137 Chapter 137 The True Princess
137 Chapter 137 The True Princess
But confusion rippled beneath the surface of the awe.
‘Wasn’t the princess supposed to have golden hair?”
A thought struck the crowd all at once. Like leaves turning in the wind, heads began to shift, scanning the hall for someone else… someone familiar.
And then they found her.
Claire.
Pale as moonlight, trembling where she stood. Her lips quivered, teeth faintly chattering. She clung to the sheer veil draped over her face, as if it could somehow protect her from the truth, shield her from the unraveling of a lie she had lived for far too long.
She had hoped that silence would be enough. That mystery would mask falsehood. That pretending would let her keep the stolen title without ever needing to speak a
word.
But now, face–to–face with the true princess, Claire’s world collapsed around her. The Alpha King’s voice deepened, his words drawn out with measured weight as he subtly shifted his gaze toward Claire.
He had been observing her since the moment he noticed Alpha Zion’s reaction. From the start, she had drawn suspicion, but even he had to admit, the illusion was almost convincing. The golden hair, the honey–brown eyes that shimmered like murky gold under the lights, and the veil half–obscuring her face it was all carefully designed to suggest mystery and nobility.
Had he not met Addison beforehand… perhaps he, too, might’ve been deceived Perhaps he would’ve welcomed Claire with open arms.
But not anymore.
He could see her now for what she was, a frightened impostor desperately clinging to a crumbling lie.
What she didn’t know was that the moment she stepped foot into his territory, her
137 Chapter 137 The True Princess
presence had already raised red flags. And in truth, if she really passed and managed to muddy her way in, Claire had been prepared to go as far as to disfigure herself with a silver dagger, just to maintain the deception if she were ever questioned.
Yet for all her planning, she had one fatal flaw: she knew almost nothing about the real princess… or her return.
Now, as she stood frozen under the weight of hundreds of stares, trembling like a cornered animal, regret flooded her. Every choice that led her here, the lies, the games, the false identity, all of it collapsed in this single moment.
The Alpha King let her squirm, watched as she fidgeted like she was standing barefoot on searing coals. Then, with unshakable calm, he continued his speech, letting the silence that followed hang like a blade over her head.
“Or so we thought…” the Alpha King continued, his voice echoing through the stunned hall, “until one day, the Moon Goddess guided our daughter back to us, Addison Rosenthal.”
Gasps rippled again through the crowd.
“She was in terrible condition when we found her and needed time to heal and recover. But now that she’s well enough to stand before us, I ask that everyone honor her return and treat her with the respect due to her station. As her parents welcome her back into our embrace, we have also prepared a fiancé worthy of her.”
He turned slightly and gestured. “Please, come forward…”
The revelation struck the entire room like a bolt of lightning. Whispers broke out, too stunned to stay silent. Even Addison herself was caught off guard; she hadn’t heard a word of this before.
But her smile didn’t falter.
Though shock flickered behind her eyes, she held her expression steady. This was not
has and the time or place to question her father, not in front of the assembled dignitaries. Doing so would only cause him to lose face, and she couldn’t bring herself to do that.
Then, as if on cue, the grand entrance doors opened once more. A tall, imposing man stepped into the hall. He had jet–black hair and eyes the color of burning embers, sharp, noble, and cold. The moment he entered, the atmosphere shifted. A chill swept
137 Chapter 137 The True Princess
that the woman doesn’t escape. We need her; she has to answer for this.
The raw authority in his voice sent those around him stumbling back; even some of the other Alphas couldn’t handle Zion’s aura. The air thickened with tension, but Zion
didn’t care. All that mattered was the truth.
Just then, the Alpha King’s voice rang out once more, announcing something that hit Zion like a second blow to the chest:
A fiancé.
He said Addison had a fiancé waiting for her.
And then the grand doors opened again to reveal a man Zion had never seen before, tall, silent, exuding a frigid aura that matched the deadly stillness of a mountain. The weight of his presence alone was suffocating.
Zion’s gut twisted. A deep, primal sense of crisis clawed at him. He didn’t even register Levi anymore, assuming he’d gone to follow orders and secure Claire. But instead, Levi had quietly contacted the elite warriors they’d brought with them, instructing them to track Claire down and ensure she didn’t slip away. Levi, too, was making his way through the crowd, his eyes locked ahead, just as desperate for answers, and just as stunned to see Addison again.
As the two men pushed their way forward, the Alpha King gently took Addison’s hand and led her a step closer to the newcomer. He leaned down and whispered with a playful glint in his voice, “Remember when I said I wanted you to meet someone? Well… here he is.”
Then, with a subtle nod, he gestured toward the man approaching them.
