The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 57

-Ava’s POV-

This is all your fault,” | heard Isabella spit at Rickon

He scoffed back, barely audible. “How is it my fault? Did | poison the drinks?”

But | barely heard him as | bolted after Eliza, who had darted off into the parking lot after her outburst. My feet

pounded against the pavement as | chased her, my heart racing with a mix of frustration and fear. | didn’t know

what she’d do, but fear has a way of pushing people to dangerous limits, and Eliza looked ready to snap.

| understood her terror. People fear what they don’t understand, and if there were ever a tfor gallows humor,

I'd joke that people are especially afraid of anyone who can grow fur and claws on command.

Eliza dashed onto the street, causing honking cars to swerve and drivers to shout out their windows. She didn’t

stop, though, just kept running. | cursed under my breath, weaving through the onslaught of angry drivers in a

freaking wedding gown, calling out, “Sorry! Sorry!” as | followed her. Finally, she turned down an alleyway, and |

pushed harder, exhaustion clawing at my limbs

How far was she planning to run?

Where was she even going?

And how was she running so fast in heels?

The distance between us started to shrink, and | yelled, “Eliza, please stop! Letexplain!”

She didn’t. Then, by sstroke of luck, she found herself at a dead end, forced to halt. | caught up to her,

breath ragged. She spun around, grabbing something-what, | couldn't tell-and held it out like a weapon, her

hands trembling “Don’t comne near me, Ava, or | swear I'll hit you!”

| took a step back, raising my hands to show her | meant no harm. “Eliza, con, please, Drop whatever that

is. I'm not going to hurt you.”

“Not going to hurt me?” Her voice cracked, her eyes wide and frantic. “I just saw that man grow fur, Aval His

fingers turned into claws, his eyes went black like a void. And Isabella's eyes they changed too. All of you-

monsters. You're all monsters!”

| forced myself to stay calm, though panic was simmering beneath my own skin. “Eliza, listen to me. I'll explain

everything. | promise. We're... we're werewolves. And | wish | had more tto ease you into this, but something

terrible is happening in that wedding hall. More people are about to find out we exist and the fear you're feeling

right now? It’s going to spread. Please, put that thing down, cwith me, and I'll tell you everything later.”

She stared at me, wild-eyed, her chest heaving. “Werewolves don’t exist. This isn’t sdamn horror ,

Ava. Werewolves aren't real”

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“But we are.” | softened my voice. “Eliza, I'm still me. I'm still the sAva. | don’t even have a wolf like the

others. Be still Bels. We're just... us. No one here wants to hurt you.”

“I saw a man grow fur,” she shrieked, pulling at her hair. “Nothing is the same! This is insane. This has to be

smessed-up dream. | need to wake up

She started slapping herself, hard. “Wake up, Eliza. Wake up!”

“Eliza, stop it!” | snapped, harsher than | intended. “I don’t have tfor this, and | don’t trust that you won't do

something reckless if | leave you alone. You're coming back with me. Now.

My words seemed to slice through her panic, grounding her. She stilled, her hands dropping to her sides. Her

voice was

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Chapter 57

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almost a whisper. “Why Why do you people exist? How do you even exist?”

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| sighed, trying to soften my tone, though urgency was clawing at me. “I don’t know, Eliza. Nature, maybe? Look,

just please, cwith me. I'll answer every question you have afterward, | swear. My parents maderead a

hundred books on werewolf history growing up. Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you.”

She searched my face, and for a moment, | saw the old Eliza-te friend who had just clicked. Finally, she nodded,

though her grip tightened around the strange object in her hand. “Fine But I'm keeping this. Whatever it is.”

“Fair enough.”

She moved toward me, cautiously, keeping a few feet of distance. We made our way back to the street. | could

feel her unease, the distrust radiating from her. | scanned the area, cursing inwardly. | didn’t have my phone to

call Isabella. Running back was out of the question: | was drained, and twas slipping through my fingers like

sand.

| turned to her. “Do you have your phone?”

She shook her head, her expression stricken. “No. I. | don’t even know where it is right now. And Grayson is

probably plotting a hundred different ways to firein the most brutal way possible.” Her eyes widened as if

she'd just realized something “Wait. Grayson Blackwood-is he like you? Are all of you like.. this?”

| cringed. Of course, this couldn't just be simple. “Yes. He is.”

“Oh God,” she muttered, pulling at her hair again. “This is this is insane. I'm going to lose my mind.”

“Eliza, focus,” | said sharply. “We need to get back there. Remember?”

She blinked, and a flicker of clarity returned. “I have cash. We can get a cab.” She lifted the hem of her dress,

revealing bills strapped to her leg. “My mom taughtto always be prepared for anything. Though she didn’t

exactly preparefor werewolves.

“Thank the Goddess, | murmured, relief flooding through me. | flagged down a cab as she untied the money, and

after giving the driver the address. He scannedand the dress but before he could say anything, | urged him

to hurry. Eliza kept her distance from me, pressed up against the opposite doar her body tense. | tried not to let

it sting.

After all, what else could | expect?

The drive felt endless, each second a drawn-out eternity. | could feel my anxiety simmering beneath my skin,

growing heavier with each passing moment. When we finally arrived, chaos was spilling out of the hall-humans

rushing out in every direction, panic on their faces. My heart sank-

“Stay close, | told Eliza as | scrambled out of the cab. She nodded, reluctantly following. | scanned the area for

Isabella or Rickon, but they were nowhere in sight. Cursing, | moved toward the back entrance with Eliza trailing

behind, and the sounds of shouting and scuffling grew louder.

The moment | stepped inside, my gaze locked onto Grayson, barking orders as more humans flooded out of the

building Wolves were scattered on the ground, coughing and heaving, but none of them had shifted fully.

Why hadn't they turned?

Before | could move further, Grayson’s icy gaze snapped tolike he could feel my presence. His expression

darkene irritation tightening his jaw. Then Liam appeared, blocking my path with a low growl. “I thought | told

you to get out of here

Ignoring hum, | asked, “Why aren’t they shifting?”

A rough hand grabbed my arm, yankingback, and | turned to find myself face-to-face with Grayson’s

intense, angry stare. His voice was a cold whisper, “What are you doing here?”

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His eyes slid to Eliza, and his scowl deepened. “And you brought her?”

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| pulled my arm free, matching his glare. “I just chased her through an alleyway because she saw Rickon almost

shift. We're on the verge of a full-blown exposure crisis, Grayson. | don’t think now is the tto argue.”

“Why were you with Rickon?” he growled, his jaw clenched.

“Are you serious? That's what you're worried about right now?”

Before he could respond, a voice floated through the chaos. “I know I still look stunningly beautiful, but I'm

getting bored here, when are you saving the day, Grayson?” said a woman with a teasing smile, lounging with

one leg propped up on a table. She twirled a hand in the air as though this chaos was nothing more than a game.

Grayson'’s expression didn’t soften, but he replied curtly, “Maria She’s a witch and... an old friend. She’s using a

spell to stop them from shifting”

“You have friends?” | said, just as Eliza muttered in shock, “There are witches too?” Her voice trembled,

remindingshe was still beside me..

He looked at me, his tone cold as ice. | told you to stay out of this, Ava. Leave.”

| met his gaze, unflinching “I know you don’t wanthere, but won't sit back while we're on the brink of being

exposed. We need the antidote for wolfsbane to stop this madness. We just need to find enough, fast.”

“I know that,” he snapped, his jaw clenched, “I already have people retrieving all the antidote we have. Now, you

need to leave

“I'm not going anywhere.”

A sly smile spread across Maria's face as she interjected, her tone laced with amusement. “Aren't you going to

introduceto the woman brave enough to put up with your grouchy attitude” She cocked her head, eyes

gleaming with a strange familiarity, as if she knew him well enough to get under his skin

He exhaled, clearly irritated, and opened his mouth to respond, but Liam approached, cutting in with a grave

expression. “We have an even bigger problem.”

Grayson'’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of tension passing across his face. “What now?”

Liam's gaze shifted, his voice low but urgent. “I just got a call from the men sent to get the antidote. It's all gone.

Someone broke into the warehouse and stole everything”

A wave of dread slammed into my chest, my heart hammering as the reality of the situation settled in. Just when

| thought it couldn't get worse, Maria’s voice, now void of humor, added a firal layer of tension.

“Grayson, | think we have a serious problem.” Her eyes darkened, her playful expression replaced by an

unsettling intensity. “I don’t know what's happening, but the spell is breaking. | can’t hold them back from

shifting much longer.”