Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 209

Isolde's POV

My heart threatened to burst through my chest as the stern-faced female security guard approached me. With each step she took, my breath became shallower until I felt like I might pass out.

I recognized her immediately—one of the many Silver Moon employees who had made no effort to hide their hatred for me. Her eyes, cold and calculating, locked with mine as she moved closer.

*Be careful,* Lyra warned in my mind. *There's malice in her eyes.*

"I need to search you now," the guard stated flatly, her voice devoid of any warmth. "May I?"

I nodded mutely, my throat too constricted to form words. What choice did I have? The entire room was watching, phones recording every second of my humiliation.

"Arms up," she commanded.

I complied, raising my trembling arms as she began her methodical inspection. My off-shoulder evening gown left much of my skin exposed, and I shuddered with revulsion as her hands moved across my body. Her touch was clinical but somehow still felt invasive, violating.

The guard's eyes narrowed when she reached my right hip, her fingers pausing over the fabric. "What's this?" she asked sharply, pointing to what appeared to be a small, almost invisible tear in the material.

I stared at it, genuinely confused. "I... I don't know. I never noticed that before."

My mind raced back to this morning when Faye had insisted I wear this particular dress. She dismissed all my other choices. Now I understood why.

*This isn't the dress I wanted to wear,* I thought desperately. *Faye push for this one.*

The guard's eyebrow arched with disbelief. "You didn't notice?" Her fingers probed the tear, pulling it slightly to reveal what looked like a concealed pocket sewn into the fabric—expertly hidden and nearly impossible to detect.

My heart pounded harder as her fingers dipped inside and emerged holding a small sealed glass vial containing a clear liquid.

"What is this?" she demanded, holding it up.

I stared at the vial in horror, my blood turning to ice. "I don't know," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "I swear I don't know what that is. I have no idea how it got into my dress."

The guard's expression hardened with obvious disbelief. I could practically feel the judgment radiating from everyone in the room. The rapid thump of my heart seemed loud enough for every werewolf present to hear.

"I found something," the guard announced loudly.

Alpha Ezra strode forward immediately, his face a mask of controlled neutrality. "What is it?"

The guard carefully unsealed the vial and took a cautious sniff. Her reaction was immediate—she jerked back, her face paling as she quickly resealed it.

"I'm not sure, sir," she replied, her voice now edged with alarm. "But it's definitely not normal... There's a strange metallic scent. It makes me feel... unwell."

The room erupted with nervous whispers. I noticed several people raising their phones, eagerly recording my downfall. Some executives were already typing furiously on their devices, no doubt spreading the news throughout Silver Moon's network before any facts were even established.

Ezra took the vial with careful precision. As he brought it near his nose for the briefest moment, his entire demeanor changed. His face drained of color, and his eyes flashed a dangerous gold.

"This scent... it's extremely dangerous," he said, quickly sealing the vial and stepping back. "Take it to the lab for immediate testing. Full containment protocols. Nathaniel, initiate emergency procedures."

"I don't know what that is," I stammered, my voice breaking. "Please, I don't—"

"Whatever it is, she's the poisoner!" Aiden Hawthorne suddenly shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at me. "Arrest her! The way my daughter collapsed—that has to be some new kind of werewolf toxin!"

The camera flashes intensified. My nightmare was being documented in high definition, to be shared and scrutinized by thousands. I could already imagine the headlines: "Luna Candidate Attempts to Murder Rival." My reputation wouldn't just be damaged—it would be obliterated.

"That's preposterous!" Ezra roared, his voice silencing the room instantly. "Isolde couldn't possibly have done this because she hasn't left her residence for days. She's had no outside contact! No opportunity to acquire something this sophisticated. This accusation is absurd!"

Tears welled in my eyes at his defense, but I also felt the hatred piercing me from all directions, the eager consumption of my suffering from behind smartphone screens.

Aiden's lips curled into a cold smirk. "Whatever that substance is, the motive is crystal clear." His voice dropped to a theatrical tone. "My daughter Evanthe is carrying your child, which makes her a threat to this woman standing before us. She'd do anything to eliminate my daughter and keep her position and the privileges you've given her."

A security officer rushed to Ezra, whispering something in his ear that made his expression grow even more severe.

I couldn't take it anymore. I lunged toward Ezra, falling to my knees before him, tears streaming down my face.

"Please stop! None of this is true!" I cried, clutching at his suit pants. "I don't know how that thing got into my dress. Please..." I looked up at him, desperate. "You have to believe me. I didn't do this. You know I would never do something like this. I'm not a murderer!"

Ezra's eyes flickered between gold and their normal color, betraying his internal struggle. He leaned down, his voice low enough that only I could hear.

"It's still under testing, but researchers say it might be some kind of silver ion extract—an extremely dangerous werewolf toxin. Only a few top-level labs could produce something like this..."

"Sir." The sharp voice came from the doorway.

I turned to see two security guards dragging Faye into the room. In that moment, my soul seemed to leave my body. The cold realization washed over me like ice water—I understood why I had been selected as the scapegoat, and why Faye had been so insistent that I wear that specific dress.