Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 290

ISOLDE'S POV

I shook my head and slowly pulled my hand away from his, resting it on my knee. The loss of contact felt cold, but I needed to do this. I needed to prove a point to him.

I missed him too. I liked his touch, craved it even. But he couldn't just assume I'd fall back into his arms whenever he decided the timing was right.

"If you don't want to, that's okay. I won't force you," he said, though his voice remained calm, I could feel the undercurrent of frustration rippling beneath the surface.

"Hmm," I hummed noncommittally, staring straight ahead at the luxurious interior of the Silver Moon Group's sedan. The atmosphere in the car suddenly felt thick with tension.

Before the silence could stretch any further, my phone buzzed in my purse, cutting through the quiet like a knife. I quickly pulled it out, and my stomach dropped when I saw Holden's name on the caller ID. My teeth sank into my lower lip.

Shit. I'd left without telling him.

"Hello, Holden," I answered, trying to keep my voice steady.

"You left." His tone was clipped, businesslike, and I could tell he was pissed.

"Holden, I'm sorry. Something came up and I had to leave quickly." I glanced sideways at Ezra. I knew he was listening to every word. "It wasn't planned."

"That's not how we agreed to handle things when we came here."

I winced, guilt gnawing at me. "I know. I know. I'm so sorry." *I hate doing this to him. He's been nothing but supportive of my design career.*

"We'll discuss this later," Holden said curtly, then the line went dead.

I stared at my phone for a moment, then turned to Alpha Ezra with determination. "You have to fix this. You're the one who took me away."

He actually laughed—a ridiculous, incredulous sound. "You can't ask me to do that. That young man sounded very angry, and I absolutely will not go solve this problem. He'll give me a proper scolding, and I don't like being scolded. I might cry."

My eyes widened to their limits as I stared at him in complete disbelief. The rambling, childish tone coming from the Alpha was surreal.

"Are you high right now? Or is the pressure from Silver Moon Tower getting to you?" I demanded.

"I am not high! I just don't want to deal with family drama," he protested.

I let out an incredulous sigh and shook my head. *This man loses all sense of reason around me. He can face down entire werewolf business empires, but this small thing makes him act like a child.*

"Fine. Since you're too scared of being scolded to handle it, I'll deal with it myself," I said flatly. "I can't believe the CEO of Silver Moon Group is afraid to face my brother."

Before he could respond, my phone rang again. This time, it was Daryl Fields.

I felt a wave of relief that it wasn't Holden calling back.

"Hello," I answered.

"Isolde?" The voice was male, familiar from earlier today at the competition venue.

"Yes, this is Isolde."

"Hi, this is Daryl."

A bright smile spread across my face. "Oh, it's the chief designer from Ethereal!"

Ezra immediately started frowning, his expression demanding to know who was on the other end of the call.

"Yes, I left a while ago. Some unexpected circumstances came up," I explained, feeling my wolf Lyra warning me to be careful.

"That's unfortunate. I was hoping to see you again. How about I take you to dinner tonight? I'm very interested in discussing your design philosophy." His voice was smooth, sweet.

I glanced at Alpha Ezra, who had clearly heard every word.

Ezra's eyebrows nearly touched his hairline, his expression wild like he wanted to set my phone on fire. He mouthed, "Who is that?"

I ignored him completely.

"You want to take me to dinner tonight?" I asked, deliberately drawing out the question.

"If you'll allow me? We could discuss the possibility of you joining Ethereal."

Ezra's eyes went wide, and he started shaking his head frantically, mouthing, "Tell him no!" with accompanying hand gestures. His wolf nature was barely contained beneath the surface.

"I'd love to have dinner with you, Daryl," I said with deliberate sweetness.

"How about six o'clock? I can pick you up at five-thirty."

"That sounds perfect."

"Thank you for accepting my invitation. It's an honor to have dinner with such a talented designer."

Heat crept up my cheeks, a blush spreading across my face. *He's being thoughtful, okay? And Alpha Ezra is losing his cool. Look at that expression—Prime must be roaring inside.*

"You're too kind," I replied graciously.

"I'll see you tonight then, Iso. Looking forward to it."

He hung up, and I sat there in the now-stopped car in my driveway, not daring to look at Alpha Ezra's face. I could feel his wolf's fury radiating in waves.

"Who was that?" he asked sharply, his voice carrying that dangerous Alpha undertone.

"None of your business," I replied coolly.

He let out a frustrated sigh that sounded almost like a whine. "Why is he taking you to dinner?"

"That's still none of your business." I tucked my phone back into my purse and put my hand on the car door handle. "I'm not part of the Moon Alliance Program anymore, remember?"

"He even called you 'Iso.' Why?" His eyes were shooting daggers.

"Because that's short for Isolde," I explained calmly, though inside I was enjoying this small revenge.

"No one calls you Iso except me," he said, his voice sounding like he might actually cry. The CEO of Silver Moon Group, reduced to a child who'd lost his favorite toy.

*This is hurting him, but I have to do this. I need him to understand that I'm not just another toy in his harem.*

"Don't act like a child. Anyone can call me Iso," I said firmly, opening the car door. The luxury sedan's door automatically lifted upward.

"I have to go now and rest before my date," I announced, emphasizing the word 'date.'

"Isolde, you haven't told me who's going to—" he started.

I cut him off, a dry smile playing at my lips. "Thank you so much for the ride. Have a wonderful day, Ezra." I deliberately omitted the 'Alpha' title.

I stepped out of the luxury sedan and closed the door behind me, feeling Alpha Ezra's gaze burning into me as I walked away.

A victorious smile spread across my face. I'd successfully gotten under the skin of the Lycan King.

*Who's laughing now? You can have all the Alliance girls you want, but you can't control me, Alpha Ezra.*

I could feel his car remaining in the driveway long after I'd entered the house, knowing he was struggling to control his possessive instincts.

*Let him sit there and think about what it means when someone else calls me 'Iso.'*