CLAIMED BY THE MAD LYCAN

CHAPTER 2

AKIRA

My eyelids felt heavy as I opened them, and my hands instinctively rubbed it. I yawned from tiredness, wondering the activities I did to be feeling this helpless. Suddenly, Bell jumped like she was in panic. And I looked around me for the first time.

This wasn’t my bed at home, and this wasn’t my room either. Where was I?

I leapt out of the bed, a werewolf’s first instinct to being in an unfamiliar place. Soon I walked to the door, and paused just before I twisted the handle.

Memories from last night played in my mind, about the wedding I’d been forced into and the walk with Dylan. I shivered as I remembered he had put his hands on me.

Could this be his house? This room was feminine enough. It was designed in a royal chamber way like I was used to. With gold bed sheets and women's combs, brushes and wardrobe at the far end, and the scent of lavender in the air. I slowly approached the windows and a straw of the morning light touched my eyes. There were thick trees planted a few yards from the windows, so I couldn’t see anything outside. Birds sang and chirped in different patterns, so I could furtherly confirm it was morning.

A knock sounded on the door, and I froze. I turned around and positioned myself into a fighting stance. Two females opened the door and bowed to me.

They were both around my age, and dressed in similar attires with each other which made me realize they were maids.

“My Lady, we’re here to assist you with your bath,” the older one said.

I was surprised at their formality, and more surprised because I couldn’t sense their wolves.

“Where is Beta Dylan?” I asked, out of curiosity, how I ended up here.

The maids looked at each-other, seemingly confused. Then the younger one spoke. “W—we don’t know who that is. The Lycan King asked that we bath you.”

The Lycan king?!

No sooner had I heard that that I remembered the rest of what happened yesterday. The strange man that had come in the middle of Dylan strangling me. He had said something—-he had said that he was the Lycan King!

“My Lady. This way please.”

I found myself following the maids to the bathroom, where they helped me undress and get into the tub.

Bell was panicking inside me, her spirit strong like she wanted release. And I have to admit I was panicking too. I shook as they bathed me, and I couldn’t speak because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know what was happening.

Truth is, I would prefer being in the house of Beta Dylan right now, even though I knew he would probably be abusing me. At least I knew the kind of person he was already, and I could defy him and run away eventually. But the Lycan Kingdom?! The unknown… It terrified me. The werewolves and Lycan have been at war for decades. And since the werewolves population was more, many Lycans have lost their life in the process.

Few years ago, a new Lycan King was announced, which nobody in the werewolf population knew about. No one knew how he looked or where he came from, since hierarchy wasn’t decided by birth in the Lycan Kingdom. If a Lycan King dies, his first son won’t be the next King. Somehow there’s a process that happens for them to determine the next king from the common man.

I never understood the reason or origin of the war. But there was one thing I knew for sure, it was our fault, and not the fault of the Lycans. I’d learned in school that an average Lycan was almost four times stronger than a Werewolf. And their king was always the strongest.That was why he led all their wars himself, and never sat while he sent his Lycan subordinates to fight.

Once, my father had me sit in on a meeting. He’d been having issues with my mother, and I was his favorite child—though he controlled every part of my life. During the meeting, the Pack chiefs spoke of the new Lycan King. They said he was strong-headed, mysterious, and had brought all the Lycan soldiers back to the Kingdom. He’d built massive walls around their land, making it nearly impenetrable.

Father laughed at the news. “Lycans are weak," he’d said, "no matter how much strength they have. This their King, this ‘Lycan Princess,’ will only lock them in out of fear.” He then ordered letters sent to every Alpha and Werewolf Lord, telling them not to waste their time trying to breach the walls. He’d rather see how long the Lycan Kingdom could stay shut off from the world.

The maids informed me that they were done, and helped me get out of the tub. They put a silk robe around me, and said they needed to comb my hair before I went downstairs to have breakfast with the King.

I shook my head, dread gripping my heart, making me feel like I could pass out. “I don’t want to have breakfast. I’m not hungry. I’d rather stay in the room and read.” I pointed to a small library at the left corner of the room that I hadn’t noticed earlier.

The maids didn’t respond. They simply sat me down and combed my hair. When they were done, they asked me to come with them.

“I said I wasn’t coming. Go down and tell your Lycan King that I’m not hungry and not moving an inch from this room!”

They froze at my words, fear vivid in their expressions. I’d never met a non-werewolf in my life, and seeing two now, they didn’t appear real to me. Both the maids were acting like they’d been programmed to carry out their King’s orders. They spoke to me so briefly and formally, as if void of emotions—like I was just another person they were given orders on. Not that I wasn’t. But it still hurts. For days I’ve been forced to do things I didn’t appreciate and now I’m in the home of the Lycan King with no explanation on what was happening. And everyone was acting like everything was normal, like I was just supposed to go through with it.

“We still have to bring you downstairs. We can’t go down without—“

“Then tell him to go f**k himself and burn in hell—“

The door burst open, and my gaze snapped to it, my body locking into a frozen stance.

He strode into the room, his presence so commanding that the air seemed to thicken around him. There was a weight to his steps, as if the very ground bowed to his will. My eyes were drawn to him against my will, and though my body froze, every nerve seemed to hum with awareness. I couldn’t take my eyes off his face, but I noticed the maids were equally stricken out of their guts by his presence.

He sits on the bed, and a smile rests on his face. “You heard her. She’s not leaving the room. Bring the food here.”

The maids scurried out and closed the door, like they’ve been waiting for the order.

But that wasn’t it. There was this strong scent in the room. The scent of sweet smoky cedar… the scent of home and comfort. The scent of something that was mine and mine alone.

“Mate,” Bell whispered, her voice low and trembling. There was no mistaking it—her tone was filled with a mix of awe and terror.