The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 186

-Ava’s POV-

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It felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me. Myngs refused to draw in air as her words echoed in

my mind, sharp and unrelenting like shards of glass.

Maria reached out, as if to steady me, but | took a step back, shaking my head. “No,” | whispered, my voice

hoarse, trembling under the weight of disbelief. “He wouldn’t-he couldn’t have meant that.”

But the look on her face toldshe believed otherwise.

My wolf stirred inside me, a low, agonized grow! escaping from deep within. It wasn’t anger-it was pain.

Grayson'’s words, delivered through Maria, felt like a rejection that cut deeper than any wound I'd ever endured. |

took another shaky step backward, my head shaking harder now as if sheer denial could make this nightmare

unravel.

He didn’t mean that.

1 didn’t do this.

This was just... a misunderstanding.

Suddenly, it felt as though the entire world had frozen. Conversations hushed, and every gaze was heavy with

pity, their eyes searing into me. The walls seemed to close in, suffocatingwith the weight of judgment.

It was all too much. The stares. The whispers. The words.

| turned, desperately searching for something-or someone-familiar, and my eyes landed on Isabella. She stood

there, her gaze soft yet piercing, filled with that glaring pity | despised.

| swallowed hard, forcing words out before she could speak. “Everything is going to be fine. He didn’t mean it.

Please, just go home. I'll call you tomorrow.”

“Lilian.”

| didn’t even realize | was crying until my hand instinctively reached up to wipe at my face. “I'll call you

tomorrow, Bels.”

I didn’t wait for her reply. | turned on my heel, ignoring the heavy silence that followed me, and made my way

back to the mansion. My feet carriedto his room like they were on autopilot.

The second | entered, the faint scent of him hit me-warm and comforting. It lingered on everything. | picked up a

pillow from his bed, the scent clinging to the fabric, and hugged it tightly to my chest. My knees buckled, but |

forced myself to sit down instead of collapsing entirely.

| didn’t think. I didn’t blink. | didn’t even allow myself to prepare for the storm | knew was coming.

| just... stared.

I don’t know how long | sat there, paralyzed, before the knock on the door joltedfrom my trance. My

movements were sluggish as | stood and dragged myself to the door, opening it to find Brianna standing there,

her head bowed low.

“I just thought you should know that His Highness just returned

My heart stuttered, hope clawing its way into my chest. “Where is he?”

2010 Sat, rep

Chapter 186

“His study

Ididn’t waste a second. My feet moved faster than my thoughts, carryingdown the hall toward his study. But

as | neared, something madestop dead in my tracks.

The air was frigid, oppressive, as if his anger and hurt had seepe through the walls and manifested into

something tangible. My wolf whimpered, but | steeled myself.

It was Grayson. My Grayson.

l inhaled deeply, summoning every ounce of courage | had, and crossed the remaining distance. My trembling

hand pushed the door open.

There he was. Standing by the window, his back to me. The tension in his shoulders was palpable, a fortress |

wasn’t sure | could breach.

“I told you to leave,” he said suddenly, his voice devoid of warmth.

It wasn’t the words that froze me-it was his tone. It wasn’t icy or furious. It was void. Empty. Hollow. And

somehow, that was worse than any anger he could've directed at me.

“Grayson,” | whispered, taking a hesitant step

forward.

“Ava, leave.”

But | didn’t. | couldn’t. Another step forward. “I didn’t do this, Grayson. | swear. | didn’t tell anyone. Not even

Isabella. You have to know that I wouldn't do this. I didn’t do this.”

He turned then, and my breath caught.

When I first met him, his gaze had been distant, cold. But now... now, it was something worse. Detachment so

absolute that | felt like a stranger, something insignificant, beneath him.

| shook my head again, my voice trembling. “Grayson, please don’t do this.”

He looked away, walking to his desk and sitting down with a grace that only amplified the distance between us.

A faint, empty smile ghosted his lips. “You didn’t do this? Then who did?

He shook his head, almost as if mocking himself. “I trusted you. told only you because | trusted you. I let you in. |

never let anyone in, but I let you in, Ava.”

Hearing my nfall from his lips, once a melody, now a dagger, broke something inside me.

Still, | took another step forward, refusing to give up. “You know that | didn’t do this. You're only trying to find a

reason to ruin what we have.”

“We have nothing, Ava.”

His words strucklike a physical blow. I flinched, but | didn’t retreat. “I know everything feels like it’s falling

apart right now, but we can fix it. They have no proof that you lost your wolf so you can deny it, and everything

will be fine, and we can

“Of course you have a way to fix it,” he cut in harshly. “Just like you have a way to fix everything else. But you

want to know why things never stay fixed? Because things cannot be fixed by the source of the problem.”

20:16 Sat, Feb 1

Chapter 186

The pain in his voice was like thunder, reverberating throughBut | stood firm, even as my chest tightened.

He grabbed his phone and threw it toward me. It hit my leg before clattering to the floor. My hands trembled as |

picked it up, the screen glowing with the message he wantedto see.

The words glared back at me, taunting me, and he spoke again, his tone like a knife slicing through my chest.

“You still didn’t do it?”

“Grayson,” | breathed, trying to take a step toward him, but he coff sharply.

“Don’t cnear me.”

| froze, my feet rooted to the spot, every inch oftrembling.

“I told you to leave. Don’t makedo something we'll both regret. Get your things, and the things | bought are

not included and get out of my life.”

His words hitharder than any physical blow ever could. | looked back down at the screen in my hand, my

vision blurring with unshed tears, then back up at him. “I didn’t send this message, Grayson. | don’t know where

it cfrom. Someone hacked your phone. Someone could have done the sto mine. | would never do this

to you. You know it.” My voice cracked, desperate for him to hear the truth.

He let out a bitter laugh, devoid of warmth. “Do you know what makes this even worse?” His words were slow

and deliberate, - each one laced with venom. “The fact that | wanted so desperately to believe that that was

exactly what happened. So | had it checked. And do you know what | found? Every message you have sent out,

right up to before we met. Right up to the start, before | even met you, and Dylan planned this. How you two

staged that whole scene on the day | met you so you could work your way into my life. This is why you always

defend him. Why, no matter what, he always finds his way back into your life. And do not even letbegin with

how you have been feeding your parents information. All | have to say is congratulations-it worked, and like a

fool, I fell for it.”

What the hell was he talking about? The words didn’t even make sense.

He stood abruptly, and | took a step back, my body reacting instinctively to the storm radiating off him. His voice

dropped low and cold. “You were supposed to be different. You were supposed to be the one good thing that

happened to me.” He shook his head, his lips curving into a smile that was anything but kind. “You were

supposed to be...”

| swallowed hard, my voice barely a whisper. “Grayson-"

“Turn around and walk out of here.” His empty eyes bore into mine. “Don’t letsay it again.”

“I didn’t do anything you just said, Grayson.” My voice was shaky now, my chest heaving as the weight of his

accusations crushed me. “I don’t even understand how you could believe that | planned it when you were the

one that broughthere in the first place and offereda contract.” My anger bubbled to the surface, fueled

by my hurt. “I know you are angry, but stop making up things and taking it out on me.” | wiped away the tears

streaking my face, my hands trembling. “I didn’t do anything. And speaking of the contract, you cannot kick me

out. It holds for a year.”

| didn’t even realize | had said that last part until the air shifted around him. He moved so fast | barely registered

it, his towering form looming over his desk as he grabbed a stack of papers and shredded them right in front of

me.

The sound of ripping paper filled the room, sharp and jagged like the pieces of my heart breaking in his hands. |

stared at the shredded remains on the floor, my vision tunneling. He believed it-whatever lies he had seen, he

believed them.

| don’t know why, but | couldn't stop myself. My gaze lifted back to him, trembling with the weight of everything |

couldn't say. “You said you loved me. You said-"

20:16 Sat, Feb 1

Chapter 186

“Will you just shut up, Ava!” He exploded, his voice roaring through the room, his anger crackling like a wildfire.

“I trusted you. | fucking trusted you, and you have been betrayingrigh from the moment we met!”

| closed my eyes, letting the tears fall freely this time. | begged silently to anyone, anything in the universe that

could hear me, for his anger to subside, even just a little. If he would just listen, if he would just see me, maybe

he could understand that all of this wasn’t true.

But when he spoke again, his words were ice, freezingto my core. “Ten seconds. That's all I'll give you to

leave this study. Only ten seconds.”

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