Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 187

Isolde's POV

"It's been so long, and you've known we were mates the whole time. Why haven't you marked me yet? Why?" I demanded, my voice breaking with each word.

Ezra stepped toward me, his hand outstretched, but I backed away.

"Don't touch me," I warned, wrapping my arms around myself protectively.

*He's been playing us,* Lyra growled inside me. *An Alpha who won't claim his mate can't be trusted.*

Ezra's jaw clenched, his eyes flashing with frustration. "I have a reason! You know that!"

"Without marking me, in the eyes of the entire werewolf world, I'm still not your officially recognized mate. You're just telling everyone, especially Evanthe, that you're still uncertain." I shot back, my voice rising.

I gestured wildly around. "The mark is the most sacred thing in our culture. It's how an Alpha claims his Luna in front of everyone. Without it, what am I? Just another girl you're fucking?"

"Is my promise not enough for you?" Ezra countered, his voice dropping dangerously low.

I laughed bitterly, the sound harsh even to my own ears. "After Evanthe announced she's carrying your child? Your promises don't mean shit, Ezra." My chest ached as I remembered every slight, every whisper behind my back. "The mark was supposed to be your way of proving to everyone—including me—that you've made your choice. But you didn't."

"Like I said, I have a reason," Ezra insisted, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

"I don't believe you." I shook my head, more tears falling. "You're the fucking Lycan King! You control Silver Moon Group!"

"But that didn't stop my first mate from being taken from me! You know that!" Ezra roared, his eyes flashing fury and pain.

His outburst reverberated through the room, seeming to make the very air vibrate with his anger. I stared at him, momentarily silenced by the raw emotion in his voice.

"Nothing. Never mind." Ezra ran a hand through his hair, his voice softening.

I studied his face, a horrible suspicion forming in my mind. "Is it because I'm not a Lycan? Are you disappointed? Do you hate that your new mate is just an ordinary werewolf, so you've been holding back?"

"No. That's not true." Ezra's expression turned anguished. "I haven't claimed you because I'm afraid of losing you. I'm afraid the same fate that befell my first mate will happen to you. I'm afraid they'll take you away from me too, just like they did to her. Fear stopped me from marking you!"

The city lights from outside cast shadows across his tormented face. I wanted to believe him, but the pain of the past weeks was too fresh.

"Alpha Ezra, I've suffered so much in that fucking Moon Alliance Program," I said, my voice quivering. "Those girls mocked me. Evanthe and my stepsister Sybilla tortured me at every turn." My heart ached remembering the humiliations I'd endured. "All you had to do was claim me... but you didn't."

"I couldn't—" Ezra began, but I cut him off.

"I can't accept that you never treated me as an equal... like when you had issues with the Elders, you didn't communicate with me—you just pushed me away silently, treated me like garbage... The Moon Goddess chose me to be your mate and your Luna, which means I'm equal to you, but you never treated me that way, and now I feel less than you, and that's wrong!"

"Tell me," I demanded. "Were you ever planning to mark me?"

"Yes, I was," Ezra answered firmly.

"Liar. I don't believe you." I backed away further, my heart racing painfully in my chest.

I could see the frustration building in Ezra's eyes. He was losing his patience, but I didn't care. Every cell in my body screamed that our relationship was beyond repair.

"Baby, you've got it all wrong," Ezra said, his voice strained. "I didn't delay because I was disappointed or doubted your abilities. I was afraid."

"I still don't believe you." I shook my head. "I don't want to stay here anymore... Reject me, so I can go start a new life for myself. I don't want you, I don't want your company, I don't want any of it. Please reject me and send me away!"

"That will never happen." Ezra's voice turned deadly quiet. "I will never reject you. You are mine, and I am yours. We are destined to be together."

I laughed hysterically. "You're only realizing this now? Well, it's too late. Reject me!"

Ezra's eyes had fully transformed to their wolf gold, and the room seemed to constrict with the force of his Alpha presence. "Never."

"If you won't say the words, I will," I threatened. "I, Isolde Blackwood, reject you—"

"You will not speak any words of rejection," Ezra growled.

"I reject you, Alpha Ezra!" I screamed.

Before I could blink, Ezra had crossed the room and scooped me into his arms. I shrieked and struggled as he carried me to the walk-in closet, depositing me onto the plush sofa there.

I immediately tried to get up. "I said, let me go! I don't want to stay here anymore. I want to go back!"

"ISOLDE, I COMMAND YOU TO STAY PUT!" Ezra roared, invoking his Alpha command.

My body froze instantly. I couldn't move a muscle, couldn't even form words of protest. Pure terror raced through me as I felt the absolute power of his command. Lyra howled in outrage inside me, but even she couldn't fight the Alpha's command.

Ezra ran a hand through his hair, looking almost as distraught as I felt. "This is a mess. I've fucked up, but you're not going anywhere... From now on, you're not leaving this building... We'll get through this mess together and work things out. That's what mates do."

*It will never be okay between us,* I thought, unable to speak.

*Don't give up,* Lyra whispered in my mind. *We'll find a way out.*

With that, Ezra turned and left the suite, the door closing with a decisive click behind him.

Released from his command but still shattered, I collapsed to the floor and gave in to the sobs that had been building, my tears falling freely onto the carpet beneath me.