The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 67

Chapter 67

9 Finished

3rd Person’s POV

That night, long after midnight, sleep refused to claim Lylah. She lay awake, eyes fixed on the ceiling, one hand pressed lightly to her face as a strange, unfamiliar current of emotion swelled in her chest. Her heart felt too full, too restless–caught somewhere between disbelief, warmth, and a fluttering sense of fate she had never truly believed in before.

“Selene,” she whispered into the quiet, her cheeks still warm, “I know you love to twist destinies but I never expected you would do this to me!”

Her lips curved in a breathless, embarrassed smile.

“How could it be that Alpha Ezra, my mate on contract by fate and sheer luck, was that same boy I used to play with?” she murmured. “Not only that but he’s been watching over me all this time? While I wasted so many years with the wrong person?”

The thought made her chest tighten.

She still remembered that stubborn little girl in herself–charging into his room, insisting on knowing why he was always so quiet. Back then, he had been a quiet boy who quietly earned the admiration of everyone at the rehabilitation center.

Now, he was the Alpha of Moonclaw Pack.

The more Lylah thought about it, the more heat rushed to her face. Embarrassment made her squirm beneath the blankets.

Her phone suddenly rang. Tiara.

“More than a week, Lylah darling, and you haven’t contacted me once!” Tiara’s voice came through, dramatic as ever. “You’ve completely forgotten me!”

“Tiara, calm yourself,” Lylah said, biting back a smile. “Listen, I have some tea I’m sure you’ll love to hear.”

“Tea?” Tiara gasped. Less than a minute later, the call switched to video. “Oh Selene–Lylah, your face is red! What did you just do with your mate?”

“Don’t start with that nonsense!”

“You’re blushing, and your eyes are all shiny like you’ve been crying from joy. How could I ever not suspect something?” Tiara teased.

“I was crying from embarrassment,” Lylah admitted. “I only found out today why Alpha Ezra found my name among hundreds in the Mate–Market and chose to bond me.”

Then she told her everything.

Every word Ezra had spoken. Every confession in the car that afternoon. Every memory that had fallen into place like pieces of a long–hidden puzzle.

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Chapter 67

When she finished. Tiara stared at her in stunned silence.

Then her eyes sparkled.

018

Finished

“This is a masterpiece,” Tiara breathed. “A tale worth telling for generations! No wonder your savior Alpha appeared at exactly the right moment. Oh, Goddess, Lylah–I feel like I just listened to a fairytale!”

Here her dramatic best friend went again. Lylah rolled her eyes.

“And you know how fairytales are supposed to end,” Tiara continued excitedly. “They live happily ever after together for eternity! You and Alpha Ezra should too!”

“Tiara, right now my focus is standing on my own feet.” Lylah said more seriously, “I’m done dedicating my life to a man and relying on someone else. It’s still hard for me to think beyond my own growth. I don’t want to make the same mistake again.”

“But Ezra isn’t Rowan,” Tiara protested–then softened. “Fine. You Independent Queen, I get it. Your logic always won.” Her smile turned playful. “But tell me… how long do you really think you can stay immune to a man as perfect as Alpha Ezra of Moonclaw?”

Lylah let out a heavy sigh.

In Moonclaw Pack, Vargan’s chamber was alive with warm firelight and the remnants of a small feast.

“So Sigurd went to Lunaris at dawn right after Ezra called him to deal with some bastard who dared interfere with his mating?” Vargan boomed proudly.

He slapped his hand against the table, laughter rumbling in his chest.

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