Claimed by the Mad Lycan King

The wind carried the intoxicating smell that drove Zade crazy. He moved even faster, avoiding the border warriors who chased him down.

He could sense that there were five of them and there would be more if Zade insisted on going into their territory.

However, the Lycan king couldn’t care less. They were only troublesome existences, and he could get them killed if he wanted, but those shifters were not his main priority right now.

This scent...

Zade had never smelled such a scent before, but it was enough to make him unable to think clearly. Somehow, it was important for him to find someone with this scent, as if his life depended on it.

And there, he saw a small hut in the distance, hidden behind trees, and the scent grew stronger.

Zade shifted into his human form as he climbed the steps of the hut. He pushed open the door and expected to see the source of the scent that dragged him here.

However, there was nothing there. There was no one. It was only an abandoned place that had been forgotten and looked like it was about to collapse.

The pouring rain outside and the wind that hit the dilapidated building made it shake.

Yet, despite the rain, the scent was still very strong, and it came from somewhere inside this hut. Where was it?

Zade’s blue eyes narrowed dangerously as he treaded the small area carefully, looking for something that shouldn’t be there, anything that could lead him to the source of this scent.

Meanwhile, the border warriors had closed in; they could arrive there any time soon, and Zade would find himself surrounded and outnumbered.

Still, in spite of that fact, the Lycan king didn’t seem to be concerned. His main priority was not them.

And then when Zade walked toward the corner of the hut, he saw something on the floor. Two wooden boards were not aligned. He crouched down and pushed them aside to reveal a secret staircase that led him down.

Zade didn’t even hesitate when he decided to get down. The stairs were steep, and the underground area was dimly lit.

When he got down, there was a small tunnel that he had to go through. It was a long one, and when Zade reached the end of it, some more stairs led him up.

He furrowed his brows. It didn’t make sense at all for him to be able to smell the scent from such a great distance, under the rain and behind the secret door.

It could be a trap. It could be anything diabolical.

Even so, it didn’t stop Zade as he climbed the stairs, which brought him to a different place. It was like an abandoned dungeon with cells on his left and right.

But the scent was getting stronger here. He knew something was waiting for him at the end of this cell.

Something, or someone...

Zade passed the empty cells until he reached the last one, and here it was... the source of the intoxicating scent that drove him mad.

He trespassed the werewolf territory for her...

There was a woman inside the cell; she was lying on the bed, while the floor was flooded with water from the rain outside. She had her back against Zade, and the Lycan king could only see her long, disheveled auburn hair.

His heart skipped a beat when the thought that this woman was dead crossed his mind, that he was too late to find her.

But then, he saw a small movement from her shoulders, indicating she was breathing. She was alive, and that was all it needed to calm the beast inside him.

Zade saw the lock on the cell. It was not even made of silver. It was only a common iron lock, which he could break with a single yank.

The sound startled the woman and made her get up immediately. However, it was evident from her appearance that she was so weak that she could barely push herself out of bed.

And when she lifted her head, she stared at Zade with her big hazel eyes. They were filled with horror.

Seeing that, Zade halted for a while, since he knew his presence scared her. A normal shifter would feel intimidated by his presence, let alone this woman.

What was she?

Zade couldn’t feel her wolf. She was not a shifter, but why did the pack of shifters hold her here? Someone had locked her up and kept her alive by giving her food. Zade saw a remnant of what looked like a piece of bread at the corner of the room.

The thought someone had harmed her made the beast inside him prowl dangerously at the edge of his consciousness.

And this didn’t help with the situation because the girl trembled even more when she sensed danger from the strange man before her eyes.

She was so skinny that the tattered dress that she was wearing hung loosely on her body. Her cheeks were hollow, and her hazel eyes looked so big in their socket because of the lack of fat. Her cheekbones protruded, and her lips were chapped.

What had they done to her?

Zade had to close his eyes to calm himself down before he scared the girl even more, and it was not an easy feat to do when his beast wanted blood from the people who had done this to her.

And when Zade opened his eyes again, the anger had subsided slightly, but it didn’t make him less intimidating.

He took off his jacket and approached her slowly, as if he were trying to get closer to a skittish kitten, and the Lycan king didn’t even like cats.

”I will not hurt you,” Zade said. He bent down his body and stretched out his hand, but she pressed herself against the wall, trying to get away from his touch.

She hugged herself tightly and opened her mouth, but there were no words that came out.