The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 276

Chapter 276

Lylah’s POV

94

Finished

I woke sometime past midnight, my throat parched, the hotel room wrapped in a suffocating stillness. My phone vibrated in my hand, and Ezra’s name flashed across the screen.

Beside me, Tiara slept undisturbed. Careful not to wake her, I slipped out of bed and answered.

“Come to room 240. I’m here.”

The line went dead before I could speak.

For a moment, I simply stood there, stunned.

Room 240 was right next door. Ezra was here?

Then it hit me-the promise I had made. I was supposed to go straight back to the penthouse after dropping Tiara off, but Rowan, the enforcers, and that stupid crash delayed me.

Guilt clawed up my chest, sharp and immediate.

I rushed out, heart racing, and knocked on the door far more times than necessary.

It swung open.

“I’m so sorry. I know I should’ve come back earlier, but there was-”

I didn’t get to finish.

I was dragged inside with brutal force, my back colliding against the wall. My words never made it out-Ezra claimed them, his mouth crashing onto mine. The kiss was ravenous, wild enough to startle me-not just desire, but something deeper, more primal, as if he intended to consume me entirely.

“Ezra…” I gasped when he finally pulled back, just enough to let me breathe. “What happened? Are you alright?”

But I already knew the answer.

I could feel it.

There was something coiled beneath his skin-something volatile. A dark current of fury and hunger, barely restrained. Even his scent was different, edged with damp earth and something

metallic.

1/3

10:12 Fri, Apr 10

Chapter 276

:

VPN

94

Finished

“I just…” His voice broke, rougher than I’d ever heard it. “Waiting for you. It’s unbearable. It tears at me when you were away.”

I blinked, startled by the rawness in his confession. “It was only a few hours. We’ve been apart longer before when I visited Blackfang.”

His jaw tightened. “Yes. But after that, I realized I’m not meant to be away from you.” His voice came out rough, threaded with something dangerously close to a growl. “When you’re gone, it tears through me. I can’t think, can’t rest. I need your scent, your presence, or I lose myself. It makes me reckless. Strips away every ounce of control I have.”

His voice dropped lower. “And I did try to control it. I swear I did.”

“I know,” I whispered, brushing my fingers over his cheek. His skin was cool, as though the midnight air had seeped into him. “But I’m here now. You don’t have to feel that way anymore.”

I hesitated, guilt threading through my voice. “I’m the one who broke my promise. I said I’d be completely yours after bringing Tiara here… and I didn’t come back.”

His eyes darkened, something possessive flickering within them.

“Then don’t stop me now,” he said, his voice dipping into something deeper, commanding. “Let me claim you. Completely.”

The words sent a rush of heat through me, sudden and overwhelming. It pooled low, heavy, and insistent, making my breath hitch. My wolf responded with a quiet, eager thrum, drawn to him without resistance.

“Yes,” I whispered.

That was all he needed.

In an instant, I was lifted, carried effortlessly as if I weighed nothing, and laid upon the bed. Whatever restraint inside Ezra snapped.

Every touch seared as though he were carving me into his being. The distance, the hours of waiting, the tension-they poured through his movement, in every deep, deliberate thrust, every grazing brush of his rough fingers that set fire to every nerve in me.

I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer, but something else caught my attention.

That scent again.

Not just him-but the wild. Damp moss. Night air thick with pine and soil. And beneath it… the faint trace of blood.

10:12 Fri, Apr 10

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify