Help! Five Beast Alphas Want To Breed Me!!(BL)-Chapter 264: Explain

Elián;

Elien is gone.

Not quiet... Not asleep... Not hiding.

But gone. Gone in a way that leaves a gaping hole in his stead.

The emptiness in my mind where he usually sits is a vicious ache. A note from reality I never asked for. The reality that somehow... in some sudden, terrifying way... he’s gone.

GONE.

I’m standing beside the bed, staring at nothing, with my chest rising too fast, and my vision blurring around the edges.

Just as I’m about to spiral down a dark hole I can’t help, a warm hand grabs my arm.

"Elián?" Zephan calls with his voice rough with sleep.

"What’s wrong?" He questions, and I whip around so fast, the room tilts.

"He’s gone." I croak, barely audible, and Zephan blinks, trying to wake up properly.

"Who’s..." He begins, but I can no longer contain my panic.

"Elien!" I shout, with my voice cracking this time.

"He’s gone. He’s not here. I can’t hear him. I can’t feel him. He’s just... he’s gone!" I cry, and the panic in my voice must hit him like a blow because Zephan’s eyes widen instantly.

He kneels on the bed and grabs my shoulders, in an attempt to calm me... ground me...

"Okay... okay, breathe. Look at me. Elián, look at me." He begins, but I push off his hands,

"I CAN’T BREATHE!" I choke out.

"Zephan, something’s wrong. Something’s really, really wrong..." I cry, and I feel hot tears begin to stream down my face.

"I could... feel him fading, you know? He stopped talking as much, and I just thought... I just thought... Is he dead!?" I demand, like Zephan would know the answer, and he blinks at me in confusion.

Realising that I’m the only one who knows of Elien’s existence and that no one might be able to help me, breaks me, and I feel my legs wobble.

Zephan cups my cheeks, forcing my eyes to his.

"I don’t.. I don’t understand, but I want to help. Tell me what you need." He says, trying to keep calm, and I pause. What do I need!??

What do I need?

I need help. I need Elien! I need someone who does magic and can somehow tell me what...

"Queen Selthía," I gasp, and he raises a brow.

"You need... my aunt?" He demands, and I nod frantically.

"I need Aunt Selthía. Now. Take me to her. Tell me where her room is...NOW...please..." I cry frantically, and seeing the panic and desperation oozing off me, Zephan understands that I have no time to waste.

"End of the hall, at the next wing. Right side. Blue door..." He instructs, but I don’t wait for the rest.

I bolt.

Barefoot, half-sane, barely breathing... I fling the door open, throw myself into the hallway and sprint.

Behind me, I hear Zephan swear, and then his footsteps start pounding after me.

The castle is dim and quiet at this hour, but my brain barely notices the cold stone under my bare feet. My heartbeat drowns out everything–every sound, every rational thought, every whisper of reason.

"Elien," I whisper brokenly as I run,

"Please—please—just answer..." I beg as I wipe tears off my face, but I’m met with that same, damning answer.

Silence.

Heart-wrenching, horrifying silence.

A door opens ahead— Zethar’s room, and his head pops out. His dual colored eyes widen as he watches me dash past him like death itself is behind me.

"What...?" He tries to question, but I’m way too far from him now for that.

"ELIAN, YOU SHOULDN’T RUN SO ROUGHLY. YOU’RE PREGNANT!" Zephan yells behind me, and when I look back at him, I see that Zethar joined him. Running beside his brother to catch up with me, even though he doesn’t know what’s happened.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" I hear him demand, and I slow down when I see a fleet of stairs.

"Elian, don’t you dare run up those stairs!" Zethar warns, but I have no reservations about his worry now. Mine is greater. I’ve lost Elien, and somehow I just know Queen Selthia is the one who can help me.

I practically fly up the stairs, taking two or three at a time, and I hear Zethar yelp like his heart is about to leap out.

"What happened?! Why is he running like that!?" He demands from Zephan as they keep following me, and Zephan’s frustrated voice follows.

"I DON’T KNOW!" He barks back.

"He just woke up and—" I don’t catch the rest, because there, in the distance, is the blue door.

I race the rest of the way and skid to a stop so violently I almost fall.

To break my fall, I can’t help but slam both palms against the carved wood, and I hear someone yelp inside.

"QUEEN SELTHÍA!" I scream, banging my fist.

"PLEASE— PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!" I add in ever-growing panic as I begin to feel more and more empty with each passing second.

Zethar and Zephan skid to a stop behind me, both panting. Zethar looks confused, and Zephan looks terrified for me.

"What’s wrong with you?" Zethar asks in a low whisper, but I can only swallow and try to catch my breath.

Because... how do I explain this? To them... and even to Queen Selthia— whose help I’ve come to seek.

I don’t get to bother about a response to his question as the door finally opens, and I nearly fall inside.

Queen Selthía stands there in a thin silk night-robe, her long hair loose around her shoulders, eyes instantly sharpening at the sight of me trembling like a leaf.

Behind her...

Zerana sits up on the bed, hair tousled, blanket slipping down her shoulder, and my browscrease in confusion. Why is she in Queen Selthia’s bed??

But then again... That’s the least of my worries. It’s not what I came here for anyway...

Zethar and Zephan step into the room, and Zethar, of course, blurts the first inappropriate thing that comes to his mind after seeing Zerana on their Aunt’s bed.

"...wow."

Zephan elbows him so hard he grunts.

But I don’t care about all that right now. My gaze is locked on nothing else but Queen Selthía.

I throw myself forward, crash to my knees in front of her, with my head bowed to the floor like the hopeless beggar I am.

"Please—HELP ME!" My voice cracks again.

"Please—Selthía—Zerana...please, help me bring him back." I cry, and Queen Selthia looks over at her Nephews.

"What is he talking about? Bring who back?" She demands, and they chorus.

"I don’t know." They both say in unions, and I shut my eyes tightly. This is it... the moment of truth. The moment I reveal this secret, as it is the only way to save Elien.

I look up at Queen Selthia and clasp my hands together.

"Elien... Bring him back... please..." I beg, and she lets out a breath as she looks at me. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"I will help you, child, but I need to understand first. Help you bring back? Bring who back from where and return him to where?" She questions, and I swallow.

"He’s a part of me... and he’s missing. He’s just... gone now." I croak, and she freezes. Almost like she’s gained a sudden understanding of what I’m saying.

She looks back at Zerana, who’s now gotten off the bed and is walking towards us. Both women exchange a quiet, unreadable glance, and I swallow. What was that?

Zethar takes a step forward and kneels beside me.

"Elián... what do you mean, ’bring him back’? What happened? Who—" He begins, and before I get the chance to respond.

To whip something up, to try my best to make it make sense... to say something that would make them understand me without sounding like a lunatic or revealing that I’m hiding yet another secret from them... before I can conjure up something, Queen Selthia comes to my aid.

"OUT." She orders in a voice that cuts through the air like a blade, and Zethar and I blink up at her.

Zethar’s jaw drops, and Zephan instantly steps closer to me as he tries to protest.

"But—" He begins, and Queen Selthia’s eyes snap to him as a mother’s does to her child when she wishes to warn him without words.

And just like a child who’s been warned, Zephan falls quiet. He falls quiet, Zethar tries anyway.

"We’re not leaving him like this—" He begins, and his aunt matches his stubbornness.

"OUT," Queen Selthía repeats, with power vibrating under the single word.

"Now."She adds, and I feel both brothers stiffen beside me.

"Elián," Zephan whispers softly as he pats my back, and I can hear that he’s torn,

"We’ll be right outside. Right here. You call, and I’m in the room before you blink." He says, and Zethar nods tightly.

"You’re not alone. Not for a second. We’ll wait right outside till you’re done." Zethar whispers, and I nod.

I watch Zeathar stand up, and the brothers reluctantly move away from me.

They walk back to the door, step out and as soon as the door closes.

Queen Selthia returns he graze to me while I remain on my knees, trembling.

She kneels gracefully in front of me, her hands warm as they lift my chin.

Zerana moves beside her, equally alert, eyes sharp as blades as she studies me.

"Explain," Queen Selthía orders gently, and I swallow.

’Explain’... How do I explain the bond Elien and I share??

"Go on..." She probes, and I let out a shaky breath.