Marking Territory

Present Time

The kingdom of Lycans.

Known to be the deadliest kingdom of all. It was said that the beings residing in this kingdom were the deadliest immortals with no morals.

Once a kingdom who was famous for its loyalty, wisdom, and strength was now...

A kingdom filled with liars.

A kingdom filled with cheaters.

A kingdom filled with blind beasts.

Everything changed about this kingdom, but you still can't win against them when they fight to protect their own.

Because even after all these changes, it was still a kingdom filled with the deadliest warriors...

They were blessed by the Goddess of the Moon. Blessed with strength, immortality, and a mate. Once a Lycan finds his mate, he can't take another female to his bed because he won't get hard for anyone once he finds his mate, who is given to him by the Goddess. The beast residing inside him won't let him take any other female once he claims his mate.

In their kingdom, a woman was equal to weakness. A mate was only a weakness to them. The mates they were given to strengthen their race were now considered a weakness by them.

There was a time when, in the supernatural world, beings of different species ached to be a Lycan's mate. It was said that a beast cherishes his mate more than anyone else in this world. If their mate dies, the beast follows. But now everyone detests even the idea of being their mate.

The Lycans had fallen from grace~

And the reason for their fall was their King himself. The King of the Lycans, who was currently laying draped in the finest silk, his partner from last night still asleep beside him.

Darach King, the only beast who doesn't care about his mate or kingdom.

He's their Alpha King, but they called him 'Mad King,' and indeed he was madder than any other living Lycan. Darach was as old as dirt, and living so long without a mate had pushed him towards madness.

There was a time when he convinced himself that he could live his eternal life without a mate, but in reality, he could give anything to just experience what it was like to have someone to protect, provide, and love more than your own life, to know what it was like to be loyal to your mate until death.

"Your highness, your brother requests to meet you." Darach's most loyal beast's voice echoed in his head.

In his long life, Darach has met mortals who wanted to become immortal.

Fools...

They don't realize that immortality was not a blessing. It was a cursed life. A life you have to live without your loved ones because everyone you know will be dead before you. They are fools to wish for such a life filled with loneliness and madness.

Darach walked into his office dressed in a pair of slacks with his chest bare. Nudity was not an issue for Lycans. They were more comfortable without clothes.

His brother was sitting on the chair in his office, and upon his arrival, he scrunched his nose, probably because Darach's body still reeked of the female Lycan from last night.

They all wanted to be his queen. They used to think they could satisfy his hunger, but they seem to forget that no one can satisfy the hunger within him, no one but only his true mate...

"You wanted to meet me," Darach said to his brother, ignoring the disgusted look he was giving him.

"Lucia is missing," Connor announced, his eyes flashing golden, indicating that he was a second away from turning.

'And they say that I don't have any control over my beast...' Darach thought sarcastically.

Lucia was their sister. In their kingdom, females were not permitted to go anywhere until they found their mate, and when they found their mate, they couldn't go anywhere without him.

It was an unspoken rule of their society. It was surprising that she could have gone missing when her mate Jordan was always attached to her hip.

"So what...?" Darach asked nonchalantly while sitting on his chair, staring blankly at the wall.

"She's our sister, Darach! How could you not care?" Connor asked, anger dripping from his tone.

"Why would you care...?" Darach threw the question at him instead of answering him.

"Because unlike you, I'm not an ass who doesn't give a fuck about his responsibilities! An ass who just wants to be a womanizer. Have you ever thought how your mate would react when she finds out that her soulmate has fucked half of the females in his kingdom?"

Connor roared.

"That's funny coming from you, the man who wasn't able to protect his own mate. And last time I checked, you weren't on talking terms with Lucia. And she has a mate, so it's not our problem if she's missing. I'm sure Jordan can find her. After all, our beasts love the chase." Darach replied in a bored tone.

It was useless to get involved in their issues. If Lucia was missing, her darling mate would find her. It was in our blood to protect our own.

"Living without a mate for so long has turned you into a cold bastard, Darach. What if it was your mate who disappeared? She's not the only one who disappeared; a large number of females from this kingdom have been missing as if lost without a clue to track them. Their mates are going berserk on everyone. They are a step away from madness. They want your help, Darach. They need their Alpha King, for once, to act like one." Connor snapped the last line.

If it was any other wolf, Darach would have killed him without a thought for this blunt disrespect, but Connor was different because it was no good to kill someone who was already dead. Connor had seen his own mate die in front of his eyes.

It was said that the most painful thing in a Lycan's life was to lose a mate. If your mate dies, you follow! There is no in-between. Connor was the only one who survived this loss, no one knows how...

Even there were bets placed on him all over the kingdom. Everyone wanted to know how long he could survive.

Even Darach wondered how long~

"Darach, you don't have a mate, but I had one once. I know how it feels to be separated from your other half. It's like someone is splitting your soul, and you have no power over it. You are a King, Darach, act like one... At least do something that your mate should be proud of..." Connor said before leaving.

It's understandable why Connor found this matter so important. He had lost his mate, and he knows the pain. But what he didn't know was that Darach didn't have any mate to make proud.

When a Lycan's other half is born, he can feel it deep in his bones that someone's there for him to protect and provide. Like every Lycan, Darach felt when she was born. Like a lovesick puppy, he went to an Oracle. It's hard to find one, and they are bat shit crazy, but he found one, only for her to tell Darach that his mate was dead.

Dead before he had a chance to know her...

I'm blessed that I didn't meet her before she died. Because in my kind, once a Lycan meets his soulmate, he's bound to her. He can't bed another because his beast won't let him get hard for anyone other than his mate, just like Connor...

Darach didn't want anyone to find out about her, and the sole purpose of hiding her death from everyone was Connor.

He didn't want them to pity him like Connor. Darach's their Alpha King!

He can do what they can't, even overcome his mate's loss...

On the bright side, Darach can bed any willing female Lycan as a distraction from this lonely eternal life. Connor was not as lucky as him. He was living on the memories of his mate more than he lived in the present. At least this mission can serve as a distraction for Connor. It's the least Darach can do for him...