I Bought A Male Escort, Turns Out He's The Lycan King (by lg savage) novel Chapter 173

11:22 Wed, Feb 11 B

Chapter 173

Chapter 173

HUNTER

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Kitty’s warmth was the only thing anchoring me to my own skinyet even that felt muted. It felt distant, like I was touching her with thick gloves, layers of something dull and unyielding between us.

Because there was no bond. No pull. No answering presence beneath my ribs. No beast curled inside my chest, waiting for command. I was just a man.

I stared at the ceiling while she cried into my shoulder, and counted heartbeats that were no longer synced to hers. Mine were slower now and unremarkable. Human. Each one landed wrong in my chest. This was worse than pain.

Pain I understood. Pain meant healing followed. Pain meant something had been broken but could be mended, rebuilt stronger if I survived it. Pain was something I could push through, burn out, and fight my way back to myself. But this… My chest ached in a way that had nothing to do with the wound carved into it. I was hollow. Something essential had been scooped out of me. Half a man. I couldn’t protect Kitty from anything.

I only realised something was wrong when Kitty tensed against me and sat up abruptly, her body going rigid. The moment she pulled away, the cold rushed in instantly.

“They’re here,” she said.

She was already moving, bare feet silent on the floor as she crossed to the wall of glass and shoved the curtain aside. The full moon hung brightly in the sky, as if it were silently mocking me. I couldn’t see through the darkness, but Kitty stepped back.

“Lycans,” she said, her breath tight. “And Kostas.”

She turned to me, panic flaring across her face. Then it shifted, just for a second, into pity. I was still lying down. Even though she masked it instantly, it cut me really deep, sharper than any blade. Cracks spiderwebbed through my chest, and I felt every single one.

“Stay here. They can’t get in,” she said quickly, crossing back to me and pressing a kiss on my forehead. “You’re right, we’ll be okay. Just… just rest.”

The cracks split, and my heart shattered into pieces. But I swallowed and nodded anyway, forcing my face into a neutral expression. I wouldn’t give her anything else to worry about.

When she left, I eased myself off the bed, muscles protesting immediately. Somehow, I felt colder now that she was out of the room. Even the air felt thinner. I stood, steadying myself on the bedpost until the brief wave of dizziness passed.

Pathetic.

I rolled my shoulder, testing my range of motion, but white-hot bain shot through the wound in my chest like it had split open again. My body responded sluggishly, as if wading through something thick and resistant. No surge of strength followed. No instinctive correction. No beast stepping in to absorb the damage. Just human limits.

I hated it. It would take weeks to heal, if it healed at all. The reflection in the glass wall caught my attention. I was pale as fuck, and shadows were already carved under my eyes.

Alpha Sterling

Lycan King

Reduced to nothing

I bared my teeth at the reflection, still searching for the beast, by nothing pushed back. There was no growl, no coiled violence waiting to be unleashed. There was nothing

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11:22 Wed, Feb 11 B

Chapter 173

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And they could feel it. The pack, Jasper, his unwelcome ‘visitors They would have felt our bond snap, and the beast go silent the second it happened.

A soft knock sounded at the door, and Rivers didn’t wait for permission.

“You shouldn’t be standing,” he said quietly, eyes already cataloging my posture, my breathing, the tension in my hands.

I almost laughed. Rivers. The rogue I could have killed a million times over. The man I’d tolerated only because Kitty demanded it. He was now standing there like a sentry, giving me orders. And it turned out, he was now the only one left to protect Kitty.

So much for my vow to fight for our bond, whatever came our way. So much for swearing I’d burn the world down with us. I couldn’t even fucking stand.

“Noted.” I muttered, easing back onto the bed.

My voice sounded normal and steady, as if I wasn’t breaking apart inside.

Rivers shut the door behind him. “They’re circling. Not close enough to trigger my alarms yet.”

I didn’t look at him.

“Are you sure they can’t just walk in?” I asked. “Like Kostas did before?”

“Almost sure.”

My gaze snapped up to him.

“I’ve done everything I can,” he said quietly. “The boundary, the house, all the rooms. It will stop the Lycans. But Kostas… I’ve stopped that magic here before, but couldn’t fight it at the castle.”

But Kitty had.

My eyes shifted to the nightstand. The pendant lay there, reflecting the low light. When Zachary had worn it, the power rolling off it had been suffocating. Now it was just a piece of jade faintly smeared with blood.

“I’d suggest Kathrine stay inside tonight and not provoke anyone” Rivers continued. “Maybe Kostas will come to his senses by moonset.”

“You’re asking us to hide.”

The words sounded bitter. My jaw tightened even as the familiar wave of self-loathing surged. I could have stayed inside and made love to Kitty for days. Instead, I’d let my ego rule me, and my beast had paid the price.

“Just for now. Until you heal,” Rivers said. “They can probably sell that magic on you from miles away.”

“What magic?”

Rivers looked away.

“You still smell like that magic that infected you,” he said. “And Ian’t… I can’t sense your beast. Is it gone?”

The question landed heavily. I didn’t answer, I couldn’t. My fings drifted to the pendant instead. The moment I touched it, something snapped through me. It wasn’t pain, but a faint, vicios pulse. It was still there. Whatever Zachary had done still lingered.

What had I become now? I’d failed my parents. Not only would not get my vengeance, but Jasper would take everything, He would take their people. I’d failed the pack, too.

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11:22 Wed, Feb 11 B

Chapter 173

“Even like this,” I said slowly, pushing myself back to my feet, “ty is still their queen.”

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