Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King Chapter 40

**Isolde's POV**

 

I arrived at the battle arena thirty minutes early, hoping to avoid the stares and whispers that had followed me since breakfast. The space was mercifully empty, giving me a chance to process the chaos swirling in my mind.

 

*Mate.* The word kept echoing through my thoughts, bringing with it a mixture of confusion, fear, and something that might have been excitement.

 

*Why didn't Lyra tell me sooner? Why wait until last night, during the full moon, to suddenly be so certain?* The questions tumbled through my mind without answers. *If Ezra really is my mate, then he must feel it too, right? So why hasn't he said anything?*

 

The thought of Ezra knowing and choosing to stay silent made my stomach twist. *Maybe he doesn't want a mate. Maybe he sees the bond as an inconvenience.*

 

And then there were the more terrifying questions. *If we are mates, what does that mean for... for physical intimacy?* The stories I'd heard about Alpha sexuality, about their intensity and demands, made my cheeks burn with a mixture of fear and unwanted curiosity. *I've never even been with anyone. What if I'm not ready for that level of...*

 

"You're early today."

 

I spun around to find Orion approaching, his usual warm smile in place. Unlike everyone else at Silver Moon Group, he looked at me without judgment or calculation—just genuine friendliness that made something in my chest ease.

 

"I needed some air," I said, which was true enough.

 

"Are you okay?" he asked gently.

 

*Am I okay? That's the million-dollar question.*

 

"I don't know," I admitted, surprising myself with my honesty. "Everything feels so complicated suddenly."

 

Orion's expression grew concerned. "Want to talk about it? Sometimes an outside perspective helps."

 

I studied his face—open, trustworthy, without the dangerous intensity that made my wolf go haywire. Orion was safe in a way that Ezra definitely wasn't.

 

*Maybe I can get some general information without revealing too much.*

 

"Can I ask you something?" I said, moving toward the practice mats. "About wolf... biology?"

 

"Of course." He followed, settling beside me as I sank onto one of the benches. "What's on your mind?"

 

*I have to be careful here. Can't let him suspect anything specific.*

 

"Last night was my first time experiencing moon fever," I began carefully. "I've been a werewolf my whole life, but it never affected me before. Is that normal?"

 

Orion's eyebrows rose slightly. "That's unusual. Most wolves start experiencing lunar cycles around puberty, if they're going to experience them at all."

 

"But it could happen later?" I pressed, keeping my tone casual.

 

"It's possible," he said slowly. "Though honestly, in modern times, most wolves barely feel lunar effects anymore. Urban living, artificial lighting, medical advances—they've all weakened our connection to traditional cycles."

 

*Then why am I suddenly feeling everything so intensely? Why now, when I'm here at Silver Moon Group?*

 

"That's... reassuring, I guess," I said, though it wasn't really. If most modern wolves didn't experience strong lunar effects, then what did it mean that I suddenly was?

 

*I can't ask more about this without seeming suspicious.*

 

"The whole experience was just... overwhelming," I added, which was certainly true. "I felt like I didn't have control over my own body."

 

Something flickered across Orion's features—concern, maybe understanding.

 

"That sounds frightening," he said gently. "Especially if you've never experienced it before."

 

*If only you knew how frightening. Or how confusing.*

 

"It was," I admitted. "I guess I'm just trying to understand what's happening to me."

 

*Why my body is suddenly responding to things it never responded to before. Why I can't stop thinking about Ezra. Why every rational thought disappears when he's near.*

 

"Change can be unsettling," Orion said, his voice soft with sympathy. "But it doesn't have to be something you face alone."

 

The way he said it made me look up sharply. There was something in his tone, something personal that made my breath catch.

 

*Is he...?*

 

"What I mean is," he continued, his brown eyes holding mine, "you have people who care about you here. People who want to help you navigate whatever you're going through."

 

My heart started beating faster, but not in the same desperate, consuming way it did around Ezra. This was different—gentler, safer.

 

*He's talking about himself. He's offering... support. Maybe more than support.*

 

The thought should have been comforting. Orion was kind, attractive, obviously interested. But even as I looked into his warm eyes, I couldn't ignore the way my wolf remained completely unmoved.

 

*Lyra doesn't even acknowledge him as a potential partner. She only stirs when...*

 

*When Ezra is near.*

 

"That's... that means a lot," I said carefully, not wanting to hurt his feelings but unable to encourage something I couldn't return.

 

"Isolde," Orion said, leaning slightly closer, "you know that you don't have to accept whatever situation you find yourself in, right? You have choices. You have agency."

 

*Does I? If Lyra is right about the mate bond, do I really have choices?

 

"I hope so," I said quietly.

 

*What if I could choose the easier path? What if I ignored what Lyra claims and pursued something with someone who actually seems to care about my wellbeing?*

 

But even as I considered it, I knew it wouldn't be fair to him. Not when my body and wolf craved someone else with an intensity that bordered on obsession.

 

That's when the arena doors opened with their characteristic heavy thud.

 

Ezra stepped inside, still in his business attire, his golden eyes immediately finding mine across the space. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees as his gaze shifted to Orion sitting beside me, then back to my face.

 

*Oh, shit.*

 

Even from across the arena, I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his jaw tightened as he took in the scene. Orion and I sitting close together, having what obviously appeared to be an intimate conversation.

 

*This looks bad. This looks really, really bad.*

 

Ezra's eyes flashed with something that might have been anger or possession, and I felt that familiar heat start to build in my core despite the situation.

 

"We should probably—" Orion started to say.

 

But Ezra was already walking toward us. Whatever conversation Orion and I had been having was definitely over.