The Alpha's Regret: Return Of The Betrayed Luna

Chapter 473: Chapter 473 An Hour Before Dawn

Her brows knit tightly as another wave of weakness washed over her, the rapid drain making her head spin.

Not long after she spoke, the healer staggered, nearly losing consciousness on the spot. Fortunately, the doctor noticed her faltering in time and rushed over. Just before she could collapse face-first onto the ground, he caught her and pulled her upright.

Her eyes were already half-lidded and unfocused. With visible effort, he pried her hand away from Addison, which was no easy task, as her grip had locked in reflexively, and the suction force was also great. It took both him and several healers waiting their turn a moment to free her before they could guide her away.

”Please help me send her back to her tent,” the doctor said, turning to one of the male healers. He then moved quickly to support another healer who was clearly reaching their limit, signaling for the others to help lift her as well.

Before long, a fresh batch of healers took their places beside Addison. Having already heard the earlier explanation, they wasted no time and began transmitting their energy into her body. The process continued for another half hour, healer after healer rotating in, until everyone had taken their turn and was escorted back to their tents to rest.

Addison’s complexion did not fully regain its rosy color, her face remained pale, but it was a far better improvement from before.

The doctor finally turned toward Zion, Maxwell, and Levi. His posture stiffened, his expression hesitant, as if he were bracing himself.

”Alpha Zion, Alpha Maxwell, Beta Levi...” he began carefully. ”The princess is no longer in immediate danger. She has regained a small amount of energy. However, we cannot push the healers any further; they’ve reached their limits.”

He paused before continuing, choosing his words with care. ”Our only option now is to wait for the healers to recover their strength before attempting another round.”

”How is our mate?” Levi asked suddenly, his voice low and tight.

The doctor swallowed before answering. ”She... I can’t say the princess is fully out of danger yet. She still needs to replenish her energy. It’s just that...” He hesitated, then forced himself to continue. ”All the energy the healers transmitted to her was like a drop in a bucket.”

He explained everything he knew, everything he could think of, because none of it made sense. More than a dozen healers had exhausted themselves pouring their healing energy into Addison, yet the improvement was minimal.

Unlike Addison’s condition, the healers themselves would recover without lasting harm, but they would need several days of rest before they could attempt another transmission.

That was the part he couldn’t bring himself to say out loud.

Facing the three men before him, each barely restraining their agitation, he didn’t dare mention that it would take days before anyone could help Addison again. The words felt like a death sentence. Afraid he might be torn apart if he spoke too bluntly, the doctor chose his phrasing carefully, clinging to what little hope he had left, and he became a little pragmatic with his words.

But who were Zion, Maxwell, and Levi? They weren’t fools, far from it. They immediately caught the doctor’s hesitation, the careful vagueness in his words, and the worry he was clearly trying to conceal. Yet at the same time, they knew they couldn’t truly fault him. In their current state, even they could feel how dangerous they were.

The three of them were too agitated, so oppressive that it would’ve been stranger if the people around them weren’t terrified.

They forced themselves to hold back, each taking a deep breath. Nostrils flared. Lips pressed thin. The air around them seemed to tense in response.

Just the sight of them like this made the doctor’s scalp prickle, as if he were standing on the deck of a ship about to sail straight into a storm. He instinctively held his breath, shrinking into himself, doing his best not to draw attention, because he was afraid that even the slightest sound might set something loose he couldn’t survive.

”Thank you for your hard work, and please help us thank everyone who came to help us. We won’t trouble you any further. Please go and rest,” Zion finally said.

His words were courteous, even restrained, yet he never once looked at the doctor. His gaze remained fixed on Addison, as though looking away, even for a moment, might cost him something irreparable.

”T-Thank you, Alpha Zion, Alpha Maxwell, and Beta Levi!” the doctor replied, his voice lifting with unmistakable relief, as if he had just been pardoned.

He bowed deeply to the three men, then turned and bowed once more toward the princess. After stealing one last glance at Addison’s pale face, he hurried out of the tent, carefully lowering the entrance flap behind him to ensure that no one outside could see what was happening within.

The moment the doctor left, Zion’s emerald gaze, once fixed on Addison’s sleeping face, shifted to Levi. His expression was flat, emotionless, yet Levi alone knew that calm was merely the prelude to a storm.

”Speak,” Zion said, a low snarl threaded through his voice.

Levi did not answer at once.

He stepped forward and dropped to one knee beside Addison, carefully taking her hand and lifting it to his lips. Longing and worry flickered across his face as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles there, then rested the back of her hand against his cheek, rubbing it gently. A soft, broken whine slipped from his throat.

If he could, he would take her place without hesitation, be the one lying unconscious instead of her. But wishes meant nothing now.

Reluctantly, he lowered her hand and adjusted the blanket around her, tucking her in with painstaking care. He still didn’t rise. Instead, he settled beside her like a guard dog refusing to leave its post.

Only then did he begin to speak.

[An Hour Before Dawn...]

”Chase, you should leave now. If anyone sees you here, you’ll be in danger,” Addison said as she rose from the leather seat.

Levi stepped forward at once, positioning himself beside her, an instinctive move he’d made countless times back when he was still her Gamma. But now, as her mate, the gesture carried a different weight. It spoke of closeness, of unspoken understanding.

The sight made Chase’s eyes sting for a brief moment.

Still, he had no right to demand anything now.

He pretended not to notice, pushing himself up slowly from the sofa as he lifted his gaze to Addison.

”Won’t you need my help?” Chase asked. ”Or have you already come up with a way to deal with the locust swarm, or the biochemical agent?”

He took a sip of his now-cold coffee, unfazed by the bitterness. Levi hadn’t bothered to replace it because he was too busy tracking Addison’s every movement, ready to step in the moment she needed him.

After all, they had talked through the night and come away with nothing. There was still no better solution to their predicament.

Addison shook her head. Chase staying here would only put him in danger. They still didn’t know whether they were being monitored or if a mole remained close to her.