Bought by the Beast King (Katerina and hunter) novel Chapter 132

Chapter 132

HUNTER

With that wide smile on her face and the emotions that rippled through the bond, anyone would have thought I’d offered her a million dollars. Kitty placed her hands on my chest and gently pushed me back like we weren’t in the middle of something. She jumped off the counter and rushed out of the kitchen, leaving me standing there with my cock aching.

My beast was already on alert, tracking the newcomer.

It was fine. Tonight wasn’t about fucking her brains out. It was about control. And restraint. But my vision was already edged with the green of my jealousy, and Rivers hadn’t even come through the gates yet.

My beast snarled, urging me to intercept Rivers before Kitty met him, to remind her who she belonged to, but I shoved him down. I’d already swallowed this bitter pill. I needed Rivers. For now, at least.

I waited until the beast was firmly caged and tempered my own emotions before I followed slowly. The main doors already stood wide open, and the chilly night air blew through my entrance hall. Sighing, I joined Kitty at the top of the steps, tracking my warriors as they followed River’s car to the open gates.

‘Will he be okay here?’ Kitty whispered in the mindlink.

She was tracking my masked warriors, too. I glanced at her, once again wondering how big the waves would be when everyone realised what she was. When she realised what she was. When she realised she’d already tamed me. Would she reject me then?

‘Of course. I invited him.’ I answered.

The sound of a car engine reached our ears, and headlights cut through the night.

‘Where did you find him?’

‘He was already on his way here when Tanner intercepted him.”

My fists clenched briefly when I said that. How close did they get while Rivers had been hovering around her? How many chances had I given him to touch what was mine? To worm his way into her heart? I should have ended him the night 1 caught Kitty on his lap.

When the car stopped, Kitty rushed down the steps just as Rivers stepped out. The second I saw his pale face and dull eyes, I sensed the magic rippling over his skin. It was uneven, as if it didn’t belong to him anymore. He stumbled, and Kitty wrapped her arms around him to steady him.

“Oh my Goddess,” Kitty exclaimed. “Did they not cure you?”

My fists clenched again as my gaze pinned on the delicate hands around that bastard. But Rivers looked at me directly, a little ripple of fear rolling off him before he untangled himself from Kitty’s arms.

“I’ll be okay after a little rest,” Rivers said, smiling slightly at my mate.

As if she didn’t believe him, she forcefully wrapped her arms around him again.

“Let me help you,” she said, already walking up the steps with him.

They looked ridiculous. Kitty was only as tall as his chest, and any help she gave him was purely superficial. But I had to admit, Rivers looked like shit. His shirt was plastered to his skin with sweat, and it dripped from his face, too. The smell of sickness clung to him. I could believe Kitty when she said he’d been half dead. What kind of dark magic had Elijah dabbled in?

When they reached me, I stepped in Kitty’s path and gently untangled her arms again before taking her place. I sensed the shock from the people around me, and from my beast. The number of times I’d sworn to kill this man, yet I was willingly helping him and dragging him into my house.

“Be gentle,” Kitty said, a frown on her face.

I looked from her to Rivers, and saw that smirk-the one that usually made me want to hurt him-appear on his lips.

“Yes, Hunter. Be gentle,” he said.

Fucking disrespectful.

I dragged him to the side room and dropped him on a couch, completely ignoring his groans and the amused chuckle. This man had seen me at my worst, when the bond had taken hold of me, and now he was a witness to yet another humiliation.

Kitty was by his side instantly. She threw me a dark look as she plumped the cushions for him and made him more comfortable. At least she wasn’t trembling with fear anymore. I’d have to take that as a win. I needed Rivers’ help, and if he could figure it out, I’d owe him. That debt already felt like a noose tightening around my throat.

“How did you even drive in this condition?” Kitty asked.

“I had to leave the Blackmores,” Rivers said. “Kostas was already asking for proof of my death. I think he has some… serious misconceptions about me.”

Rivers looked at Kitty when he said this, but she looked away. Her guilt was clear on her face without relying on the bond.

“He thinks you’re my mate,” she mumbled as she stood. “Don’t worry, I’ll correct him next time. Let me get you some water.”

She left the room before I could question her. Was that why that bastard felt safe enough to try to snatch her from my hands? Because she’d let him believe that? But then again, once our bond was public knowledge, it would be too late for Kitty to turn back. I wasn’t sure if this new version of her was fake; maybe she didn’t want that. Still, I wanted to shake her and ask her why she hadn’t shouted my name from the rooftops.

But my enemy was still unknown, still just a whisper in the shadows. Until I could put a face to it, I couldn’t cage her, even if every instinct screamed to. I couldn’t make the target bigger. I’d let her play it safe until that threat was neutralised.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked as soon as she left the room. “You had wards around the castle; how did Elijah get you?”

“I sensed something wrong, so I leaned outside that window to check. He grabbed me like he’d been waiting there for a while, but I don’t know how the patrols missed him.”

I knew. He’d used that same trick on me before, just disappeared like he was an illusion.

“Something’s coming,” Rivers said quietly. “I’m here to warn you before I go back where I belong.”

I already knew that.

“Get your house in order before it does,” Rivers continued.

“I don’t need your advice about anything that happens in my house,” I growled. “Just tell me what the hell kind of magic Elijah had and who’s behind it.”

“I don’t know that much,” Rivers said. “It was darker than anything I’ve ever felt before. It wasn’t just magic; I could feel that intent. He wanted me dead. I’m not going anywhere near it again, but I thought it was only fair to get my wards back around Kathrine before I leave the wolf kingdom.”

Rivers had always been resourceful. He could vanish and reappear whenever he wanted, and that was why he’d always been too slippery for the Bureau.

“I’m going to need you to cooperate before you leave. I need to know everything,” I said. “I’m not letting Kitty go until she’s

safe.”

The air thickened. The lights flickered, and my beast snarled.

Then sheer terror shot down the bond like a blade.

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