CLAIMED BY THE MAD LYCAN

CHAPTER 4

AKIRA

I couldn’t get up from the floor even after he left. My view was clouded in tears, and I felt like a venom was spreading through my system—the pain like I was being burnt alive.

Bell was in pain too. But not because of my predicament. She was in pain because she knew it was impossible to be with her mate. I felt disgusted at myself. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me right now. I don’t know what I did to deserve any of this pain, but being dead would be better than any of these.

Bell was choking up. She wanted freedom, and I knew sooner or later I’d have to give it to her. I hated her at this moment. She had pushed me to kiss him. Bell of course knew the consequences and just how stupid that was, but she couldn’t control it.

To be honest, I could barely control my attraction for him myself. The whole time he was talking, I never intentionally met his eyes. Because I knew I would fall. I might have done something worse than bell.

I almost died of pain when Carl, my first mate rejected me. The second day after the rejection, I’d been planning to run away from home but the guards caught me, and my father made me stay in my room for five days as punishment. Many times I looked for something in my room I could use to end my life. A knife; a stake… anything at all. But there was nothing.

I’d wondered if father had seen me as a suicidal person before then because he personally came to take my combs and golden-hair pins that were sharp enough to hurt myself.

He didn’t comfort me after the rejection. Only told me to “grow up” because a better person was coming to marry me. A Beta who had had interest in me for a long time.

And now… the moon-goddess decided to bless me with a second chance mate. Or curse me rather… because why would she mate me to a man who clearly had unholy intentions towards me? I knew I was the leverage here. He was going to use me as leverage. I was going to suffer by the hands of my own mate for something I knew nothing about—for a sin my people committed.

What then is my purpose in life? What was my worth?

My tears began to form a pool on my clothes, and a migraine settled in my head.

I fell flat on the floor and stayed that way, my tears intensifying, and soon fell into a peace that I wished would be permanent.

***

I woke up when someone pushed the door open. I jumped off the floor. My migraine had reduced, but I felt pain from my sides from sleeping on the floor. I wiped my eyes with my hands to see who was at the door.

The man’s mouth was open, like he was really surprised. He looked from my head to toe, and I heard him scuffle. He was dressed in black overalls and had a sheath tucked to his side. There was a dangerous look in his eyes.

He approached me and I stayed still, wondering who he was. The fact that I didn’t feel scared or intimidated by him made me remember the Lycan King, and Bell growled in pain.

“Come with me,” he took my hands and started to drag me out of the room.

My adrenaline kicked in, and I pushed him away from me. “Where are you taking me to?”

I saw a flash of rage cross his features, and he growled. Before I could react, large claws retracted from his hands and he came for me.

I dodged the first attack, panic making me think fast. His claws aimed for my neck the second time, and I barely managed to escape it before one of them scratched me.

As the blood dripped from my neck, Bell, who’d been waiting to be freed all these while, took control and shifted.

In my wolf form, I watched as his eyes flashed surprise. Then I launched at him.

My claws met his chest with all the rage and pain Bell had been feeling, and he cried out in pain.

Then he shifted completely.

Lycan’s couldn’t shift into full wolves; that was one of the things that differentiated us from them. He had just his claws before, but now his eyes were yellow and he was bigger and had hair all over his face.

He ran towards my wolf, and I moved before his claws hit me. I knew I couldn’t take him now that he was in his full form. So I just dodged in panic and hoped the next thing his claws scratched wasn’t my heart. Not that I cared to die, though. But I definitely won’t die in his hands!

I dodged more of his attacks, my wolf pushing against the chairs and every other thing in our way.

I noticed he was attacking me out of rage and not with a clear mind, so I figured I could manage to run out the room through the door. But his claws striked my sides just before I could act on it.

Bell staggered a few feets back, and dropped to the floor. I changed to my human form and suddenly heard a voice from my dizziness.

“Michael!!”

I recognized the voice and my pulses jumped. Even a wasted Bell gained half her energy as she heard her mate’s voice.

The next thing I heard was “chaw!!” (the sounds of claws meeting flesh), and someone screamed in pain.

I wasn’t facing my mate or Michael so I couldn’t see what was going on. But soon I heard boots on the ground as someone approached me, and that someone wrapped a blanket around my naked body.

I knew I would heal, though it might take some time. But the scent of freshly-cut flowers and cinnamon that covered my nose took half the pain away.

He carried me from the floor to his hands. And my fear for him mixed with the attraction made me shut my eyes to prevent seeing his expression. He started walking, out of the room I realized, and I wondered why he was doing this. I knew he must have sent Michael to bring me to him, and that was why I refused to follow when I could’ve. Because I feared what he might want to do with me.

“Akira.”

His strong voice called, and I flinched from fear and want. Also the fact that I was naked suddenly came to my senses. I felt weird things down there.

“Y-yes?” I heard myself answering. A sudden urge to open my eyes came, and as I did, I saw his’ was red.

A new fear struck at my core, crawling from my legs to settle in my stomach. Michael had yellow eyes. And the only other wolf eye color I knew about was shiny dark blue. I’ve never heard of a red-eye were-wolf or Lycan.

“Never again let anyone see your body.”

His words took me by surprise, cutting my line of thoughts apart and making Bell gloat in me. I was a werewolf. If I shifted to my wolf and back to human form, there’s no way I wouldn’t come back naked. “B-but why?” I muttered, admiring the beauty of his eyes and wondering why he was suddenly like this.

“Because you’re my mate.”