The Alpha's Regret: Return Of The Betrayed Luna

Chapter 148: Chapter 148 A Faction Between Their Enemies?

Zion let out a long, relieved sigh, tension visibly leaving his shoulders.

”But now... I understand why you never acknowledged her. Why the palace never sent for her. She wasn’t the real princess.”

Zion’s eyes lowered, guilt flickering across his expression. He made a mistake. He misidentified Claire as the missing princess. And while he was guarding a decoy, Beta Greg betrayed him and leaked the same false information to their enemies.

Ironically, that mistake gave Addison the safety she needed to recover in peace. While Claire drew their attention at the Midnight River Pack, the real princess, Addison, was able to be taken to the Sacred Land to be healed and return to the capital unharmed.

He looked toward Addison and then the royal couple.

”So now I can only assume... just as I was shocked to learn Addison is the true princess, our hidden enemies will be equally stunned to realize she’s been right under their noses this entire time.”

And due to the severe security around Addison’s palace, no one has found out about her return so no one knew that she also given birth, but now that Addison was hering about all this undercurrent happening around her, she instantly paled, after all, hearing all this only proved that she’s being targetted and that hidden enemy wouldn’t stop targetting her until they got her into their hands but for what reason they wanted her?

This was exactly what they needed to uncover, and little by little, the pieces were starting to fall into place, revealing the truth behind Addison’s abduction six years ago.

It was possible that the vampires had been coaxed or manipulated by the dark witch’s faction to abduct Addison, working together toward a shared goal. However, their motivations didn’t appear to be fully aligned. There was a growing sense that each faction had its own reason for targeting Addison, or worse, that they were collaborating as part of a larger, more sinister scheme that no one could yet comprehend.

Still, it seemed unlikely that the vampires were mere lackeys of the dark witches. Vampires were known for their arrogance and pride; they looked down on nearly every other species, except for the gods and dragons, beings powerful enough to kill them with ease. To vampires, werewolves were nothing more than filthy mutts, and witches were seen as lowly, conniving women with hearts as black as their magic.

Given that, the most likely explanation was that the vampires and dark witches had entered into a temporary alliance, bound by some unknown deal, the nature of which remained a mystery... for now.

Then, another realization struck them. It now seemed clear that the person who had attempted to abduct the princess, mistaking Claire for her, had indeed been working with Greg. But that raised an even more troubling question: what about the traitor within the palace?

Could that person be a double agent?

One thing was certain, though: the traitor held a position of significant authority and had been around long enough to know the inner workings of the Royal Grounds. They knew how to disable the protective barrier without alerting the Royal Mage, Elric, which meant they had access to high-level knowledge and security protocols.

However, despite their rank, this traitor likely wasn’t among the Alpha King’s most trusted inner circle, nor were they part of the medical ward. If they had been, then why didn’t they inform the group trying to abduct Claire that the real princess had already returned to the palace, or that she had been found three years ago?

Unless... they were no longer working together.

Maybe the faction behind Claire’s attempted abduction had broken off and was now acting independently, possibly under the influence or command of the Witches’ Faction. If that were the case, then the traitor inside the palace might not be affiliated with the witches at all. Perhaps they were simply pursuing their own agenda, exploiting any opportunity that served their personal interests.

Or worse, they had a motive no one had yet uncovered.

A heavy silence fell over the room. Addison, too, was deep in thought. Her identity was now public, and with her wolf still sealed, she was nothing more than a sitting duck, exposed to enemies who were hiding in the shadows, and it could be anyone.

She needed a plan, and fast.

But perhaps the most important development was that Zion had brought with him a vital piece of information, one that helped them confirm a troubling truth: they were up against multiple factions, each with different agendas. Some had collaborated once, maybe more, depending on how their interests aligned.

This realization sent a wave of caution through the group. They now had to be even more vigilant.

Addison’s gaze shifted to Maxwell. ’Why did he look so agitated when the dark witches were mentioned?’ she wondered.

As if sensing her thoughts, Maxwell turned to her. His expression was unreadable, composed, yet intense. Then he finally spoke.

”Princess Addison, you may not remember me, but I am Maxwell Ackerman. I was the one who found you in the Midnight River Pack while I was tracking the dark witches’ trail. I was also the first to identify the curse placed inside you.”

”What? She’s cursed?! Since when?!”

Zion, who had been grim and composed just moments ago, shot up from his chair. A deep, menacing growl rumbled from the depths of his chest as his eyes darkened with rage. Shura, his wolf, clawed fiercely beneath the surface, desperate to take control and inspect Addison from head to toe.

According to the ancient texts and the stories passed down by elders, a curse cast by a dark witch was nothing short of sinister, designed to kill its victim in the most agonizing way possible. Worse still, the type of curse determined the victim’s fate: some died young, others at a specific age or condition.

Zion and Shura quickly pieced together the connection between the curse and Addison’s abnormalities, especially her unresponsive wolf.

Levi, by contrast, remained eerily still. He didn’t growl or lash out, but his hands were clenched so tightly into the armrest that the wood splintered under his grip. His gaze, however, was locked onto Addison with unblinking intensity. He was holding back his wolf, restraining his fury, waiting for her to speak.

But then, Addison shook her head.

She looked at Maxwell, trying hard to recall him, but no matter how much she searched her memory, she couldn’t remember the face of the person who had saved her. All she could recall was being pulled out of the dense foliage right before she dissolved her mate bond with Zion.

She had never truly met Maxwell until now. During their expedition to the Sacred Land, they never crossed paths. At the time, Maxwell had accompanied Elric and only provided some of his basic knowledge about curses and his speculation to the Saintess as he promised to the Alpha King, and his main goal was to seek out the Saintess, Sila, hoping to find answers for the burden he carried, and perhaps a way to set things right.

Over the years, Maxwell had buried himself in the Sacred Land’s archives, researching the purge of the dark witches that happened more than 500 years ago. Despite his efforts, the answers he sought remained elusive. But just when he was starting to lose hope, new clues and traces began to surface. That’s when he left, just before Addison also left to return to her domain.