The Alpha's Regret: Return Of The Betrayed Luna

Chapter 143: Chapter 143 His One Wish

He had prayed since his youth for Addison to be his. He had hoped, wished, and begged for her to be the one chosen for him. But now, faced with reality, it felt like a cruel twist of fate, a silent, stinging slap from the heavens.

”Addison.”

Lance’s voice broke as he finally stood in front of her, raw, choked with emotion, barely holding back a sob. For six long years, he had waited, aching, hoping, praying for her return. He had clung to the memory of her with everything he had, wishing that one day she’d come back... and that she’d be his, in body, soul, and heart.

But now, here she was, recognizing other wolves as her fated mates.

It gutted him. Tore through him like claws to the chest.

”Welcome back,” Lance said, forcing a smile. But the smile twisted painfully on his face, it looked more like a grimace than a welcome. It was the kind of expression uglier than tears, because it held back everything he didn’t dare say aloud. Bitterness rose in his throat like bile.

Then his eyes shifted.

Three males stood around Addison, Zion, Levi, and her so-called fiancé, each one bristling with silent warning. Their stance was unmistakable: territorial. Protective. Dangerous. Fangs slightly bared, gaze sharp and possessive.

Lance understood without a word being spoken, if he dared take one more step forward, they’d tear him apart without hesitation.

”Lance.”

The Alpha King called out softly, his voice laced with conflicting emotions.

He wasn’t sure what to feel.

He had known, of course, he had known, that Lance, his daughter’s childhood sweetheart, harbored deep feelings for Addison. The two had been inseparable since they were young, almost like conjoined twins. And every year, during his birthdays, the Alpha King had caught the way Lance looked at Addison, as if making a silent wish to the Moon Goddess to be fated to her.

As a father, a leader, a man who had experienced love in its many forms, how could he not recognize that longing? That silent, patient devotion?

He also knew what Lance had done all these years. He had punished himself, exiling himself to the border patrol, staying far from the Royal Palace yet close enough to be the first to know if she returned. Like a loyal, lost pup waiting by the road for someone who might never come home.

And now... here they were.

He, the Alpha King, had just introduced Addison’s fiancé right in front of him. In front of Lance.

Lance’s pained gaze turned to him, filled with a silent question that pierced deeper than any words: ’Why?’

Why had the Alpha King never considered him?

He knew Lance’s character, his loyalty, his temperament better than anyone. Why wasn’t he the one chosen?

Although the Alpha King was well aware of Lance’s feelings for Addison, one thing remained clear in his mind: Lance had failed her.

When Addison needed protection the most, Lance had not been there. No one knew what he was doing at the time, or why he wasn’t by her side when she was abducted. That failure left a deep mark in the Alpha King’s judgment. In his eyes, it proved that Lance was unfit to stand beside Addison, not strong enough, not dependable enough to shield her from danger.

Addison wasn’t just any she-wolf. She was destined to become the next Alpha King—the first female Alpha King in the history of their kingdom. That made her a target for envy, power plays, and political machinations. Perhaps that was why the Moon Goddess had blessed her with not one, but three fated mates, each possessing strong Alpha bloodlines.

Well... perhaps except for Levi. But even if his bloodline wasn’t the most distinguished, the Alpha King trusted that the Moon Goddess had seen something exceptional in him, something beyond lineage. The Moon Goddess had never erred in her pairings. Every union she ordained seemed crafted with divine precision as the pair was made for each other, perfectly balanced in physical attraction, temperament, and soul.

The Alpha King believed this was no different.

And while he had introduced Addison’s so-called fiancé in front of the court, he had never truly intended to force her into a marriage against her will. Addison was the heir apparent. That announcement was a test, one designed to reveal her stance on love, duty, and tradition.

Would she quietly accept a politically arranged engagement, waiting passively for her fated mates to appear?Or would she challenge him and reject the engagement, holding true to the sacred bond of the Moon Goddess’ will?

Her choice would speak volumes, not just about the kind of woman she was, but the kind of ruler she would become. Because a monarch’s values shape the values of a kingdom. If Addison honored divine fate, her people would follow. But if she prioritized wealth or convenience over the sacred, it could unravel centuries of tradition, leaving the Goddess’ teachings behind like dust in the wind.

Now, the Alpha King felt a flicker of relief. The man he had chosen as his daughter’s fiancé turned out to be one of her fated mates. He couldn’t help but feel like he’d played a part in bringing them together, like fate had rewarded his judgment. He even felt the urge to pat himself on the back, a smug grin tugging at the corners of his lips as he watched the tall man gazing at Addison with unwavering intensity, as if trying to etch her face into his very soul.

Then his eyes shifted back to Lance.

There was pity in his gaze, pity, and resolve. He had searched for a partner worthy of Addison, someone strong enough to stand beside her, not follow behind like a shadow. Someone capable of protecting her when it truly mattered.

Lance, in his eyes, had failed that test. Disappearing when she needed him most, offering no explanation, and then waiting passively for her return, it might seem like devotion to others, but to the Alpha King, it was just weakness dressed in sentimentality.

Addison needed a protector, a partner, an Alpha who could stand tall at her side. Lance had been her childhood sweetheart, her personal bodyguard, yet he had failed at the one duty that mattered most.

And the Moon Goddess seemed to agree.

The Alpha King was smug enough to take that as validation. Yes, he was petty; he knew that about himself. He remembered every slight, every failure, and he had a long memory when it came to those who disappointed him.

Lance had never come forward to apologize, never explained why he wasn’t there to protect Addison. That silence only deepened the Alpha King’s belief that Lance didn’t deserve a place by his daughter’s side.

”Lance,” the Alpha King called out.

But Lance didn’t turn. His eyes remained fixed on Addison, as if the world had narrowed down to just the two of them. The Alpha King’s jaw tightened. Being ignored, especially in public, was a blatant show of disrespect. Yet Lance seemed lost in his own turmoil, consumed by the sight of the woman he had longed for and the brutal realization that she was never meant to be his.