Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 324

Ezra's POV

The knock on my door came again at exactly the worst possible moment. I'd just gotten back from Lillian's suite.

When I opened the door, there stood Lillian, again.

"Why won't you let me stay overnight anymore?" she asked, her voice carrying that edge of entitlement that made my jaw clench. "We used to sleep together all the time. We used to do all sorts of crazy things..."

I turned away before she could finish whatever bullshit she was about to spew. Walking to my king-size bed, I didn't bother looking at her as I spoke.

"Get in bed."

The command came out colder than I'd intended, but I was too tired to care. I heard her intake of breath behind me, watched as that arrogant smile finally slipped from her face when I glanced back.

She moved toward the bed, but I immediately circled to the other side, putting as much distance between us as possible.

"Why are you so cold?" Lillian's voice had shifted to that deceptively innocent tone she used when she wanted to seem vulnerable.

*Because I realized what a bitch you really are,* I thought, but kept my expression neutral.

"I'm tired," I said instead, my voice flat. "I need to sleep early. Just get in bed."

She apologized—actually fucking apologized like she was some wounded little lamb—and obediently climbed under the covers. Relief flooded through me.

I slipped into bed beside her, my body automatically moving to hold her the way I had countless times before. The scent of her expensive perfume filled my nostrils, but something was different. Something was missing.

I waited for it—that surge of heat, that wild impulse to mark her that used to hit me like a freight train whenever I held her close. I remembered how her pheromones used to drive me crazy, how holding her would make me burn with need.

Nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing.

*I really have let go of this woman,* I realized, the thought hitting me with startling clarity as I spoke silently to Prime.

*About damn time,* my wolf responded dryly. *Now can we focus on getting her the hell out of our life?*

The thought brought me a twisted sense of satisfaction. Every day I waited for Orion to find something—anything—disgusting about Lillian's past that would prove the Moon Goddess never intended us to be together. I needed that proof, that justification to cut her out of my life completely.

"Being in your arms feels exactly the same," Lillian murmured, pressing closer against my chest. "Like heaven... comfortable and warm."

"Do you know why I always want to stay in your arms?" she continued, not waiting for an answer. "In your arms, I feel like no one in the world can hurt me."

*Yeah, but you still betrayed me!* The words screamed in my head.

"Will you go to work after I fall asleep?" she asked.

"Yes, I will," I answered honestly, not bothering to sugarcoat it.

"Can't you stay?"

"If you don't shut up and sleep," I interrupted, my patience finally snapping, "leave my suite."

For once, she had the sense to shut her mouth. She settled back against my chest, her fingers trailing over my muscles in what she probably thought was a seductive gesture.

*This woman is more annoying than I imagined,* I thought as I lay there, counting the minutes until I could escape to my office. *I need help. This woman is more difficult than I thought possible.*

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'd find Orion and demand he accelerate whatever investigation he had going. I couldn't take much more of this.

---

The next morning.

I needed Orion to find something, anything, that would give me grounds to cut her loose permanently.

As I approached the private dining room, I expected to see the usual setup—table properly arranged, Una waiting with my morning briefing. Normal. Professional. Controlled.

Instead, I walked into a disaster.

Lillian stood in the center of my private dining space, wearing an apron, directing my servants like she owned the place. Staff members scurried around with terrified expressions, carrying food and tableware, clearly scared out of their minds.

*What the fuck is happening?*

Being around Lillian was making Silver Moon Group's internal order dissolve into chaos, and she was barely back in my life for two days. The sight of my employees following HER orders instead of waiting for mine made my blood boil.

*Does she already think she's Luna?*

"Ezra Silverwood!" Her sharp voice cut through my shocked thoughts. "My dear Alpha!"

She glided toward me with a smile. I tried to force some kind of pleasant expression, but I was too stunned by the sheer audacity of what I was witnessing to pretend.

*Look at this mess,* Prime snarled in my mind. *She's been back five minutes and she's already trying to run our territory.*

"Good morning," Lillian said brightly, her eyes sparkling with self-satisfaction. "How did you sleep? I prepared a special breakfast menu for you."

"Good morning. I slept fine, thank you for asking."

Her smile vanished instantly, replaced by a look of wounded disappointment that would have fooled anyone who didn't know her as well as I did.

"Don't you want to ask how I spent last night?" Her voice carried a petulant edge now. "Don't you want to know what special breakfast I prepared for you?"

*Yes,* I thought grimly. *I don't want to know.*

But as I stood there, watching her face shift through calculated expressions of hurt and hope, one thing became crystal clear: this woman was going to keep pushing until I either gave her what she wanted or found a way to make her stop permanently.

And I sure as hell wasn't going to give her what she wanted.