The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 141

-Grayson'’s POV-

“What the hell is going on?”

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| thought it, but it was Rickon who said it aloud. The moment the words left his mouth, Ricardo’s attention

snapped to him. The grin that had been plastered on Ricardo’s face vanished, replaced by a deep frown.

“You found another best friend and replacedso soon? I'm hurt.”

Okay. What?

That brokeout of the haze of surprise-not shock, though. This was Ricardo, after all. Faking his own death

wasn't beyond the realm of things he was capable of. The real question was why.

Before | could demand an explanation, Jerspoke from behind me, his voice low and anxious, as though he

had waited for the right moment to interrupt.

“I did what you asked,” he said, addressing Ricardo. “Can | have Anastasia now?”

Ricardo’s grin returned in an instant, sharp and unsettling. “Of course, brother. You've done marvelously. I'll

handle it from here.”

Jernodded in my direction, looking far too pleased with himself, and then strode out of the room.

Finally, | found my voice. “Are you going to explain what the hell is going on here?”

Ricardo clapped his hands together, his tone as infuriatingly cheerful as his expression. “Yes, yes, of course!

Anything for you, Gray Gray.” He nodded as though laughing at sprivate joke again, then gestured to the

table behind him. “The chef is preparing dinner. Join me?”

When his

merrier.”

shifted to Rickon, his nose wrinkled. “I wasn’t expecting you to bring company, gaze

but |

suppose

the more the

| didn’t want to sit down. | didn’t care about dinner. What | wanted was answers. Answers about why he had

faked his death, why there had been no war from his people, and why he had orchestrated this entire twisted

situation. Ricardo might have knownwell enough to predict I'd cto Italy after hearing the rumors, but |

knew him well enough to see through his

games.

“Why did you makechere, Ricardo?” My voice was low, edged with warning. “And I'm not in the mood.”

Rickon laughed, clearly enjoying himself. “Wow. So there's someone who gets on your nerves even more than |

do.” He moved toward the table with a smirk. “I'm definitely sitting down for this one. Plus, I'm hungry.”

As if summoned by his words, the doors swung open. A chef and several staff filed in, carrying trays laden with

food. Within moments, the table was transformed into a feast. The rich aroma of freshly cooked dishes filled the

room, but I didn't take

! my eyes off Ricardo.

He met my glare with that sdamn grin, unbothered by my irritation. When the staff finished setting the

table, they bowed and disappeared as quickly as they had come.

Ricardo gestured to the now-overflowing table.

With an exasperated sigh, | sat down, ignoring the food even as its scent teased my senses. “Get to it,” |

demanded.

Rickon, completely ignoring the tension between us, was already piling food onto his plate. Ricardo followed suit,

casually

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12:05 Sat, Jan 11 GU)))

Chapter 141

picking up a plate and filling it as though this was just another normal day.

“Ah, where do | start?” he mused, his tone light and amused.

1 glared at him, my patience wearing dangerously thin. “I said | was not in the mood.”

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“Fine,” he said, rolling his eyes like an annoyed teenager. “I'll get to it.” He took a tic pause, as if gathering

his thoughts, then smiled again. “Have you ever wanted something so badly that when you finally got it, you

just...” He trailed off, shaking his head, laughing, “Oh, never mind. That's unrelated. | just thought it would be

funny.”

“It wasn't.”

“I thought it was,” Rickon said, stuffing an entire bread roll into his mouth.

| stared at him, wondering-again-how the hell | had gotten here.

Ricardo’s voice snappedback to reality. “I don’t know what you wantto say, Gray Gray. | heard that

Alphas were being killed and the killer was leaving a signature. So, | thought, Oh, that sounds like fun.“” He

shrugged like this was the most logical thing in the world. “So, | pretended to be dead and let the news spread. |

wanted to see what people would say about me.”

Then his expression darkened into a frown. “But do you know what they said instead? That | was insane. Can you

believe the insult?”

“No, | can’t,” | said, my tone dry and laced with sarcasm.

But, of course, Ricardo missed it entirely. “I knew you'd understand. You seefor me. Aren’t you going to eat?”

| stared at him for a moment, then grabbed a plate, loading it with food just to get him to keep talking. Satisfied,

he continued.

“Anyway, the whole ‘death’ thing was great for a while. It letweed out the people who didn’t really like me-

naturally, I've killed them all. That's been a lot of fun. But unfortunately, pretending to be dead left my pack

without an obvious. Alpha, and now it’s in trouble.”

Things started falling into place. “So you had word spread that your pack was coming afterfor supposedly

killing you, knowing Carter would get wind of it and tell me. That way, I'd chere.”

His grin widened. “And that is why you and | are best friends.”

Anger surged through me. | rose to my feet. “You and | are not friends. The only thing you've done is waste my

Rickon, we're leaving.”

time.

Rickon, still chewing a mouthful of roasted meat, looked up atlike I'd just announced that all holidays had

been canceled. He took his tswallowing before speaking. “But I'm enjoying it here.”

“Fine. Then stay,” | snapped. “You two are perfectly suited for each other anyway.”

“Gray Gray, don’t be like that,” Ricardo said, his tone mockingly sweet.

| turned to glare at him. “And stop callingthat.”

“I'll be serious if you sit back down,” he offered with

a

grin.

1 didn’t move.

“Fine, fine. I'll try to be serious,” he amended, his grin turning mischievous.

12:05 sat, Jan 11 GD.

Chapter 141

With an irritated sigh, | sat back down, wondering for the hundredth time-how the hell | had gotten into this.

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“Thank you, Grayson,” Ricardo smiled, emphasizing my nas though it was a personal victory. “Now, as | was

saying. Someone's coming after my pack, and unlike the others, this one isn’t so easy to take down. Which is

why | need your help- or an alliance.”

Rickon burst out laughing, nearly choking on his food. “Grayson Align with you? Our families have been allies for

centuries, and even then, he made it difficult forwhen | becAlpha.”

I didn’t like that he was right, so | said nothing.

Ricardo finally turned his attention to Rickon. “He is really picky isn't he?”

Rickon nodded. “And he’s always angry about something.”

“The two of you, stop that,” | snapped, glaring at both of them. Then | turned to Ricardo. “I'm not interested in

forming an alliance with you. You faked your own death for fun. You can deal with the consequences of your

actions.”

| stood again, ready to leave, but this tRicardo’s voice turned serious.

“Everyone knows about the attacks, the threats to your throne. This alliance could be good for both of us. We

band together and take down our enemieswith my twisted mind, you with your...well, Grayson Blackwood-

ness, and him...” He gestured to Rickon. “Well, I'll figure out his skills later.”

“Oh, I'm in on it now?” Rickon grinned.

“I've officially decided that I like you. Welcto the brotherhood.”

“There is no brotherhood,” | snapped again. “And the two of you should stop talking to each other.

Ricardo dropped his fork with a deliberate clatter, and in the smotion, his Alpha aura surged forward, filling

the room with an oppressive weight. His playful grin vanished, replaced by a sharp, deadly seriousness. His

piercing eyes locked onto mine, and in that moment, it was clear that all traces of his earlier amusement were

gone.

“I have a whole lot of resources, and you know it,” Ricardo said, his voice low and measured, but it carried a

gravity that was impossible to ignore. “Even a dumb person can feel it—a war is coming. Not one of my making,

but a real one. And you, Grayson, are at the center of it. The attacks will cfor you first. They already are. You

need people by your this war, but you won't admit it to yourself.”

“He’s not wrong,” Rickon interjected.

| turned sharply to Rickon, narrowing my eyes. “I told you not to talk to him.”

side

to win

Rickon’s expression mirrored Ricardo’s now-calm but resolute The levity from earlier had drained out of him

completely. His easy smirk was gone, replaced by something I could only describe as an Alpha’s determination.

“I wasn’t speaking to him, | am talking to you and you don’t have to like what he’s saying,” Rickon said, meeting

my glare head-on. “But that doesn’t make it any less true.”

A low growl rumbled in my chest, but it wasn’t directed at Rickon or Ricardo. It was my wolf stirring inside me,

restless and insistent. It wasn’t often that my wolf and | disagreed, but now | could feel its silent urging-his

agreement with their words. My instincts were tellingthe sthing | didn’t want to acknowledge: the threat

was real, and it was bigger than I'd thought.

Still, admitting that aloud? Never

Ricardo leaned forward, his hands resting on the edge of the table, his eyes boring into mine with unnerving

intensity. “So what's it going to be, Grayson? A yes or a no?”

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