Claimed by the Mad Lycan King

The retaliation starts on the street, where there was a bounty for every monster that they managed to catch; they would have a lot of money as compensation.

For some people, it was not clear who had put the bounty, but the Lycans knew who controlled the mass.

As a result, many criminals, thugs, and mobsters rushed to make easy money by capturing a lot of shifters.

Not all the people that they captured were shifters, but occasionally, they got lucky, especially when the number of shifters in a certain area was as many as the humans.

Chaos erupted, and people tried to avoid the streets; many families chose to stay inside their houses, but for those who had to go to work to provide for their family, that was not an option.

The children also suffered because of this chaos, since they couldn’t go to school.

This was a nationwide manhunt.

”We need to fight back, King Zade,” Alpha Sebastian from the Crescent Moon Pack said sternly. He was a bearded man with a low, boisterous voice that echoed in the walls whenever he talked. ”This is not right! They are hunting us down, and we don’t do anything!”

Another alpha spoke. Ace was helping Seara as he lowered his body to whisper the name of the alpha for each pack whenever they talked; it helped her familiarize herself with them.

”Alpha Edgar from the Blue River Pack,” Ace said from behind Seara in a whispery voice.

”King Zade, this is unacceptable. We can’t hold them back without fighting them. Allow me to show you something.” His anger was evident as he proceeded to the trajectory and displayed the video from his phone on the large screen.

Alpha Edgar looked young; he was like in his thirties, but his white hair was almost silver. He was wearing earrings in both ears.

Meanwhile, on the large screen, at first, they could only see a few thugs, around twenty years old, crowding around something on the ground.

It seemed to be a self-recorded video from their phone.

”Get him there, get him there!” With elation, one of the men said as the camera was directed toward the object they had been crowding around. It was a wolf—a small wolf.

They dragged the wolf to the quiet alley. There were a lot of people there, bystanders, but they did nothing as the four men took the poor little wolf away.

From the look of it, it was evening, as the sky had just turned reddish.

”Beat that monster up! They say they will turn back into humans if they are dying!” ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

They couldn’t tell who was talking because the recording was shaking, but then it focused on them, beating the little wolf, kicking it against the wall, and stepping on its legs.

The little wolf tried to fight back, to stand up, but before it could do anything, it received another kick again and again.

And it was true: when the shifter was on the verge of dying, they would shift back into their human form. On the big screen, after so many assaults, the little wolf shifted into his human form.

He is lying in a pool of his blood, and he is no older than ten years old.

”Monster! Monster!”

”Oh, shit! I am right; he is a monster! His family must be like him too!”

The commotion erupted as they were thrilled to watch a shifter for the first time. They didn’t come closer, but they threw anything around them at the poor boy.

”They said this kind heals faster! We need to kill him!”

Alpha Edgar paused the video, and it froze on the little boy’s face. He was bleeding profusely from his nose and ears, but his eyes were dull. The fighting spirit in him died down with the thought that he was going to die.

”His name is Archie. He is nine years old, and only a week before this incident, he could shift into his wolf form for the first time.” Alpha Edgar straightened his back as he pleaded to the Lycan. ”I pledge my loyalty to you, King Zade. My Blue River Pack is not big, but we are loyal. Please, keep the end of your deal, My King. ”You promised protection, but a little child died, humiliated, scared, and helpless—and you still won’t do anything?”

Seara couldn’t take her eyes off the big screen, at the helpless look in Archie’s eyes. It was too much. This was the reason why the shifters went into hiding.

But when their existence had been exposed, there was no reason to hide anymore, right?

***

Jeremy was still lying down on the ring floor after Jared left when his phone rang. He didn’t want to move, but the ring was persistent, which forced him to stand up and grab his phone, only to see a bunch of numbers that he didn’t recognize.

Yet he picked it up anyway, since he had taken the effort to grab his phone.

”Hallo?”

There was no voice from the other end for a few moments, but then someone spoke, and Jeremy immediately recognized her voice.

”Jeremy, is that you?” Olivia asked. She spoke in a whispery tone.

”Olivia?” Jeremy tensed up because he knew what it meant.

”Oh, Jeremy,” Olivia sighed. ”The news is crazy. The world is crazy now. Where are you?” Olivia rambled for a while. ”Did you kill Jude? Are you a monster too? That’s why you killed Jude?”

Jeremy felt his heart was stabbed by the accusation. ”No, I didn’t! I will never do that to him! I didn’t kill him!” He became a little bit emotional. ”Where is Oliver? Can you put him on the phone?”

”No,” Olivia said. ”My family can’t associate with you, and I call you in secret because I want to hear it myself whether or not you have done that.”

Jeremy pressed his lips. He was in distressed. ”Olivia, your brother is not your brother.”