Claimed by the Mad Lycan King

Seara didn’t mean to cry, and the last thing she wanted was to make Zade worry, but she couldn’t help it because the moment she heard his voice, all the suppressed emotions rushed out like a broken dam.

Kayden, who was currently with her, startled. He looked up to see what was going on and found she was on the phone. He quickly realized she was talking to the king, so he left the room to give them some privacy.

"What happened? Why are you crying? Your shoulder still hurts?" Zade sounded worried, and Seara tried hard to calm herself down so she could get the words out.

"Please, come back," she said through sobs. "I have been watching the news, and there are... There are so many deaths, Zade. They killed shifters and humans alike; they don’t care. There are many dead bodies on the street. People attack other people simply because they are feeling suspicious. Zade, please, come back."

Seara held herself back from saying that she didn’t care what happened to Altair; she didn’t know him, and a handful of times when she met him was not pleasant.

Call her selfish, but she only wanted her mate back.

"I am fine, Seara." Zade’s voice softened when he talked to her as he entered the car and Caspian drove next to him. "I will be back as soon as possible."

Seara shook her head, but she didn’t try to convince him again, because she knew Zade wouldn’t listen to her request this time, and it would be selfish of her to think only of his safety when Altair’s existence was also crucial at a time like this.

"How is your shoulder?" Zade changed the topic because he wanted to hear her voice. "Does it still hurt?"

"It will be less hurt if you are here," Seara replied curtly, and Zade chuckled.

"I wish I could be there with you. But I promise you, once I return, I will not leave you again."

Seara gripped her phone tightly; she breathed raggedly as she nodded. She couldn’t speak without crying.

Hearing his voice was difficult for her because he was miles away, and she couldn’t be certain of his safety. She didn’t know if he was truly safe or if he was just saying so because he wanted to appease her worries.

However, after some time, Zade managed to calm Seara down as they talked about something else. He listened to her rant about how her adoptive mother and brother came to her bedroom, and they pretended as if nothing had happened between them.

Seara had gotten out of bed and sat on the windowsill, watching the quiet city lights out there.

"I don’t know what they want from me, but I am holding a grudge. They have a better chance of feeding a dinosaur than of acting like a family with me." Seara was upset beyond words with the way they tried to worm their way in just because she was Zade’s mate.

"Good. Let them know that if you see them again," Zade was smiling as he listened to her rambling. He enjoyed hearing her speak with such passion. It seemed that this was the true Seara, free from her family’s oppression and before they locked her up for years.

"Of course, I will chew them out if they try to get chummy with me."

Seara stared at the night sky; the stars were exceptionally bright tonight, and the hospital was rather quiet. It was a small hospital near the pack house, and there were not many people working here currently, since most of them had left the city.

Humans thought the capital city and Wvern City were the safest places for them to go. Therefore, all humans went to the south side of the country, while the shifters went to the north side of the country.

Currently, the country was divided into two parts, and Altair’s territory was caught in the middle, with the Quantum Protocol trying to control the area and the shifters fighting hard to keep their territory.

"I will call you again tomorrow; you have to sleep," Zade said softly. He had arrived at the hideout in Wvern City, where at least two hundred shifters were there.

"Promise me you will be alright." Seara tightened her grip on her phone.

"I promise you I will be alright." Zade’s gentle words were soothing. "Even if it is only my body, I will find a way back to you."

"Don’t say that!" Seara was furious because it sounded like a bad omen.

"I am sorry, I didn’t mean it that way," Zade said quickly, calming her down again. "That was only a bad word choice. I mean to come back to you no matter what."

"You should." Seara felt lonely again when Zade was about to hang up the phone, even though he promised to call her in the morning the next day. "You can’t leave again after this. I need protection, you know. I can’t shift or protect myself in the world, where people turn into killers."

Zade laughed. "You have the warriors with you; they will protect you. Kayden is there, right?" He wanted to be sure he was there, since he knew Jared had joined the search party.

Seara lowered her voice because Kayden entered the room, and she didn’t want him to hear what she said. "He is here, but he is not as strong as you," Seara replied in a whispery tone.

Zade laughed some more, and they talked for two more minutes before hanging up.

"So, I am not as strong as King Zade, huh?" Kayden asked as Seara put the phone away.

She grinned; she thought she had said it in a very low voice, but Kayden could still hear it. "Well, are you?"

Kayden scratched his head. "In theory, no."

"What about in reality?"

"Obviously not."

Seara chuckled at the answer, proving she was right, but then they saw a bright light from outside the window; it came from the pack house.