The Lycan King's Fate Calling (Shawn Gibson and Sylvia)

Rufus' POV:

The moment I caught sight of Crystal, my heart wrenched violently inside my chest. Then anger took over.

Damn that Lee! I would never let him go for this!

I hurried out of my coat and wrapped it around Crystal; then I picked her up in my arms. It was a blur, but I managed to bring her back to the imperial palace in less than an hour.

The doctor was already waiting when we arrived. As soon as he saw the state that Crystal was in, his face changed drastically. "Your Majesty, how did she get hurt this severely?" Crystal looked like I had just pulled her out of a sea of blood. Her hair and fingers were dripping with it, and she was barely breathing. Anyone who saw her would understandably be horrified. But I didn't dare to waste any time on trifles. I handed her over to the medical staff. "Treat her immediately."

Before long, the doctor came up to me and shared his diagnosis. Crystal was suffering from power strife. Three forces were rampaging unchecked inside her body. She could explode from the sheer power of she contained at any given time.

"I'm afraid there is no medicine that can help her. All we can do is to administer some painkillers. The rest is up to her." The doctor lowered his head, his expression torn between panic and helplessness. "You can't help her?" I roared. "Then what the fuck is the use of having you here?! All of you, move and

see what you can do to treat her! If she dies, so will you!"

The doctors dropped to their knees in fear as my powers surged over them.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, telling myself to calm down. When I felt like in control of my rage, I spoke again, gently this time. "You must save her, no matter what. I don't want to hear such ambiguous nonsense from you again. And be sure to keep the fact that she currently holds three powers inside her a secret. I don't want anyone finding out." The doctors nodded and rushed away to convene and come up with a treatment plan.

I had never expected things to develop like this. I couldn't even begin to imagine the kind of torture she had had to endure by herself. Regret washed over me. I should have found her sooner.

I didn't think Lee would turn out to be a vampire. It looked like their legion had infiltrated the werewolf packs and taken root.

I ruffled my hair in frustration. I hate feeling powerless. I hate that Crystal was fighting for her life. I didn't want her to die. Her children were still so young, and she couldn't just leave them to fend for themselves.

When I first learned that her

daughter possessed the blood of a black witch, Thad already guessed that Crystal must be something of a hybrid of witch and werewolf. These two powers were difficult to balance as it was, and now, the vampire's blood curse was making the

situation even worse.

As difficult as it was, I forced myself to pray that she would be all right. It was all that I could do at the moment.

All of a sudden, I heard a crash from inside the room. I barged through the door and rushed inside.

The shelf by the bed was empty, and things were scattered all over the floor. Crystal was there, too,

curled up into a ball and groaning in pain. Her body was drenched in sweat.

My eyes were arrested on the horrible scratches on her arm.

I felt as though my heart had been speared by a lance as I watched her claw at herself.

I strode over, crouched down, and

grabbed her hands to keep her from hurting herself any further. Crystal was delirious, and her body was hot. She was running a fever. "It hurts. It hurts so much! Please kill me Make it stop!"

"I'm sorry, Crystal. I know you're in pain." My throat tightened, and I had to swallow my words. I cupped her face and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "But you can't die. You must not die. No matter what happens, you need to hold on, do you hear me? Think about your son and your daughter. You can't

leave them behind."

"No! Please... It hurts too much..." Crystal shuddered in my embrace, and then she suddenly grabbed my arm so tightly, her nails were digging into my skin. "Please, just kill me! I want to die! Please! Ease my suffering..."