But right now, it was Lance who looked like he was about to fall apart. The weight of realization hit him hard, and it showed in every part of his trembling expression.
"A-Addison... how did it happen?"
Lance struggled to get the words out, his voice barely above a whisper. Just the thought of Addison belonging to soone else made his heart crack. He had believed that learning she’d t her fated mates would be the hardest truth to bear, but this?
Hearing that she had beco another man’s Luna, Zion’s Luna, no less, of the Midnight River Pack, felt like a dagger twisting in his chest. The sa pack. The sa man. It was as if fate had chosen the cruelest way to break him.
The pain in his heart was unbearable, spreading through him like fire in his veins. His mind couldn’t process it. He didn’t want to. He couldn’t accept that the woman he loved had once stood by another Alpha’s side, not just as a partner, but as his Luna.
Although Addison couldn’t fully rember her past with Lance, there was a deep, undeniable familiarity she felt whenever she looked at him. Seeing the pain etched across his face now—so raw and overwhelming—struck a chord deep inside her.
She wasn’t the naive, foolish girl she might have once been. And she certainly wasn’t blind. It was clear that Lance had feelings for her. Between the way he acted around her, the warmth and ease her parents showed him, and the scattered fragnts of her lost mories slowly returning, Addison could only assu one thing: Lance had been soone important to her. Perhaps her childhood sweetheart? A forr lover? Or maybe just a crush from long ago?
Whatever he was, it was clear this was going to be a complicated relationship.
When Lance finally looked up at her, his eyes were filled with sothing that nearly took her breath away: hurt, betrayal, and confusion all mixed into one. Addison found herself speechless. She hadn’t even known she had soone waiting for her in the Royal Capital, how could she betray soone she didn’t even rember?
It seed Lance ca to the sa realization, because the fire in his gaze flickered, replaced by sothing quieter and more fragile. He let out a small, broken whimper, clutching his chest as if the pain had beco physical. Even the Alpha King and Queen looked alard by the sudden shift.
Addison quickly moved to help him back into his chair, her hand steady on his back.
"Breathe, Lance. You’re having a panic attack," she said gently, guiding him through slow, deep breaths.
Lance’s gaze locked onto hers, full of emotions she couldn’t quite na. Rage. Despair. Longing. Love. A storm she didn’t yet have the answers for, but couldn’t ignore, either.
The Alpha King and Queen exchanged a subtle glance, silently agreeing not to intervene. They knew this was a deeply personal matter between Lance and Addison, one that didn’t warrant their interference, especially not now.
Anything they said might only worsen Lance’s emotional state. Recognizing that this wasn’t the right ti or place to delve into such sensitive issues, the Alpha King decided to tactfully steer the conversation in a different direction.
After all, Addison had only spoken out of habit, unintentionally revealing sothing important. With the possibility of others overhearing, it was best to avoid drawing more attention to the subject for now.
"Ahem!" The Alpha King cleared his throat deliberately. "I called the two of you here to discuss the transportation of grain from the West. And hearing that my little girl has experience in trade only makes things easier, it ans you’re already familiar with the protocols and the process of moving goods, and how caravans operate from point A to point B."
He spoke with calm authority, hoping to redirect both Lance and Addison’s attention. It was clear that Lance wasn’t in the right state of mind to continue down the emotional path they had accidentally wandered into. If they forced the conversation now, it might only end badly and further strain their relationship.
The Alpha King knew it was better to give them ti, ti to process, adjust, and co to terms with everything that had happened. After all, the past couldn’t be changed, and neither of them could undo what had already transpired.
Lance needed space to accept the truth, and Addison was still suffering from amnesia. Even if fragnts of her mories were returning, they were far from enough to fully reconnect with who she had once been.
"Right now, we’re left with only two options," the Alpha King began, his voice heavy. "Of course, I’m firmly against setting the entire area on fire just to kill the locust swarm, so that leaves us with a biochemical solution. But even that cos with its own problems. We’ll have to relocate the wildlife and secure the remaining grain stock in the West. We’ve already instructed the people there to harvest as quickly as possible. They don’t need to process the crops right away; we can handle that elsewhere. What matters most is salvaging what’s still in the warehouses, the crops the locusts haven’t touched yet, and evacuating the farm animals."
The more he spoke, the wearier he looked, as if the weight of the situation was dragging him down.
"So in short... we’re abandoning the West?" Addison asked, her brows furrowed in concern. She had assud the plan was simply to save the food stored in the granaries. But clearly, there was more going on than she’d realized.
"Sweetheart, don’t say that. We’re not abandoning the West, we’re only temporarily relocating everyone until the effects of the biochemical agent subside," the Alpha King explained gently. "We don’t know how harmful those chemicals might be to people, and we can’t guarantee that anything they touch will still be safe to eat. This is the only viable option we have right now: save as much as we can and stop the swarm from spreading further into the territory. If we don’t act quickly, we’ll be facing a true disaster."
He let out a deep, heavy breath and slouched back in his seat, clearly worn down by the situation. Addison pressed her lips into a thin line. As much as the idea unsettled her, she couldn’t argue with his reasoning. Delaying would only allow the swarm to consu even more of their food supply. They had to move fast.
The locusts were already devouring all the vegetation in the area. If their numbers kept growing, the food shortage would worsen, and their movent from one location to another would accelerate. Whatever they passed through would be stripped bare, leaving only destruction in their wake. Worse, if starvation pushed the swarm to evolve further, they could even turn carnivorous, attacking livestock, wild animals, and eventually people.
The more Addison thought about it, the more she understood her father’s urgency. He wasn’t just rushing; he was trying to stop the situation from spiraling out of control.
Besides, it wasn’t like she had a better solution to offer. If she asked her father to delay the plan and wait for a more ideal option, it might already be too late by then.
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