The Witch and Her Four Dangerous Alphas-Chapter 225: Second Prince

Selena slowly let her power sink deeper into the king’s body, her hands resting lightly on his wrist as she closed her eyes and focused, and at first she felt nothing but the chaotic pulse of his heartbeat rushing unevenly beneath her palms, then she felt something else.

something crawling like hundreds of tiny needles spreading through his veins, and the more she concentrated, the more she realized how strange and unnatural this poison truly was.

The poison did not behave like normal venom or toxins; it did not simply corrupt the blood or numb the organs. Instead, it moved like it had a will of its own, pushing through the veins in rapid pulses as if fighting back against her magic, and every time her healing energy tried to push it away, the poison twisted and forced itself deeper, like it was rejecting any attempt to expel it.

Sweat formed on Selena’s forehead as she channeled more power into him, her fingers trembling slightly from the strain, but no matter how she tried, she could not draw the poison out of his system.

It was too deeply embedded and too aggressive and clever in the way it hid inside the blood flow, and after a few long minutes she realized she was doing more harm than good if she pushed further.

So she changed her method and focused instead on slowing it down, surrounding the spreading poison with her healing energy and forcing it into stillness.

And slowly, very slowly, the violent trembling inside the king’s body lessened, his heartbeat steadied a little, and the white fog that had been leaking from the corners of his mouth finally started fading.

When she finally opened her eyes, her breath was unsteady and her palms felt almost numb, but she kept her voice calm as she said, "I cannot remove it..." This poison is too strange and too deeply inside him... but I can stop it from spreading for now... I can stabilize him for forty-eight hours... After that... we need the antidote, or it will start attacking again."

For a moment no one breathed, then Vaelen exhaled sharply and stepped closer, relief flickering across his face as he looked at her like she had just dragged his father back from the edge of death.

He nodded quickly and said, "Forty-eight hours is enough. We will find it. You did well, Serena." and his voice was softer than before, carrying genuine gratitude.

But the queen, who had been sitting stiffly at the side with her eyes locked on Selena the entire time, did not share even a hint of that relief.

Instead her expression darkened as if Selena’s very existence offended her, and she glared so sharply that if looks could kill, Selena would have fallen to the floor in seconds, her jaw clenched tight enough to crack.

Selena did not look at the queen; she simply pulled her hands back and stood up quietly, trying not to show how exhausted she felt.

Vaelen’s relief slowly shifted into determination as he turned toward the guards and demanded immediate action, ordering them to search every corner of the kingdom and drag in every suspicious healer, alchemist, or council spy until they found someone who knew about this poison.

The queen’s hands curled in her lap, her nails digging into her skin again, because the sight of her son trusting a witch made something ugly twist inside her chest.

But she remained silent, her eyes burning with cold hatred as she watched Selena from across the bed, almost like she was memorizing every detail of her face for future anger.

Selena stepped back, keeping her hands folded as she waited for Vaelen’s next command, the heavy air of the room settling around all of them as the king’s breaths slowly stabilized, and for now he was safe.

At the same time, the door suddenly burst open, and a young man rushed inside with so much force that even the guards were startled.

And Selena blinked slowly because this was the first time she had ever seen him in the royal palace.

Before anyone could even react, he threw himself to the floor and kneeled beside the king’s bed, gripping the sheets tightly as he cried loudly like a helpless child who had lost everything in one moment.

His shoulders shaking and his voice trembling as he sobbed, "F-father... Father, what happened to you... Why is no one helping him..." and his crying filled the whole room in seconds.

But the reaction from the queen was instant and merciless because she did not look touched or worried or even surprised; instead, her face twisted with pure disgust as if someone had thrown rotten meat in front of her, and Vaelen’s expression matched hers perfectly as both of them stared at the kneeling young man like he was something filthy dragged in from the dirt.

The queen stood up slowly from her seat, her eyes sharpening like knives as she looked at the crying boy on the floor and said in a cold and irritated voice, "Get out of here right now... Stop wailing like he has already died... Your acting is pathetic."

The young man finally lifted his head with trembling lips, tears still streaming down his cheeks as he looked at the queen pitifully and said in a choked voice, "Q-queen mother... How could you say that...? Please don’t say such cruel things... I’m worried for F-Father too..."

But the queen only narrowed her eyes, her expression turning even uglier as she stepped closer and said sharply, "Don’t you dare call me that. I am not your mother, and I will never be the mother of a bastard born from that omega harlot," she said with so much disgust that even the air around her felt cold. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The second prince froze for just a moment, his tears stopping as the cruel words hit him like a blow, and for a second Selena thought he might actually break down for real, but then something in his expression changed very quickly, almost too quickly, and he lowered his head again and forced more tears out as if her insult had shattered him.