The Alpha's Regret: Return Of The Betrayed Luna-Chapter 41 A Curse? 2

There was no mistaking the face of the girl lying in the bed—it was his daughter. Though thinner and more gaunt than he remembered, her features were unmistakably hers. But her once radiant golden hair had turned a dull brown.

As if that wasn’t shocking enough, the royal doctor stepped closer and carefully opened one of Addison’s eyes.

Her gaze, once a vibrant gold, was now a muted hazel brown.

"What... what’s going on?" The Alpha King asked, his voice laced with worry. "Why are her eyes so different? They should be golden..."

Addison had always had long golden hair, which would sometimes turn silver when her wolf emerged. Her golden eyes were the unmistakable mark of the Royal Bloodline. But now, staring down at her, he saw only hazel brown eyes—completely foreign and unsettling.

Elric interjected, his voice steady but tinged with uncertainty. "Could this be the curse Alpha Maxwell mentioned?" he suggested. "It’s just speculation, but perhaps, in order for the vampires to smuggle the Royal Princess out of the werewolf territory, they altered her most recognizable features. After all, aside from the royal bloodline, no one really knew what the princess looked like—just that she had golden hair, golden eyes, and was an exceptional fighter."

His words hung in the air as everyone exchanged uneasy glances. Despite the change in her appearance, there was no doubt in their minds—this was the missing princess. The altered hair and eye color could only mean one thing, and, for the moment, they had no other explanation.

"But what about her wolf?" The Alpha King’s voice was strained, his worry evident. This was the one question that had been tormenting him. As the Alpha King, with Addison being of his bloodline, he should have been able to reach out to her wolf without any difficulty, even if Addison was unconscious. But no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t feel her wolf. It wasn’t that her wolf was dormant—it was simply... absent.

Had her wolf died?

The thought struck the Alpha King like a blow, and a wave of agony surged through him. His own wolf howled in pain, as if sharing his heartbreak. The mere possibility of it shattered him inside.

A heavy silence fell over the room. No one knew how to answer the Alpha King’s question.

They couldn’t answer because they didn’t have the answer. Since ancient times, werewolves had always been linked to their wolves. Those with weaker wolves were called omegas—often considered a liability rather than an asset to the pack. Unable to fight, omegas were relegated to roles as servants or slaves, their value lying in their ability to serve rather than to fight.

But what about a wolfless werewolf?

A wolfless werewolf, born without a wolf, was considered lower than an omega. While an omega still had some strength, drawn from their wolf, a wolfless werewolf was no stronger than an average human. They were completely powerless.

Yet, what happened if a werewolf once had a wolf, but that wolf suddenly died?

That was an entirely different story. When a werewolf’s wolf died, the human counterpart couldn’t survive for long. Their life was so deeply intertwined with their wolf ’ that their fates were linked—if the wolf perished, the werewolf’s life would soon follow.

This was why the Alpha King had been so consumed with worry over Addison’s wolf from the moment he laid eyes on her. If the curse was connected to the disappearance of her wolf, it only made Maxwell’s help even more crucial.

The change of her hair and eye color was the least of their concerns—Addison could adapt to those changes. But without her wolf, they didn’t know how much longer she could survive.

It was possible her life was already slipping away, like a candle burning out, and they didn’t know when it would extinguish. If the curse had only sealed away her wolf, there might still be a trace of it—some lingering presence that he could feel, especially with his blood coursing through her veins. With their superior strength, compared to that of normal werewolves, he should have been able to sense even the faintest flicker of her wolf within her.

But there was nothing.

The absence of any trace of her wolf could only mean one thing: the curse had killed it. And that terrified him more than anything.

The Alpha King staggered, his vision swimming with dizziness. Elric reached out instinctively to steady him, but with the Alpha King’s towering build, Elric’s lean frame wasn’t enough to hold him up. Fortunately, the royal doctor and royal healer rushed forward just in time, helping to support him before he collapsed.

He looked like a man who had just taken a devastating blow. After all this time searching, he had finally found his missing daughter, but instead of relief, he was met with uncertainty and fear. Addison was cursed, and worse, they didn’t even know if she would survive.

He couldn’t bring himself to tell his mate—not yet. It would break her. Addison was their only child, the precious heir to the throne, a gift from the Moon Goddess herself. If Addison were to die... they might never have another child again.

Her birth had come at a great cost. From the moment of conception to delivery, his mate had poured every ounce of her strength into bringing Addison into the world. She had grown weaker, her vitality drained, and the healers had said she would never be able to bear another child.

It was as if Addison, being a child blessed by the Moon Goddess, had required more than a normal werewolf to survive and be born—more strength, more life force—and her mother had paid that price.

But they never once blamed Addison for the toll her birth had taken. On the contrary, they cherished her all the more. She became the center of their world—loved, protected, and endlessly pampered. And she never gave them a reason to regret it. Addison grew into a child stronger than anyone could have imagined.

Her wolf was not just powerful—it was extraordinary. A majestic white-silver wolf, big and commanding, the very image of the Moon Goddess herself.

According to ancient records, only one other wolf had ever borne that coloring: the Moon Goddess, before she ascended. She was the mother of all werewolves, the origin of their kind.

So when Addison’s wolf first emerged, glowing with that sacred silver-white hue, the Alpha King had been overwhelmed with pride—and awe. Everything began to make sense: why her conception had demanded so much strength, why she had always felt so different, why she was born with such power. She wasn’t just a gifted werewolf—she was touched by the divine.

And with that understanding, their love for her only deepened. She was their miracle, their treasure, their pride.

But now? The Alpha King’s thoughts darkened with dread. Had the vampires killed Addison’s wolf because they knew the truth—that her wolf was a descendant of the Moon Goddess, a beacon of hope for the werewolf race? Had they done it to snuff out that hope? To sever the future of the werewolves at its root?

Addison wasn’t just his daughter—she was the only heir. And given the toll her birth had taken on her mother, she might very well be the last heir. That made her loss more than personal—it was a threat to the survival of their entire lineage.

This was the only explanation that made any sense to him. And the thought of it filled him with a rage so deep it nearly swallowed him whole.