Bought by the Beast King (Katerina and hunter) novel Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Chapter 128

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“Listen to me,” Kostas said, stepping closer.

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Desperation hung heavy in the air, tangled with that lethal edge radiating from Hunter. My muscles coiled instinctively, every nerve screaming for me to choose fight or flight.

But my wolf was still calm. It wasn’t Hunter or his fury making me uneasy. It wasn’t Hunter making my heart race and fear inch up my spine.

It was Kostas.

How far would my family go to get me back behind the castle walls? A curse? If Kostas was truly the only one who could break it, why had they spent my entire life searching for my true mate? There was a reason, I’d known that for a long time, but I couldn’t accept something so far-fetched. It was too convenient. Something the old me would have feared and hidden from instantly.

The most likely reason was that my father wanted me to stay hidden and protected in the castle for the rest of my life. I was his fragile, weak daughter. The one who’d get relentlessly bullied if I mated outside the pack. But I had Lordswood blood in my veins, blood with generations of history and strength behind it. Anyone bullying me would shame him. Maybe that was the reason for these underhanded tactics.

But a curse? That news would have reached my ears long before now.

“The wrong mate will rip you apart, Katerina,” he whispered, stepping closer again. “They’ll abuse you. Break you. Make you wish for death every second you breathe. And when you finally stop fighting, they’ll discard you like garbage.”

My gaze flicked to the Lycan beside me. Capable of committing the violent acts that Kostas said? Yes. Terrifying? Absolutely. But that thing deep inside me, or perhaps my wolf’s confidence, knew with bone-deep certainty that Hunter would never

hurt me.

But could that bloodthirsty Lycan King make him do it? Such a man’s command would be hard to resist.

If my only option was Kostas, then I didn’t want him. The night of the ceremony played in my mind again. The way Kostas had looked at me, the vile words he’d said, as if he was already imagining the consummation. I swallowed bile and glared at him.

“I’ve already said everything I need to say,” I hissed.

If they wanted to ignore the mark on my neck and everything I’d said, that was on them.

“We have until the next full moon,” Kostas said, angling himself closer to Hunter, who still hadn’t moved. “After that, the prophecy becomes irreversible. You will obey, Katerina.”

My eyes twitched at those words. I wanted to tell him what he could do with his prophecy, but my gaze snapped back to Hunter. Before my eyes, he was already shifting. The change was slow, as if it was deliberate, as if he was controlling it. Hist claws extended slowly. Muscles rolled beneath his skin, stretching his T-shirt to its limits. His shoulders broadened, and power condensed around him as if he’d pulled it from the air.

The air stilled. Birds stopped chirping, and my ears picked up the footfalls of animals fleeing. The shadow guards faltered, some inching back, their boxes shaking slightly in their hands. Even the Lycans hiding in the woods went utterly still.

Only Kostas remained unmoved, his attention fixed entirely on me.

“Hunter,” I whispered.

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Chapter 128

He still didn’t turn. The seams of his T-shirt began to tear.

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“Why are you looking at him and not me?” Kostas snarled. “I don’t want to have to force you to do anything, but the situation is critical.”

His eyes burned that yellow that struck fear in most people. His aura hadn’t muted when he saw me, but now the pressure hit me hard, almost knocking me back. I sensed the darkness in it as it seeped into me, and the memory of how I’d suffered the other night because of it resurfaced.

Hunter’s aura had never done this to me.

That thought crossed my mind briefly before I locked my gaze with Kostas again. This man really didn’t care that he could hurt me. I’d already realised this, but it still left a crack in my heart.

My wolf, who had been confident that we were safe beside Hunter, surged forward, baring her teeth, her rage igniting faster than I expected. It was obvious what Kostas intended to do. Like Father, he was going to use his alpha voice on me. Command me like I was a mere dog, a slave to his every whim.

“I told you to leave,” I growled. My voice roughened as my wolf seized control. “You are not worthy of standing beside me.”

Kostas’ face twisted into a snarl, and his aura spiked again. The shadow guards behind him set their boxes down and stood back in their formations. Kostas trained with these men. Their lives belong to him. But did he not care? Another few seconds, and this scene would resemble the one outside my window, only much worse.

“Get into the car, Katerina.”

The command washed over me, and I tensed, waiting for the inevitable, for my body to move without my permission. For Hunter to explode and protect his mate.

Then… nothing.

I remained rooted several paces behind Hunter. My body remained unshackled, as it had been since the day I broke my father’s hold on me.

Shock flared through me, and it was mirrored instantly in Kostas’s eyes. But the next moment, the air shuddered. A growl deeper than any, heavier than anything I’d ever felt, echoed. The strength behind it was unimaginable.

Kostas stumbled back and finally looked at the man he had challenged as if he had forgotten about him. As if he only just realised what his disrespect meant to an alpha like Hunter. His aura dimmed, and fear, unfiltered and intense, saturated the

air.

“Go home,” I hissed, rushing to Hunter’s side.

Up close, the size difference was staggering. My mind flashed back to one of the nights against my window, when I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. That image quickly vanished when I saw his biceps tense and his feet brace. He was ready to kill.

“Hunter,” I whispered.

He didn’t answer me. His eyes were locked on Kostas. There was nothing I could do to stop this.

Unless-

“Hunter,” I said, my voice shaky, “I’m hurt.”

His eyes snapped to me, bleeding red and more terrifying than anything I’d seen in my nightmares. Then his nostrils flared, and his gaze slid down my body. The fury receded instantly, and the bond hummed with something else. Something that softened my heart and stole my breath.

20:14 Tue, Dec 23

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