From Betrayed Luna to Wolf Queen (Lillian) novel Chapter 10

Chapter 10 A Shadow’s Arrival

Lillian’s POV:

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I stopped struggling and fixed him with a cold, knowing smirk. “You should answer that, Alpha. Your precious Iris might be having another emergency. After all, my method of apologizing was rather… spirited.”

Julian released a heavy, frustrated breath. “That tongue of yours…” He finally let me go and retrieved his phone.

As expected, the moment he answered, Eleanor’s hysterical sobs filled the quiet of my hospital room, amplified just enough for me

to hear.

“Julian! You need to come now! Iris has completely broken down–she’s sobbing uncontrollably, her incision has reopened and is bleeding heavily! The medical team is here, but she needs your Alpha’s presence to stabilize her! Hurry!”

The voice on the phone was loud enough that every word drifted clear to me. I folded my arms over my chest, a cold smirk tugging at my lips as I locked eyes with Julian–my gaze sharp with the unspoken weight of I’d warned him.

Julian seemed stung by my gaze and further irritated by the noise. His voice turned icy with impatience as he snapped into the phone, “If she’s having a psychotic break, summon a mind–healer! If her wound is bleeding, let the surgeons handle it! What exactly am I supposed to do? Use my Alpha scent to soothe my brother’s grieving widow? Since when is that standard pack protocol?!”

On the other end, Eleanor seemed to sputter, choking on her indignation. “How can you-! She’s-”

“I’m occupied.” Julian cut her off and ended the call.

He tossed the phone onto the nearby chair and dragged a hand over his face.

As for me, the sharp, dismissive tone he’d used with Eleanor caused the icy mockery in my eyes to recede just a fraction, replaced by a flicker of genuine surprise. He hadn’t immediately run to her side?

Julian closed the distance between us again, his hands coming up as if to draw me back into an embrace. His voice softened into that familiar, coaxing timbre I had once fallen so completely for. “Lily, let’s call a truce, alright? Just… be good for me.”

Lily. He hadn’t used that pet name in so long.

That placating tone used to smooth over every hurt, every doubt. Now, it just sounded weary and patronizing. As if he were saying, ‘I’m tired, you’ve made your point, now be sensible and quiet, and return to the little corner I’ve allotted for you.”

It was a peace offering, thrown out merely to end the conflict and purchase a moment’s quiet.

I took a sharp, decisive step back, breaking the space he was trying to close. The look I gave him was clearer and colder than it had ever been. The fiery light that once burned for him in my eyes was guttering out, piece by piece.

Julian actually flinched at what he saw in my gaze.

But before he could form another word, his pocket buzzed again–a text notification this time. He pulled out the phone and glanced at the screen. I couldn’t see the message, but his expression shifted instantly, his brow furrowing into a hard, tense line.

Almost on cue, Eleanor’s call came through again, insistent as a death knell. He answered, and her frantic, tear–choked voice spilled out once more.

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11:34 am PPPP

Chapter 10 A Shadow’s Arrival

“Julian! Get here now, or something terrible will happen! Iris… She’s spiraling again!”

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In the background, Iris‘ shrill, desperate screams were audible. “Let me go! I have to find Ethan! Where is my Ethan?! He would protect me! Only he can-!”

“Do you hear that, Julian?! Hurry!” The panic in Eleanor’s voice this time was unmistakably real.

Julian’s frown deepened into a grimace. He shot a look at me–my face was a mask of detached indifference, as if this drama were happening in another world entirely. Something complicated churned in his eyes, a mixture of frustration and profound weariness.

He spoke into the phone, his voice clipped and tight. “I’m on my way.”

Hanging up, he turned back to me as if he wanted to say something, to offer some explanation. But in the end, he merely stepped forward and gripped my shoulders, his fingers pressing hard enough to bruise.

“Lily…” he said again, the name a plea and a reproach bundled together.

I slapped his hands away and turned my back to him, offering only silence.

My stance was unequivocal–when it came to Iris, his choice to stay or go was now his own business. I would not beg him to stay, nor would I wait in hopeful silence for his return.

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