I Bought A Male Escort, Turns Out He's The Lycan King novel Chapter 94

**Leaves Falling Like Promises**
**By Amara Grant**
**Chapter 94**

**HUNTER**

Kathrine. Katerina.

I had been played for a fool. Betrayed in a way that cut deeper than any blade.

She had known my true identity all along. She had been aware that I was the one relentlessly searching for her. The blood feud that simmered between the Lycan king and the werewolf king was no secret, yet she had allowed me to claim her as my own. And then, with a smile that felt like daggers to my heart, she had stood there while her father proclaimed her mate. I felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

How could I have ignored my instincts the very night we met? The truth was glaringly obvious now, an undeniable reality that I could no longer escape.

My vision blurred with a crimson haze as I stormed out of the Lordswood territory, indifferent to the whispers that trailed behind me like shadows. Yet beneath that seething anger lay the shattered remnants of my heart. Kitty… Katerina had ripped it from my chest and crushed it before the eyes of everyone present.

Katerina Lordswood. Her Royal Highness. How in the hell had she managed to deceive me for so long?

I was transported back to that first encounter, where her striking blue eyes shone brightly, unhidden by contacts. I recalled the lingering scent of chocolate peppermint that had danced around her, a fragrance I had thought was merely a figment of my imagination. It had seemed ludicrous to draw any connection between the two personas. Kitty was fierce, a warrior who could easily take down a man twice her size. The princess, on the other hand, was delicate and sheltered, spoiled and submissive.

They felt like two entirely different women, existing in two separate realms.

Yet it was Kitty who had stood there, playing the part of a dutiful daughter, alongside that coward Christos, while he announced that she was to mate with her brother. A brother who had always harbored feelings for her—feelings I had been painfully aware of.

I veered deeper into the desolate forest, my fist colliding with the rough bark of a tree trunk. The sound of cracking bones barely dulled the tempest raging within me. I had claimed a Lordswood.

I had claimed the daughter of the man responsible for my parents’ deaths. My sworn enemy.

I would sever that bond as soon as I regained control.

My beast surged to life, its emotions clashing violently with mine, almost overwhelming me with their intensity.

Mine.

Mate.

No. Absolutely not. I would never bind myself to a Lordswood. Claiming her had been the gravest mistake of my life.

The beast snarled in frustration, snapping its teeth and rattling the confines of my mind, desperate to seize control. It yearned to turn back, to claim her in front of all who had gathered. I could feel its pain, its distress, as if I were robbing it of its mate for no valid reason.

Christos and Jasper were cut from the same cloth—vile and cowardly. My singular purpose in life was to make them pay for the lives they had taken from me. The beast had agreed with this mission before that foolish masquerade had twisted everything.

The agony in our bond flared, her pain slicing through me like a knife. Of course, she was hurting. I had shattered her plans. How could she possibly mate with another man when she was already claimed?

I plunged deeper into the forest, fighting against the beast as I tore off my clothes. My mind was bombarded with images of that night at the princess’s manor, playing out like a horror film. Every time I had sought release while envisioning both Katerina and Kitty, the guilt that had followed me like a shadow. The confusion that had clouded my thoughts.

The dead trees around me gave way to a vibrant landscape, greenery pushing through the charred earth. Her pain overwhelmed mine, buckling my knees more than once. I pressed forward, desperate to return to the human world, far away from her and her deceit. But battling against both my beast and the agony of our bond slowed me down. My feet dragged through the forest floor, each step stretching that unwanted connection until it felt as if it might tear apart.

I longed for it to snap. To completely reject her, because what right did she have to ensnare me like this? To imprison me within the confines of her emotions?

Another wave of pain crashed over me, and I collapsed against a tree, gasping for breath. My heart raced, sweat soaking my skin. But I dared not shift to heal myself faster; I was still in enemy territory.

“She needs you.”

My head whipped around to face the last person I wanted to see—Rivers. He had known all along. His face had paled when I had arrived at the banquet. He was the one who had brought Kitty home, the one who had told me she was safe within the castle walls.

“You need to help her, Your Majesty.”

Your Majesty? He was a man of Lordswood; he had no right to feign loyalty to me now, especially when he reeked of her scent. He was drenched in it, and it made my skin crawl.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify