Bought by the Beast King (Katerina and hunter) novel Chapter 50

**Leaves Falling Like Promises**
**By Amara Grant**
**Chapter 50**

I hadn’t dared to step foot in the gym since that fateful night. My heart raced and my hand trembled as I slipped beneath the yellow tape, fumbling with the lock on the door. Just before entering, I cast one last anxious glance over my shoulder, scanning the shadows for any sign of him. Hunter.

The street lay deserted, a ghostly silence enveloping the area. Half of the streetlights were extinguished, while the others flickered sporadically, casting eerie shadows that danced along the pavement. I felt no prickling sensation at the back of my neck, no instinctive awareness of being hunted. That lack of fear was the only thing that kept me from bolting in the opposite direction.

With a firm click, I locked the door behind me and reset the alarm. Though I knew it would offer little protection against a wolf. The dimness of the gym was unsettling, with only a few lights illuminating the space, while shadows pooled ominously in every corner. So many darkened nooks where a deranged killer could hide. I flicked the remaining lights on, chasing the shadows away, yet the knot in my stomach remained, tight and unyielding.

What a dreadful decision this had been. Ever since that night, nightmares had plagued my sleep, and the killer still roamed free. They always returned to the scene of the crime, and here I was, practically inviting him in.

My gaze fell on the basement door, also sealed with yellow tape, and I quickly jerked my head away, heading instead toward the office. A warm glow seeped from underneath the door, and the faint strains of music drifted into the hallway, instantly easing my stomach’s anxious churn.

I knocked lightly and stepped inside. There was Mal, perched behind his desk, glasses perched on his nose, squinting over a pile of paperwork. For a moment, it felt as though the chaos of the world outside had faded away. But that illusion shattered the instant he looked up and nearly leapt out of his chair, his expression a mix of surprise and concern. Even Mal, with his usual calm demeanor, was not immune to the tension that had gripped us all.

“You could have called first,” he muttered, a hand clutching his chest as if to steady his racing heart.

“Sorry. I thought you’d be home,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.

“My place is overrun,” he said, shaking his head. “Besides, I have too much to do.”

I understood the unspoken words beneath his statement. He had opened his home to those displaced by the chaos, and now he was trying to drown out the memories of that horrific night by burying himself in work. But how could he bear to be anywhere near this gym? He must have felt the weight of heartbreak heavier than anyone else. Mal would have known that girl’s story, her struggles, the demons she fought daily.

“I gave my statement today. They don’t have any suspects,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. Unless we counted Rivers, but I didn’t want to burden Mal with my suspicions just yet.

“I told them everything I knew the same night,” Mal replied, closing the file in front of him with a definitive thud. I noticed his hand tremble slightly as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, a sign of the fatigue that had settled in after the events of the past few days.

His gaze fell to the rucksack slung over my shoulder and the helmet tucked under my arm.

“You’re here to work out?” he asked incredulously.

“No, I just… I need a place to crash tonight,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.

“And you thought coming here was a good idea?” Mal snapped, his voice sharper than I had heard it in a long time. I flinched but held my ground, unwilling to back down.

“I was going to lock myself in and be gone before sunrise,” I explained, hoping to ease his worry.

“Gone? Where?” Mal stood, moving around his cluttered desk, his expression darkening.

I shrugged, feeling the weight of uncertainty pressing down on me. “They took Rivers to the Bureau today, so I figured now’s the best time to disappear.”

“You were going to leave without telling me?” His eyes widened in disbelief.

“I would have seen you to give you these,” I said, shrugging off my rucksack and pulling out the paperwork. “Sign the gym back to you. It’s safer.”

“We need lawyers for that. You can’t just sign this; it needs to be done properly,” Mal frowned, his brow furrowing deeper. “I gave it to you for a reason. If Rivers was going to talk, he would have done so by now.”

I hesitated, not wanting to delve into the tangled web of blackmail and the ominous discoveries I had made about Hunter. But there was no way I would keep ties to this place that could be used to track me down.

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