CLAIMED BY THE MAD LYCAN

CHAPTER 1

Tears streamed down my eyes as I looked at my reflection in the mirror, ruining my makeup. My wolf, Bell, matched my sadness as she yawned in pain. But then, she went quiet and asked me to go out—that we were going to make the most of our sorrows and just try to get over this.

Bell could switch off emotions as fast as they came, and I greatly envied her for that because I couldn’t. I told myself I was going to get through today. I was going to marry a man I didn’t love just because my mate rejected me. But the pain had been too much in the end and I rushed into the bathroom to let it out.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Hey, Akira. You’re in there, right? The dance is about to start. What the hell are you still doing?”

“Ehrr…” I started to clean the tears on my face but Zara, my elder sister, soon opened the door.

She stepped in, disgust and irritation on her expression as she looked at me. She looked pretty in her red colored gown, and I couldn’t help but notice the bite mark on her neck.

“I can’t believe you! You were crying? I thought we’d be past this stage by now.”

“Who’s “we”? Huh? Father forced me to marry a neighborhood Beta just because he’s rich and he wants more alliance. And you think that’s a thing to just get over? I thought you’re my sister. But you don’t seem to understand me one bit. I don’t blame you, though. You were privileged enough to have a mate that accepted you and now you’re even two months pregnant. You never experienced the pain of being rejected. Your entire life has been easy from the beginning so I don’t expect you to understand.”

As I spoke, Zara's expression remained eerily blank, as if I was discussing something as mundane as my favorite fruit. But my words were far from trivial—they were a desperate cry from my soul. My gaze drifted from her impassive face to the bite mark on her neck, a visible reminder of her mate's love. A pang of envy twisted in my stomach.

Zara’s eyes followed, and her face lit up. “Oh this… Enzo can’t keep his hands off me for even a minute. He wanted it from the moment we got here and dragged me from the hall to f**k me in one of the rooms. Oh how exciting that was… I almost felt like I’d ascended to heaven when his fangs entered my flesh.”

I walked out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut, leaving my sister to her s**t talk. Zara’s taunts burned in my ears, but I didn’t have time to dwell on them. She’d made sure to remind me, in her perfect, flawless way, that she had everything I’d never get. A mate who loved her; a future she controlled. She had what I’d always wanted.

She knew exactly what she was doing, and I hated her for that. Right from when I was born, I had always felt like my sister was in some sort of competition with me. She never supported me in anything I did, and always pointed to one thing or the other that I couldn’t do or wasn’t good at. At first I believed I was just being paranoid, but now it seemed Zara tried to do everything I did on purpose, like we were some kind of twin.

Today, for example, she was wearing the exact same gown I was wearing, even though it was my wedding dress. The only difference was that mine is blue, as is our packs’ favourite colour and is used for events such as weddings.

I couldn’t afford to think too much about her words or admit that they did have the effect she wanted them to have on me. Instead, I focused on putting one foot in front of the other as I walked out into the hall. The noise hit me like a wall—the chatter, the annoying laughter, clinking of glasses and small talk here and there. I could feel eyes on me, and I could tell a lot of people were watching me—could hear some gossip even. Mom’s voice called me through our mind link, and I turned to see her smiling at me. I strode towards her and she gave me a kiss on my cheeks.

“Oh Akira. I’ve always waited for this day. Now both my daughters are married. Your mom is so happy for you.”

I nodded at her, hoping she wouldn’t be able to tell that I’ve been crying. I didn’t need her to tell me she was happy for me. Her words never felt real. I had never felt like my mother was my mother. I’ve seen my baby pictures with her and all, but our relationship was so plastic. We usually spend time together and converse every now and then but I still never felt a full connection with her. And I guess that’s why I didn’t talk to her personally about how I feel about the wedding. I only talked about it to my father when she was present, and as expected, she was quiet as he yelled and insisted that I must marry Dylan.

“Zara said the dance was about to start?” I asked, simply because I had no other thing to say.

“Yes it is. But Akira, I hope…”

Father appeared from the crowd and mother stopped talking. He had a glass of wine in his hands and a glint in his eyes that made me know he was tired from entertaining all his guests and allies. Mother bowed and left without meeting eyes with him.

“Akira,” Dad smiled and touched my shoulders. We almost never talked and he had never allowed me to do things on my own since I was born, but I still felt closer to him than my mom.

“Dylan is waiting for you. I think you should both take a walk and talk before we begin the dance.”

“I don’t want to”, Bell grunted. Still I shook my head and told father okay.

“Akira… you seem to be so feeble about this whole thing. I just hope you don’t do something stupid. I would kill you and pretend I’ve always had one daughter.”

Father left as quickly as he came, and I found my legs shaking on the ground, new tears threatening to fall off my eyes. He was going to kill me if I did something? My own father?

“Akira.”

I looked up and saw Dylan in front of me. He had a smile on his face, his attire showing his status as Beta of his pack. He was in his early forties. And he was once mated but people say his mate mysteriously disappeared, and they never found her after.

Dylan was kind the few times we’ve talked, still I’ve always sensed like it was a facade to pull me over and trust him.

“Hey…” I responded and managed a smile. “Let’s take the walk.”

I intertwined my arms with his and watched a smirk spread on his face. People were watching us from all corners, and I was well aware. I caught the words of a few men saying he was a lucky bastard for acquiring a beauty like me, and adding that it would’ve never been possible were he not a Beta.

We walked out of the hall, hands still intertwined. It was a starry night, and it was snowing a little. I was cold. And even though I knew I wasn’t entitled to it, I thought he’d pull his coat and put it over my shoulders. Not because he wanted to but as part of his attempt to win me over. But he didn’t.

Finally we walked to a tree at the far end of our house, where the guards were absent. I started to pull my hand out of his, but he held it firmly. I glared at him.

“Tell me. What’s it about me that you don’t like?”

His tone was demanding, and I was a little confused. “I don’t understand what you—“

“It’s obvious you think I’m stupid. I know you’re pretending to be okay with everything. I overheard your conversation with your father. You’re only doing this because of him, right?”

I swallowed my saliva, trying to digest his words. It was forbidden to eavesdrop on an Alpha’s conversation, even though all werewolves could hear things like that if they listened and focused hard enough.

“Why were you eavesdro—“

“Shut up already!” He said and grabbed my neck, pushing me to the tree. He suddenly looked like a demon—like he’d been possessed by the devil. His eyes shone blue, rage and contempt evident in his expression.

I struggled to breathe and break free, barely being able to see. Bell gritted in panic, but I couldn’t shift in this position.

“You seem quite full of yourself. But every member of your family dislikes you. You have not a grain of value; even your mate rejected you.”

More tears poured out my eyes, not because of his hands on my neck but because of the words he was saying. And the fact that he was confident to do all this while still in my pack proved he knew my father won’t bat an eyelid if he chose to abuse me. I’ve been literally sold to him—for the sake of alliance.

“Oh I promise you she’s very valuable.” A manly voice said.

Dylan released my neck, and turned around. I dropped to the ground, eyes clouded with tears.

“Who are you? And how dare you interfere in my marital affairs?” Dylan thundered.

“Well…” I watched as the man’s huge body stepped into the light, and I could finally see a partiality of his face for the first time. “They call me the Lycan King.”