The Alpha's Regret Return Of The Betrayed Luna (Addison) novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Chapter 20 Framed

Claire gently supported Addison, guiding her step by step as she limped away in pain. From the outside, it looked like Claire was on the verge of tears—her expression contorted with concern, as if she were the one injured. But Addison knew better.

She tried to shake Claire off, attempting to pry her arm free, but Claire held on tightly, her grip like iron wrapped in velvet. Despite Addison’s efforts, she couldn’t break free from the woman pretending to be her savior.

Then, in a soft voice dripping with faux sympathy, Claire added, "Let’s head downstairs and have the pack doctor take care of your wounds. I heard you’re... wolfless, right? So they won’t heal on their own. You’ll need proper treatment even for something this minor."

Her words, though lightly spoken, hit their mark.

To someone else, it might have sounded like random musing born out of worry—but Addison could hear the quiet cruelty woven beneath them. The implication was clear: she was weak, incomplete, a burden.

That such a small injury required the attention of the pack’s medical professionals; in Claire’s eyes, she was not only pitiful—but a waste of resources, and the doctor’s efforts should’ve gone to someone useful.

Addison didn’t respond. She didn’t need to. Claire’s mockery may have been hidden under layers of concern, but Addison heard it all—and each word burned more than the glass in her skin.

Addison ignored Claire’s veiled mockery, saying nothing as she focused on each painful step forward. But just as they reached the stairs, Claire abruptly let go.

And then—it happened.

A sudden force shoved Addison from behind. There was no time to react, no moment to brace herself. The world tilted violently as her body went tumbling down the staircase.

She barely managed to shield her head as she crashed into the sharp edges of the stairs, the brutal impact jarring through her bones. Pain exploded through her limbs, and she felt something crack in her arm—maybe more than one place.

Though the stairway wasn’t especially long, the way her body slammed down each step made it feel endless. By the time she hit the bottom landing, the pain was so overwhelming she couldn’t even cry out.

And before the dizziness could fully take hold—before the shock could numb the agony—she was yanked up off the ground like a rag doll.

"Addison! What the fuck are you doing?!"

The voice boomed with fury, shaking her to her core. The person who yanked her up—none other than her mate, Zion.

The mate she hadn’t seen in days.

She had imagined seeing him again... but never like this. Never with him glaring at her with eyes filled not with longing, but murderous rage—as if he wanted to strangle her on the spot.

Before she could gather her thoughts or even speak, he threw her.

She crashed into the wall with a sickening thud, the back of her head slamming hard against the cold surface. A wave of dizziness washed over her, pain crashing through her body. Her vision blurred, black spots dancing at the edges.

But just before the darkness pulled her under, she saw him—Zion—kneeling beside Claire, who now lay on the ground as well, her eyes closed, unmoving.

"Claire," Zion breathed, his tone laced with worry and gentleness as he knelt beside her. He scooped her up in his arms as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

And he didn’t even spare Addison so much as a glance.

Left there on the cold floor, broken and bleeding, Addison’s heart—once numbed from everything—cracked wide open again. She thought she couldn’t feel pain anymore, that she had turned to stone. But watching her mate cradle another woman while leaving her behind...

That hurt more than anything else ever could.

A single tear slipped down Addison’s cheek before everything faded to black.

When she awoke, the air was damp, cold, and heavy with the scent of mold. Darkness surrounded her. She was lying on the hard, filthy ground of a dungeon cell. Her body screamed in pain.

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