Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 310

Isolde's POV

The soft knock on my door interrupted my thoughts about the upcoming competition rounds. I glanced up from my design sketches scattered across the coffee table.

"Come in," I called out.

Holden pushed the door open, and I immediately noticed his outfit—a red T-shirt paired with a black leather jacket, black jeans, and black Converse sneakers. A black baseball cap sat perfectly on his head, and he was jingling a set of keys in his hand, including what I recognized as his new car keys.

"You've been going out a lot these days," I observed, setting down my pencil.

Holden's face lit up with excitement. "I've made some new friends, actually.And they're coming over tonight to stay."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you eat dinner first before you head out?"

"Nah, we're gonna grab food while we're out," he said, moving closer to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. "But hey, could you let the kitchen know there'll be a few extra people for breakfast tomorrow?"

I smiled despite my concerns. "You're the best sister in the world," he grinned.

"Drive safely," I called after him as he headed for the door. "And don't get too drunk!"

"Can't promise that one!" he laughed, already jogging down the stairs.

I shook my head, watching him disappear from view. Part of me worried about what Mom would think if she knew about Holden's frequent outings, but I also understood that coming to Silver Moon Group with me had given him more freedom than he'd ever had back home.

The landline on my nightstand rang. I reached over and picked up the receiver.

"Isolde, your dinner is ready, also, you have a visitor."

"A visitor?" I felt my stomach tighten with surprise.

"Yes, miss."

My mind immediately started racing through possibilities. It couldn't be Thalia—she would just burst in without any formal announcement. That left either Daryl or... Ezra.

"I'll be right down," I said, then hung up and made my way to the stairs.

As I descended, my heart began beating faster with each step. When I reached the bottom, I saw him—Alpha Ezra standing near the foot of the staircase. But it wasn't his impeccable appearance that stopped me in my tracks.

It was the expression on his face.

He looked... broken. His usually commanding presence seemed diminished, replaced by something that looked like deep sadness and exhaustion. There was pain in his eyes, raw and unguarded in a way I'd never seen before.

My voice came out barely above a whisper. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"It's only six o'clock, Iso," he replied, his tone carrying an extremely dejected quality that made my chest tighten. "Six o'clock isn't an inappropriate time to visit someone."

I studied his face more carefully, noting the way his shoulders seemed to carry an invisible weight. "You don't look good."

"That's because I'm not," he admitted without hesitation.

Despite everything between us, despite all the complications and hurt, I felt something inside me soften. My rational mind screamed at me not to care about this man who'd caused me so much confusion and pain, but emotionally, I couldn't help myself.

*Stupid, sentimental girl,* I thought, even as my expression naturally mirrored his melancholy.

"Can we talk?" he asked, his voice filled with a pain that seemed to radiate from deep within. "Somewhere private?"

I found myself nodding, even though I was starving and had planned to eat dinner. The way he looked—like he might completely fall apart—made my own hunger seem unimportant.

"Upstairs," I said, leading him toward the second floor.

I brought him to the private sitting room, closing the door behind us. The space felt intimate with its leather furniture and warm lighting.

"What's wrong?" I asked casually, settling onto the leather sofa.

Ezra remained standing, his hands buried deep in his suit pockets, and the pain in his eyes seemed to intensify under the room's soft lighting.

"It's about Lillian," he began, then moved to sit beside me on the sofa. The leather made a soft sound under his weight. "Orion found some things. Things about her past."

Being this close to him made it hard to breathe normally.

*God, this man will always affect me like this,* I thought, trying to maintain my composure.

"Things that completely destroyed my trust in her." Ezra continued, his voice heavy with pain.

I waited for him to continue, watching as he struggled with whatever he was about to reveal.

"She lied to me, Iso. About everything. Her past, her relationships before me..." His voice trailed off, and I could see him fighting to maintain control.

*"That bitch!"* was my immediate internal reaction, followed quickly by an unexpected wave of sympathy for Ezra.

"If she could lie about something that big, I don't know what else she's lied about," he said, his voice breaking slightly. "I can't believe the Moon Goddess would mate me to someone like that."

"Why can't you be mated to someone like that?" I found myself asking. "It's not like you're perfect yourself."

Ezra looked hurt by my words, his lips forming what could only be described as a pout. The expression was so unexpectedly vulnerable that I found it kind of cute, despite everything.

"I came here for comfort, not condemnation," he said, that stubborn expression making him look younger somehow.

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling a pang of guilt. "You're right. What she did was wrong."

"She lied about being raped to cover up the fact that she'd been sleeping with her boyfriend before me," Ezra's anger was building now, his voice getting stronger. "And she was still seeing him after we got together. She played me for a complete fool!"

*She fucking did that?*

I reached out and took his hand, rubbing it gently. "I understand how heartbreaking it must be to discover that someone you loved wholeheartedly thought of you as a fool."

"I'm never seeing her again," Ezra declared with fierce determination. "Never! She means nothing to me now."

"Don't you think you might be overreacting?" I asked, though part of me wasn't sure why I was defending Lillian.

"Overreacting?" He turned to look at me, his eyes flashing anger that made me instinctively flinch.

Before Ezra could respond further, his phone started ringing. He glanced at the screen and frowned, clearly not wanting to answer.

The phone rang again, and I could see his irritation growing.

"Ezra, answer the phone," I said firmly.

Reluctantly, he picked up. "What is it? Who's calling?"

As he listened to whoever was on the other end, I watched his face transform. His eyes widened in what looked like horror, and all color drained from his features.

He ended the call and immediately stood up.

"What happened?" I asked, alarmed by his sudden change in demeanor.

"It's Lillian," he said, his voice tight with shock. "She slit her wrists. She's been taken to the hospital."