Transmigrated: The Lycan King's Pet-Chapter 353 I want to stay

He tugged at the chain lightly, testing its strength. It did not move at all. He pulled harder, the muscles in his arms tightening with effort... Still nothing. The chains held firm, and the resistance only made his irritation grow.

"Where is Seraphina?" he muttered under his breath, scanning every shadowy corner. "And how did I even end up here?"

He closed his eyes briefly, forcing his mind to sift through the jumbled memories. The corrupted witches. The battlefield. The moment he lost control. The moment Midnight surged forward with too much force.

Everything blurred together until nothing made sense, except for the sharp wave of anger that rippled through him at the thought of Seraphina lying somewhere wounded while he was chained like this.

He pulled again, harder this time. Midnight was strangely calm, and unmoving, like he was in a deep slumber. Alaric gritted his teeth, pulling once more in desperation.

The chain remained stubbornly still.

Just when he shifted his weight to try again, footsteps approached from somewhere down the hall. They were unhurried, almost lazy, like the person walking had all the time in the world.

Then a playful whistle echoed through the air.

Alaric lifted his head sharply, his eyes narrowing. Someone stepped into the doorway wearing a smile that did not match the situation at all.

The playful whistle faded, and a familiar figure stepped into the room. Theo, with his perfectly combed hair and those silly glasses that somehow made him look both harmless and overly stressed, lifted his hands in surrender the moment he saw Alaric’s murderous glare.

"There he is," Theo said with a relieved breath, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You scared us, you know. Midnight almost destroyed half the castle and every living creature in it, but don’t worry Beowulf stopped him in time... but I was just wondering, what the hell was wrong with him? Did he get rabies of some kind or was it just love sickness?"

Alaric ignored the attempt at humor. "Where am I, and why am I chained?" he demanded.

Theo hummed lightly as he approached, tapping Alaric’s forehead with the back of his knuckles like he was checking a melon for ripeness. "Mm, good. You’re back in your right senses. I just had to confirm... Your eyes aren’t glowing, your veins aren’t doing the weird pulse thing, and you’re not growling at me, so that’s promising."

He pushed his glasses again out of habit before inspecting the chains. "Hold on, let me get you out."

With a few murmured words and unlocking the pad lock, the chains loosened and fell from Alaric’s wrists. He stretched his arms stiffly, his jaw clenched.

Theo stepped back, clearing his throat. "Now before you run away like a wild horse, let me explain what happened. Midnight lost control when the witches tried to treat Seraphina, and then you..."

"Seraphina?" Alaric snapped.

Theo froze mid-sentence. "She’s unconscious, she hasn’t woken up yet. The witches stabilized her but..."

Alaric didn’t let him finish.

He bolted out of the room like lightning.

Theo watched the empty doorway with a sigh so dramatic his soul almost left his body. He pushed his glasses again, muttering under his breath, "Great! Another one infected by the mate bond madness. When will it be my turn? Never...obviously."

He turned to leave, rubbing his temples as if the universe personally offended him.

Meanwhile, Alaric was already sprinting through the hallways. He stopped at the entrance of the room where Seraphina lay. His breath caught the moment he saw her.

Two witches hovered beside her bed, quietly chanting as they monitored the healing spell surrounding her. Their voices were steady, their hands glowing faintly, but Alaric barely saw any of it. His eyes were fixed solely on Seraphina, pale and still, her chest rising only slightly with each breath.

He froze at the doorway.

It felt like his legs refused to move. His shoulders slumped under the weight of fear, his entire body tensed as if any wrong movement might break the fragile line that still kept her tethered to life.

His fingers curled tightly at his sides. His throat felt too dry to swallow. He stepped forward slowly, one foot in front of the other, driven by instinct more than thought. He needed to see her, he needed to be sure she was still here with him. He needed...

The two witches stepped in front of him at the same time, blocking his path.

"Please step back," one of them said gently. "Lady Seraphina does not need any disturbances."

Alaric stared at them, unblinking.

Disturbance? He was a disturbance.

He looked past them again at Seraphina lying motionless on the bed, and the breath he had been holding slipped out shakily.

He took another step.

The witches raised their hands slightly, not in threat, but in warning. "Beta Alaric, she is very unstable, any emotional flare from you could disrupt the healing. Please stay back."

For a second, he did not move. His green eyes stayed fixed on the two women in front of him, but he wasn’t seeing them. He was seeing only her, the memory of her collapsing, the scene of the Greater Evil strangling her mid air, the scent of her blood. His fingers twitched, yet... he didn’t push forward.

He lowered his head slightly, his jaw tightening, his breathing rough but controlled. "Is she in pain?" he asked quietly. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The witches exchanged a quick look.

"No," the older one said. "Her body is resting, but her magic is unstable. Right now she is fighting something from the inside, and we are trying to keep everything balanced."

Alaric swallowed hard.

"I want to stay here," he said, his voice rougher than he intended. "I won’t touch her, and I won’t go near her. I just... want to stay."

The witches hesitated.

He closed his eyes briefly, trying to steady himself. "Please."

After a moment, they stepped aside.

"You may stay by the wall," one of them said softly. "But do not get too close."

He nodded, walking to the far side of the room and leaned against the wall, sinking down slowly until he was sitting on the floor with his knees drawn up, his eyes never leaving Seraphina’s face. Every rise and fall of her chest seemed like a fragile miracle he was terrified would stop.

The witches continued their work quietly, their chanting soft and steady, while Alaric remained unmoving, watching over her like a silent guardian who refused to blink.

And for the first time, he finally understood the thing he had been trying so hard to deny. There was no way he could live without her.