Bought by the Beast King (Katerina and hunter) novel Chapter 143

10:08 Fri, Jan 2

Chapter 143

Chapter 143

KAT

079

I felt the energy in the room shift the moment Nathan spoke. Hunter, the Blackmores, they all turned towards him. I’d felt. his aura before, many times, but this was different. It was sharper like he’d changed since he came back from the brink of death.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “What’s the other way?”

My gaze flicked between Zachary and Nathan. I hadn’t expected him to say anything at all, and the fact that Zachary was listening to him made unease coil in my stomach. Was it because he was an alpha? Or because of the magic threaded through him?

Nathan looked at Hunter first, and then at me.

“Me,” he said. “I’m the other way.”

Hunter went rigid.

The bond flared violently, his fury crashing into me. I saw his fists clench on his lap, his jaw tightening as his eyes turned cold. The two men locked gazes, neither backing down. Nathan didn’t lower his eyes even for a second. This, from the man who hadn’t spoken once during the ride over. This, from the man who’d warned me to keep my distance.

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Hunter growled.

Nathan finally looked away and addressed Zachary

“You seem to have picked a side already,” he said. “Princess Katerina is already mated. You’re conveniently forgetting that. The Goddess already decided her fate. What does your prophecy say about that?”

“Then she will surely die by her mate’s hands.”

I gasped. That was the fear that had been lingering in the back of my mind since I started to wonder if Kostas had told the

truth.

“You know damn well that there’s always a way out. A loophole. An exception,” Nathan growled. “Aren’t I living proof of

that?”

Zachary’s mouth clamped shut. Randall placed his hand over his father’s before he turned his attention to Nathan.

“We haven’t picked a side,” he said. “Lives are at stake. We do what we must.”

“You’ve picked a side. You’ve chosen the path with the least resistance, sacrificing everyone else but yourselves,” Nathan bit out. “Typical”

“Alpha Rivers, you must see-”

“If you don’t give them an answer, then I will. Make your choice,” Nathan growled.

Randall finally met my gaze. They were talking about me, trying to force me into such a big decision, yet I was still the one with the fewest answers. I looked at the scroll again.

“That Lycan Beta had ancient dark magic in him. It’s something we’d hoped to never see in our lifetime,” the younger Blackmore said. “In our great–great–grandparents‘ time, cities were lost to it. Whole packs wiped out of existence. This magic corrupts the soul, feeds on the darkness inside people. One second, someone is sleeping beside their wife, and the next, that darkness takes over, and he wakes up with her blood on his hands.”

10:08 Fri, Jan 2 j

Chapter 143

A chill ran down my spine.

“Brother against brother. Husband against wife. One territory taking another. It only takes a hint of darkness. A little jealousy, a little anger, and it finds you. That’s just the beginning,” Randall continued. “And that’s not the worst of it.”

What could be worse than the bleak future he’d spoken of?

3979

“It won’t matter how much your mate claims to love you, or if his wolf swears to never hurt you,” Randall continued. “He will succumb to it.”

My gaze met with Hunter’s. He’d gone deathly still, his gaze on me. I’d believed the Lycan King would be the one to force him to abandon me, but now, the threat of this ancient magic changed things. I didn’t want to believe it was true, but I’d felt it. That magic left a sickly feeling inside me several times.

“I know others might try to convince you otherwise, but Kostas is the only one who can stop this,” Zachary said. “He’s different. He’s always been different.”

The beta with yellow eyes instead of blue. The beta who could stand toe to toe with alphas. I’d always known he was different, but I never understood why.

“He’s the last of his bloodline,” Randall continued. “The pack that finally stopped it all, along with our coven. We can stop it again. Please take the scroll, Your Highness.”

“Bullshit,” Nathan muttered. “You don’t know anything. This is just you taking shots in the dark. Nothing is set in stone.”

“But if we don’t do this, what is the other option? How are you the answer?” I asked.

“Do not say it,” Hunter growled again.

The bond was chaotic. Fury. His murderous intent. A cold, calculating darkness. The type of emotions this magic would sink its teeth into and make him turn against me, if what the Blackmores said was true.

Nathan lowered his gaze after what felt like an eternity, but the rage from Hunter didn’t vanish.

“You’re all forgetting, I already survived this thing,” Nathan said. “If you want to listen to Lordswood’s ally, then suit yourselves. I’ll wait in the car.”

He walked out, and none of us stopped him. I was still confused. Why did that magic target me in the first place? Why hadn’t it already spread if it was that dark and dangerous?

My gaze landed on the scrolls again. The answers would be in there.

“Who is controlling it?” I asked quietly.

“What?” Zachary asked.

I saw from his expression that he hadn’t expected me to ask anything.

“You said the signs are already there. Who awakened this magic? Isn’t it in your scrolls?”

“No, it’s… That’s not how a prophecy works,” Zachary said.

“So you don’t have all the answers either,” I stated.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify