The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Lylah’s POV

Finished

Damon drives me to the restaurant where Eldric demanded I meet him, his abrupt call this afternoon leaving no room for refusal. He told me to come, and made it clear that if I didn’t, he would show up at my mate’s house himself.

As if that wasn’t enough, a delivery boy arrived not long after the call, struggling beneath the weight of an enormous bunch of roses. When he said they were from Rowan, something bitter twisted inside my chest. I hadn’t even let the bouquet sit on my table.

I told him to deliver them straight to the Modern Healing building–to Cora. Let her enjoy his pretty lies.

Now, as I step into the private room, my gaze immediately collides with hers.

Cora looks as perfect as ever, graceful and sweet, but her knuckles are white against the table, the only sign of tension she can’t fully hide. Beside her sits Eldric and a stranger who isn’t entirely unfamiliar.

My stomach turns.

“Sorry,” I say, my voice clipped. “Traffic was bad.”

“It’s alright, daughter,” Eldric replies warmly.

False.

“Come in, don’t just stand there. And say hello to Sir Barth Hollow. He’s one of the tutors in the Lunar Grace Healing division as well.”

My gaze shifts to the old man, and revulsion rises instantly.

His teeth are sparse and yellow, his lips sunken around them, and when he smiles, it’s the kind of smile that makes my wolf bristle in instinctive disgust.

Iris’s voice from this afternoon when she showed me his photograph echoes in my head.

“Of all the tutors, stay away from Barth Hollow, Lylah,” she’d said. “He’s a sick old pervert. If it weren’t for his family connections, he would’ve been thrown out a long time ago.”

When I don’t move, Cora’s smile falters, a faint frown creasing her brow.

“Lylah, where are your manners?” she says gently as she rises to her feet. “Father invited Sir Hollow to help you. You’ve been having trouble finding a supervisor, haven’t you?”

Her smile is flawless.

Poison hidden behind sugar.

“To help me?” I ask, feigning confusion.

“Yes,” she says brightly, stepping closer. “I overheard some students talking. You’ve been trying to apply to

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Chapter 80

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Finished

the MDT team and searching everywhere for a mentor to sponsor you. As your sister, how could I stay silent?”

“And Alpha Eldric and Lady Cora have told me all about you,” Barth Hollow says as he rises from his chair.

The stench hits me first–sour wine soaked into his breath, stale cigarettes clinging to his clothes. Selestine recoils violently, snarling beneath my skin as his yellowed eyes roam over me without shame.

“A young lady who fled from her pack and came to Lunaris alone,” he continues, his voice oily with interest. “Who formed a mating bond without her family’s consent, then rose to become a teaching assistant through her own efforts. Tell me, what is that if not bravery?”

His gaze locks onto mine, heavy and invasive.

“You are quite spirited.”

He winks.

“And I’ve always had a fondness for a spirited young wolf.”

My stomach churns.

I have to look away to keep the nausea down.

Beside him, Eldric pours wine into his glass as if none of this is wrong. “Sir Hollow and I are old acquaintances,” he says calmly.

He thinks I don’t remember.

But I do.

I was only a pup when Barth Hollow came to Ironcrest. Eldric and Daia locked me in my room for the entire day, making sure I stayed hidden until the old alcoholic left. Making sure he never laid eyes on me.

And now, Eldric is handing me over to him himself.

“Sir Hollow was kind enough to agree to guide you personally, Lylah.” Cora’s smile widens, “Father invited you so we could tell this good news ourselves.” She chuckled, waving her hand lightly, “No need to thank

us.”

The words feel like chains.

“And under my guidance, I will shape you into an unstoppable young lady,” Barth adds, lifting a glass and offering another to me.

When his fingers brush mine, something feral ignites inside me.

It feels like fire flooding my veins. My wolf lunges forward in raw, violent fury as every instinct howls at me to tear his hand away and destroy whatever they think they can force on me.

“Let us toast,” Barth says, smiling. “To our agreement.”

The glass never reaches my hand.

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