The Alpha's Regret: Return Of The Betrayed Luna-Chapter 461 Her Shadow

Then she noticed his movements were sluggish. Only now did she realize how Alpha Hue’s forces had managed to subdue him. The Werebear was severely injured, whether at the hands of the pack’s warriors or someone else, she couldn’t tell, and the wounds had yet to fully heal.

Knowing how formidable Werebears were, it wasn’t hard to imagine that this intruder might have killed some of Alpha Hue’s warriors after trespassing into their territory, which ultimately led to his imprisonment. After all, Werebears were creatures of terrifying strength that could rival the Tigren Clan in raw power.

However, they had a fatal weakness, which was speed.

The Tigren Clan stood at the peak of the warrior races precisely because they possessed both overwhelming strength and exceptional speed. Werewolves, on the other hand, were more balanced, fast, and strong, but still lacking the sheer power of the Tigrens.

Werebears were the opposite. Their strength was monstrous, but their movements were slower and more cumbersome. So while a Werebear could match a Tigren in brute force, once a fight began, they were inevitably at a disadvantage. Against the Tigren Clan’s speed and precision, raw power alone was never enough.

Knowing the origin of the one who had disrespected her, Addison didn’t feel the slightest ripple of offense. However, as the future Alpha King of her kingdom, she could not allow such insolence to pass unchallenged, let alone let the offender walk away unscathed.

Her voice was calm as she spoke, yet every word struck like a blade.

"Did I promise you anything? Did I ever say I would let you go?" Addison asked coldly. "Wasn’t all of this nothing more than your own assumption, made simply because you saw me take one prisoner out? Or did you think that just because I’m a woman, I would be easy to bully?"

Her gaze locked onto the Werebear.

In that instant, her aura shifted.

The air seemed to thicken as an overwhelming pressure descended, sharp and absolute. Authority bled from her presence, heavy enough to crush resistance. The Werebear’s feet went cold, his breath hitching as cold sweat soaked into his back. The coarse fur that had begun to bristle froze mid-rise before shrinking back against his skin, as though his instincts themselves were forced into submission.

’Why does it feel like I’m facing my own king...?’ the Werebear thought as he instinctively took a step back.

Addison hadn’t moved. She hadn’t even drawn closer. Yet the air grew unbearably heavy.

His vision wavered, as though his eyes were playing tricks on him. The shadow behind her flickered and then stretched, swelling unnaturally, as if it were devouring the light itself. Darkness seemed to creep along the walls, swallowing the space around them. His stomach twisted violently, a sickening dread gnawing at his gut.

Fear, that was raw and absolute, sank into his bones. Before he even realized what was happening, the strength drained from his legs. His knees gave out, and he crashed to the ground, teeth chattering uncontrollably as terror claimed him.

Seeing the Werebear cower in such obvious terror, Addison frowned once more.

She had meant to intimidate him, but only a little. As an Alpha-born, she had inherited her father’s formidable aura and commanding presence, and years of warrior training had honed that power until releasing it felt instinctive. Even though her memories were still lost from amnesia, her body remembered. The dominance, the pressure, it all surfaced like muscle memory.

What she hadn’t expected was for a Werebear to break so easily. She pushed the thought aside, filing it away for later. There were more pressing matters demanding her attention.

What Addison failed to realize, however, was that the Werebear wasn’t the only one affected.

Though she hadn’t aimed her aura at anyone else, the pressure spread nonetheless. Warriors felt their legs tremble, their breaths grow shallow, as though an invisible weight bore down on them. Had she not unconsciously reined it in, more than one of them would have been forced to their knees.

The dungeon fell into a deathly silence.

Unaware of the impact she’d caused, Addison remained lost in her churning thoughts, oblivious to the reverent fear that now filled the space around her.

Even Chase and Levi felt it. Their heartbeats quickened, instincts prickling beneath their skin, but since Addison said nothing, neither of them brought it up. Instead, they followed her in silence as she led the way out of the dungeon.

Behind them, the warriors struggled to keep pace.

Their steps wavered, knees still weak, chills crawling across their skin as though the cold had seeped straight into their bones. It wasn’t just the Werebear who had been affected; every one of them had felt it. The moment Addison’s aura had slipped free, the torchlight along the walls seemed to dim, the flames flickering uneasily, as if afraid.

Her shadow stretched and warped against the stone wall, growing far larger than her body should allow, like something big and scary lurked behind her, something that could swallow them whole.

It terrified them.

Their instincts screamed warnings, one after another, urging them to flee. Run. Hide. Survive.Because every fiber of their being told them the same thing that If they stayed any longer, they would die.

Because of that, everyone was lost in their own thoughts, so consumed that none of them realized they had already left the underground dungeon, until the cold wind brushed against their skin.

Levi, Addison, and Chase continued toward the packhouse without looking back, leaving the warriors standing outside the dungeon in a daze. Only when the three figures faded into the shadows of the trees did the warriors finally stir.

One by one, they turned to look at each other. The same lingering fear was written plainly on every face, along with the same confusion. And in that moment, understanding struck them all at once.

They had all felt it.

That realization frightened them even more, because it meant none of it had been an illusion. None of them had imagined it.

Whatever that presence was... it was real.

After walking for a short while, Addison, Levi, and Chase arrived at Alpha Hue’s office. The moment the door closed behind them, Levi didn’t hesitate; he half-dropped Chase onto the sofa with little care.

This time, Chase didn’t even grunt. His wolf had already healed most of his internal injuries, but the process had drained nearly all of his strength. Weakness and hunger gnawed at him, leaving him barely able to move.

Once Chase was settled, Levi turned away without another word and moved to the small stove. He lit the fire and began preparing coffee, already anticipating a long discussion ahead. Tomorrow would demand action, not rest, and Addison would need the caffeine to stay sharp.

Watching him, Addison took a seat in the leather chair and said softly, "Thank you, Levi."

She was still lost in her thoughts, suspecting that Chase’s warning might be connected to the biochemical agent, yet she couldn’t be certain. That was why she needed a second opinion while Chase was still here. Even if he couldn’t confirm outright whether she was right or wrong, perhaps he could hint at it, subtly and carefully. Either way, they needed to discuss it as soon as possible.