Knots of the Hybrid Queen: Claimed by Four Alphas

Kael met us at the pack house entrance and the way his expression shifted when he saw Draven—unconscious, veins black, eyes occasionally flickering red even while closed—told me this was worse than I’d thought, which was saying something because I’d thought it was already catastrophically bad.

"Medical." Just the one word but it carried Alpha King weight that made everyone move faster. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

They got Draven onto a bed that had become way too familiar over the last month and healers descended with equipment I didn’t understand while I just stood there useless trying to reach through the bond to where Draven was buried under layers of demon corruption.

Still there. Still fighting. But the static was getting worse and my connection to him was fraying at the edges in ways that made my chest do this thing where it forgot how to contain organs properly.

"What happened?" Kael’s hand found my shoulder and I turned into him because standing upright was taking energy I didn’t have.

"He touched the anchor. The wards tested his intent. He passed." The words came out mechanical. Disconnected. "But passing created a link to the demon through the binding. Now he’s being corrupted and we have three days before he’s more demon than vampire."

Three days. Seventy-two hours. Four thousand three hundred twenty minutes. Not that I was counting or anything.

"Can we break the link?" Kael’s voice stayed level but I caught his fear bleeding through our bond.

"Breaking it means losing access to the binding structure." I pulled back enough to look at him. "He can read Cassia’s research now. See how the magic works. But maintaining that connection is killing him."

Killing him. Except it wasn’t just killing, it was transforming him into the thing we were trying to destroy, which was somehow worse.

"The research." Riven appeared with the book we’d brought back. "What does it say?"

"We don’t know." The admission tasted bitter. "Only Draven can read it. Blackthorn blood protection. The rest of us just see blank pages."

Blank pages. Because Cassia couldn’t make anything simple.

Draven’s eyes opened—fully red, no trace of his normal color—and when he spoke his voice was layered with something that definitely wasn’t entirely him.

"Found it." The words came out rough. Strained. "The failsafe. Cassia—" He had to stop, breathe, fight through whatever the corruption was doing to his thoughts. "She knew someone would try to break the binding eventually. Left instructions. Hidden in the later pages."

Instructions. That was—wait, that was good. That was exactly what we needed.

"What kind of instructions?" Morgana appeared with her tablet because apparently documenting our disaster was her entire personality at this point.

"Ritual." Draven’s hands clenched on the sheets. "Requires the Hybrid Queen. Four bonds. The anchor stone. And—" His eyes flickered. "My blood. Willingly given. To sever the Blackthorn connection without ending the bloodline."

Willingly given blood. That sounded ominous but also significantly better than dying, so I was tentatively calling that a win.

"What does the ritual do?" Because rituals in my experience involved things like sacrifice and pain and usually someone almost dying.

"Transfers the binding." His voice was getting quieter. "From Blackthorn blood to hybrid blood. Makes you the anchor instead of me. Then you can destroy it from the inside."

Makes me the anchor. So instead of Draven being corrupted by demon magic, I’d get to be corrupted by demon magic.

Great. Love that plan. Very sustainable.

"Absolutely not." Four voices through the bonds, overwhelming in their united opposition.

"It’s the only way." Draven’s eyes were fully red now and staying that way. "I can feel the demon getting closer. It knows we’re trying to break the binding. It’s coming to stop us. Days. Not weeks. And if it gets here before we complete the ritual—" He couldn’t finish.

If it gets here before we complete the ritual we’re all dead anyway. That was the unspoken part.

"How dangerous is the ritual?" Kael’s voice was directed at Morgana. "Really. No sugarcoating."

"Extremely." She didn’t hesitate. "Transferring a three-hundred-year-old demon binding to untrained hybrid blood? Best case scenario she survives with significant magical trauma. Worst case the corruption takes her instantly and we have to kill her before she becomes what we’re fighting."

Kill me before I become a demon. That was the worst case. Good to know. Very reassuring.

"How long does the ritual take?" Because if we were doing this nightmare plan I needed to know the timeline.

"Hours." Draven managed to focus on me despite his eyes being demon-red. "Needs to be done at the anchor stone. In the workshop. With all four bonds present. The transfer is—" He had to stop because apparently demon corruption made coherent thought difficult. "Complicated. Dangerous. But it’s the only option that doesn’t end with me dying or the demon winning."

The only option. So either I took the corruption or Draven died trying to break the binding or the demon killed us all.

Those were our choices. Fantastic.

"When?" The question came out smaller than I wanted.

"Soon." His voice was fading. "The corruption is spreading faster now. Once it reaches my heart—" He didn’t finish but the implication was clear.

Once it reaches his heart he’s gone completely. No coming back.

"How long until that happens?" The words came out steady which was impressive considering my entire nervous system had apparently declared independence.

"Day and a half." Morgana’s voice was grim. "Two days maximum. After that the demon essence will be too integrated to reverse."

Day and a half. Thirty-six hours. Two thousand one hundred sixty minutes.

Less time than I’d thought. Way less.

"Then we do the ritual tomorrow." I heard myself say it like I was confident instead of terrified. "We go back to Millbrook. We transfer the binding. We break it before the demon gets here."

Simple. Achievable. Totally not going to end with me corrupted or dead.

Kael’s terror crashed through our bond alongside Riven’s strategic concern and Thorne’s feral protectiveness, and yeah everyone hated this plan but we were out of better options.

"Get some rest." Kael’s voice was gentle. "Tomorrow we save Draven or die trying."

Rest. Because sleeping while one of my mates was actively being consumed by demon magic was totally possible.

But I nodded anyway because arguing seemed exhausting, and when I climbed into bed beside Draven his hand found mine even while his eyes stayed demon-red.

"I’m sorry." The words came out broken. "For dragging you into this. For—"

"Stop." I cut him off. "We’re in this together. Always. That’s what the bonds mean."

Together. Through corruption and demons and binding transfers that might kill us both.

No pressure.

Tomorrow we’d find out if I could survive becoming an anchor for three-hundred-year-old demon magic.

Tonight I just held Draven’s hand and tried not to focus on how the black veins were still spreading.