Chapter 4 The King's Prey

• 【Kaelen POV】
• “Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-eight…”
• “Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine…”
• “Ten thousand.”
• I let go and dropped down from the pull-up bar with ease.
• My bare upper body was slick with tiny beads of sweat, sliding down the tight muscles and dripping onto the floor.
• The training room on the top floor of the villa was dead silent, except for my heavy breathing.
• I’m Kaelen.
• Those so-called Packs call me “the Demon,” “the Mad Dog.”
• But in the world of wanderers, I’m the only king.
• *BAM!*
• The training room door slammed open.
• Jax strode in.
• He’s my most trusted Beta.
• “King, border alarm.”
• I grabbed a towel nearby and wiped my hair. “Which dumbass Pack is trying to test my limits this time?”
• “It’s not a Pack attack.”
• Jax’s face twisted into something weird. “It’s one person. Actually… a woman.”
• I froze for a second, raising an eyebrow. “A woman triggered the highest-level border alarm?”
• “She came from the Silver Moon Pack’s direction.”
• Jax pulled up the surveillance footage and projected it on the wall. “And right now, the Silver Moon Pack is a total mess.”
• The image was blurry, but I could still make out the figure stumbling through the dark forest.
• She was covered in blood, looking like hell, but damn if she wasn’t fast as hell.
• “Interesting.”
• I stepped closer to the screen, staring at the frail figure.
• “You’re telling me that idiot Damien can’t even keep an eye on a woman?”
• “Not just that.”
• Jax swallowed hard, his voice tinged with disbelief and excitement:
• “King, you won’t believe what just went down. Half an hour ago, at the ‘Blood Moon Festival,’ this woman… she publicly activated the Rejection Ceremony and dumped Damien!”
• I was stunned.
• “Rejection?”
• I squinted. “You mean she rejected an Alpha at the peak of his power?”
• That was unheard of in werewolf history.
• The soul-ripping agony from the Rejection Ceremony could drive a grown man insane—let alone a woman who looked so weak.
• “Apparently, she’s Selene, the so-called Luna of the Silver Moon Pack—the pack that’s basically dead on its feet.”
• Jax added, “But judging by how fast she’s running, she’s no weakling.”
• On the screen, the red dot marking her position was getting closer to our territory border.
• And behind her, a swarm of red dots was chasing like crazy—that was Damien’s guards.
• “She’s about to cross the line.”
• ```
• Jax spoke up, “That’s our turf. You want the guys to stop her, or toss her back to Damien?”
• I stared hard at that stubborn little red dot blinking on the screen.
• For some reason, I felt something deep inside me stir—the long-dormant wolf spirit, Fenrir, waking up.
• It was the thrill of a hunter catching the scent of prime prey.
• “No.”
• I tossed the towel aside, grabbed a black trench coat, and threw it on. Then I strode toward the elevator.
• “No one’s ever dared to treat my territory like a safe zone. Unless…”
• “Unless she can survive.”
• “Need a ride?” Jax asked.
• “Nope.”
• I cracked my neck, the bones popping sharply.
• “Since Damien’s putting on such a big show for me, I’m damn well gonna meet this… brave lady myself.”
• The night wind howled.
• I shifted into my wolf form and tore through the jungle, lightning fast.
• The air was thick with the stench of blood, mixed with some weird, hard-to-place scent.
• Right up ahead, at the border line.
• I slowed down and shifted back to human form.
• Just in time to see a slender figure burst out of the bushes.
• She was covered in wounds, barefoot.
• But her eyes—even in the last moments before passing out—were fierce, like a lone wolf.
• The look of someone fighting tooth and nail to survive.
• I liked that.
• She seemed spent, her body wobbling before she collapsed straight toward me.
• Just as her face was about to hit the dirt, I reached out and caught her.
• So light.
• But the moment my skin touched hers, an electric shiver shot through me.
• She struggled to open her eyes, blurry at first, landing on my boots, then slowly drifting up my leg… finally locking on my face.
• No scream. No begging.
• Just a cracked mouth moving, barely audible:
• “Save me…”
• Then she passed out cold.
• I looked down at the woman in my arms, blood splattered across her pale face.
• From the woods behind us came the noisy shouts of Damien’s pursuers.
• “There! Don’t let her get away!”
• “That’s the wanderers’ turf! Watch yourselves!”
• Jax showed up behind me with a squad of Rogues, waiting for my orders.
• “Boss?”
• I cradled the woman horizontally, shooting a cold glare at the group stuck just outside the border line.
• “Put up the boundary markers.”
• “Cross the line, you’re dead.”
• ```