Bought by the Beast King (Katerina and hunter) novel Chapter 127

Chapter 127

KAT

There were no phones in the room.

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I searched anyway, in the drawer, closets, and behind heavy oak furniture. I kept myself moving, afraid that if I stopped, I’d have to think. I needed to know if Mother was okay. I needed to contact the Blackmore coven to find out about Nathan.

I found nothing.

My hand trembled as I closed the last drawer. My mind was still numb.

What the hell had I done?

Something about Hunter unravelled me. I became a different person, a very reckless one. Clarity had come crashing back the second he’d pulled out of me and left me on the table, exposed, and dripping onto the kitchen floor. I’d felt too much. It seemed… more. More than just a bond, more than desire.

Was this the settling bond that Hunter warned me about?

If it was, then I really had to leave. The thought twisted my stomach painfully. Before, the idea of leaving Hunter made me uneasy, but now it felt like grief. In a few days, I wouldn’t even want to leave.

I sat on the edge of the bed and forced myself to breathe. Hunter’s shirts were still the only things I had to wear. I’d found designer clothes in his closets, brands even royalty whispered about. That, and the mansion itself, told me a few things. One of them was that I didn’t know him at all.

If I’d paid more attention that night at the club, I would have noticed the difference. The confidence that came from money and power. Authority, not charm.

Would I have chosen him if I’d known he was a Lycan? I didn’t know. I thought I was okay with it when I accepted that he was the one I wanted, even if he was my boss. I’d thought we could go back to my apartment, and things would be how they were, but without the secret of our identities keeping that wall between us. But the reality of it now…

His bloodied face flashed through my mind every time I closed my eyes. And that hunger for blood had been the same when he’d pinned Kostas against the wall. The sheer power that rolled off him when he released his aura had been stronger than anything I’d ever experienced. That chill in my blood hadn’t completely vanished.

Could I really stay bonded to a man capable of that?

Not that it mattered. He already believed I was about to mate with Kostas, and I hadn’t corrected him. And the man Hunter truly was didn’t resemble the one I’d fallen for.

My mind knew what had to be done, but my body betrayed me. My body and my wolf. She was still smug, and for a moment, I envied her. She didn’t care about politics or blood feuds.

But I couldn’t stay. My father would come for me. I would have to reject Hunter for the sake of my people and his. That man at the door hadn’t hidden his disgust, and I couldn’t blame him. Our history made us natural enemies.

The mansion was silent, but I hadn’t dared leave the bedroom alone again. My awareness of the Lycans somewhere beyond the property kept me anxious. Were they waiting until I walked outside to get me? Could Hunter protect me from all of

them?

Would he even want to?

I caught the sound of a door opening and focused. Footsteps moved quickly through the house, and the heavy front doors opened. I already knew it was Hunter. The bond tugged; my awareness of his presence was even stronger.

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Chapter 127

Was he leaving?

My anxiety spiked, but my wolf remained calm. Like she was so confident in the bond she’d forged with that beast. But I’d only shifted twice; my wolf was still technically newborn. If we had to fight our way out, I didn’t know if she could handle it.

I crossed to the window wall and pulled the heavy curtain aside. Relief washed through me when I saw him standing outside. only to freeze moments later when something clawed at my senses. Another presence.

Kostas

I stepped back, my heart hammering. Why would Father send Kostas here? Hadn’t he been told what happened? How close Kostas had come to dying?

I rushed back to the window, but Hunter was gone. Without stopping to think, I ran out of the room, stumbling a few times as panic took over. For the sake of all his care in my childhood, I had to stop this. I didn’t want anyone to die because of me.

Something terrifying rolled down the bond. Hunter was ready to kill. I fell to my knees on the sharp gravel, breaking my skin, and my blood scented the air. I barely noticed. Kostas’s scent was heavy in the air, and his aura was overwhelming. He was challenging a Lycan on his own territory.

“Your mate?”

Hunter’s voice was terrifyingly calm.

“You interrupted my mating ceremony,” Kostas said. “Our pack is still waiting for the future Luna.”

“Last I heard, you announced I murdered the princess,” Hunter said.

Metal scraped. Hunter was opening the gates.

“Just rumours. You know how people can get.” Kostas said.

Those strong auras I’d sensed outside the property inched closer. My eyes widened, and I pushed back to my feet.

‘Kostas!’ I screamed in the mindlink. I hadn’t practised enough to know if I was still projecting to everyone, but I didn’t care. ‘What the hell are you doing? Go home!”

You don’t understand the danger you’ve put yourself in. Kostas’s voice rang clearly in my head, and somehow, that felt like a worse violation than the first time Hunter mindlinked me.

I rounded the bend and stopped short. Again, the shadow guards who were supposed to protect in secret stood behind my brother, their eyes glued on Hunter. He was their target. Did no one see how Elijah died? How were they so confident that they could show up in Lycan territory without any fear? There wasn’t even a hint of it on their faces or in the air.

“Katerina,” Kostas said. His gaze slid down my body, and that revulsion crawled down my spine again. Hunter’s thin shirt was the only thing protecting my dignity. “It’s time to come home.”

“You shouldn’t have come,” I whispered.

“What choice did you leave me? Come with me, or I’ll just wait here until you do.”

He meant he’d wait until Hunter killed him. He was putting his life in my hands. That was moral blackmail! It was just another version of him saying, “Do as you’re told, Katerina.”

My fists clenched as that old resentment reappeared.

“Then that’s your choice, Prince Kostas,” I said coldly. “Who am I to deny free will?”

“Katerina,” he said, a warning growl rumbling in his chest.

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