The Alpha's Regret: Return Of The Betrayed Luna

Chapter 486: Chapter 486 Being Thoughtful

The task left little room for refusal. The fastest option was clearly the river: wash the vegetables, then return once everything was ready.

Normally, the elderly woman would have shown deference to the two Alphas, perhaps even fear, and would never have dared assign them tasks so casually. But after Zion approached her for help, and after witnessing the lighthearted banter between the two, she understood.

They weren’t acting as Alphas right now. They were simply werewolves worried about their mate.

Because of that, the hierarchy no longer mattered to her. She knew that if the two of them were left standing idle, their thoughts would spiral, their emotions would fester, and their aggression would inevitably break through their restraint again. And if that happened, another fight was bound to erupt, one that would put the entire temporary settlement on edge.

Everyone was already anxious, especially with Addison still in a coma. If even her mates lost control, it would only deepen the unease, and worse, it would give their enemies an opening to exploit their vulnerability.

That was the last thing any of them needed.

The elderly woman hadn’t analyzed the situation in such depth. She simply knew, instinctively, that keeping the two Alphas’ emotions in check was the better choice. She could feel the turbulence in their auras, sense how close they still were to losing control. And as someone who had lived far longer than they had, she trusted her experience; this was the best course of action for now.

That was why she deliberately pushed them to work together and didn’t hesitate to assist Zion.

The others helping her had long since found excuses to drift away and busy themselves elsewhere. After all, the earlier commotion from Zion and Maxwell’s fight had been impossible to miss. Their oppressive auras had reached even this part of the settlement, so heavy that some of the weaker wolves had felt their knees go weak, and a few had nearly lost control of their fear entirely.

Keeping the two Alphas occupied, she thought, was the safest way to keep everyone steady.

That kind of atmosphere was the last thing anyone wanted to experience again. No one wished to provoke the two Alphas, not now, not ever. Even the Alphas from the neighboring packs were careful to keep their distance, unwilling to offend them. They all understood one thing clearly, and that is if those two lost their tempers and began fighting again, no one present would be able to stop them.

”Hmph...” Zion snorted, shifting even more to shield the fish from Maxwell, silently telling him to hurry off and wash the vegetables by the river.

Still, he didn’t object to Maxwell helping with the meal.

After all, Maxwell had already pointed out, quite clearly, that the fish was his. No matter how Zion argued, the truth remained that he was using Maxwell’s catch to cook for Addison. Taking all the credit for it would make him feel like a shameless scumbag.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t catch his own fish. But the fish had already been gutted, cleaned, and cut into sections. Maxwell had seen everything. Throwing the prepared fish back to him now would only work against Zion, especially if Maxwell decided to cook first while Zion went off to catch another one.

And if that happened, they might end up bringing Addison two separate fish soups. She might not even get the chance to taste both.

That kind of pointless competition was the last thing Zion wanted.

In the end, it was far better to work together than to turn this into another battle of pride.

By doing this, Zion could still claim that the idea had been his; Maxwell had merely helped out a little. In his mind, that was enough to keep him one step ahead.

The thought made a faint grin tug at his lips just as Maxwell turned around with the basket. But it was as if Maxwell had eyes in the back of his head; he suddenly turned around.

Zion reacted instantly, wiping the grin from his face and replacing it with a flat, unimpressed look.

”What?” Zion said curtly, waving him off. ”Hurry up.”

He shooed Maxwell back toward the riverbank.

Watching from the side, the elderly woman couldn’t help herself. A knowing smile spread across her face as she quietly enjoyed the exchange.

Maxwell stared at Zion for a moment longer, his brow twitching faintly, but he said nothing. He turned and headed back toward the riverbank. He had the distinct feeling that Zion was still glaring at his back, which was why he’d turned earlier in the first place. Even now, he could sense that resentful stare lingering, but he didn’t turn around again. It wasn’t worth the time.

Half an hour later, with the elderly woman’s guidance, Zion and Maxwell finally finished cooking the fish soup. She tasted it carefully, her expression unreadable.

The two Alphas held their breath.

Only when she nodded in approval did they finally relax, letting out quiet sighs of relief. Neither of them had expected cooking to be this difficult. During that brief moment while she tasted the soup, they’d felt more nervous than they had during any fight, afraid they’d done something wrong.

When her approval came, the tension drained from them all at once.

”Do you think Addie’s awake?” Zion asked, carrying the pot of fish soup off the fire to prevent it from overcooking. He lifted the lid and carefully set it aside.

”If she were, Levi would’ve let us know already,” Maxwell replied simply, busying himself with preparing the bowls, utensils, and the bread and salad they were going to take inside the tent.

”Hmmm,” Zion murmured, then a thought struck him. ”What about the healers? Should we call them over again to help Addie?” He recalled that after their rest, the healers should have recovered some of their strength. If they could channel their healing power to Addison again, it might help her wake up faster.

”We can’t push the healers too hard in channeling their powers to Addie,” Maxwell said without lifting his head. ”It could harm them internally. And if Addie wakes up and finds out they got hurt because of her... she’ll blame herself.” He wasn’t cold or unconcerned about Addison; he was simply thinking from her perspective.

”I guess you have a point...” Zion murmured, and silence settled between them.

By now, even the elderly woman had gone to help the others with meal preparation, as they needed to cook large batches of food for everyone. That meant gathering countless ingredients and spending a long time on cooking.

Fortunately, all the older pack members from different packs gathered in the temporary settlement, knowing they couldn’t contribute to guarding the temporary settlement, took responsibility for the food instead, which helped keep things running smoothly.

Meanwhile, the children who couldn’t yet shift were assigned to check the stored supplies, making sure no mold or mushrooms had formed, and the youngest were tasked with looking after the animals, ensuring they were fed and had water to drink. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

With everything in the settlement now running smoothly, a tense undercurrent still lingered.