Claimed by the Mad Lycan King

”She is Neriah,” Ace said with certainty. ”There is no evidence to suggest that she is not Neriah. I even dove down to her medical record, and it is indeed her.”

After Seara insisted multiple times that she was not Neriah, Ace and Zephyr had to confirm it a few times; they even had to draw a blood test on her so they would be able to know about her medical record.

And there was no foul play.

”In that case, we can only conclude that it is her delusion,” Jane said. She had handled some cases like this, but most of her patients before were human.

The shifters not only had strong physical abilities but also mental abilities. Finding a case like this in a shifter was extremely rare. Even if there were a case with a shifter, it wouldn’t be as severe as Seara’s.

Additionally, Seara’s loss of her wolf spirit hindered her progress to heal, whether it was her physical ability or her mental state.

After all, wolf spirit was the soul of a shifter; losing it alone would mess everything up.

”I am taking her back,” Zade said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

”What are you going to do then? Will that make her feel better?” Jane knew this could be Zade’s last straw. ”Taking her back is not a solution. We have already discussed this matter before, Zade.”

Currently, they were in the next room discussing what had actually happened to Seara and why she insisted that that woman was not Neriah.

The only conclusion they could draw was that she was experiencing a delusion. After all, this was not the first time she had encountered such a delusion.

Sybill, Sheena, and even the man she had seen in the bungalow before—they began to assume that he was just another figment of Seara’s imagination.

”Just because she wanted to go home, you can take her home. The situation is similar to that of a patient with cancer. Would you stop her treatment just because she wanted to?”

”She doesn’t have cancer.” Zade didn’t raise his voice, but even Ace and Zephyr could feel the coldness in his voice.

”Yes, she doesn’t have cancer, but this one can be worse than that.” Jane refused to back down either. ”Do you think the illness will magically disappear?”

Ace warned her through mindlink not to push too far, because he knew Zade was not in his right mind; his instinct to protect his mate was stronger than anything else.

However, Jane closed the mindlink.

”I know you want to protect her. She is your mate, and you love her, but Zade... Love alone is not enough to make her better. You can protect her from the harm out there, but how can you protect her from her own mind?”

***

Seara was dejected when she learned Zade wouldn’t take her back home.

”Is it because... because I went off again?” Seara looked at Zade, who was sitting on the edge of her bed. One thing that she was grateful for was that when she woke up, Zade was there.

”We can come home once a week. You are getting better.” Zade cupped Seara’s face and kissed both of her eyes.

He agreed with Jane for Seara to stay, but he wouldn’t budge about his demand to take her back home once a week.

Jane thought that was a good solution; thus, it was settled.

”Really? Can we go home now?” Seara took his hand and looked at Zade expectantly with her doe eyes.

”Sure, we can go home.”

That day, Zade took Seara back home. She was still a little bit agitated and anxious, but she handled it well.

And because Zephyr had to arrange accommodation for Neriah, Ace came to pick them up. That was when Seara noticed his new hair color.

Ace had dyed his dark copper hair dark brown, which suited his facial features. He looked more approachable with his new hair color, because usually Seara would see him so gloomy, as if he wanted to beat someone up.

”I like your hair color,” Seara said timidly when Ace opened the car door for her. This was the first time she took the initiative to talk to him first, and it surprised the royal beta, to say the least.

”Thank you.”

And the trip back was very quiet, because Seara used this time to sleep. She used Zade’s thighs as a pillow and slept throughout the journey back to the residence.

For Neriah, Zade’s first instinct was to send her back to the Blackthorne Pack because her presence had triggered his mate, but then Jane suggested otherwise. They still needed her to understand what had actually happened and what triggered Seara.

When she was asked, Seara only said she was not Neriah, even though every piece of evidence said differently.

Seara woke up when they arrived at home, as Reaper was already waiting for her at the door. The wolf would come to the bungalow now and then, as if waiting for Seara to come.

Hence, the moment Seara stepped out of the car, the wolf immediately rushed toward her, wiggling its tail like a lapdog.

”Reaper!” Seara looked happy; she crouched down and hugged her wolf. She didn’t care about the dirt on her dress while Reaper circled her.

”I still don’t understand why the wolf is very docile with her.” Ace frowned.

Zade kept Reaper and some wolves in the forest, as they acted as guard dogs for the residence, because they were very sensitive to strangers who intruded on their territory. But none of them were nice enough to the warriors, though they had met several times, and Reaper was the worst of all, since he acted as the alpha of the wild wolves.

However, Seara could tame him just fine. It was incredible to say the least.

”The wolf has a better taste,” Zade replied casually as he approached his mate.

”What?” Ace frowned. ”What do you mean by that?”