The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Ezra’s POV

Finished

The small reunion was interrupted by the sudden vibration of my phone against the wooden table. The moment I saw Lylah’s name, my wolf stilled, attention sharpening. I answered immediately.

“Ezra, I might be late tonight.” she said softly. “I’m having dinner outside with my friend Iris.”

“Don’t worry,” I told her, keeping my tone gentle–gentler than I ever allowed it to be with anyone else. “Damon will pick you up when you’re done. Take your time. Enjoy yourself.”

A small pause. Relief.

Then the line went dead.

I lowered the phone slowly.

Across from me, the old wolf watched everything.

Clark Grimwood lounged deep in his armchair, one arm draped lazily over the side, but his eyes were sharp–glinted with something between shock and bitter amusement.

Time had not been kind to him.

The professor I remembered had once stood straight as a spear, his presence commanding entire lecture halls, now his shoulders sagged a little. The hollowness in his eyes spoke of old wounds that had never healed.

I had arranged this meeting the moment Lylah confessed her fears last night–her anxiety over finding a supervising professor.

“This is the first time I’ve heard you speak so softly.” Clark chuckled dryly. “You must love this woman far too much, Ezra.” He said my name like it tasted foul.

“But no. Even if you throw a fortune at my feet–or try to break me with Moonclaw force–I won’t take your Luna as my student. I’m not taking damned students anymore.”

My wolf stirred at his tone, bristling at the disrespect.

But I forced him down.

“My Luna’s application requires a supervisor,” I said calmly. “This project is important for her.”

Clark barked out a laugh,

“Ungrateful brat who abandoned my class to chase the tech world has no right to talk to me about what’s important,” he snapped. “You’re a fool if you think I’ve forgotten my disappointment.”

I didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, I let him look at me. Let him pour every ounce of his lingering hate into his stare.

1/3

1:24 pm

Chapter 79

Finished

“Sir Grimwood,” I said at last. “It’s you who told me to walk away from Healing field.”

“And why the hell do you think I did that?” he roared. “Because you treated patients like they were disposable! Like experiments!”

His breathing grew uneven with emotion.

“During your hospital internship, the complaints piled higher than I’d ever seen. For Selene’s sake, Ezra, you didn’t heal them. You pushed them to the edge of death!”

I said nothing.

Because he wasn’t entirely wrong.

Back then, we had been unstoppable; Prodigy and master bound by ambition–the most admired and respected pair in the Healing division.

Until I realized I didn’t belong in his world.

I had been young. Barely more than a boy. He was the one who told me that if I ever felt I was walking the wrong path, I should leave before it’s too late.

So I listened. I walked away.

And the moment I did, he became a different man. Not the mentor who had guided me, but a wounded wolf, betrayed and feral, lashing out at every student he had once claimed as his legacy.

“Do you know what those patients called you?” Clark continued, laughing bitterly. “The God of Death.”

He leaned forward.

“And now I hear you speaking like some gentle, devoted mate. If you’d shown even a fraction of that mercy to your patients, everything would have been different.”

“That was impossible,” I said.

His eyes snapped to mine. “What?”

“I can only be gentle with Lylah.”

The truth settled between us like a blade.

“To anyone else…” I shrugged faintly. “It doesn’t exist.”

Clark stared at me as if seeing me for the first time.

Then he leaned back heavily, dragging a hand down his face.

“Selene save me,” he muttered. “You were already insufferable. Now you’re a lovesick fool too.” A humorless laugh escaped him. “What a nightmare.”

Silence stretched.

2/3

1:24 pm

Chapter 79

0:31

Finished

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