I Bought A Male Escort, Turns Out He's The Lycan King (by lg savage) novel Chapter 233

Chapter 233

KAT

Hunter’s body blazed next to me, but I still couldn’t get warm. Everything was muted again like the night I left Nathan’s, and my mind was so quiet it almost felt unnatural. There were no sharp edges, no lingering pain, nothing clawing at me from the inside. The only thing left was my thoughts. Just logic and precise calculations.

Like figuring out where I was going next, and how I’d get there without getting killed.

The space between us wasn’t wide, barely a few inches, but it might as well have been the length of the forest I’d run through to get back to the city. The air felt colder without his heat pressed against me, and this time the chill didn’t just brush over my skin; it settled deeper, anchoring itself somewhere in my chest.

My eyes stayed on the ceiling, tracking the faint cracks running through the plaster as the silence stretched. I could hear his breathing, the faint shift of fabric when he dropped his hand to his side, and the low, constant hum of magic woven into the walls around us.

It felt different to Nathan’s magic. Not weaker, but maybe the same. Whoever placed these wards knew exactly what they were doing. Still, it didn’t compare to the magic that had almost crushed me in that field.

My wolf stirred faintly, nudging at the edges of my awareness, and the urge to go hunting followed closely behind. It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was there, steadily growing. Even knowing that the prey I wanted this time would likely kill me.

“Kitty.”

I turned my head and met his gaze. Something unfiltered flashed in his eyes. It was raw enough that I should have recognised it, but I didn’t feel any of it. The bond flickered once between us, like it was struggling to exist, but I didn’t reach for it. I didn’t push it away, either. I just let it sit there, as if it belonged to someone else.

That was easier. Everything was easier like this.

“Don’t do this to me again,” Hunter whispered.

I looked away and flexed my fingers against the sheets. The fabric dragged slightly against my skin. It felt a little rougher than it should have been, or maybe my senses were still heightened. The shadows stirred. They hadn’t settled since the moment I’d stepped into the city, and were more restless since the park. My wolf remained still within it all as the shadows rooted deeper.

A shift beside me pulled my attention back to Hunter. He hadn’t moved since I pushed him away, but I could feel his focus on me.

“Why do you feel so cold?” he asked.

He pulled the bedding back over me, and I didn’t stop him this time. It didn’t make a difference. The cold wasn’ t something I could fix with warmth. I could feel it deeper in my chest now, settling in, holding steady while everything else inside me felt restless.

I pulled my focus back inwards, measuring everything. My body ached in places it shouldn’t have. The weakness was still there, just lingering beneath my magic, but it had changed. It didn’t feel like something was draining me anymore.

It felt like something was rebuilding and rearranging inside me. Like the morning after my first shift.

I pushed myself up slowly and let the bedding fall off my naked body. There was no point holding on to it. My skin still felt wrong; too cold in places, too aware in others.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. The floor should have felt cold beneath my feet, but it didn’ t. But nothing triggered any alarms in my head, not even from my wolf. She stayed quiet, as if waiting for my command.

My balance wavered when I stepped forward, and Hunter was beside me in an instant, his hand hovering near my arm but not quite touching me.

1/3

Chapter 233

“I’m fine.”

The words came out flat and stripped of anything unnecessary.

Hunter’s jaw tightened slightly, but he didn’t argue. His hand dropped to his side, and he stepped back, giving me space.

With my muscles still burning, I moved towards the window. Most of it was shuttered, but narrow gaps had been left in the wooden planks, probably intentional. From the right angle, I could see the whole yard and down the street. It was still quiet, but the sounds of the city beyond it drifted to my ears.

And I could feel it. The magic from last night. It was faint and distant, but still felt wrong. It brushed against my senses, feeling like the magic that hadn’t fully dissipated last night. But it wasn’t residue from last night. It was calling me. My senses stretched towards it automatically, latching onto the direction without me even trying.

My shadows reacted first. They slid across the floor, stretching towards the window, pooling at my feet before curling up around my legs. They were not defensive or aggressive. They were hungry.

A flash of last night cut through my mind. The shadows had spread over the bodies like they were taking something from them.

“He’s drawing us out,” Hunter said. “Trying to control the ground we fight on.”

I didn’t turn.

“I’ll take you somewhere safer first,” he continued. “We leave the city, regroup properly, then come back when we understand what we’re dealing with. ”

Run? I turned slightly, just enough to catch him in my peripheral vision. He was watching me too closely, reading reactions that weren’t there. Even now, he thought I was something that needed to be protected. That I would follow, that I would listen.

But that thought didn’t stir anything in my chest. It didn’t hurt, and it didn’t matter.

“Even your strongest agents can’t handle this,” I said, turning away from the window to look around. “I won’t leave.”

Not with that magic pulling me towards the city. Not with the hunger pressing lower, sharpening in my stomach.

The room was bare-just the bed in the middle, a nightstand, and a closet. I crossed to it and pulled it open, scanning quickly. Sweats, T-shirts, a couple of off-the-rack suits and shirts. If anyone ever stumbled into this place, they would never think these clothes belonged to a king. I grabbed a shirt and a belt before turning back to Hunter.

“Where’s the bathroom?”

He didn’t answer immediately. When he did, his voice was quieter.

“Across the hall.”

The shower was basic, with just enough space to stand and turn. I let the water run hot and watched the dirt and blood swirl down the drain. I took my time, scrubbing until Hunter’s scent faded from my skin. But even after standing under the hot spray for that long, my body was still ice-cold.

As I dried myself, I caught my reflection in the mirror. My eyes looked flat, and my skin too pale, but it was the mark on my neck that held my attention. The bond flickered again, and for a second, something warmer brushed against it. It was gone before it could settle, before I could truly feel it.

When I stepped back into the bedroom, dressed in his shirt with the belt cinched tight around my waist, Hunter was sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, his gaze not focused.

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