Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 182

Orion's POV

My knuckles whitened as I gripped the steering wheel, exhaustion weighing on me like a physical burden. I drove through nearly empty streets. Next to me, Evanthe sat with her arms crossed, her face illuminated by passing streetlights that cast shifting shadows across her features.

"Put your seatbelt on and keep quiet," I said, not bothering to hide the fatigue in my voice. "It's been a hell of a day."

A hell of a day indeed. My mind kept replaying the moment Evanthe had walked into my Silver Moon security office that afternoon, announcing her pregnancy with a triumphant smile. The news had blindsided me completely.

*Why did she tell me first?* I wondered, glancing briefly at my sister's profile. *Why not go directly to Ezra?*

Our relationship had grown increasingly distant over the years, with Evanthe's ambition creating a wedge between us. Yet she'd chosen to reveal this bombshell to me before anyone else. It made no sense.

"I need you to talk to Ezra," Evanthe's voice cut through my thoughts, her tone demanding. "It's time you stood up for me. Convince him to let me move into his penthouse. That's where I belong now. I'm carrying his child!"

I shook my head, incredulity washing over me. "Evanthe... you're delusional."

"What did you just say?" she hissed, turning to face me.

"Getting pregnant for Alpha Ezra doesn't automatically grant you the right to move in with him," I said firmly, navigating through an intersection as the city's commercial buildings gave way to more upscale neighborhoods.

Evanthe's voice rose, indignant. "He slept with me. He got me pregnant. He has to take responsibility for that."

"He already said he would take responsibility," I replied evenly. "But that doesn't mean he has to let you move in with him."

"Why not?" Evanthe's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Because of that low-ranking wolf Isolde? Is that why he won't let me move in with him?"

I chose silence, focusing on the road ahead. The neon sign glowed in the distance, a beacon in the night skyline. I wouldn't be baited into an argument about Isolde. My sister was already agitated enough, and I had no desire to escalate the situation.

After several minutes of tense silence, I voiced the question that had been nagging at me since the hospital. "By the way, are you sure the child you're carrying is actually Ezra's? Because if it turns out you lied about the father, you'll be in serious trouble!"

The car suddenly felt colder. Evanthe's voice became quiet and deadly. "Are you suggesting I'm trying to pin another man's child on Ezra?"

Then, as quickly as it had dropped, her voice rose to a shout. "How dare you!"

"It was just a question," I replied calmly. "You've never exactly been subtle about how far you'd go to get what you want from him."

Evanthe burst into tears, the sound grating on my already frayed nerves. She was either a menace or a whining witch—there seemed to be no middle ground with her.

"I can't believe you won't take my side even when I'm pregnant," she sobbed, her voice breaking. "For God's sake, I'm carrying your niece or nephew!"

I sighed heavily. "I love this unborn child, Evanthe. But I don't trust your intentions. You're showing all the signs of a home-wrecker."

*She's lying,* Talon growled in my mind. *I can sense it in her scent, in her voice. The child may be real, but it's not Ezra's.*

My suspicions deepened with my wolf's warning. Talon's instincts were rarely wrong.

As we approached the sprawling Hawthorne family estate, I decided to make one last attempt to reason with her. "Evanthe, crying won't stop me from saying what I need to say to you."

The mansion loomed ahead, stately and imposing in the moonlight.

"You still have a chance. Call Ezra, tell him this was a mistake."

Her crying paused momentarily.

"You might not know this, but on the day that child is born, there will be a paternity test to prove whether Ezra truly is the father, and if it turns out he's not—" my voice hardened, "—these tears you're shedding now will be nothing compared to the tears of blood you'll shed then."

"So you're saying you don't believe Ezra is the father of the child I'm carrying," Evanthe's voice was thick with tears.

"No, I don't," I stated flatly.

The car rolled to a stop in the driveway of the Hawthorne mansion, the building solemn and august in the moonlight. Evanthe stared at me, her eyes glittering dangerously in the darkness.

"When I finally become Luna," she said, each word deliberate and venomous, "the first thing I'm going to do is make sure Ezra strips you of your Silver Moon Gamma title. I swear it on my life."

I saw the deadly seriousness in her eyes. My sister had always been ambitious, but this crossed into something darker, more dangerous.

"Evanthe, if you applied this kind of determination to doing something positive, you would achieve great things in life. Such a shame you've chosen the dark side."

I unbuckled my seatbelt as she began crying again, her tears gleaming in the moonlight.

Inside the mansion, Evanthe immediately rushed into our mother's arms, sobbing dramatically.

"Mom," she whimpered pathetically.

Our mother looked alarmed, her eyes darting between her children. "Orion, what happened?"

Evanthe pointed an accusing finger at me. "It's all his fault!"

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. *Here we go again. Some things never change.* It was a familiar scene from our childhood—Evanthe making mistakes and then crying to our parents, blaming me for everything.

My mother's brow furrowed, her eyes flashing with displeasure in the soft lighting. "Orion, what did you do?"

"Nothing," I replied calmly.

"Liar!" Evanthe shot back.

I fixed my sister with a steady gaze. "Oh, do you want me to tell her what really happened?"

"No!" Evanthe's response was immediate and panicked.

I had no desire to be present when my parents discovered Evanthe's pregnancy. That conversation would create a storm I preferred to avoid, particularly given my doubts about the child's paternity. The fallout could affect the entire Hawthorne family's standing with Silver Moon.

"She'll tell you when she's ready," I said, moving toward the door. "I need to go now. Good night."

As I left, a weary sigh escaped me. "From one mess to another. When will it ever end?"

*When you make a choice, brother,* Talon replied softly in my mind.