The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 109

-Ava’s POV-

wolf-was

The part ofthat | had met in that unconscious state-the part | still refused to accept, even after | got my

stirring again. | felt her now, lurking beneath the surface, like a predator ready to pounce. And for the first time, |

didn’t hate her for it. | welcomed her presence because | was ready to tear Jeremy apart for daring to do

something that could hurt Grayson.

Grayson.

The thought of him slammed intolike a physical force. Grayson would burn down the entire world for me

without hesitation. The realization hithard, and as | stared down at Jeremy-his body shaking with pure,

unadulterated fear-1 knew that | would do the sfor him.

Isabella must have sensed something shift inbecause she grabbed my arm and pulledback, her own

expression briefly flickering with fear. And that alone was enough to snapback to reality. | wasn’t that Ava. |

wasn't the monster that part ofseemed determined to unleash. | took a deep breath, forcing calm into my

voice as | said, “We aren't going to hurt you.”

Isabella didn’t miss a beat, her tone sharp and biting, “But you had better start talking.”

Jeremy, still trembling, struggled to get to his feet. His mouth opened and closed a few times, and for a moment,

all that cout was stuttered nonsense. Finally, he managed to choke out, “What... who... what are you

people?”

“That doesn’t answer the question,” Isabella growled, her eyes darkening with a dangerous gleam. Jeremy’s

shaking intensified.

| stepped back in front of him, softening my voice just a fraction. “We aren't going to hurt you, but you will tell us

everything. Who was that man? What have you told him? Why is he going after Grayson? And why have you

been using Eliza?”

Hearing Eliza’s nseemed to strike a nerve. His expression crumbled, pain flashing in his eyes. “I didn’t mean

for this to happen,” he croaked. “Eliza is the last person | wanted to hurt. | bought a ring-I was going to ask her

to marry me.”

“So you could worm your way in even further?” Isabella snapped venom in her voice.

“No!” Jeremy's face crumpled, and tears began streaming down his cheeks. Watching a grown man cry was

unsettling, even for me. He wiped his face roughly and continued, his voice raw. That man approacheda

month ago. He already knew who | was. He knew | was with Eliza, and that she was Grayson Blackwood'’s PA. All

he wanted was dirt-anything | could get from her because, you know, couples talk to each other. He figured she

would tellsomething useful. | said no. | tried to walk away.”

“But then he offered you money,” Isabella finished for him, voice dripping with contempt.

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Jeremy nodded miserably. “It wasn’t just money. My mom-she sick. She needed surgery. | thought it would just

be one time. Just one piece of information, and then it would be over.” His voice cracked, and he looked at me

like a broken man. “But it never ends, does it?”

“They never stop coming,” | murmured, more to myself than to him.

He nodded, tears trailing down his face. “He started forcingto pry things out of her-threatening my family,

saying he'd tell Eliza what I'd done if | didn’t cooperate. | couldn't handle it anymore. | broke up with her because

| couldn’t keep hurting her. | thought... | thought it would stop.” His shoulders sagged, the weight of his guilt and

shpressing down on him. “I didn’t know it would get this bad. | swear.”

| crossed my arms, my wolf stirring uneasily in the back of my mind. “Do you know who he works for Or why

they're after Grayson?”

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Chapter 109

Jeremy shook his head furiously. “No. | swear | don’t. He never told me.”

“Has he ever shown signs of being like us? Different?” | asked, narrowing my eyes.

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He blinked as if the thought hadn't occurred to him. “No,” he said quickly, taking a shaky step back. “He's...

normal. Just a man. Not like you. Not like... whatever you are.”

FD

“We're werewolves,” Isabella said bluntly, her voice a low snarl. “And you're about to see what happens to

people who betray one of our own.”

| shot Isabella a sharp look. “We're not touching him.” Then, turning back to Jeremy, | said, “This feels more

human than supernatural. Werewolves don’t schlike this. They attack with force, with bloodshed. Humans,

on the other hand? They're calculated. Conniving. And if Eliza was the target, then this has something to do with

Grayson’s company.”

Isabella huffed, crossing her arms. “So what? Someone in our world wants to dethrone Grayson, and someone in

their world is digging for dirt to take his company down? It must really suck to be Grayson right now.”

Or to have a wolf that was slowly unraveling, | thought grimly.

| turned back to Jeremy, who looked ready to bolt. “You made a mistake,” | said quietly. “A terrible one. But |

think you want to fix it. I'll have smen offer you protection in case that man comes back. In the meantime,

call Eliza. Tell her the truth. Hurting her for something you did isn’t fair. If she decides to give you another

chance, that’s her choice. But she deserves the truth.”/

Jeremy/swallowed hard. “You're not... you're not going to tell Grayson Blackwood?” His voice trembled. “I heard

he’s...”

| smiled, slow and cold. “Whatever you've heard, Grayson is far worse than that.”

His face drained of color.

“But I’m going to leave out your name. For now. So clean yourself up, call Eliza, and don’t do anything stupid.

Like telling anyone what you saw here tonight.”

Jeremy nodded so quickly I thought his head might fall off. Then he turned and stumbled out of the alley,

disappearing into the darkness.

| let out a heavy sigh, closing my eyes for a moment. “It never ends, does it?”

When | opened them, Isabella was staring atwith a strange look on her face.

“What?” | asked.

She shrugged, a smirk tugging at her lips. “Nothing. | just never thought I'd see this side of you. This whole

protective Luna thing suits you.”

“Except I'm not going to tell Grayson anything,” | said, surprising even myself.

Isabella blinked. “What?”

| smirked. “Jeremy was terrified. People do stupid things when they're scared. He'll reach out to that man again-

try to trade the truth about us for his freedom. And when he does, we'll be waiting. We'll catch the man, and

then you can beat something up. I'll get the information | need about who's targeting Grayson.”

A wide grin stretched across Isabella’s face. “I am really liking this new you.”

That makes one of us,” | muttered.

But the truth was, | didn’t have the luxury of being the old Ava anymore. Grayson might be my biggest source of

frustration, but a war against him was a war against me.

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Chapter 109

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And maybe it was tstopped pretending to be the naive girl who didn’t see what was happening. Because if

the world was going to burn, then | would do everything | could to stop it before the fire consumed us all.

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