The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 340

Chapter 340

Eldric’s POV

“Jax’s biological daughter died just after birth, Cora told us that herself. Otherwise, I would have had two sisters to protect.” His gaze didn’t waver. “With her death, Cora was the last piece of Jax Stillward’s family. And so we swore an oath. Every one of us. We would give her everything. Protect her as her father once protected us.”

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By the time he finished, I found myself far more absorbed than I had intended.

Before Cora ever set foot in Ironcrest that night at Lylah’s fifteenth naming ceremony, when she emerged in her wolf form and I recognized her as mine without question, I had known she came from Whitepine. Known she had been raised by a wolf of warrior rank. An ordinary

warrior.

Or so I had believed.

Who would have thought her foster parents, even in death, had left her something far more valuable than wealth?

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A dark realization settled deep within me.

Cora had played a flawless game all along. So clean, so seamless, that I had never thought to question it-never cared enough to look closer. She held that power quietly, entirely in her own grasp. No wonder she had begged me to craft that lie as well… to paint Lylah as nothing more than a stray I had taken in.

Because Cora had already claimed what was never meant to be hers.

Lylah’s birthright.

And more than that, she had built a story strong enough to ensure that Jude and the others would never think to search for Jax Stillward’s true blood.

My lips curved, more shadow than smile.

She is indeed my clever daughter.

“You’ve honored your oath admirably, Sir Knight. And fulfilled it flawlessly.” I said smoothly.

Jude inclined his head slightly, though his shoulders remained rigid.

“But still…” I continued, “I am older than you. More experienced. I can see what you refuse to name. Your feelings for my daughter run far deeper than your oath.”

A flicker crossed his expression-but it was gone in an instant.

“And even if they do? Cora already has a mate. Rowan Blackfang.”

No. My wolf bristled at the name. “Rowan is no longer worthy of her. I will not have my daughter reduced to the mate of a cur like him.”

That caught his attention.

Jude’s eyes narrowed, interest igniting-gold beginning to bleed into the darkness of his irises.

“Listen carefully,” I went on, leaning back slightly. “You know of Lylah. My adopted daughter.”

“Yes,” Jude replied. “I first saw her at Blackfang College’s racing event.”

“She was gentle once. My obedient, sweet pup.” My voice cooled. “Until her fifteenth naming day when her wolf awakened. When she scented her so-called mate. Rowan Blackfang.” A sneer ghosted my lips. “She became feral. Turned against the family who had raised her. She abandoned Ironcrest without a second thought and ran straight into Blackfang territory just to be with him. I warned her. Ordered her to return. Begged, even.”

My fingers curled subtly against the table’s edge, just enough to sell the fracture in my control. “She still chose him. Convinced I stood in her way, she swore she would never call me father again.”

Jude’s jaw tightened.

“And what did Rowan do in return?” I continued softly, letting the disgust bleed through. “He cast her aside. Broke her and then turned his hunger toward my other daughter-toward Cora. Rowan has already ruined Lylah. I will not allow him to do the same to Cora.”

A growl slipped from Jude’s chest before he could cage it.

His eyes burned gold, his wolf surging dangerously close to the surface.

“How dare he?” His fist struck the table with a sharp crack, the sound splintering the silence. “I won’t let Cora fall into his hands.”

“Exactly.”

I let the word settle between us.

“And that is why Rowan Blackfang must fall.”

Jude’s breathing steadied, but the fire in him did not dim. “How? He’s already quite a powerful Alpha in his own right. And now he’s building influence here as well.”

“I’m aware,” I said calmly. “I have already begun laying the groundwork. My son, Orion, will enter the same field as him-rise within it, rival him, dismantle what he builds. But there is a complication.”

Jude watched me closely now.

“To position Orion where he needs to be, he must gain access to Lunaris Research Center.” I let out a measured breath. “And that is not easily obtained.”

Silence stretched between us, taut as a drawn wire.

Then,

“I’ll find a way,” Jude said.

My smile unfurled. ‘Of course you will.’

One lure, and already, two catch ensnared in the same net.

“Then I place Cora’s fate in your hands, Sir Knight,” My voice softened to something almost paternal, a father entrusting his most precious daughter.

While beneath it, a darker instinct coiled, a predator closing its jaws and letting another bleed in its stead.

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