The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 253

Chapter 253

3rd Person’s POV

Finished

Corvin Vale had just finished examining a line of ill wolves, the sharp scent of herbs and blood still lingering in the air. He stepped out of the wards, rolled his shoulders slightly, preparing to take a rare moment of rest when two unfamiliar presences approached.

Whitepine wolves.

He could tell from their scent alone-clean, steady, carrying the quiet discipline of a well-ordered pack.

They didn’t hesitate.

‘Professor Clark Grimwood.”

The name landed between them with certainty.

Vale’s gaze lifted slowly.

They had mistaken him.

They were calling him by the name of his former mentor, his rival now. But he did not correct them.

You’re the legendary Healing Master, aren’t you?” Luca continued, his tone respectful, almost eager. “It’s in honor to meet you finally. We’ve been searching for you.”

Vale remained still, unreadable. His wolf stirred beneath his skin, alert, listening.

‘Sir,” Luca went on, “we heard Lady Lylah is under your guidance here. That you’ve been mentoring her.”

A pause.

‘And we’re her family.”

That caught his attention. Vale’s eyes flickered, something colder surfacing beneath the calm. His wolf pushed forward, instincts sharpening as it assessed them-measuring strength, status, truth.

They weren’t the highest ranking in the Pack. Not powerful enough to command attention through dominance alone. But there was something steady in them. Something honorable.

But, family?

Impossible.

Eldric had told him how he found Lylah as a pup and dragged her from the filth of Ironcrest’s lower alleys. No lineage. No name worth claiming.

So how could these Whitepine wolves stand here now and call themselves her family?

Yet Vale said nothing.

1/3

12:53 pm P p p

Chapter 253

He had seen this before.

Relatives. Connections. Opportunists.

The intention was clear as daylight.

A bribe.

་་་

Finished

Old habits offering tribute to secure favor, to ensure a student’s name was written where it mattered. To carve a path forward with gold instead of merit.

Pathetic.

“Lady Lylah said that because of you, her time here has been… easier,” Luca continued carefully. “That you’ve been a very good mentor to her. She’s truly grateful.”

Vale’s expression did not change-but something in his gaze sharpened. “That girl said that?” he asked.

“Yes,” Luca replied without hesitation.

‘So she thinks highly of him,’ Vale thought, a flicker of irritation stirring. ‘Of Grimwood!’

His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

The first time he saw Lylah, he dismissed her outright. A stray. Forgettable. Another student who would amount to nothing.

But he had been wrong.

Her skill, her precision, the instinct in her hands surpassed most of his finest pupils. And the thought had come to him more than once-

‘What if she had been mine?’

‘What if it were her instead of Cora?’

The idea lingered like a thorn beneath his skin.

“And for that,” Luca continued, breaking the silence, “we are deeply grateful. We owe you more than we can repay, sir.” He reached into his pocket. “We came to offer our thanks. Please accept this.”

He drew out a small relic-a golden wolf with ruby-set eyes, a piece steeped in the Pack’s old tradition and carrying the weight of respect between those who honored one another. But stripped of sentiment, it was worth almost nothing.

The moment Vale saw it, something dark snapped.

His wolf surged forward-offended.

Insulted.

“You think you can bribe me with that trinket after I’ve mentored your kin?”

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