Tempted By my Evil Lycan Stepbrother novel Chapter 103

+15 Bonus

Chapter 103: Don’t Be Mad

Riley’s POV

I stormed back to my room, fury still burning hot beneath my skin. 1

The maids were already waiting for me, their faces carefully blank as they curtsied. I guessed they were trying to be sensitive with everything going on at the palace.

One of them stepped forward, her voice soft and apologetic “Miss Riley, we need to prepare you for tonight’s mourning ceremony.”

Yeah right, the ceremony.

This was exactly what I hated about the palace. Leon and Yilia had been killed by Ezra’s own hand, and yet here we were, preparing for some elaborate mourning ritual like we weren’t the murderer ourselves.

It’s all fake condolences and crocodile tears. Everyone playing their parts in this twisted theater.

And I was Leon’s fiancée. At least on paper. Which meant I had no choice but to play along.

I stood there like a mannequin as the maids fussed around me, eventually wrestling me into a black satin gown that clung to my body like a second skin.

They pinned my hair back, applied dark makeup to my eyes, and draped me in pearls that felt cold against my throat.

When they finally finished, I looked like I was dressed for a funeral.

I was in no mood going because I knew I would see Ezra and Viola there. But again, I had no choice.

Night fell heavy and thick.

By the time I arrived at the ceremony, guests had already begun gathering beneath the ancient laurel tree in the palace gardens.

Everyone had candles in their hands, their flames flickering like trapped stars in the darkness. The air smelled of wax and night- blooming jasmine.

One by one, guests approached me to offer their condolences. Their faces swam before me-nobles I’d never met, courtes who’d never spoken to Leon while he was alive, all of them murmuring enity words.

“Such a tragedy…”

“He was so young and right before your marriage…”

“You must be devastated.”

I stood there expressionless, my face a perfect mask of nothing

My mother and King Soren appeared betide me She smiled graciously as she accepted then sympathies on my behalf

After the third guest left, she leaned close and jabbed me sharply in the ribs with her elbow

“At least TRY to look sad,” she hissed under her breath “You and Leon were supposed to be madly in love And you can’t squeeze out a single tear after he died? Please, people are watching ”

Fkept my gaze straight ahead. “I don’t have to follow your script now The main actor had lost his life already”

“Come on Riley. Don’t be so stubborn ”

I didn’t bother responding. I had no intention of performing griet I didn’t feel Leon was a fucking rapist, and lus mother was a

+15 Bonus

manipulative, cruel fraud. I wasn’t going to pretend I had a shred of sympathy for them.

My mom looked angry and frustrated. She was trying to say something else to me when we heard a round of gasps nearby.

I turned.

Then I saw them.

Viola and Ezra.

Her cheeks were flushed pink with excitement, her eyes bright as she clung to Ezra’s arm. He was handsome as ever, though his face was cold and stern.

Whispers rippled through the crowd. This was the first time Ezra had brought a girl to a public event, the first time he’d acknowledged her openly as his girlfriend.

I gritted my teeth as they walked through the gathered guests, nodding and shaking hands occasionally, making their ways to

Viola was wearing black velvet as she told us this morning in Ezra’s room, though I noticed with a small, bitter satisfaction that they weren’t wearing matching outfits. Ezra was in a simple suit in dark green, which wasn’t the traditional color choice for funeral. But it matched his eyes perfectly.

As they came closer, I still found my fingers tightening around my glass hard enough that I heard it creak.

“So Lady Riley,” a guest next to me said, pulling my attention back. “Such a terrible loss. But still I’m curious, will King Soren be arranging another match for you soon?”

Ezra whipped his gaze toward me, his eyes intense and terrifying. I could even see the veins suddenly bulging in his forehead.

Soren opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him off.

“No,” I answered the guest myself, loud and clear. “I won’t be marrying anyone for the foreseeable future. I need to focus on my studies…And on mourning Leon. Of course.”

The silence that followed was tense.

Ezra visibly relaxed. But I felt Soren’s eyes burning into the side of my face. When I finally turned to meet his gaze, his expression was dark, calculating. For a long moment, we just stared at each other-a silent battle of wills.

He manipulated my life once. I wouldn’t let him fucking do it again.

Then he gave a single, curt nod. “That’s right. It’s better for Riley to focus on school now. Trying to become a qualified healer”

I let out a secret sigh of relief.

Look like I’d won For now.

“Such a shame,” that guest sounded disappointed “I do have a niece who’s a perfect fit for Lady Riley But you are right she’s still young and has a promising future as a healer”)

The guests eventually dispersed, drifting away in clusters. Eventually only the royal tamily members remained under the tree. And Soren turned his attention to Ezra and Viola

“So,” he said, his voice deceptively casual “You and Viola, it’s still a thing?”

Vioła practically jumped at the chance to answer, her voice bright and eager.

“Of course, Your Majesty. Ezra and I are great,” she giggled and rested her head on Ezra’s shoulder “I know you’ve heard rumors about…another girl. But they are just vicious lies meant to sabotage our relationship. People can be so cruel when they see two people genuinely in love.”

+15 Bonus

Sören’s eyes narrowed. He made a low sound in his throat-not quite agreement. Just a noncommittal grunt that sent ice down

my spine.

We all knew what it meant

He didn’t believe her. Not entirely. His suspicion hadn’t been erased yet. He would keep poking and spying, until he found out

about the truth.

This palace under Soren’s reign was like a fucking cage. A suffocating prison that controlled everyone around him, squeezing tighter and tighter until we couldn’t breathe.

My eyes met Ezra’s for the briefest moment across the flickering candlelight.

He was staring intensely at me. As though he was trying to tell me something with that gaze.

I knew he was trying to remind me of his promise-“I’ll make us both free…just give me a little more time.”

But time was one thing I couldn’t afford.

Maybe he could escape Soren’s control eventually-he was the crown prince with power and resources I could never dream of.

But I was sick of sitting around waiting for him to be my savior.

If I wanted freedom from this place, from all of this, I’d have to take it myself.

I looked away first.

According to Lycan tradition, a vigil had to be held beneath the laurel tree. The closest family members were expected to keep watch through the night, waiting for the Moon Goddess to guide the departed souls to the afterlife.

Leon’s father had fled the moment news of their deaths broke out. Pathetic coward.

Which left me–Leon’s so-called fiancée-alone beneath the tree.

The ceremony grounds had emptied. The only sound was the occasional rustle of leaves overhead.

I sat on the stone bench, running my fingers absently through the soft laurel grass that grew in patches around the roots.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify