The Betrayed Princess Rising Chapter 149

Lylah's POV

A few moments earlier…

Everything had been perfectly normal.

I was standing between two glass display tables, studying a selection of handcrafted ties while the boutique staff eagerly offered suggestions. I still couldn’t decide what would suit Ezra’s grandfather best.

That was when someone suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Lady, please… please help me.”

I turned in surprise.

A young woman stood before me, her entire body trembling. Her fingers clutched mine desperately, as if I were the only thing keeping her from collapsing.

“Are you alright?” I asked quickly. “What happened?”

“There’s a man,” she whispered breathlessly. “He’s been chasing me since yesterday. He… he wanted me to sleep with him.”

Her voice shook violently.

“When I refused, he started hunting me down everywhere.”

My expression hardened.

Before I could respond, heavy footsteps thundered through the boutique.

The man appeared moments later.

Several staff members tried to block him at the entrance, but he shoved them aside like they weighed nothing.

“Come here, you disobedient slut!” he snarled, his eyes locking onto the terrified woman. “You think you can run after taking my gold?”

The girl flinched behind me.

Instinct took over before I could even think.

I stepped forward and pushed her behind my back.

“That’s not how you treat someone,” I said coldly, meeting the man’s gaze.

He bared crooked teeth in a mocking grin.

“And who the hell are you supposed to be?” he scoffed. “Move aside. I’m about to punish this little liar for scamming me."

When he lunged for the girl again, I caught his arm and shoved it away.

Chaos erupted immediately.

He swung wildly, trying to grab her while I blocked every strike I could. The boutique erupted with shouts as the staff scrambled away from the fight.

But the man was stronger than I expected.

Before I could fully dodge, his hand whipped across my face.

The impact exploded against my cheek.

The force sent me staggering sideways, my vision briefly blurring.

The man seized the moment and grabbed the girl by her collar.

Then—

A scream ripped through the air.

But it wasn’t hers.

“Alpha!” Damon’s voice thundered from somewhere behind the man.

“Argh! My arm!” The man howled in agony.

Blood splattered across the marble floor.

I looked up just in time to see why.

Ezra stood behind him.

One of the man’s arms hung grotesquely twisted where Ezra’s claws had ripped through flesh.

For a moment, I barely recognized him.

Silver light swirled within Ezra’s eyes, bright and terrifying.

The calm, composed Alpha I knew had vanished.

In his place stood a storm.

His wolf.

The air around him trembled with raw dominance, thick and suffocating enough to make everyone in the room shrink back instinctively.

He stepped forward again.

Ready to tear the man apart.

“Ezra!” I rushed toward him, grabbing his arm before he could move.

“Don’t!” I pleaded. “You’ll kill him if you keep going!”

My voice cut through the fury like a blade.

Ezra froze.

Slowly, his gaze lowered to me.

The violent silver haze inside his eyes began to fade, revealing the familiar warmth that usually softened whenever he looked at me.

His clawed hand rose to my face.

Despite the blood still dripping from his fingers, his touch was impossibly gentle.

“Are you hurt?” he asked quietly.

His voice brushed against my soul like a soft wind.

“No. Not at all,” I said quickly. “I’m fine. I’m alright, Ezra.”

I forced a reassuring smile.

“Please don’t worry.”

He inhaled slowly, his chest rising as he struggled to regain control.

Little by little, the wildness in his expression faded.

Around us, the frozen boutique finally came back to life.

Staff members cautiously approached. Someone hurried to offer the trembling girl a glass of water while two security guards restrained the attacker.

“He was attacking this girl,” I said, pointing at the man.

Ezra’s expression darkened.

“Damon.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

The Beta stepped forward instantly.

“You heard my Luna,” Ezra said calmly. “Take care of him.”

His gaze flicked briefly toward the bleeding man.

“And make sure he understands the consequences of disturbing my Luna’s time.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Damon grabbed the attacker by his uninjured arm and forced him to his knees.

A sickening crack echoed through the boutique.

“Alpha! please!” the man wailed. “Have mercy!”

But Ezra didn’t even spare the man a glance.

His gaze remained locked on me, as though he feared I might vanish if he looked away for even a moment—as though he needed to see that I was still whole, still safe.

It was possessive. Protective.

And strangely enough… I liked it.