The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 354

Chapter 354

Cora’s POV

Finished

“I’m exhausted. Can we discuss this tomorrow?” I kept my voice level, though it scraped my throat like a suppressed growl.

“Tomorrow?” Eldric snapped, his voice cutting through the air. “No. The event is tonight, Cora. You’re already behind.” His eyes gleamed with drunken urgency. “I’ll have a letter sent to Whitepine immediately. Ivar will see it!”

Pressure built behind my temples, sharp and relentless. My pride was already in tatters after Lylah’s spectacle-and yet, of course, Father saw none of it. All that mattered to him was power. Alliances. Advantage. Even now, while the ruins of my engagement still smoldered around us.

With a sharp motion, he beckoned a guard forward.

“Write to Commander Ivar of Whitepine. Seal it in Cora’s name. Deliver it at once,” he ordered. His gaze hardened. “You can run fast, can’t you?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Eldric gave a satisfied nod, as though the matter were already settled. “We cannot afford to lose an alliance with a man like him.”

“I’m sure he still holds Cora in regard,” Orion offered lightly, though there was tension beneath his tone. “It’s late. Perhaps he’ll respond tomorrow, Father.”

I doubted that.

The memory of Commander Ivar’s cold disapproval still lingered-sharp as winter frost. The moment he learned Rowan Blackfang was my mate. The moment he uncovered the truth about my lie… about claiming Jax as my biological father. That look had not been one of anger.

It had been worse.

Judgment.

And Eldric, drunk on power as much as wine, wouldn’t allow so much as an explanation.

“I’m simply ensuring your sister doesn’t scheme behind our backs again,” he muttered, his words slurring but no less cutting. “That she doesn’t turn against her own blood.”

Mother nudged him sharply, a silent warning. Orion shifted, clearly uncomfortable.

But the damage was done.

Each word twisted where it landed.

Regret burned through me, sharp and unrelenting. I should never have feigned weakness yesterday- never lowered myself enough to beg for his presence.

1/2

10:30 am

Chapter 354

PPP

Never pretended I needed him.

“I need air,” I said curtly, no longer caring who heard.

I turned before anyone could respond and strode out of the greenhouse.

Finished

The moment I stepped onto the balcony, the night hit me-cold and biting. I dragged in a breath, but even the air felt like shards of glass in my lungs. My wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin, hackles rising, instincts snapping to attention.

The door creaked open behind me.

The scent came first-Whitepine earth, stale and cloying, dragging the stench of my past behind it.

Rotting memories. Ties I should have ripped out at the root..

I spun around, my wolf bristling.

And there he stood.

Erik.

“Cora my lovely cousin…” His gaze roamed over me, slow and reverent, something unsettling flickering in his eyes. “You look… breathtaking tonight. By Selene, I thought I was looking at a goddess.”

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