The Lycan King’s Forsaken Bride-Marking Territory

Present Time

The Kingdom of Lycans — known to be the deadliest kingdom of all. It was said the beings residing in this kingdom were the fiercest immortals with no morals. Once, this kingdom was famous for its loyalty, wisdom, and strength. Now… it was a kingdom filled with liars, cheaters, and blind beasts.

Everything had changed about this kingdom, but you still couldn’t defeat them when they fought 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 else. The beast inside him won’t allow it. Once he claims his mate, no one else exists for him.

In their kingdom, a woman was considered a weakness. A mate, once meant to strengthen their race, was now seen as a liability.

There was a time when, in the supernatural world, beings of different species longed to be a Lycan’s mate. It was said a beast cherished his mate more than anyone else in this world — that if she died, the beast would follow. But now, everyone detested 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 — currently lying draped in the finest silk, his partner from last night still asleep beside him — was Darach King, the only beast who didn’t care about his mate or his kingdom.

He was their Alpha King, but they called him the Mad King — and indeed, he was madder than any other living Lycan. Darach was as old as the dirt itself, and living so long without a mate had driven him toward madness.

There was a time when he convinced himself he could live his eternal life without a mate, but in reality, he would give anything just to know what it was like — to have someone to protect, to provide for, to love more than his own life. To know what it was like to be loyal to a 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 had met mortals who wished for immortality. Fools. They didn’t realize immortality was not a blessing — it was a curse. A life you are forced to live without your loved ones, because everyone you know will die before you. They were fools to wish for such a life of loneliness and madness.

Darach walked into his office dressed in a pair of slacks, chest bare. Nudity was never an issue for Lycans; they were more comfortable without clothes. His brother was sitting in the chair across from his desk, scrunching his nose — probably because Darach’s body still reeked of the female from last night.

They all wanted to be his queen. They thought they could satisfy his hunger, but they forgot — no one could, except his true mate.

“You wanted to meet me,” Darach said to his brother, ignoring the disgust in his expression.

“Lucia is missing,” Connor announced, his eyes flashing gold, showing he was one breath away from turning.

And they say I have no 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 once they did, they couldn’t leave without him. It was an unspoken rule.

It was surprising she could go missing when her mate, Jordan, was always attached to her hip.

“So what?” Darach asked flatly as he sat down, staring blankly at the wall.

“She’s our sister, Darach! How can you not care?” Connor’s voice was thick with anger.

“Why would you care?” Darach threw the question back at him instead of answering.

“Because, unlike you, I’m not an ass who doesn’t give a damn about his responsibilities — an ass who only wants to be a womanizer! Have you ever thought about how your mate will react when she finds out her soulmate has slept with half the females in his kingdom?” Connor roared.

“That’s funny coming from you — the man who couldn’t protect his own mate. And last I checked, you weren’t even on speaking terms with Lucia. She has a mate, so it’s not our problem if she’s missing. I’m sure Jordan can find her. Our beasts love the chase,” Darach replied in a bored tone.

It was pointless to get involved in their issues. If Lucia was missing, her darling mate would find her. It was in their blood to protect their 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’s gone missing — a large number of females from this kingdom have vanished without a trace. Their mates are going berserk. They’re a step away from madness. They want your help, Darach. They need their Alpha King, for once, to act like one,” Connor snapped.

If it had been anyone else, Darach would have killed him without hesitation for such blunt disrespect. But Connor was different. There was no point in killing someone who was already dead inside.

Connor had seen his own mate die in front of his eyes. It was said the most painful thing in a Lycan’s life was to lose a mate — because if your mate dies, you follow. There is no in-between.

Connor was the only one who had survived this loss, though no one knew how. There were even bets placed all over the kingdom about how long he would last. Even Darach wondered.

“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 tearing your soul apart and you have no power to stop it. You are a King, Darach. Act like one. At least do something your mate would be proud of,” Connor said before leaving.

Darach understood why Connor found this matter so important. He had lost his mate and knew the pain. But what Connor didn’t know was that Darach had no mate to make proud.

When a Lycan’s other half is born, he can feel it deep in his bones — that someone is out there for him to protect and provide for. Like every Lycan, Darach felt it when she was born. Like a lovesick pup, he went to find an Oracle. They were rare, and most were mad, but he found one — only for her to tell him of his mate’s death.

Dead before he had a chance to know her.

I’m blessed I didn’t meet her before she died, he thought. Because in his kind, once a Lycan meets his soulmate, he is bound to her. He cannot bed another, because his beast won’t allow it — just like Connor.

Darach didn’t want anyone to know about her. The sole reason he hid her death from everyone was Connor — he didn’t want to be pitied like him. Darach was their Alpha King; he could do what others couldn’t. He could overcome the loss of his mate.

On the bright side, Darach could bed any willing female as a distraction from his lonely eternal life. Connor wasn’t as lucky — he lived more in the memories of his mate than in the present.

At least this mission could serve as a distraction for Connor. It was the least Darach could do for him.