The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 134

-Grayson'’s POV-

Alaric’s words hitlike a punch to the gut, the weight of them sinking deep into my chest. The chamber

seemed colder now, the glow of the carvings along the walls dimming as if the room itself was reacting to the

tension in the air.

“What are you talking about?” My voice was quieter now, though no less sharp. “What does Ava have to do with

this?”

Alaric’s ever-present smile remained, his dark eyes glinting with knowing light. “Everything.”

That single word sent a chill down my spine, the kind that no amount of fire or fury could warm away. Whatever

calm | had left dissolved in an instant.

“What do you mean, everything?” | snapped. “If you know something, say it. Stop speaking in riddles.”

Alaric tilted his head slightly, an infuriating gesture of patience that only stoked my frustration. Then he took a

step closer, his gaze locking onto mine. “Letshow you how it all began. Come.”

| hesitated, glancing at Rickon, who lay unconscious on the cold stone floor. The steady rise and fall of his chest

reassuredthat he was merely asleep. Somehow, Alaric sensed my hesitation.

“Do not worry,” he said smoothly, gesturing to the shadows. “I will have him moved to a place of comfort and

safety. Focus on what you are about to learn. It is the reason you are here.”

The subtle command in his tone made my wolf bristle, but | nodded, following him as he moved deeper into the

chamber. The carvings on the walls grew more intricate, glowing faintly in hues of gold and silver. Then we

stopped in front of a wall where the carvings formed an enormous mural, etched with stunning precision. Alaric

gestured to the first image.

“This is where it begins,” he said, his voice low and reverent.

The mural depicted a lush, sprawling forest under the light of a full moon. Wolves ran freely, their bodies

blending seamlessly with the natural world around them.

“Just as my people live now, the realm once existed in peace,” Alaric began, his tone steady and rhythmic,

drawingin. “It was a tbefore leaders, before titles, before ambition. Werewolves lived as one great pack,

bound by the unity of the moon's blessing. For centuries, perhaps longer, they roamed together without conflict.

Every wolf had a place, and no wolf sought more than they needed.”

| could almost see it-the harmony, the ease of a world without struggle for dominance. But | could also feel the

faint undercurrent of inevitability in his words, like the calm before a storm.

“What changed?” | asked, my voice quieter now, curiosity overpowering my irritation.

Alaric’s lips curved into a grim smile as he gestured to the next part of the mural. Here, the wolves seemed

smaller, scattered, as if something had splintered their unity.

“It began,” he said, “with the first division. A single act that sowed the seed of distrust among the wolves.”

The carving showed two wolves, one large and one smaller, fighting over the carcass of a deer. The larger wolf's

teeth were bared in a snarl, the smaller one’s ears flattened in submission.

“There was a famine,” Alaric continued. “Food becscarce, and for the first time, wolves turned on one

another. They fought for survival, for resources, for dominance. The harmony they had known began to crumble,

and with it, the sense of unity that had bound them together. They no longer saw themselves as one pack but as

individuals, each wolf fighting for their own interests.”

| could feel the weight of his words settling overlike a heavy cloak. The mural shifted again, showing groups

of wolves

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Chapter 134

turning away from one another, their backs to the moon.

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FD

“In time, these fights grew into divisions,” Alaric said, his voice taking on a harder edge. “Wolves began to form

smaller groups—what we now call packs. Each pack chose its strongest, its smartest, its most cunning to lead

them. And so the first Alphas were born.”

The next part of the mural was a stark contrast to the first. It showed wolves standing tall and proud, their heads

held high, each surrounded by others who knelt in deference. But there was no unity here, only separation, as

the packs turned their backs on one another.

“Peace beca fleeting memory,” Alaric continued, his tone laced with sorrow. “Ambition grew in the hearts of

these new Alphas. They sought to prove their superiority, to claim territory power, and dominance. Wars broke

out, battles that left the land soaked in blood and the air thick with hatred.”

| could see it so clearly in my mind's eye-the chaos, the violence, the endless struggle for control.

“And my ancestors?” | asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Where were they in all of this?”

Alaric’s eyes gleamed as he gestured to the next carving. It was a scene of a wolf larger than any other, its fur as

dark as the night sky, standing atop a hill. Below it, other wolves bowed their heads, their forms outlined in the

faint glow of moonlight.

“Your ancestor was not like the others,” Alaric said. “He was not born into ambition, nor did he seek power for its

own sake. His nwas Caelan. Just Caelan with no nattached. He was a wolf of unparalleled strength, but

also of great wisdom and compassion. He saw the destruction that these divisions had wrought and sought a

way to unite the wolves once more.”

| stared at the image, the weight of it sinking in.

“How did he do it?” | asked.

Alaric’s smile returned, softer this time. “Caelan understood that to unite the wolves, he had to rise above them.

He had to prove that he was not just an Alpha, but something greater. And so he challenged the Alphas of every

pack, one by one, to

combat.”

The mural shifted again, showing Caelan locked in battle with wolves of all sizes, his form always dominant,

always

victorious.

“He fought not for power, but for peace,” Alaric smiled. “And in each battle, he proved himself worthy. The

Alphas who fell to him pledged their loyalty, and their packs followed. Slowly, the divisions began to heal.”

The title hung in the air like a weighty truth, and | felt a strange sense of pride and awe.

“But the nBlackwood,” | pressed, “where does it cfrom

Alaric’s gaze darkened as he moved to the final part of the mural. It showed Caelan standing beneath a massive

tree, its branches twisted and blackened, its roots stretching deep into the earth.

“The Blackwood tree,” Alaric said, his voice lower now, almost a whisper. “It was the heart of the forest, the

place where the first wolves were said to have been blessed by the moon. When Chelan united the packs, he

chose this place to mark the birth of a new era. He claimed the nBlackwood to honor the tree’s significance,

and it becthe symbol of his reign.”

| stepped closer to the mural, my fingers brushing over the intricate carvings of the branches.

“And the title of Alpha King?” | asked.

gnarled

“It was bestowed upon him by the wolves who knelt before him, Alaric nodded to himself. “A title not claimed but

earned. It signified not just his strength but his ability to lead, to unite, to protect.”

The room seemed to hum with the weight of the history, the air thick with the echoes of the past. | turned to

Alaric, my mind racing.

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Chapter 134

“All of this,” | gestured to the mural, “what does it have to do with Ava?”

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Alaric’s smile widened, his eyes glinting with something unreadable. “The curse, Grayson is not what you think.

And Ava... she’s only a small piece of it but not the solution.”

He turned to continue walking, the shadows swallowing his form his final words hanging in the air like a warning.

“You're about to learn just how deep it goes.”

FD

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