The Betrayed Princess Rising Chapter 124

3rd Person's POV

The moment the words slipped from her lips, Ezra’s world fell into a hush.

Everything else dissolved—the quiet room, the distant whisper of traffic beyond the windows, even the steady drum of his own heart.

All that remained was her voice,

soft and luminous,

lingering in the air like the final note of a song that refused to fade.

“Say it again,” he said, his voice rough with disbelief.

Lylah drew a slow breath, as if bracing herself.

“I think I’m starting to like you,” she repeated softly.

The confession seemed to cost her something. Ezra could hear it in the tightness of her voice.

“Actually, when we entered this mating contract, I didn’t expect anything,” she continued quietly. “You know the kind of life I came from. It’s nothing compared to yours. Everything there was broken.”

Each word struck him harder than the last.

“It doesn’t feel right to keep hiding it after everything we’ve shared,” she said, lifting her gaze to meet his. “So I’m going to tell you a bit.”

She drew in a slow breath, as though the memories themselves were heavy.

“I was the daughter my parents sent to the rogues’ den,” she continued quietly. “A child they would have been willing to kill when the true blood of the Pack returned.” Her fingers tightened slightly at her sides. “So when you offered this contract, I accepted—because I thought it would be my escape.”

She gave a quiet, almost disbelieving laugh.

“But instead, I found the best life I’ve ever had.”

Something inside Ezra’s chest broke open.

Her eyes softened, searching his face. “Sometimes I wonder…”

Lylah hesitated.

Then she forced the words out.

“If, during this contract… I fail to stay rational and end up falling for you… would you be mad at me?”

The words left her softly, as though even she was afraid to hear them spoken aloud.

Before another syllable could follow, Ezra raised his hand. His thumb came to rest against her lips—gentle, careful, as if the moment itself were fragile enough to break.

He shook his head slowly.

“No,” he murmured. His voice was barely more than a breath. “I won’t.”

His palm slid up to cradle her face, warm and steady against her skin.

“I would never.” His gaze softened, something almost reverent flickering in his golden eyes—the unmistakable glow of a wolf stirred by emotion. “Why would I be mad… when you’ve made me the most blessed man alive just by loving me?”

And not only once, he thought quietly. You give it to me twice.

Without another word, Ezra pulled her closer.

He tilted her chin upward and captured her lips.

The movement was sudden. And for a heartbeat, Lylah froze, startled by the swiftness of it.

Then his hand slid gently to the back of her head, steady and careful, while the other rested beneath her chin. The warmth of his lips melted through her hesitation.

Her eyes fluttered closed.

Slowly, she began to kiss him back.

Their lips moved together, hesitant at first, then deeper—as if both of them were discovering a rhythm that had always existed between them.

A spark rushed through Lylah’s chest, bright and unfamiliar.

She had never felt anything like it.

And Ezra…

For him, the world finally seemed to settle into place. As if every fragment of life had aligned perfectly.

But when she asked him whether he had a mate… how could he explain that it had always been her?

The woman he would crown as his Luna…

the woman he would burn kingdoms for, slaughter armies for, and seat beside him on his throne…

…had always been her.

In this life.

And in the one before.

Before Lylah, he had been nothing but a creature of claws and cruelty—a monster sharpened by war and blood. Even after Selene granted him a second life, something inside him had remained hollow.

Until he found her again.

Hearing those words from her filled him with a quiet, overwhelming joy.

When their lips finally parted, Ezra rested his forehead briefly against hers.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I was just so happy you said that.”

He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of her palm, lingering there.

“Thank you.”

Lylah studied him carefully.

“So… I didn’t make a mistake telling you?”

“No,” Ezra said, looking at her as if the answer were the most obvious truth in the world. “You’re the only one I’ve been waiting to hear it from.” His gaze deepened. “Because before you, I had already fallen first. Since the very first time I laid eyes on you.”

Lylah blinked in surprise.

“You mean at the rehabilitation center where my grandma was being treated?” she asked.

Ezra’s wolf stirred quietly beneath his skin.

'No,' he thought.

'But under the silver stars of Lunareth, when I first saw a fierce, delicate princess standing before beasts twice her size, protecting helpless pups as if she had never known fear.'

'You were my light. My guiding star. The other half of my soul.'

Out loud, Ezra simply smiled.

“Yes,” he said