Betrayed and Claimed by the Lycan King

Isolde's POV

Where the hell was he?

I glanced at my phone for what felt like the hundredth time this morning, my fingers hovering over Kieran's name in my contacts. He'd promised to pick me up for our date at ten, and it was already past noon. This wasn't like him at all.

"Damn it, Kieran," I muttered, hitting the call button again.

The familiar automated voice informed me that the person I was calling was unavailable. Again. I tossed my phone onto my bed, frustration building in my chest like a pressure cooker about to explode.

Something's wrong, Lyra, my wolf, whispered in my mind. She'd been restless all morning, pacing in my consciousness.

I grabbed my keys and leather jacket, making my way downstairs. The house was unusually quiet for a Saturday, with most of the staff having the day off. Our once-impressive mansion in Emerald Valley District had seen better days. The crystal chandeliers that nobody dusted anymore, the antique furniture that was slowly being sold off piece by piece to cover my father's mounting debt—all painful reminders of our family's declining fortunes.

As I crossed the expansive living room with its fading grandeur, I heard her voice.

"Isolde!"

I froze, my shoulders tensing instantly. Taking a deep breath, I turned around to face my stepmother, her perfectly manicured nails tapping impatiently against her designer handbag—probably the last luxury item my father had bought her before Silver Moon Group started calling in their loans.

"Yes, ma'am?" I replied, the word "mom" never making it past my lips despite my father's insistence that I should call her that. As if a title could make her anything more than the woman who destroyed my parents' marriage.

"Go get Sybilla. I have something to tell her," she commanded, her eyes narrowing as she noticed my jacket and keys.

"Could you ask one of the staff to do it? I'm heading out. It's urgent."

Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows shot up. "Are you disobeying me?"

The threat in her voice was unmistakable. I knew exactly where this was heading—straight to my father's office with a completely distorted version of what had happened.

"No, I'm not... I was just saying—"

"Wait until your father hears about this," she said with a smirk, turning away.

"Fine! I'll get her," I called out, unable to look at the triumphant smile that I knew was spreading across her face.

My anxiety about Kieran intensified as I climbed the stairs leading to Sybilla's wing of the house. I tried his number again, the knot in my stomach tightening when it went straight to voicemail.

As I approached Sybilla's bedroom door, I heard sounds that made me freeze in my tracks. Moaning. Specifically, Sybilla's moaning, punctuated by breathy words.

"Oh my god, you're going to make me come!"

I stood there, paralyzed, as Lyra suddenly went on high alert within me.

"Why don't you break up with my sister and date me instead?" Sybilla's voice came through the door, clear as day. "I'm Dad's favorite. If you marry me, your chances of becoming the alpha of this pack are so much higher than if you marry Isolde."

My heart skipped a beat when I heard the male voice respond.

"I'm not doing this because I want to become alpha, Sybilla. I just love who you are. Your personality draws me in. You're the one I want to spend my life with."

Kieran. It was Kieran's voice.

"Don't say that. I know it's because I'm better at this," Sybilla giggled.

My head suddenly spun. My heartbeat thundered in my ears like a war drum. Kieran's last words cut through me like the cruelest of blades, piercing my heart. My chest heaved as my breathing became rapid and heavy.