The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 181

Chapter 181

-Ava POV-

Grayson'’s brows shot up in surprise, his steely gray eyes narrowing slightly as if I'd just said the most absurd

thing he'd ever heard.

“You?” he asked, his tone incredulous, carrying an undercurrent of disbelief.

“Yes, me,” | replied firmly, squaring my shoulders, even though my insides felt like they were ready to give out

on me. My voice wavered slightly, but | stood my ground. “You trust me, don’t you?”

His expression softened almost instantly, the hard lines of his face easing as his eyes searched mine. Slowly, he

reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face.

“More than anyone,” he murmured, his voice a quiet reassurance

“Then trustto handle this,” | insisted, my heart pounding.

Grayson sighed deeply, his hand moving to the back of his neck as he considered my words. The air between us

hung heavy with tension, and for a moment, | thought he might refuse. Finally, he gave a small nod, though his

reluctance was clear.

“Fine,” he said, his voice low but firm. “But if anyone so much as raises their voice at you-"

“They won't,” | interrupted quickly, forcing a smile even as my nerves threatened to choke me. “I can handle it.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he stepped aside, gesturing toward the hall with a flick of his hand. As | walked

back inside, every step felt heavier than the last. My heart thumped loudly in my chest, the weight of

responsibility settling firmly on my shoulders.

When | entered the room, all eyes snapped toagain, the air so thick with tension | could feel it pressing down

on me. The room, which had already been silent, somehow seemed to grow quieter.

“This was a terrible idea,” | thought to myself, but | swallowed my apprehension and straightened my shoulders,

determined not to show even an ounce of doubt.

“Something important just cup,” | began, my voice steady despite my nerves. “Grayson will not be

returning to the meeting, so I'll be taking over from here.”

The murmurs started almost immediately, whispers spreading like wildfire as the high-ranking members

exchanged glances. | saw Jacob's face tighten, his eyes watchingclosely. raised my hand slightly, cutting

through the murmurs before they could gain any more momentum.

“I know sof you are unhappy with the decision Grayson made earlier,” | continued, my tone calm but firm.

“I'll speak to him and do my best to get him to reconsider asking you to leave the pack. | promise.”

“You'll get him to retract his decision?” a voice called from the back of the room. There was a sharpness to the

tone that madestiffen.

Turning to look, | found myself staring at Charles. His arms were crossed, and he was leaning back in his chair

with a smug expression.

“No one can get him to do anything,” he added, his words dripping with condescension.

18:03 Fri, Jan 31 BB.

Chapter 181

My wolf stirred within me, growling softly at the challenge, but forced myself to stay calm. Charles was baiting

me, looking for a fight, and | wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

“Weren't you asked to leave?” | shot back, my voice sharp enough to make several heads turn.

“And didn’t you just say you were going to convince him to let us stay?” Charles retorted, a smirk playing at his

lips.

| took a deep breath, forcing myself to keep my voice even. “I don’t know you, Charles, and I'm not going to

argue with you. I said | would speak to him, and that’s exactly what I'm going to do. In the meantime, if you have

something constructive to

leave.” add to this discussion, | suggest you raise your hand. If not, | suggest you

There was a brief pause, and then, to my surprise, Charles fell silent. Out of the corner of my eye, | saw Ivan

hiding a smile, and | turned my attention back to the group.

“I apologize for not introducing myself properly before now,” | began, addressing the high-ranking members

directly. “The circumstances surrounding my arrival in this pack weren't exactly... straightforward. Grayson and |

didn’t meet under normal conditions, and | know that has caused sconfusion. But | want to assure you that |

mean this pack no harm. My loyalty lies here, with all of you.”

The room was quiet as they listened, and I felt a flicker of hope that maybe they were willing to givea

chance.

“My father was a victim in one of the recent attacks,” | added, lowering my voice slightly.

There was a murmur of surprise, and someone from the back of the room spoke up. “But don’t you not get along

with your father?”

The question caughtoff guard, and | turned to see Kendra, her face red with embarrassment as she realized

she’d said the words out loud.

| smiled gently, trying to put her at ease. “You're right, Kendra. My father and | don’t exactly see eye to eye, and

we've had more than our fair share of disagreements. But he’s still my father. And only a psychopath would wish

harm on their parents just because of a few arguments. Do | look like a psychopath to you?”

Before Kendra could respond, someone from the group called out, “Not at all, Luna!”

There was a slight echo of cheer among them, and I rolled my eyes but continued, turning to the high-ranking

members. | really hope we can rectify how all of this started and get to know each other. | would really like that,

and | believe it would be good for the pack.”

Another one of them nodded, and | smiled before turning more serious. Addressing everyone again, | said, “I

really don’t want to believe that someone here is involved in doing something as horrible as fueling deaths or

helping an obvious psychopath who is out to destabilize the realm and if there is, it will be quite unfortunate

what will happen to the person but I'm not going to keep you all here until we figure it out, because let's face it-

we can’t actually do that.”

There was laughter, and | saw Jacob crack a smile. Several of them nodded in agreement, and | felt a surge of

relief.

“Now, about the curfew Grayson mentioned,” | continued, turning more serious. “I understand why sof you

are upset. It's a drastic measure, and | agree that it needs to be adjusted. I'll talk to him about finding a

compromise, but | hope you can all understand that these changes are meant to keep everyone safe. The realm

is under attack, and we need to be ready to work together if we're going to survive.”

There were more nods, and | could see the tension in the room starting to ease.

“I'm not going to keep you here any longer,” | said finally. “You're all dismissed unless anyone has something

they'd like to add.”

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Chapter 181

Kendra raised her hand hesitantly, and | nodded for her to speak

“Is it true that you have unique abilities? Like... superpowers? Is that why your eyes change color?”

| blinked at her, caught off guard by the question. Before | could respond, another voice chimed in.

“And that’s how you threw that pregnant woman across the hall with just a slight push?”

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| flinched at the memory, guilt washing over me. Clearing my throat, | replied, “I didn’t mean to push her. It

wasn't intentional, and | don’t have superpowers. | don’t even know what happened, but | would never

intentionally hurt anyone, especially someone who's pregnant.”

“She deserved it,” someone muttered, and there were murmurs of agreement.

| laughed nervously, waving my hand to dismiss the comment. “Okay, | think that’s enough for today. Everyone

can go about their day.”

The group rose to their feet, bowing slightly before filing out of the hall. | stayed rooted in place, waiting for the

last of them to leave. Just as | let out a small sigh of relief, someone called, “Luna,” behind me.

| turned to see Jacob standing there, the four remaining high-ranking members at his side.

“On behalf of all of us, | would like to apologize,” Jacob said, his voice calm but sincere. “We meant no harm.”

I nodded, offering a small smile. “I understand, and | meant what | said. | would really love to get to know all of

you and the pack-better.”

Jacob dipped his head respectfully, and the others followed suit before they turned to leave. | watched them walk

out, convinced they were the last to leave. But just as | turned to gather myself, another voice called my name.

“Luna.”

| turned again, surprised to see Ivan lingering near the doorway.

| smiled, trying to ease the tension in the air. “Hi, Ivan.”

He returned the smile, though there was a weight in his eyes. “I think you did really well back there. But...” His

expression shifted, the smile vanishing as his tone turned grave. “About what Alpha King Grayson said... | believe

there is a mole.”

His words sent a chill down my spine, and | stiffened. “You do?”

His gray eyes met mine, unwavering. “Yes.” He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper that seemed to

carry a thousand secrets. “And | know who it is.”

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