The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 178

Chapter 178

3rd Person’s POV

+5 Pearls

They never made it to the penthouse. Halfway through the drive, Ezra abruptly ordered Damon to stop the car. The command came sharp, instinctive—like a thread had snapped taut inside him.

Before the engine fully stilled, the Alpha was already outside.

He stood motionless for a beat, the city’s restless energy humming around him. Then his gaze swept the surroundings, predatory, searching.

“Lylah…” he called, his voice low but carrying.

Behind him, Damon stepped out cautiously, unease prickling across his skin. “Alpha, Luna has likely waited for you in the penthouse now,” he said. “Maybe she also just returned since she had an event at Lunar Grace.”

Ezra didn’t respond.

Silence fell-heavy, unnatural.

Slowly, he lifted his head and inhaled.

The air was thick with humidity, charged with the metallic tension of an approaching storm. Beneath it, faint and fractured, were scents-too many, too muddled.

But hers…

Gone.

“She isn’t close,” Ezra muttered.

Damon frowned. “What do you mean, Alpha?”

The answer came not in words, but in a deep, thunderous rumble that tore from Ezra’s chest.

When Ezra turned, his eyes had already begun to change-silver bleeding through the dark, luminous and feral. His control was slipping, his wolf clawing toward the surface.

The shift was imminent.

The Alpha dropped to his knees.

Damon stepped back immediately, lowering his gaze as instinct demanded, giving space for the Alpha’s

beast to rise.

Power erupted.

It pressed against the air, ancient and suffocating, forcing Damon down onto one knee as if gravity itself had doubled. The presence that emerged was no ordinary wolf.

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Chapter 178

Ragnar.

+5 Pearls

The great beast surged forward, claiming Ezra’s body with brutal grace. Night-dark fur rippled over massive muscle, his form towering, majestic. Eyes flashing like lightning, claws gleaming like forged steel.

This was no ordinary beast. But something ancient-older than Verdanth itself drawing its first breath. The first generation, forged in blood and war. A Lycan not born, but made for conquest. A god, wearing the shape of a wolf.

‘She is gone!’

Ezra’s voice echoed through the mind link.

‘Someone took her.’

A pause. Then, a promise wrapped in violence:

‘I will find her tonight. Shift, and follow me.’

Damon swallowed hard, bowing his head.

‘Yes, Alpha.’

Rowan’s POV

I had already set the trap in motion. Gavriel and ten of my guards were stationed along the route Ezra would most likely take. They will block, delay, and mislead him. It wouldn’t stop him forever.

But it would buy me enough time.

Enough for tonight.

Lylah lay in my arms, her body limp, her breathing soft and steady against my chest.

Gavriel’s gaze flickered to her, unease shadowing his features. “Where are you taking her, Alpha?”

“To where she belongs,” I answered, my voice calm. “With me. Beside me.”

He hesitated. “And if Lady Cora asks where you are?”

“Tell her I had important matters to attend to.” My tone dropped, turning sharp and dangerous. “And make sure she doesn’t come looking for me.”

Gavriel stiffened.

“Tonight,” I continued, my eyes darkening as I looked down at Lylah, “nothing interrupts what I’ve planned.”

Gavriel nodded quickly. “Understood, Alpha.”

I turned away without another word and carried her to my car. Carefully, I settled her into the passenger

11:27 am MM

Chapter 178

seat. For a brief second, I watched her.

Even unconscious, she was… radiant.

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