I Bought A Male Escort, Turns Out He's The Lycan King novel Chapter 92

**Leaves Falling Like Promises**
**By Amara Grant**
**Chapter 92**

ΚΑΤ

How could the world continue to spin when mine had been utterly obliterated? It was a question that echoed in my mind, relentless and cruel.

Around me, the faces morphed into a haze, their voices blending into a cacophony that felt like a distant hum. Somehow, I found myself seated at the head of the grand table, right beside my father. His voice resonated through the hall, a booming laugh that seemed to drown out even the soft strains of music wafting through the air. He spoke of future plans and joyous festivities, as if the earth hadn’t just shifted beneath my feet with his shocking declaration that I was to mate with my brother.

But it wasn’t that revelation that tore my heart into shreds.

It was Hunter’s departure.

The very thought of it made me want to curl up in a dark corner and simply cease to exist.

With a surge of desperation, I shoved my chair back, the sound of wood scraping against stone slicing through the silence that enveloped the room. I stood abruptly, my legs unsteady as I stumbled away from the table, my gaze flitting around the hall, but everything felt obscured, as if I were looking through a fog. The faces around me were now mere shadows, unrecognizable and irrelevant.

I had to find Hunter. I had to make this unbearable pain fade into nothingness.

Suddenly, a hand clamped around my arm, yanking me back. I fought against it, twisting away, but the grip only tightened, firm and unyielding.

When I turned to confront my captor, revulsion washed over me as I recognized Kostas. A shiver of disgust crawled up my spine, and his touch felt like fire against my skin. He released my arm as if it were burning him, stepping back with a look of pain that I had no desire to understand. I didn’t care about his feelings; they were irrelevant to me now.

He had betrayed me. He had claimed me, declaring I was his, knowing full well what was to come. And yet, he had allowed me to stand there, vulnerable and exposed, while our father announced to the entire kingdom that my brother would be the one to claim me for the rest of my days.

A heavy breath escaped me as I turned away, ignoring the whispers that followed me like a shadow as I stumbled out of the hall.

“I saw you tonight and thought you had potential,” a voice sneered, slicing through my tumultuous thoughts. “You look kind of hot like this. But now, thanks to your pathetic father, you’ve become a bigger joke.”

I barely registered the words as I faced a familiar figure blocking my path. Justin Carter. Time had transformed him; he was no longer the awkward boy my mother had once tried to set me up with. His face, though older, bore the scars of past battles—a crooked nose and a jagged line across his cheek that spoke of violence. His eyes, once innocent, now held a cruel glimmer that made my stomach churn.

But I had no energy to deal with him. My world had crumbled into dust.

I pushed past him, my feet carrying me towards the castle’s exit. Guards were stationed everywhere, but they let me pass without a word. Yet, I could feel someone trailing behind me, a presence that made my skin crawl.

Goddess, please let it be anyone but Kostas. I would rather be sick than face him again.

The cool air of the courtyard hit my flushed face, a small relief against the rising tide of nausea. Yet, it did nothing to alleviate the pain, the jagged shards of my broken heart embedding deeper within me. I pressed my hand to my chest as I sank onto a nearby bench, unaware of the tremors coursing through my body. I felt worse than I had upon waking that morning.

Because Hunter was gone.

He had looked at me with such hatred in his eyes. Did he blame me for my father’s cruel words? Did he think I desired this fate?

As I closed my eyes, memories of our last conversation flooded my mind. I had told him it was “just sex,” convinced that walking away from him was the right choice. But now, the agony in my chest screamed that such an escape was no longer an option.

“So stupid,” I murmured, barely audible to myself.

Even without shifting, my body reacted strangely to the thought of him. I shouldn’t have tried to run from the truth that I had already been claimed. Perhaps if I had been honest, Hunter wouldn’t have misunderstood me. Right?

His eyes flashed in my mind once more, the image of him walking away without a backward glance. A sob escaped me, raw and unrestrained. My chest ached so deeply that I wondered if this was the sensation of dying.

Suddenly, someone settled beside me, but I lacked the strength to glance up.

“Well, that’s really fucked everything up,” a voice said, breaking through my despair.

I opened my eyes to find Mr. Rivers sprawled next to me, his gaze darting around as he lit a cigarette. I had never seen him smoke before. There was a tremor in his hand, or perhaps it was my own shaking that I was feeling.

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