Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 318

Isolde's POV

The security guard held the car door open for me as I stepped out onto the pavement. "Thank you," I murmured, adjusting my bag strap nervously.

I tilted my head back to look up at the towering skyscraper before me, letting out a slow breath. Another day of nerve-wracking pressure and adrenaline rushes awaited me inside that building. The Fashion Design Competition was scheduled to start at noon sharp and would run for three grueling hours. We were allowed to enter the hall at eleven for preparation work.

"Another day of facing challenges that'll make your nerves scream," Holden said as he walked up beside me.

I turned to him with a small smile and nodded. "I'm praying they'll go easy on us today."

Holden scoffed, shaking his head dismissively. "Go easy? Are you kidding me? You're competing for the highest level fashion design award in the world, and you expect the organizers to go easy on you? You've got to be joking!"

"Don't take it so seriously, it was just a joke," I replied, rolling my eyes at his reaction.

"It better be!" he said, shaking his head again as he walked away.

I took a deep breath and started walking toward the banquet hall, my heels clicking against the marble floor.

As I made my way through the lobby, I noticed something strange. Almost every single person I passed seemed to be staring at me. Their eyes followed my movement with an intensity that made my skin crawl.

*What the hell is going on? What did I do this time?*

When I entered the main hall, the chattering noise suddenly died down. Every head turned in my direction, and after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, people began whispering among themselves again. It was obvious I was the topic of their hushed conversations.

My enhanced werewolf hearing picked up fragments of their discussions:

"Did you hear? Alpha Ezra's first fated mate came back."

"Alpha Ezra still hasn't publicly explained what the hell happened."

"The real question is, what will Alpha Ezra do in this situation? An Alpha with two fated mates? That's unheard of!"

"He obviously has to choose between them. The question is, who will he pick?"

A blonde girl I recognized as one of my regular critics chimed in: "His first fated mate, obviously!" I rolled my eyes at her predictable response.

A man nearby asked, "Why would he choose her?"

The blonde girl answered with conviction: "Well, Lillian came first... she's the real fated mate... if the Moon Goddess sent her back, there must be a reason... the second mate Alpha Ezra was given is a complete disappointment... Isolde would make a terrible Luna..."

I could feel anger starting to surge at the front of my consciousness. The urge to march over and rip that blonde bitch's hair out was almost overwhelming, but I forced myself to stay put. Acting on impulse would only prove her point and probably get me disqualified from the competition.

*If I lose my cool now, I'll lose everything.*

Another man offered a different perspective: "Well... that's just one way of looking at it. If Lillian was meant to be with Alpha Ezra as his true mate, then the Moon Goddess wouldn't have sent Isolde after Lillian disappeared. If Isolde was chosen, I think it's because she's the right Luna."

My heart leaped with hope at his words. *Finally, someone with sense.*

But the blonde girl wasn't having it: "Or maybe because she's just the perfect replacement."

*God, this is driving me fucking insane.*

"Isolde!" Holden's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. His expression was filled with worry as he approached me.

"Holden, what's wrong? Why do you look so concerned?" I asked, noting the anxiety written all over his face.

"Someone sabotaged our equipment," he said grimly. "All the machines have been dismantled and destroyed. We have less than thirty minutes to find new equipment before the competition starts."

My heart skipped a beat. *This isn't good. This isn't good at all.*

I felt like all the bones in my body were melting. My life flashed before my eyes as the gravity of the situation hit me.

*Fuck, fuck, fuck!*

I rushed toward our team's work area, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest.

When I reached our station, the sight that greeted me confirmed my worst fears. Our machines and equipment were indeed destroyed, scattered in pieces across our workspace. *My world just crumbled...*

My scalp tingled and my whole body felt feverish. I could see my teammates were equally shocked and terrified.

"H-how did this happen?" I stammered, fear evident in my voice.

One of my teammates reported, "We don't know, Miss Isolde. When we arrived, we found the equipment like this."

Most of the other competitors were watching us, though some were focused on organizing their own tools. I let out a deep sigh, rubbing my face with my hands as I tried to think of a solution. The judges would be arriving any moment, and the competition would start in less than thirty minutes.

That's when the three judges approached our area. Jeremy Wright's voice cut through the air like a blade: "What happened here?"

I watched Mr. Wright examine the destroyed machines, my panic escalating even further. I struggled to keep my composure as I reported: "We arrived to find our equipment in this condition."

Wright's response was cold: "The competition will begin in thirty minutes. If your team is not ready to participate thirty minutes after the competition starts, you will not be allowed to compete in this round. So figure out how to solve this problem and join the others. This incident will be addressed after the competition ends."

He walked away with the other two female judges, leaving us to deal with our crisis.

My panic upgraded to full-blown terror. I felt like all my energy had been drained, and I couldn't think of any solutions. My teammates were looking at each other helplessly.

"I remember we prepared backup equipment at the studio in case something like this happened," Holden said suddenly.

*Oh my God!* I had completely forgotten about the spare tools we'd stored in our team apartment.

"How could I forget about that?" I muttered, relief washing over me.

"I will go get the backup equipment," Holden suggested. I nodded gratefully.

He quickly left the hall to retrieve our emergency supplies while the rest of us began cleaning up the destroyed machine parts.

*If we miss this round, we'll be seriously behind and our chances of winning will be shot,* I thought anxiously. *I hope he makes it back in time.*

As we worked, one of my teammate spoke up angrily: "These machines were fine when we left last time. Someone definitely sabotaged them to sabotage our chances of winning. This is so fucking low!"

*Damn right it is.* I wasn't going to let it slide. I would find out who was responsible and make them pay for what they'd done to us.