From Betrayed Luna to Wolf Queen (Lillian) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17 A Harsh Truth

Julian’s POV:

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Eleanor panicked. She rushed to the bedside and tried to gather Iris into her arms. “Iris, don’t listen to him! Ethan… Ethan is…”

“He is never coming back,” my voice cut in again, firm and absolute, severing any thread of delusion. “Accept it. He is gone.”

Eleanor trembled with outrage. “Have you lost your mind?! Are you trying to destroy her?!”

In Eleanor’s frantic embrace, Iris began to shake violently. Her eyes widened with dawning horror and utter disbelief.

“No… that’s impossible… he can’t be… he’s here… he’s always been here…” Iris babbled, tears streaming unchecked down her face. Her voice suddenly scaled into a shrill, piercing scream. “Ethan! Ethan!”

Her fragile grip on reality, shattered by my brutal truth, disintegrated completely.

“I have to find him! Let me go to him! Let me go!” She began to thrash with wild, desperate strength, heedless of the freshly sutured wound on her abdomen. Her force was so fierce that Eleanor could barely restrain her.

Eleanor’s POV:

If I hadn’t thrown my full weight into holding her down, Iris would have hurled herself from that hospital bed and bolted, no matter

the cost.

My voice was thick with tears and terror. “Iris, stop this, please, you must calm down…”

“I have to find Ethan! My Ethan! Ethan!” Iris shrieked hysterically, her eyes glazed and unseeing, lost in her own private torment.

I could only press down harder on her convulsing body. “Stop struggling! You’ll rip your incision open again!” The mere thought of her wound tearing, of fresh blood soaking through the bandages, sent a lance of pure dread through my heart.

I twisted my head and shouted at Julian, who stood watching in stony silence. “What is wrong with you?! Will you only be satisfied when she joins your brother in the grave?!”

Julian merely observed, silent and unmoving.

His gaze was unnervingly intense. From the moment he’d uttered those fateful words, he had been fixed on every minute shift in Iris‘ expression. Watching the progression from shock, to denial, to this final, total emotional annihilation.

Finally, he reached over and pressed the nurse call button.

Another influx of medical staff, another round of controlled chaos. Sedatives, calming mists, pheromone stabilizers. It took over an hour of frantic activity to force Iris into a state of quiet, her body surrendering to a drug–induced sleep.

I stayed by her side until her breathing evened out, then walked out of the room, feeling utterly drained

I found Julian leaning against the cold hallway wall, his expression even frostier than the tiles. Suppressing my simmering anger, t demanded, “Why would you do that to her? Your brother is gone. She endured the entire pregnancy and birth alone, bringing out Graves bloodline into this world. She is postpartum–her body is broken, her mind is fragile. She just needs to see a face that reminds her of Ethan’s for a little comfort. Is that truly such a crime?!”

I was a mother. I had given birth. I knew the toll it takes. I understood that this couldn’t process Ethan’s death. I knew she was

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Chapter 17 A Harsh Truth

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confused, already blurring the lines, seeing Julian as Ethan’s substitute.

But so what? Ethan was gone. Iris gifted our family with an heir. She had shown loyalty to our blood. Could we not grant her more time, more grace, to heal from such a profound trauma?

Julian’s voice held no warmth. “She must face reality eventually. Me showing up like this, playing Ethan’s proxy, is not healthy. Not for her, not for me, and certainly not for Lillian.”

“But not now! Not when she is at her most vulnerable!” A painful tightness constricted my chest.

“Then when?” he shot back, his tone edged with long–suppressed impatience. “When her body has healed? Shall we say then that the pup is too young to be without her? And after that? Shall we wait for her mind to mend? How long is that? A year? Two? A lifetime?” His frustration was palpable, a cold ember finally igniting.

We had an understanding before. With Iris, we were merely to wait until the pup was safely delivered.

I caught my breath, stung. “You… you are in such a hurry?!”

Already furious with Julian for his earlier cruelty, his refusal to yield on this point made my temper flare hotter.

“I see. Is this because of Lillian?! She is aware of Iris‘ special circumstances too! Besides, there is nothing improper between you and Iris, so what is the issue? What right does she have to make such a spectacle?!”

The thought of Lillian’s behavior since yesterday–turning the hospital into a battlefield, assaulting Iris, threatening lawsuits- caused the fury in my heart, to blaze anew. The resolution to deal with Lillian once and for all crystallized with cold clarity in my mind.

“When you first insisted on taking her as your mate, I opposed it firmly! An Omega from an orphanage, with no known pack or lineage–what decent upbringing or character could she possibly possess? I never should have relented and given my consent back then…”

Julian suddenly looked up, his gaze cutting me off mid–sentence. His voice was as cold and unyielding as forged steel. “If you had shown Lillian even a fraction of the care and patience you have lavished on Iris, I believe she would have turned out perfectly well.”

I was stunned into silence, then felt the blood drain from my face, replaced by hot, indignant anger. “How dare you?! Are you accusing me of favoritism?! Julian, have you no sense of decency?! Did I not make efforts for her? For two years she failed to conceive. How many fertility specialists and herbalists did I seek out for her, have you forgotten?!”

At the mention of those specialists and their treatments, Julian’s posture stiffened further, a new, sharper chill emanating from him. He didn’t look back. He simply turned and walked away.

Watching his retreating figure, I stamped my foot in helpless fury, but there was nothing more I could do.