Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 162

Sybilla's POV

I couldn't move. My body felt weak, paralyzed by shock and terror as I sat in the cold interrogation room. Alpha Ezra's words—"you will be punished for your crimes"—echoed in my mind like a death sentence. This was it. The end of everything.

"Get up," the security guard barked, his voice harsh in the silence that had descended after Ezra left.

My mind was racing, desperately trying to understand how they had traced everything back to me. Evanthe had promised—she had fucking *promised*—that the surveillance footage had been taken care of. That there would be no evidence linking us to the poisoning.

"How did they...?" I whispered to myself.

"I said get up!" The guard's voice grew more threatening. "Don't make me tell you again."

I flinched at his tone but remained frozen in my seat. My limbs felt like they were filled with lead. The electronic cuffs dug painfully into my wrists, a constant reminder of how thoroughly screwed I was.

"If I have to tell you one more time, you're going to regret it," he growled, taking a menacing step toward me.

Just as panic threatened to overwhelm me completely, the door opened. A female voice cut through the tension.

"That's enough. You can leave us."

The sound of high heels clicking against the floor followed, and my heart leaped when I saw Evanthe walk in with a slight smile on her face. Relief flooded through me so intensely that I nearly collapsed.

"Evanthe!" I cried out, my voice cracking with emotion. "You came."

Her smile widened slightly as she approached the table. "I did."

I felt an unprecedented surge of energy and relief. For a moment, I had thought I was completely finished.

"Sit down," she instructed calmly.

I complied immediately, placing my cuffed hands on the table and leaning forward eagerly. My mind was already racing with escape plans. Evanthe had connections everywhere in Silver Moon. She could get me out of this mess.

"Did you run into Alpha Ezra?" I asked urgently. "He was just here. He told me they have evidence that I was involved in the poisoning attempt. He said I'm going to be punished for my crimes." My words tumbled out in a desperate rush. "The surveillance footage—I thought you said no one could get access to it?"

Evanthe said nothing, watching me with an unreadable expression. Her silence made my stomach twist with unease.

"He told me I'd be punished for my crimes," I repeated, my voice rising with panic. "Evanthe, I can't go to jail. I can't be executed by Silver Moon's underground forces. You have to help me get out of here!"

Still, Evanthe remained eerily quiet, studying me with detached interest. Something about her demeanor sent a chill down my spine.

"Evanthe?" I prompted, increasingly nervous. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

She finally broke her silence, her voice unnervingly calm. "The situation is quite bad."

My heart sank at her words, delivered so matter-of-factly. "What do you mean? What's happening? Evanthe, you can get me out of here, right?" I reached across the table, trying to grab her hand, but she smoothly pulled away.

The missed contact made my heart skip a beat.

"Evanthe, what's going on?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper now. "You're acting strange."

She began casually filing her nails, seemingly unconcerned with my predicament. "What I'm saying is that the charges against you are extremely serious. If I try to get you out, I'll be dragging myself down with you. I can't let that happen."

The words hit me like a physical blow. "What... what does that mean?" I stammered, though a terrible understanding was already dawning.

"It means you'll be taking the fall for what we did," Evanthe stated plainly, her voice smooth and controlled. "Alone."

I felt numb, like someone had doused me with ice water. My body went slack as a fresh wave of horror washed over me. I began shaking my head in denial.

"No. No. No, no, no, no," I chanted, my voice rising with each repetition. "You can't do this. I can't take the blame for this. Evanthe, someone *died*. I'll be charged with murder. I might be secretly executed by Ezra's people!"

Evanthe remained perfectly composed, continuing to file her nails as if we were discussing nothing more serious than the weather.

"This isn't happening," I whispered, my voice trembling. "We were partners in this. You came up with the plan! You provided the poison! You handled the surveillance footage!"

"And yet here you are in handcuffs, while I remain free," she replied with chilling indifference. "Funny how things work out."

"But why?" I pleaded, tears welling in my eyes. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Evanthe sighed as if bored. "Sybilla, you are young, impulsive, with a well-known hatred for Isolde. Who wouldn't believe you'd try something like this?"

"But they'll investigate! They'll find your involvement too!" I insisted, grasping at straws.

She smiled thinly. "All evidence pointing to me has been thoroughly eliminated. Your fingerprints, however, are all over this operation."

"You... you set me up from the beginning? This was your plan all along!"

"Not initially," Evanthe admitted with a casual shrug. "But I always have contingency plans. When I realized things might go south, I made sure the trail led exclusively to you."

"How could you do this?" I whispered, my throat constricting with betrayal. "I trusted you. I did everything you asked!"

"That's precisely why you were so useful," she replied coldly. "Your eagerness to please, your desperation to take Isolde down."

My hands began to shake uncontrollably. "Please, Evanthe," I begged, abandoning all pride. "I'll do anything. I'll take some of the blame, but please don't let me face this alone. We can say I was manipulated, that I didn't know people would die."

The cold calculation in her eyes made my blood run cold. This woman, whom I had admired and trusted, was smiling to my face.

I stared at her in disbelief, the full reality of my situation crashing down on me. "You're not going to help me anyhow, are you?" I whispered.