The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 173

Chapter 173

Lylah’s POV

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+5 Pearls

Today, I returned to my routine at Lunar Grace-but nothing felt quite the same.

Breakfast was quiet. Too quiet. No Iris sitting across from me, no animated chatter spilling from her lips between bites, no laughter bright enough to turn heads. The absence of her presence left a hollow space that even the morning bustle couldn’t fill.

She’d been taken back home. The fall had left her leg dislocated. Thankfully, there were no deeper injuries —but the memory of it still made my wolf stir uneasily beneath my skin, a low, restless tension I couldn’t quite shake.

I was grateful the injury was minor-nothing permanent, nothing devastating.

But it did nothing to dull the anger simmering beneath my skin.

By the time I arrived at the Modern Healing building for the MDT project, the laboratory was already crowded.

At the center stood Corvin Vale, his presence as sharp and controlled as ever.

“I called you all here to introduce a new member to the project,” He said, his voice easily cutting through the noise. “Her record speaks for itself-and I’ve decided that she’s earned her place here without needing to go through the usual tests.”

A subtle shift passed through the room-curiosity, tension, restrained challenge.

He gestured.

And then she stepped forward.

Soren.

Bandages wrapped around her shoulder, her arm secured, yet she carried herself with practiced poise as she came to stand beside him.

“Everyone, meet your new family,” Vale continued, “Lady Soren of the Blackfang Pack.”

The reaction was immediate.

Low murmurs slithered through the room like a nest of snakes, sharp and venom-laced.

“All of us had to pass multiple trials and interviews under Vale’s team…” someone muttered. “How could she get in so easily?”

“I heard her father’s a council member of Alpha Rowan…”

“And she’s close to Cora too, right? That explains enough.”

“I’m honored to join this project and work alongside all of you,” Soren said smoothly, her smile polished.

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11:27 am M M

Chapter 173

her gaze sweeping across the room,

And then it found mine.

Her cycs surface.

+5 Pearls

narrowed ever so slightly, a flicker of recognition-and something colder-flashing beneath the

Inside me, Selestine bristled, a low, silent snarl coiling through my veins at the memory of what she’d done to Iris-of how she’d hurt my friend.

And yet… here she stood. Untouched.

A bitter taste settled at the back of my throat.

Wealth. Status. Bloodline. They could bury rot so deep no one dared to unearth it-then dress it in power and raise it high for all to admire.

Around us, the crowd began to disperse, conversations dissolving into smaller clusters.

I turned to leave, unwilling to linger any longer in the same space as her.

“Lylah wait!”

I paused and looked back.

A girl approached me quickly, her smile light, her posture respectful.

“I’m Dahlia,” she introduced. “A junior assistant from the Modern Healing class. You’re the junior assistant from Traditional Class, right? Along with Iris Grey?”

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