The Alpha's Regret: Return Of The Betrayed Luna-Chapter 72 Iron-Fisted Luna

After all, rumors had already reached him about the Midnight River Pack’s Luna. She was said to be a formidable figure, credited with dragging the pack back from the brink of ruin and supporting her Alpha, who fought on the front lines. If her mate was called the "Beastly Alpha," then perhaps, without her knowledge, she had earned the title of "Iron-Fisted Luna."

But the Alpha King did not know that this nickname had nothing to do with her being a powerful warrior or dominant Luna. Addison’s fearsome reputation came from her shrewdness in pack management, her relentless grip on trade, and her ironclad control over internal affairs, not from physical strength or battlefield prowess.

And because of these misconceptions—layered with assumption and rumor—the Alpha King had already drawn his own conclusions.

His chest tightened, a slow, heavy ache settling over him.

Had his daughter nearly lost her life... because of a misunderstanding?

To the Alpha King, it was clear that Alpha Zion had failed to protect his daughter—she had been harmed in his own territory, and by his own Luna no less. This incident also revealed that even the Luna hadn’t been informed of the royal princess’s true identity, which the Alpha King saw as a serious oversight.

In his eyes, it wasn’t just poor judgment—it was a failure of foresight. Any Alpha should have anticipated the possibility of his mate becoming territorial or even feral if she perceived another woman as a rival. That Zion hadn’t accounted for this only deepened the King’s disappointment.

But if the Royal Convoy was reporting all of this without presenting a proper witness, then perhaps it was simply because the pack had no one to offer. In the absence of concrete testimony, they were left with mere speculation.

Still, the Alpha King felt he already held the truth in his hands. After all, the Royal Princess was now safely back in the Royal Palace, and it appeared Alpha Zion had no idea she had returned, even though an entire night had already passed. The fact that the one who harmed his daughter was none other than Zion’s own Luna only added fuel to the fire.

Regardless of Alpha Zion’s merits on the frontlines, the King couldn’t overlook such a grave failure. His daughter had been hurt—and for a brief moment, the King even entertained the thought of taking the Luna’s life himself.

"Alright, just come back once you’re done there. If they say the princess doesn’t want to return, then let them be!" the Alpha King said dismissively, already turning to leave. But after just one step, he paused and added through gritted teeth, "And find out what happened to that Luna..."

He needed to know whether Alpha Zion had punished his Luna severely for putting his daughter in such a condition. If not, then they shouldn’t blame him for being harsh, or for taking drastic action.

What the Alpha King didn’t know, however, was that the misunderstanding had already spiraled far beyond what anyone could have imagined. The Luna he was referring to was already lying in the medical ward of the Royal Palace.

The very woman he wanted to hold accountable was, in truth, the same person—Addison. And the one who truly benefited from the chaos was none other than Claire, the very person who had orchestrated Addison’s fall.

Upon hearing the Alpha King’s snarling demand, the Royal Convoy visibly flinched. He knew the Alpha King was furious, but he still forced himself to answer.

"Alpha Zion claimed she was punished, but he didn’t elaborate on the details. However, I heard from other pack members that she was thrown into the dungeon and was disciplined... though she later managed to escape. I can’t say how much of that is true," he admitted cautiously. "It’s possible Alpha Zion orchestrated it—had them speak where I could hear, just to make it seem like he took proper action. Maybe it was all a show... so he wouldn’t be held fully accountable for what happened under his watch."

"Very well," the Alpha King said, his voice laced with bitter irony and seething anger. It was all he could force out as fury tightened his chest. Without another word, he turned and stormed out, his steps heavy and unrestrained. Inside his mind, his wolf was already snarling, clawing for release. He needed to run—lose himself in the forest before he lost control entirely.

He couldn’t return to his mate looking this broken. She couldn’t see him like this, or she would know something was terribly wrong. And he couldn’t bring himself to tell her what their daughter had been through—not yet. The thought of her being kidnapped, imprisoned in vampire territory, treated like a wild mutt that needed to be broken... it tore at him, filling him with anguish and rage.

In the end, the Royal Convoy departed the following day. When Claire heard the news, she was momentarily stunned—but that shock quickly turned into joy. She hadn’t expected her scheme to go so smoothly. Now, she could remain openly in Alpha Zion’s territory, using the princess’s status to her advantage. She gave orders freely, and though many were dissatisfied, they couldn’t openly challenge her. Anyone who became an eyesore to her could be punished without consequence.

Still, Claire maintained her demure persona. She wasn’t officially Luna yet, after all. But her presence weighed heavily on Zion. The fact that she would remain in his territory for an extended period only worsened his torment—especially with Addison still missing and no solid lead on her whereabouts.

Meanwhile, in the Royal Palace, the Royal Mage had successfully opened a portal to the borders. On the third day, he set off on a journey to the Sacred Land to request the help of the Saintess. Alpha Maxwell and Hue accompanied him, tasked with explaining the curse in detail.

Although Addison had become a lead figure about the curse, and that would lead to the dark witch who cast it, so they would know how to remove the curse, but they believed that the Saintess might be able to use her divine power to forcibly remove it.

Given the involvement of the Alpha King, Maxwell saw an opportunity for mutual benefit. Helping the royal family could also give him easier access to the sacred land to ask for help, so he volunteered to join the journey. The Alpha King did not object and allowed Maxwell to accompany the Royal Mage on this crucial mission.

Addison, who had remained in a deep coma for an extended period, was still lying in her bed, under the constant care of the medical staff. The Alpha King and Queen visited her regularly, their presence a silent testament to their concern.

However, her condition had steadily improved. Thanks to the expertise of the Royal Healer and the potent potions crafted by the Royal Alchemist, her broken bones had healed, and many of her other external and internal injuries were no longer a threat.

Yet, despite the progress, what remained were the deep, jagged scars on her back and shoulders—marks from the silver whip that would forever remind her of the torment she had endured.

Though her life was no longer in danger, she remained unresponsive, her eyes refusing to open. She lay in a deep, unnatural slumber, as if the weight of everything she had been through had tethered her to the darkness of unconsciousness, leaving her trapped between two worlds.