The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 416

Chapter 416

3rd Person’s POV

“Mother, please… don’t do this.”

Finned

Orion’s voice came low and uneasy, breaking through the silence like a crack in thin ice. Since the moment they arrived, he had been the only one who looked remotely uncomfortable. “You promised we would come here to speak to her properly.”

But Daia ignored him completely.

The ambition blazing in her eyes was impossible to miss now. Opportunity stood before her in flesh and blood, wrapped in the title of Moonclaw’s Luna-and Daia had no intention of letting it slip away.

“Alpha Ezra holds influence within the Lunaris Research Center,” she said smoothly, as though the request were perfectly reasonable. “For someone of his standing, securing a position for Orion would be effortless.” Her gaze sharpened as it settled on Lylah. “You will speak to him. Have him arrange Orion’s admission into the Center.”

A trace of pride entered her voice.

“Once Orion establishes himself there, the great Alphas of Verdanth will acknowledge him properly. It will strengthen his standing before he inherits Ironcrest.”

Not a single hint of shame touched her expression.

As though she were asking Lylah to pour tea instead of demanding favors earned through blood, status, and sacrifice.

Lylah’s gaze shifted slowly toward Orion.

The little boy who had once hidden timidly behind Eldric’s legs was gone now. In his place stood a young wolf carrying the bloodline of Ironcrest in his veins.

And yet, beneath that noble bloodline, he was still timid. As though years beneath Eldric and Daia’s shadows had taught him that obedience was safer than instinct.

“Is that what you want?” Lylah asked quietly.

Orion’s lips parted, but no answer came.

Silence said enough.

A faint sigh escaped her.

For a brief moment, pity flickered through her chest-not for Eldric or Daia, but for the boy they had molded into someone incapable of choosing his own future.

“If you truly wish to enter the Lunaris Research Center, then earn your place there yourself.”

Her eyes held Orion’s steadily. “Build your own reputation. Climb with your own strength. Because, power

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Chapter 416

Finished

given by others becomes a fragile thing. A throne built on borrowed influence collapses the moment support is withdrawn.”

The room instantly turned colder.

Neither Eldric nor Daia appreciated the refusal.

Eldric’s expression hardened at once, the thin veneer of civility beginning to crack apart.

“That’s not a difficult request,” he said sharply.

“No,” Lylah replied evenly. “It isn’t.” Then her eyes turned glacial. “But I still refuse.”

The words struck like silver blades.

“I already surrendered my position at Lunar Grace for your daughter once,” she continued. “Now you expect me to pave the road for your son as well? Exactly how much more do you intend to take from me?”

The last of Eldric’s restraint snapped.

“You’ve become arrogant, Lylah!”

His wolf surged violently beneath his skin, baring its fangs through the cracks of his control.

Then suddenly,

He smiled.

And something about it made the entire room feel wrong.

“Has becoming Moonclaw’s Luna made you believe you’re untouchable now?” he asked softly. Eldric stepped closer. “I wonder,” he murmured, “if Alpha Ezra knows the truth about your past.”

Lylah’s eyes narrowed slightly.

A cruel satisfaction flickered across Eldric’s face.

“Before you became Luna of Moonclaw… you were nothing more than Rowan’s unpaid servant.”

The air shifted sharply.

“You treated him while he was crippled. Served him day and night without title or status.” His lips curled. “Do you truly expect anyone to believe nothing happened between two unmated wolves living under the same roof?”

“Father!” Orion’s voice cracked with alarm.

But Eldric ignored him completely.

“That honorable Luna of Moonclaw,” he continued coldly, “once devoted herself to another Alpha long before Ezra ever claimed her.” His gaze darkened with malice. “And I’m certain Rowan didn’t keep his hands to himself.”

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