone.

Raze breathed out slow. “That was too easy.”

“Yes,” I said, and that was the problem.

“No time,” Corvin added. “We move.”

I nodded yes.

The ceremony area was not far. We heard it before we saw it. Voices getting louder, the tension going up, something had changed there.

We did not wait. The second we walked into the clearing, trouble followed us like it was invited.

Wolves turned to look but it was too late. We hit fast, cutting through the outside circle. We broke their line before they could fight back. Claws and fangs met knives and speed.

I did not pay attention to the fight. I looked for her.

She was by the stone. She froze for half a second too long. Her eyes found mine right away. She knew who I was. Hate was in her eyes. Something tight pulled in my chest.

“Sean!” Corvin called.

I ran straight for her, because getting her was the mission. She did not run. She did not change into a wolf either. Why? No time to think about it. She turned a little, looking around. Not for a way out. For something else. The wolfsbane, maybe.

I reached her in a blur. She tried to hit me but I was already on her. I got her, with one arm locking around her before she could pull away. She fought back, but not strong enough.

“Easy,” I said softly near her ear.

Her whole body went stiff. She knew my voice. She twisted hard, trying to break free, but I was faster.

The knife touched her neck. Just enough to put the poison in. The poison works fast. Her strength left her body from under my arm, and I felt it leave her.

For one second, just one second, she looked at me. No fear. Just hate. Pure, strong hate, and I understood why. Then she went limp, and I caught her before she hit the ground.

“Move!” Raze yelled.

The wolves were getting back together fast. I lifted her without thinking, and her weight rested against me as we ran back into the trees. Shouts came after us. Howls. Anger tore through the forest behind us, and I did not need to turn around to know it was her father’s voice in there, and this was the start of a war.