Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 251

Isolde's POV

My mother's smile was gentle at first, but I watched as it gradually faded, replaced by something more serious. She let out a small sigh, and my stomach clenched with anxiety.

"I know you heard me talking to Lydia earlier," she said quietly, her eyes studying my face.

Fuck. Of course she knew. My heart started hammering against my ribs, and I felt that familiar panic creeping up my throat. I opened my mouth to deny it, but the words wouldn't come. What was the point? She clearly already knew.

*"Just be honest,"* Lyra whispered in my mind. *"What do you have to lose?"*

Everything, I thought desperately. I could lose everything.

My mother continued, her voice taking on an apologetic tone. "Lydia is having some difficulty adjusting to your arrival here, and she's always been quick-tempered. But that doesn't—"

"If she doesn't want me here, and this is causing too much trouble, I can leave," I interrupted, the words spilling out before I could stop them. My voice sounded small and broken, even to my own ears. "I don't want to tear your family apart."

"No."

The word came out so firm, so absolute, that it startled me. My mother's eyes flashed with something I couldn't quite identify—determination? Protectiveness?

Before I could process what was happening, she reached out and gently took both of my hands in hers. The touch was warm, soft, and completely unexpected. Then, to my absolute shock, she lifted my right hand and pressed her lips to the back of it in a tender kiss.

My entire body went rigid. What the hell was happening? My stomach did this weird fluttering thing, and I felt like I was on fire from the inside out. Anxiety crashed over me in waves, making it hard to breathe.

*"What the fuck is going on?"* I thought frantically, staring at her in complete bewilderment.

She was looking at me with this complex expression—soft and pained and something else I couldn't name. I just stared back at her, too shocked to speak, too shocked to even move.

"You're not going anywhere," she said, her voice gentle but unwavering. "This is your home too. You're going to live here with us, and we're going to protect you from anyone who tries to hurt you."

Her free hand came up to cup my cheek, and I felt my spine turn to ice. Every nerve ending in my body was firing at once, and I could feel tears starting to build behind my eyes. My throat felt thick and tight.

This was so different from yesterday. Yesterday she'd been cold, distant, treating me like some obligation she'd reluctantly accepted. But this... this felt real. This felt like the mother I'd dreamed about for years.

"My child..." she whispered, and her own eyes were getting misty.

That's when I completely lost it.

The tears that had been threatening finally spilled over, and a sob escaped my throat. All the years of missing her, all the nights I'd lain awake wondering if she ever thought about me.

"My dear daughter... I've missed you so much!"

Her voice broke on those words, and that was it. I completely fell apart. The sobs came hard and fast, shaking my whole body as years of suppressed emotion poured out of me. I cried like a child.

She pulled me into her arms then, holding me tight against her chest, and I could feel her body shaking with her own quiet sobs. She smelled like vanilla and something floral, exactly like I remembered from when I was little. I buried my face in her shoulder and cried like my heart was breaking and healing at the same time.

This was what I'd always dreamed of. This moment, this reunion, this feeling of being wanted and loved by my mother.

After what felt like forever, she gently pulled back, still keeping her hands on my shoulders. Her eyes were red and teary, but she was smiling through it.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "I'm so sorry for how I treated you yesterday."

I shook my head immediately. "No, Mom. You don't—"

"I do need to apologize," she insisted. "I was that way because seeing you again after all these years... it brought back memories of your father and how he betrayed our bond. For the first time in years, I felt that pain all over again. I'm sorry."

"I understand," I said, meaning it completely. "You don't need to apologize. I get it."

She smiled through her tears and reached for my hands again, bringing them to her lips for another gentle kiss. The gesture was so tender, so motherly, that it made my chest ache in the best way.

"Don't worry about Lydia," she said, her voice stronger now. "She'll adjust. This is your new home, and you can stay as long as you want."

But reality crashed back in, and I felt that familiar knot of anxiety in my stomach. "But he'll come looking for me."

She knew exactly who I meant. Alpha Ezra.

"You can stay here in secret," she said, her voice taking on a protective edge. "We'll make sure no word of your presence in this district gets out. My father was a former Alpha, and my brother is the current Alpha. We'll ensure your safety."

"What about Lydia? She hates me."

"She doesn't hate you," my mother said firmly. "And she won't tell anyone you're here."

I wanted to believe her, but I'd heard the venom in Lydia's voice this morning. Still, I found myself nodding. "Okay."

What choice did I have, really? This was better than the concrete cell, better than going back to Silver Moon Group. At least here, I had my mother.

"This is your chance to start over," she continued, her eyes bright with hope. "Forget about Alpha Ezra. He's in the past. From now on, you only need to focus on the present and the future."

The mention of forgetting Ezra sent a sharp pain through my chest. God, when he'd held me, when he'd looked at me like I was his whole world...

But that life, that world where I might have been his Luna, where we might have been happy together—that wasn't what I wanted. Not really. I wanted something else. Something that was mine, something I could choose for myself.

"Thank you, Mom," I said, meaning every word. "I promise I won't disappoint you."

She squeezed my hands. "You could never disappoint me."

I took a shaky breath and squared my shoulders. This was going to hurt like hell—getting over Ezra, moving on from everything we'd shared. But I was a fighter. I'd survived losing my family, survived being sold to pay off debts, survived being framed for murder.

I could survive this too.