Alpha Hybrid Heir

The Slow Kill

Alara POV

You’re shaking again. Caelum’s voice was soft, too soft. Like honey laced with something bitter.

I didn’t see his eyes. “I’m fine.” I wasn’t.

My hand trembled as I reached for the silver cup in front of me. The water inside rippled from my unsteady grip, but I forced myself to drink. Around us, the Silvermoon Council muttered and took notes, pretending not to notice how pale I’d become.

I am the Alpha Queen now. Married to Caelum. Daughter of the late Alpha Blake. And yet, I was falling apart from the inside.

“Perhaps we should end this meeting early,” Caelum said smoothly, standing behind me like the perfect husband. His hand rested lightly on my shoulder. Too light. Like he didn’t want to touch me more than he had to. “Your Queen looks tired,” he added with a small, fake smile.

The elders all nodded in agreement, though I caught the smug smirk on Elder Myron’s face. They never wanted me here. A half-witch leading their pack? It was an insult to their pureblood pride.

“I’m not tired,” I said. My voice cracked. I hated that.

Caelum’s grip tightened just a bit. Not in comfort. In warning.

I pushed myself up, legs shaking, and gave them the smile my father taught me to wear. The one that said: I’m stronger than I look.

But the moment I stepped out of the council chamber, my vision blurred.

The hallway twisted. My knees wobbled. I pressed my palm against the stone wall, breathing hard. My heart pounded too fast. My wolf, the one that used to snarl and growl when I was in danger… was silent.

“Why won’t you speak to me?” I whispered under my breath.

No answer. Just that same cold silence I’d felt for days.

Back in my chambers, I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. My hands looked thinner. My skin was pale, almost grey under the candlelight. I haven’t eaten much in days. Every time I tried, nausea rose like a tide, threatening to drown me.

Still, I kept telling myself this was stress. My father died barely two months ago. I had been forced into power. Married to Caelum before I even had time to grieve. This was pressure, grief, maybe even a spiritual test.

But deep down… something darker whispered.

This wasn’t stressful. This was death in slow motion.

“Do you want tea, my Queen?” Isla’s voice sang from the doorway.

I turned my head slowly, forcing a smile. “No, thank you.”

She stepped inside anyway, her long curls bouncing as she walked. She looked radiant. Too radiant. Like a woman freshly in love.

Her eyes flicked to my untouched breakfast tray. “You haven’t eaten again.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You should take better care of yourself. Caelum worries.”

I didn’t answer. I studied her closely, her glowing skin, her bright red lips. There was a time we shared the same bloodline, called each other sisters. But now… there was something about the way she lingered near Caelum. The way they always seemed to be in the same room at the same time. The way he smiled at her with real warmth.

She leaned in closer, lowering her voice. “Rest well. You look... fragile.”

I watched her leave, and my stomach churned with something worse than nausea. My instincts were rising again. Not my magic, she was too weak to answer me. Not my wolf still gone silent.

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

I sat by the window, staring at the moon. It was a waning crescent almost gone. Like me.

I used to feel strong during full moons. My power surged then. My body felt whole. But this moon cycle? I felt like a ghost. Half-alive. Half-dead.

A soft knock came at the door. I turned, expecting a maid. But it was Caelum.

His dark eyes held concern, but I’d learned that his concern came in layers. A show for the world. A mask.

“You’re not resting,” he said, stepping inside.

“I don’t need rest,” I replied, voice flat.

“You haven’t been yourself lately.” He walked to me slowly, like a man approaching a wounded animal. “I know it’s a lot. The crown. The council. The loss of your father…”

I looked up at him. “Stop pretending you care.”

That made him blink. “What?”

“You don’t touch me anymore. You barely look at me. The only time you speak kindly is in front of others.” I stood slowly, swaying a bit. “So save the performance. You’ve got your crown. You don’t need the act anymore.”

His face changed then. The soft edges fell away. What was left was cold steel.

“I suggest you get some rest, Alara,” he said, his voice clipped now. “The pack needs a healthy Queen. Not a paranoid one.”

Then he left, slamming the door just hard enough to make the walls shake.

I locked the door behind him and fell to the floor.

Sometime past midnight, I stumbled into the bathroom, the nausea twisting my gut like a knife. I dropped to my knees in front of the basin and vomited.

Red.Not food. Not bile. Blood.

I stared at it in horror, wiping my mouth with a trembling hand. My eyes were burning, vision swimming.

Then, I heard something.

Laughter. Soft. From the hallway.

I pressed my ear to the door.

Caelum’s voice.

“…It’s working faster than we thought.”

Then Isla’s, hushed but excited.

“Will the body vanish like we planned?”

“We don’t need it. By morning, she’ll be too weak to speak. Another faint, another story. The elders already believe it.”

I clamped a hand over my mouth. My heart was pounding like a war drum.

They were poisoning me.

And they were planning to erase me.

I crawled away from the door, gasping for air. My thoughts spiraled.

This wasn’t just a betrayal. This was murder.

They didn’t just want me gone.

They wanted me erased like I never existed.

I tried to stand, but my knees buckled again. My head hit the floor hard, and the last thing I saw was the moonlight shining through the curtains like a spotlight on my death.

Then darkness.Somewhere deep in my bones, something whispered: “They think you’re dying, Alara. Let them. And when you rise… make them pay.”