The Alpha's Regret: Return Of The Betrayed Luna

When Zion heard Maxwell's proposition, he turned to him with a questioning raise of his brow. He wasn't sure how Maxwell had figured out what he was trying to do, but it was a relief to know that Maxwell supported it. Maybe they even shared the same goal.

Levi also nodded in agreement with Zion's proposal before turning his sharp gaze on Lance. "Vice Captain Lance, are you coming with us? Or would you rather stay behind and keep distracting our mate when she's just trying to do her job and help us leave sooner?"

"This is the best option we have. If you won't join the border patrol, then what, are you planning to harvest crops, and will you be faster than the few people working together?"

Levi's words were blunt, leaving no room for argument. He deliberately showed exactly what he was thinking, giving Lance no opening to twist his way out of it. More than that, Levi didn't feel comfortable leaving Lance alone near Addison while he, Maxwell, and Zion were busy defending the border from rogue attacks.

And if Lance openly refused to help, he'd only look selfish and useless in Addison's eyes, something that would tarnish his image with her far more than Levi's sharp words ever could.

Although Levi's tactic might have seemed a little manipulative, he knew it was necessary. Leaving Lance around Addison would only interfere with her work. Zion and Maxwell had chosen to guard the border not just to support Addison, but also to maximize their defenses.

If Lance refused to join them, one section of the border would become vulnerable, a weakness the rogues could easily exploit. They might concentrate their attacks there to breach the pack and sow chaos while everyone else was preoccupied.

And it wasn't far-fetched to think their enemies would sink that low. Even if the rogues weren't aiming to kill, they could still stir enough havoc to disrupt Addison's efforts and prevent the supplies from being secured.

After all, wasn't that the very goal of their enemy from the start? To sabotage the kingdom's food supply and spark unrest?

Although Zion, Maxwell, and Levi felt threatened and irritated by Lance hovering around their mate, they knew what truly mattered. Helping Addison came before their personal feelings, and that meant using every possible method to lighten her burden.

When Zion first suggested the idea, both Maxwell and Levi immediately understood his intent. All they could do was show their support, and for perhaps the first time, the three of them stood united.

Together, they conspired to bring Lance with them: both to keep him away from Addison and to ensure the border defenses remained tight despite having fewer men.

After all, Maxwell and Zion were Alphas whose strength could rival dozens of werewolves combined, while Levi's sharp, calculative mind had been honed through years of running the pack alongside Addison during her time as Luna.

And Lance, as Vice Captain of the Royal Capital's Border Patrol, carried the experience and skill necessary to fortify his section and guarantee that no rogue could slip past his defenses.

"How dare you speak to me like that?!" Lance bristled, his growl sharp as he felt the sting of Levi's challenge.

Zion, however, only smirked and added lightly, "Don't mind him. He doesn't really care much for hierarchy; he even talks to me the same way. Maybe I just spoiled my Beta too much."

On the surface, Zion seemed to be covering for Levi, but in truth, he was subtly complaining in front of Addison, pointing out that if Levi didn't even respect his Alpha, why would he respect Lance?

Still, Zion held no real resentment. He knew why Levi spoke so harshly to him. It wasn't a lack of loyalty to his Alpha, but rather a deep disdain for the man who had once hurt Addison. Levi respected Zion's strength as an Alpha but couldn't respect him as a man.

And Zion understood that all too well. It was his fault, after all, so he could only mask the truth as a playful jab, never holding Levi truly accountable.

After hearing Zion's words, Levi couldn't help but roll his eyes, though he tried to do it discreetly. Unfortunately for him, his gaze landed on Addison's, and he froze, suddenly feeling a little awkward.

Addison, on the other hand, nearly burst out laughing at his timing, but she bit back the sound. With everyone else so serious, she didn't want to ruin the moment, so she quickly looked away, her shoulders trembling with suppressed laughter.

Lance, misreading the scene, turned his eyes toward her, silently pleading for backup. He even let a trace of pitifulness show, as if the three men were unfairly ganging up on him. But when he noticed Addison's trembling shoulders, he assumed she was on the verge of tears from being caught in the middle.

Misunderstanding completely, he bit his tongue and gave a stiff nod, choosing to endure rather than add to what he thought was her distress.

"Alright, I'll do it..."

Maxwell, who had witnessed the entire exchange, almost let out a whistle and laugh at the absurdity of it all. But when he noticed how tense everyone was, and how badly Lance had misunderstood Addison, he realized that reacting now would only expose the truth and risk setting Lance off even more.

So, instead, he bit back his amusement, pressing his lips together to keep from giving himself away.

After Addison composed herself, she looked at the group and thanked them for being proactive.

"Thank you so much, Zion, Maxwell, Levi, and Lance, for taking over the defenses at the border. We'll let you know once we're done and ready to move, so please hold on a little longer," she said warmly.

The four men nodded before heading to their assigned sections. Once there, they gathered the border patrol units, selected the strongest warriors to remain, and sent the rest to assist with the harvest.

Zion, in particular, chose a dozen warriors and reorganized their patrol sequence, rotations, and routes.

By doing so, he ensured that even if the rogues had memorized the old patterns, they would now be forced to pause and adapt to the new rotations, leaving them with no easy chance to infiltrate without first studying the updated system.

Maxwell and Levi followed the same strategy, each selecting nearly a dozen of the strongest warriors and sending the rest to support Addison with the harvest. Lance, however, chose fourteen of the best and divided them into two groups.

This allowed them to rotate shifts, preventing fatigue and ensuring the warriors remained sharp and focused, especially during critical moments when even the smallest slip could prove costly.

Zion, Maxwell, and Levi also divided their patrols into two groups to keep their warriors in top condition and ensure they could rest when needed. The only reason they had fewer men than Lance was because Zion and Maxwell were confident in their own overwhelming strength, while Levi had been assigned the easiest section of the border.

Lance's area, though not as dangerous as Zion's, lay closer to the barrier holding back the locust swarm. That made it a critical spot requiring extra caution.

Since he had taken on the responsibility, Lance knew he couldn't afford to botch it; any mistake wouldn't just endanger the pack, but the responsibility would ultimately fall on Addison's shoulders since she was the one who held the highest position among them.

And he wasn't foolish enough to let that happen, so he had no choice but to treat the task with utmost seriousness.

After the four of them rearranged the defenses along the border, they instructed the patrols to set up traps. Soon, both Zion, Maxwell, Levi, and Lance's sides grew busy; some were cutting and sharpening wood into stakes, while others dug a deep pit.

Once the pit was ready, the sharpened stakes were driven into the bottom. A werewolf falling inside might not die immediately from the fall or the impalement, but it would be gravely injured, slowed down, and left in agonizing pain, unable to escape quickly.

To conceal the trap, they laid thin branches across the pit and covered them with dead leaves and grass. Finally, to prevent their own allies from falling victim, Zion, Maxwell, Levi, and Lance marked a nearby tree with claw scratches.

The marks weren't too obvious, but not too well hidden either, subtle enough that only those paying close attention would notice them.

If an enemy happened to enter the forest and noticed the claw marks, they would likely dismiss them as nothing more than ordinary territory markings. After all, it wasn't unusual for werewolves to leave such signs from time to time.

But for the border patrols working alongside the four of them, those claw marks carried a very different meaning: they were signals marking of the location of traps.

But that wasn't all. Afterward, Zion, Maxwell, Levi, and Lance grew even more creative in setting traps, working as quickly as they could.