The Alpha's Regret: Return Of The Betrayed Luna-Chapter 124 They Knew

When Zion heard the distant giggles and playful screams, it felt like a feather had brushed across his heart, light but jarring. His chest fluttered, and his stomach twisted unexpectedly. Even Shura, his wolf, stirred restlessly and instinctively turned his attention toward the source of the sound. There was an unexplainable pull in their chest, a deep yearning to know who those small voices belonged to. They were certain it was children, but for some reason, the urge to go and see for himself was overwhelming—too strong to be brushed off as mere curiosity.

Had they not been in the Royal Palace, Zion was sure he would’ve already gone running toward the sound.

He didn’t understand it. There was no logic behind the way his heart tugged toward that direction, as if something—or someone—was tethered to him and calling him home.

Before he could dwell on the strange sensation, the Royal Beta stepped forward, breaking the moment. "This way, Alpha Zion," he urged politely but firmly.

Reluctantly, Zion resumed walking, not realizing the look he cast over his shoulder—toward the training arena—was one of quiet longing and hesitation. The Royal Beta, catching that fleeting expression, was baffled. Why did Alpha Zion look like that? As if something precious waited for him where the royal twins were training?

"Gentlemen, please follow me..." the Royal Beta said calmly. As he turned, his gaze briefly swept over the group, pausing, intentionally, on the woman everyone claimed to be the long-lost Royal Princess.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

With one subtle, almost derisive snort, he sized Claire up from head to toe. ’Cheap imitation,’ he thought with disdain, barely hiding the flicker of contempt that flashed in his eyes.

Claire immediately felt it. It was like an invisible army of ants crawling over her skin, making her shiver involuntarily. That one glance had pierced right through her. ’He knows...’ her mind screamed. ’My cover is blown!’

Panic fluttered in her chest, and she instinctively clutched the thick fur of the elite warrior whose back she sat upon, seeking silent reassurance.

But the Royal Beta said nothing.

Without another glance her way, he turned and continued walking, expression unreadable. Yet even as his feet moved, his mind was already reporting back to the Alpha King with cold precision. He may not have called Claire out directly, but he’d seen enough.

And he wasn’t fooled.

"Your Majesty, I did see the woman traveling with the Midnight River Pack," the Royal Beta began the moment the Alpha King opened the mind link. "She does have long golden hair, but her eyes? Not quite gold—more like murky honey. And frankly, she looked like she’d fall apart if someone so much as breathed too hard on her."

His words were sharp, laced with dry sarcasm.

"I guess the Midnight River Pack and their brilliant Alpha don’t even realize they’ve brought a fraud into the royal capital, huh?" he added, tone dripping with disdain.

Outwardly, the Royal Beta kept a calm, neutral expression as he led the Midnight River Pack to their assigned quarters. But inside the mind link, he was grumbling nonstop, tossing sarcastic remarks left and right. The Alpha King listened in silence, his sharp mind catching every detail—and every insult.

And with that, the Alpha King’s suspicions were confirmed. Hearing the description of the imposter parading as his daughter stirred a deep snort from his chest, low, cold, and knowing.

Claire, on the other hand, shifted uncomfortably in her seat, wishing she could disappear. The look the Royal Beta gave her said it all—sharp, cold, and dismissive. He hadn’t even acknowledged her presence, let alone greeted her. That silence was louder than words.

She knew then. freeweɓnøvel~com

They knew.

They knew she was pretending to be the missing princess.

And the fact that no one called her out on it? That was the most terrifying part. It meant they were saving it—saving her—for something later. Something she probably wouldn’t like.

Her heart pounded as dread curled in her stomach. She wanted to run, to hide, to vanish into thin air. But right now, there was nowhere to go. Nowhere to escape. She was trapped—and she knew it.

Beta Levi and Alpha Zion both noticed how the Royal Beta completely ignored Claire, not even sparing her a glance. At first, they were baffled. Levi turned to Claire and caught the flicker of panic in her eyes. That brief flash told him everything: she knew something was wrong.

He shifted his gaze to Zion, only to find him distracted once again—his eyes fixed longingly in the direction of the Royal Training Arena. Levi raised an eyebrow and let out a quiet snort, warm breath curling from his wolf’s nose. But Zion didn’t even react. His mind was elsewhere.

Even the odd behavior of the Royal Beta had faded to the back of Zion’s thoughts, drowned out by the persistent whines of Shura. The wolf within him was restless, resisting every step forward, dragging its feet, yearning for something neither of them could fully understand.

Zion could feel the weight in Shura’s heart... and his own. Each step felt heavier than the last, and he couldn’t bring himself to care about Claire’s problems anymore. Not when something deeper, more instinctive, was pulling at him.

And so, the group moved on toward the Guest Wing—each one lost in their own thoughts, unaware that the real storm had only just begun.

Levi’s thoughts churned as he observed Claire. To him, she looked like a princess who had fallen from grace. Even the Royal Beta didn’t seem to regard her with any real respect. If someone as important as the Beta treated her like she was invisible, bringing her to the Royal Capital would do little to change her standing. In Levi’s eyes, it only highlighted how little she now meant to the Royal Family.

She couldn’t even lift her head in the presence of the Royal Beta—how small she must have felt after being demoted. Not even the Alpha King came to personally welcome her back. Levi began to suspect that Claire’s cousin, Princess Mila, had firmly secured her position as heir apparent.

Just then, a pair of omegas passed by, their arms full of laundry from the guest wing, chatting as they hurried along.

"We have to get back quickly. The Queen and Princess Mila need every available hand in the banquet hall," one of them said, shifting the heavy basket of used blankets.

"The celebration is just around the corner..."

Their voices trailed off as they moved further away. The scent lingering on the blankets made it obvious why they’d been replaced—an unmistakable scent of mixed intimate flueids clung to the fabric. In their world, midday trysts weren’t uncommon; such things barely raised eyebrows anymore.

"Right..." the servant muttered, and the two women picked up their pace, walking so quickly they didn’t even notice the Royal Beta and Alpha Zion’s entourage approaching from the opposite direction.

Hearing their words, Beta Levi’s suspicions hardened into certainty. He glanced sideways at Claire, whose face had gone pale. To him, it only confirmed how far she’d fallen.

In truth, the closer they got to the guest wing, the closer Claire felt to breaking. Her heart was pounding so violently in her chest that even the elite warrior she was riding could hear the frantic rhythm—but he pretended not to notice.

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