Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 265

ISOLDE'S POV

*I'm here for one reason only,* I told myself firmly, adjusting the strap of my designer purse. *To win this competition for Liberty Designs. I don't want anything to do with Ezra.*

But even as I thought it, my stomach twisted with a different kind of anxiety. *But if he ignores me today...*

*You can't even lie to yourself, so why bother lying to me?* Lyra mocked me.

I hated how right she was. My feelings about Alpha Ezra were a fucking mess of contradictions that I couldn't untangle even after two years.

Taking a deep breath, I made my way toward the VIP seating area. The venue was packed with fashion industry elite, journalists, and what looked like half the city's wealthy social circle.

That's when I heard them.

"Isn't that Isolde Blackwood, the chief designer from Liberty Designs?"

The voice came from a group of women dressed head-to-toe in designer labels, their jewelry catching the light as they gestured animatedly. I slowed my pace, straining to hear more.

"Yes, she's also Ezra Silverwood's fated mate—the one who disappeared from the Moon Alliance Program two years ago."

My breath caught. They knew. Of course they knew.

"Look at the way she walks into this place, like she owns the entire venue."

"I'm so proud of what she's accomplished. From a fallen family in Emerald Valley District to becoming a top designer—that's truly inspirational."

I stopped walking entirely, my eyes widening in shock. For the first time in my life, people were talking about me in a *positive* way. Not about my father Alaric's debt scandals, not about family shame or degradation. They were actually... proud of me?

A smile spread across my face before I could stop it, and I felt like an absolute fool grinning like an idiot in the middle of this elegant hallway. But I couldn't help it. This feeling was so foreign, so wonderful, that I wanted to bottle it up and save it forever.

"Looks like you've already got plenty of fans," Holden's dry voice interrupted my moment of euphoria.

I turned to find him beside me, his expression characteristically unreadable but with just a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"It feels good to know I've earned fans instead of haters," I replied, still unable to completely wipe the smile off my face.

"Get used to it," he said simply, then popped in his earbuds and settled back in his chair, effectively ending our conversation.

The low murmur of conversation suddenly died, and every person in the room rose to their feet in perfect synchronization.

My heart dropped into my stomach.

Alpha Ezra had arrived.

He walked into the hall with the kind of presence that commanded attention without effort. Every step radiated power and authority, his perfectly tailored charcoal gray suit fitting his frame like it had been crafted by angels. The fabric moved with him like liquid silk, and his dark hair was styled to perfection. He was still devastatingly handsome, still every inch the empire-building Alpha who could make my heart race with just his existence.

His powerful Alpha aura filled the space like a physical force, pressing against everyone present. I watched as heads bowed in respect, but I found myself frozen, too caught up in simply looking at him to remember protocol.

*Fuck,* I thought desperately. *He still affects me exactly the same way.*

Ezra's steel-gray eyes swept across the crowd methodically, as if he was searching for something—or someone. His gaze moved from section to section, and I held my breath, both terrified and hoping he would look my way.

Then our eyes met.

Time stopped. The world around us faded into background noise as we stared at each other across the expanse of the hall. His expression shifted from controlled composure to complete shock, his eyes widening slightly as recognition hit him like a physical blow.

*Shock. He's as shocked as I am.*

Lyra went absolutely wild inside me, howling and clawing to get closer to our Alpha. The mate bond, dormant for two years, roared back to life with such intensity that I had to grip the arms of my chair to keep from swaying.

*Damn this mate bond,* I cursed silently, hating how my body betrayed me with its instant, overwhelming response to his presence.

Ezra seemed to shake himself out of our locked gaze and continued to the podium, but not before I caught the slight curve of his lips—barely there, but enough to send ripples through my chest and awaken something I'd tried so hard to bury.

"Ladies and gentlemen," his voice boomed across the hall, rich and commanding as always. "Welcome to the Silver Moon Group Fashion Design Competition."

I watched him speak, mesmerized despite myself by the way he commanded the room. Every person hung on his words as he talked about the company's commitment to supporting emerging talent in the fashion industry, about innovation and creativity shaping the future.

He was magnetic, authoritative, born to lead. The way he held himself, the confidence in every gesture—it was impossible not to be drawn in. Even after everything that had happened between us, after all the pain and manipulation and control, I still found myself admiring his natural charisma.

*This is exactly why you ran,* I reminded myself bitterly. *Because he made you feel like you were just another possession in his Moon Alliance Program instead of treating you as an equal partner.*

But my treacherous heart still fluttered when his eyes found mine again during his speech, and I hated myself for it.

Just as I was getting lost in watching him speak, I felt it—a warm hand gently brushing across mine where it rested on my knee.

*What the hell?*