Claimed by My Ex Chapter 117 Masked male

Chapter 117: Chapter 117 Masked male

Victoria’s POV

"I’ll do it," Howard agreed, his voice steady despite his wounds.

I drove him directly to one of my properties. As the heir to the Crescent Dawn Pack, I owned several residences throughout this country since Lancaster Enterprises had its headquarters here. This particular house hadn’t been occupied for quite so ti.

After bringing him inside, I said, "Rest here while I go get dical supplies."

His pale eyes studied

intently, and I could sense his wolf’s wariness beneath the surface.

"I won’t run," I assured him. "Even if I did, you’d find

anyway, wouldn’t you?"

Howard nodded. "Yes." Then he rattled off a list of items he needed to extract the bullets from his body.

I was impressed by how specific and knowledgeable he sounded. These weren’t minor injuries, yet he spoke about them as casually as soone might discuss a paper cut. I wondered if he was a doctor, or if he’d simply learned to treat himself after years of similar wounds. For werewolves, even serious injuries healed faster than humans’, but bullet extraction was still necessary to prevent silver poisoning or infection.

"Also," he added, "I’m hungry."

"I’ll bring back food too."

"I want Chinese food," Howard stated firmly.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. We were in a European city, not exactly known for authentic Chinese cuisine, especially at this late hour. "Where am I supposed to find Chinese food at this ti of night?"

"Not my problem," he replied stubbornly.

I sighed, feeling my wolf Nora grow irritated within . She didn’t appreciate being ordered around, especially by an injured wolf who wasn’t our mate or Alpha.

I stopped at a pharmacy first, gathering everything Howard had requested. After searching fruitlessly for any open Chinese restaurants, I settled for takeout from a Western place. As an afterthought, I ducked into a 24-hour convenience store and bought so noodles and seasonings.

When I returned and opened the door, Howard was on his phone. He imdiately ended the call when he saw .

"Here’s what you asked for," I said, setting down the dical supplies. "No Chinese restaurants were open, so I got Western food. If you don’t want that, I can make so noodles. It’s late, so you’ll have to make do tonight. I can find proper Chinese food tomorrow."

Howard barely glanced at

before taking the supplies. "Go cook," he commanded.

My wolf bristled at his tone, but I swallowed my pride and headed to the kitchen. I reminded myself that he was injured and had allies who might cause trouble if I didn’t cooperate. Besides, he didn’t seem intent on harming , which was sowhat reassuring.

I turned on the stove and prepared to make noodles.

While I cooked, I could hear Howard in the other room, treating his wounds. I prepared so pork strips as a topping and made a quick cold side dish to accompany the noodles. My wolf purred with satisfaction at the familiar scents filling the kitchen.

When I brought the food out, Howard had already removed the bullets and was wrapping bandages around his torso. Blood-soaked gauze littered the area, and the sharp, tallic scent of blood hung in the air. Despite what must have been excruciating pain, he hadn’t made a sound.

I winced at the sight of his injuries. For a normal human, wounds like these would be life-threatening, but werewolves were different. Still, the lack of reaction from him was unusual even for our kind.

He’d removed his shirt to treat the wounds, and from my angle, I could see his back covered in old scars. Most werewolves didn’t scar unless the injuries were severe or inflicted with silver. The fact that his body bore so many permanent marks spoke volus about what he must have endured.

Despite his state of undress, Howard still wore his mask and hat, keeping his identity concealed. My wolf was curious, wanting to know who this mysterious werewolf really was.

I set the food on the table. "You said you were hungry. Co eat."

Howard approached and sat across from , frowning at the simple al.

I handed him chopsticks. "Don’t give

that look. Just eat. I’m actually a great cook, and I haven’t poisoned anything. If you died, your friends would co after , wouldn’t they? I value my life too much for that. Being born into the Lancaster family is like winning the cosmic lottery—I’m not about to risk my next life being less fortunate."

Howard remained motionless, so I added, "If you’re worried I’ll see your face and report you to the authorities later, don’t be. That’s not who I am."

I twirled so noodles with my chopsticks. "I don’t know what you do or how you got hurt, but as long as you don’t harm

or my family, I’ll keep my word to help you. Besides, not all ’bad people’ are entirely bad, just like so ’good people’ are actually monsters. So villains can do heroic things too."

Howard studied

with an intensity I could feel even through his disguise. My wolf tensed under his gaze but didn’t feel threatened.

"Is that so?" he finally spoke. "Which good person turned out to be bad, and which bad person beca good?"

I took a bite of noodles before answering. "You might not believe this, but my ex-boyfriend is one of those ’good people’ who turned out to be terrible. I dated him for five years, thinking he was perfect. Then I discovered he was secretly married to another woman, blad everything on , and even tried to kidnap

a few days ago."

The mory of Ethan’s betrayal still made my wolf growl inside . Nora had never fully trusted him, but I had ignored her instincts, believing my human heart knew better.

"As for the bad person doing good," I continued, "there’s this mob boss who actually saved . He fired shots that helped

escape when I was being held captive. I don’t know if I’ll ever et him to thank him properly, but I won’t forget what he did."

I doubted I’d ever encounter that mysterious Alpha again. Our worlds were too different, and I’d heard rumors that outsiders who saw his face rarely lived to tell about it. Besides, with Damien and the authorities investigating what happened to , A-country wasn’t safe for soone like him. He’d probably returned to his territory by now.

Howard paused before asking, "So you think this mob boss is a good person?"

"I wouldn’t say he’s a good person exactly, but he has good qualities. You can’t judge soone completely by their reputation or occupation. Like you—you don’t exactly seem like a model citizen, yet here I am, helping you."

Howard stared at

silently, his expression hidden behind his mask.

I ate a few more bites before pushing my plate away. "I’m done eating. I won’t look at your face, so you can co and eat now."

My wolf watched curiously as the mysterious stranger considered my words, wondering what kind of man—and what kind of wolf—lay behind that mask.