I Bought A Male Escort, Turns Out He's The Lycan King (by lg savage) novel Chapter 217

Chapter 217

Chapter 217

KITTY

The bond tugged me awake. It was a subtle shift, like something entering my space that didn’t belong there.

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I didn’t move. My body felt heavy. I was relaxed in a way that lingered from the fight and the release of the tension I’d carried. My wolf was curled up beneath my ribs, still satisfied.

That presence remained on the edges of my awareness. It wasn’t Hunter. He’d been gone before I went to bed. But this presence was familiar.

I opened my eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling. Morning light filtered through the open curtains. I hadn’t been asleep that long, but I was surprisingly well rested. I’d expected the weight to return the moment I woke, but it didn’t. My mind stayed clear.

The bond wasn’t steady, though. Hunter’s panic leaked through to me, disturbing the quiet. It felt more like a curse than the Goddess’s blessing. I couldn’t even shut it out.

Sighing, I slid out of bed silently. The floor was cool beneath my feet as I walked to my closet and grabbed a shirt I hadn’t bothered packing. If the Bureau was here for me, then I was ready.

But the scent had already drifted to me as I moved towards my front door. I wrinkled my nose but opened it anyway.

Nathan. He stood outside in another designer suit, hands in his pockets, and his posture rigid. His face was expressionless, but irritation flashed in his eyes before he walked in without waiting for an invitation. He clearly wasn’t happy with me.

“You’re alone for two days and already starting shit,” he said, moving to my window.

His gaze tracked something on the street. When I joined him, I spotted them immediately. A couple of unfamiliar people loitering near my building, pretending to read the paper, sitting oo casually on the steps at the entrance of the block of apartments on the other side. Like, who read the paper anymore? And who sat outside at such a stupid time in the morning? They hadn’t even tried.

“You should move,” he said quietly. “Come back to the cabin, or one of my properties.”

“Aww,” I said. “Are you still worried about me, Nathan Rivers?”

He turned then, and the look on his face wiped the humour from mine.

“Just because you’re no longer unstable, it doesn’t mean you can fight what’s coming alone.”

I would have been terrified about that before last night, but the memory of that fear felt distant.

“What’s wrong now?” I asked,

He studied me for a moment, like he was deciding how much to tell me,

“They’ve mobilised,” he said. “There are groups sneaking in from your father’s kingdom.”

“Who?”

“A group from almost every pack and coven,” he shrugged, as ife hadn’t just dropped a bombshell. “Packs that supported your father. Packs that didn’t. Rogues. Mercenaries. Even some of the Council’s unofficial contacts.”

I straightened slightly. A rush of adrenaline shot through me, bu I calmed myself down. This was more than just teaching that asshole alpha his place.

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Chapter 217

“A rebellion,” I said.

Did I keep the smile out of my tone?

Nathan frowned and studied my face. I was sure he’d heard it.

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“They think your father should have chosen someone else,” Nathan said. “A different bloodline. Like Harris Bronson.” Why did that name sound familiar? It finally clicked, and my eyes widened. I’d seen that name on the briefing notes before the meeting with the National Security department executives. The old werewolf. This was getting more interesting.

“They’re not coordinating openly,” he continued. “Getting that litle information was quite difficult, even for me. But the pattern is obvious. People are moving quietly into the human territories in small groups.”

I resisted the urge to smile again.

“To hunt me,” I said.

“Yes.”

I waited for the fear, but, like the guilt last night, it didn’t come. Instead, something warm spread through my chest. It was anticipation again.

Nathan’s gaze narrowed on my

face.

I pushed away from the window and crossed to the couch

“How many?”

“At least four confirmed groups right now, but possibly more. They’re being very careful.”

Justin hadn’t been careful at all. A smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it, and Nathan’s brows pulled together.

“Katerina.”

“What”

“Why the hell are

Ou smiling?”

I pushed what I was feeling down and straightened my face. The silence that followed was heavy. Nathan stared at me, his expression tightening.

“Why are you smiling, Katerina?” he repeated.

I shrugged, “They’re coming to me, It saves us the trouble of hunting them down”

He cocked his head,

“This isn’t a game,”

Wasn’t it? The thing inside me was practically vibrating, and my wolf was already alert, the anticipation bleeding into her,

too.

“I’ll be fine,” I said.

“What happened?” Nathan asked finally,

I weighed my options. If I told him about the Carters, then he and Mal would worry. But chances were he would hear about it by the end

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of the day, especially if Justin died,

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Chapter 217

“I might have already met one of the groups last night.”

Natha tensed.

“I took care of it,” I added.

“By yourself?”

“Hmm,” I answered, getting up to walk to the kitchen.

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Nathan followed silently and watched me prep the coffee machine. When I finally had two cups ready, I slid one over to him on the counter.

“I just told you one of the heads of National Security might be involved in this, and you remained calm,” he said. “Then you told me you took care of one of the groups, and you’re still calm What’s going on, Katerina?”

The mark burned beneath my collar.

“Nothing. I didn’t realise it was connected until you told me.”

Nathan placed the back of his hand to my forehead, and then he met my gaze directly.

“Your magic is still stable,” he stated.

“I told you I’m fine,” I said, picking up my mug. “Besides, I was already packed to leave this place.”

The Carters scouted my house last night, so that meant the other groups knew where I was and would make a move. Would Harris Bronson finally make the connection with the energy spikes? I tried to suppress my eagerness to find out. In the back of my mind, I knew that wouldn’t be my normal reaction. But I would take this over everything I’d felt the past few weeks.

“Mal’s waiting at the cabin,” Nathan said.

“No. It won’t be safe for them. Find me somewhere in the city.”

Somewhere I could hunt them while they thought they were hunting me.

I sipped my coffee while that thought sent tingles down my spine. Was I losing it?

“Katerina?”

I met Nathan’s steady gaze again.

“Why is there a big mark on your neck?”

I lifted my collar quickly, even though it was too late. I expected hat weight to come back, for the calm I felt to shatter like the illusion it was, but again, it didn’t happen. Nathan’s gaze bured through me, but I released my collar and sipped my coffee silently.

“It’s a mate mark,” he said, stating the obvious, “shaped just like the first one.”

I didn’t offer any explanations. Let Hunter be the one to explain what he’d done. I picked my mug up and walked out of the

kitchen.

“I’m going to get dressed. Then we can leave,”

My senses prickled as I crossed the room. The bond stirred inside me, but it didn’t move me like before. I stood staring at my door, my steaming mug still in my hand, until Nathan cameo take it from me.

“Are you going to open it?” he asked.

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Chapter 217

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Like last night when Hunter followed me home, I felt…nothing. d finally succeeded in taking control of myself. I felt empty inside, even though the bond hummed with new strength. Even though everything inside me had so completely merged.

“No,” I answered.

I continued to my bedroom and looked at the duffel bag I’d packed. Speaking to Hunter to find out what happened to Justin would have been better. But I didn’t want to see his face. Maybe still cared a little bit.

I dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, put on my leather jacket, and stuck a ballcap on my head. If I masked myself, I could completely lose anyone following me.

When I walked back into the lounge, I froze. Nathan stood almost toe to toe with Hunter. I had no idea if Hunter had let himself in or if Nathan had defied me. But seeing him wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined. It didn’t trigger any of the emotions that had buried me when I left his office. My thoughts didn’t spiral, and my chest didn’t feel like it had been sliced open.

“What are you doing here, Your Majesty?” I asked.

His gaze slid over me, and his guilt rolled down the bond.

“I was worried,” he answered.

“As you can see, I’m fine,” I said. “You can let yourself out.”

Hunter’s jaw tightened, and his gaze went back to Nathan. His muscles coiled with barely retrained rage. But he didn’t make

a move. He looked back at me one last time and nodded before He walked out of the apartment.

When I looked back at Nathan, that frown was back on his face, and his eyes were locked on the side of my neck.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I’m ready,” I said.

And I was. Beneath all the calm and emptiness, my wolf stirred once more. She wasn’t restless or pining after Hunter. She was hungry.

Because somewhere in the city, another feast waited for us.

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