Claimed by the Mad Lycan King

[So, what trouble are we in? Where is Zade?]

Zephyr finally managed to catch up with Ace, but he couldn’t see or sense Zade anywhere. Yet, that was not the main problem here.

Because right now, they were surrounded by the warriors of the Blackthorne Pack. Some of them had shifted into their beast forms, ready to attack, and some of them were still in their human form.

[Should we fight them?] Zephyr asked through the mindlink as he stood next to Ace’s beast.

Two against twenty didn’t sound comforting, but they were Lycans, and they could handle the werewolves if the situation forced them to.

However, they were not coming for a fight. Ace didn’t even have any idea why Zade was coming here at all. The royal beta then shifted into his human form.

Zade’s scent disappeared into the hut behind him. Ace saw Zade enter the dilapidated building, but before he could follow, the Blackthorne warriors had stopped him.

”What is a Lycan doing in our territory?”

Ace saw a man emerge when the warriors moved to the side to make way for him. Ace could sense authority from him, but not as strong as an alpha, so he must be a beta or a gamma.

”Pardon for the intrusion, but the Lycan king seems to have a business in your pack,” Ace replied. He was uncertain about what position to take in this unclear situation.

He could only buy time until Zade came out and explained the situation himself. Meanwhile, Zephyr stayed in his beast form, just in case the fight was unavoidable.

”That’s not an excuse for anyone to trespass on our territory. Who are you?” That man narrowed his eyes. He knew they were facing Lycans; that was why he didn’t order the warriors to attack them, since it would become a bloody battle.

Moreover, a small pack like the Blackthorne Pack couldn’t afford to be on the bad side of the Lycans. They were... different.

”I am Ace Arthyl Sol, the royal beta from the Shadow Blood Lycan Kingdom.” Ace didn’t introduce Zephyr because it was unnecessary.

There were three Lycan kingdoms in this realm, and the Shadow Blood Kingdom was the richest among the three.

In this realm, there were only a handful of Lycans; their population was not as great as the werewolves, which could have between one hundred and a thousand members in each pack, and there were around seventy-four werewolf packs.

However, the Lycan was a different breed. They were faster, stronger, and more cruel and cunning than any other shifters. Werewolves feared them, and it had been that way for so many years.

The Lycans established how the shifters lived alongside humans.

”Shadow Blood? King Zade.” His eyes widened. He glanced at the hut and felt his heart skip a beat because he knew what the Lycan king would find there.

”Yes.”

Three Lycan Kingdoms. And the king from the Shadow Blood Kingdom was infamous for his madness. The shifter called him the mad Lycan king.

A hundred years ago, Zade had annihilated a small pack of werewolves, killing them all in cold blood, which caused the number of werewolf packs to drop to seventy-four.

”I am Silas Thorne, the gamma of the Blackthorne Pack.” Silas had mind-linked Daven to come over, and the Alpha would be here in a minute. He relayed what he just learned about the intruders. ”We will be honored to welcome the royal Lycan into our pack if you notify us first instead of trespassing on our territory.”

Silas felt uneasy; he kept glancing at the hut. Why would the Lycan king come here and go to the hut at all?

Not all the people knew about the hut, even though they were members of this pack. Thus, how could a Lycan who had never set foot in this pack know? What was he doing there?

”We will do that next time,” Ace replied politely. Just like the other werewolf, he also wondered why Zade was here. What was he doing inside?

”Could you please call for the king to come out? We would love to welcome you all to our humble pack house,” Silas said, just like Daven had instructed him to do while he rushed here.

Ace glanced at Zephyr and mind-linked him, instructing him to enter the hut and bring Zade out.

However, before Zephyr could enter the hut, the door was opened, and Zade walked out with a woman in his arms. He was carrying someone.

And all of a sudden, the werewolves tensed up because they knew who that woman was, even though they couldn’t see her face clearly since she pressed her face against the Lycan’s chest and curled her skeletal body in his arms.

They held their breath and took a step back when the Lycan stepped out in the clearing. The rain had stopped pouring down, but thunder and lightning still split the night sky occasionally.

Right at that time, Daven reached the hut; he shifted back into his human form, but he staggered when he saw her—Seara.

It had been more than two years. Had it been three years since the last time he saw her? Daven could no longer remember.

The council of elders didn’t allow him to see her for one last time before they locked her away. They said she brought bad luck for the pack, and as the alpha, he couldn’t be near her, since Seara would rub the misfortune on him as well.

Seara was a runt; she had lost her wolf spirit. She was a shifter who was unfavored by the Moon Goddess, and she lost the goddess’s blessing.

”You can’t take her away; you need to bring her back inside the hut!” Silas said, out of instinct, when he saw the Lycan king was about to take Seara.

”Or what?” Zade asked, his eyes fixed on the gamma of the werewolf, forcing him to lower his head in submission.