The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 59

-Ava’s POV-

Weddings were supposed to mark the beginning of a happily ever after, a fairytale of love and promises. But

here, it felt like the start of an eternity filled with blood and shadows. The memory of what happened to Luca

burned in my mind, knowing Grayson would want revenge for what had taken place here tonight. And when

Grayson wanted revenge, there was no force strong enough to stop him.

| gave

| sighed deeply as we ushered the last of the guests out, doing our best to reassure them that everything was

fine. Liam;a single, unreadable glance before slipping out in silence.

Now it was just us-Isabella, Eliza, Rickon, and me. The remnants of my so-called wedding lay scattered around

us, tainted by violence and secrets that no one should have had to witness on a day meant for vows and new

beginnings

“Well, that was eventful,” Rickon drawled, breaking the silence with his usual casualness “Officially the best

wedding I've ever been to.”

Isabella rounded on him, crossing her arms with a glare. “Do you ever know when to stop? This could have

ended a lot worse, and here you are cracking jokes.”

He returned her glare with equal intensity. “Maybe if you weren't so uptight, you'd appreciate a little humor.

Besides, you should be thanking me-my antidotes are what saved the day.”

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “First of all, I'm not uptight. Second, we saved your ass back there, and it was the

witch who saved the day, not your little potions.”

Rickon gave her an exaggerated eye roll before retorting, “I was going to stick around, maybe even bond with

my gal pals. but you've officially ruined it.”

Eliza raised an eyebrow, amused. “You don’t even know me, and who even says ‘gal pals?”

Rickon’s eyes flashed with irritation before he finally turned to me, his usual charming smile reappearing, “Ava,

darling, you deserve better company. I'll see you around. Congratulations again,” he said with a wink, before

striding out, leaving just the three of us.

“And then there were three,” Isabella muttered.

I shook my head, tiredness settling heavily on my shoulders. | walked over to one of the chairs and sank down.

Everything had been so exhausting, physically and emotionally. Isabella let out a sigh, and then her gaze turned

determined. “I'm going to find salcohol. A closed bottle this time. | refuse to be sober right now.”

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Eliza chuckled and took the seat next to me. “Unrelated, but aren't you supposed to be on your honeymoon right

about now?”

| paused, letting out a short laugh. | might as just tell all my secrets, “Funny thing about that... Grayson and-t,

we're only going to be married for a year. It’s part of a contract | signed with him. No fairytale, no happily-ever-

after-just a convenient arrangement to escape my controlling parents. So, no honeymoon.”

Eliza's brows lifted in surprise. “Well, with everything going on, that’s somehow the least surprising thing today.

This whole thing sounds like a cliché billionaire romance story but with werewolves and witches.”

“Right? Just without the grand romance part, | muttered, swallowing back the bitterness. | didn’t mention the

other thing. the real reason Grayson started the contract, the one he refused to discuss, though | could have

sworn I'd felt him react toduring the first kiss,

Just then, Isabella returned, triumphantly holding up four bottle. “We're in luck, ladies! Four bottles-two for

Chayer W

I'm drinking Trepid quickly “I have work tomorrow, and someone happens to be bleeding out. I'd rather be able

Shrewded. “Even with all this supernatural madness, if | don’t show up tomorrow, I'll definitely be fired”

been exaggerated wigh, taking the last chair and pulling it close. She looked at us both with a mischievous

gleam in her eyes “You're tech tellingyou want to be stone-cold er after someone tried to out werewolves on

your wedding day to mention, they're still out there, probably watching as we speak,” she added with a dark

grin, her gaze settling on“And you” she needed at Eliza, “you really want to be sober while learning about

werewolves?”

A shiver ran down my spine at her words, and | held out my hand. “That was low, Bels. Alright, givea bottle.

And by the way, | told Elsa the marriage is fake”

Viza chuckled, reaching for a boule herself. “On second thought, | do need a drink.”

|

Tafella grinned as we each twisted open our bottles, | cleared my throat. “Sooo. Where do | start? Okay.

Werewolves have eated for centuries, and-"

abella quickly cut in, givingan exasperated look. “Hold up, Lilian. If you're about to launch into sboring

lecture you memorized from your parents at age ten, spare us. I'll do the talking, you sit back and relax.

1 shrugged, taking a wig from my bottle as Isabella grinned and turned her attention to Eliza. “Alright, newbie.

Here's what you

need to know Werewolves have been around for centuries, scattered in packs all over the world. And there are

rules- strict ones Packs, like clans, with Alphas leading And in different regions, there is an overall Alpha, like the

Alpha of all alphas. We call him the Alpha King. That's Grayson here.”

Les leaned forward, clearly intrigued. “That's no surprise. So, packs what do they actually do? | mean, is it all

fighting and

“Not always, habella replied with a smirk. “We're not wild animals.. well, not all the time. Packs offer protection,

a family of sorts We're bound by a common code. But with power comes conflict, especially among Alphas who

want more power. That's where the blood and comes in.”

Eliza nodded, her eyes wide. “And what about mates? Is that, like, real?”

“Oh, it’s real, alright, fabella answered, her tone tinged with sarcasm. “Mates are a whole other complication. You

don’t get to pack. It's scosmic, ancient force that links two souls, binding them in a way that can’t be

broken. Think of it as the ultimate commection. But that doesn’t mean it’s always welcome. Sometimes, being

bound to someone you don’t want can

She glanced st me, “unbearable

Eliza's curiosity deepened, her expression slightly tense. “So... it’s like an arranged marriage by the universe?”

“Exactly, Sometimes it’s bliss, sometimes it’s torture. And yes, if you're bound to the wrong person, it's hell.

Trust me, I've seen it go both ways,” Tabella responded, taking a long swig from her bottle. “Lilian is the perfect

example of the hell part but we will cto that later. And then there are Betas, the Alphas right-hand wolves.

They keep order within the pack and

follows the rules” mure everyone

Eliza raised an eyebrow, clearly absorbing all of this. “This sounds like stwisted supernatural soap opera.”

Isabella laughed, clinking her bottle against Eliza's. “Oh, honey, you have no idea. There are centuries-old

rivalries, betrayals, alliances and that’s just on a good day.”

Tabella took another swig, then flashed a mischievous grin. “Any questions so far?”

“Can | please answer them?” | asked, feeling a surge of excitement.

Isabella laughed, “Nine years later, and you're still such a teachers pet, Lilian.” She turned to Eliza, “You know,

she was so annoying when we met at the werewolf academy. | don’t know how she got lucky enough to become

nty friend”

09:27 Mon, Dec 16

Chapter 59

I rolled my eyes. “ExcuseYou punchedin the face, declared we were best friends, and all because my

eyes change color and everyone liked me.”

“You made the teachers give us extra assignments. No one liked you, Lilian,” Isabella shot back, rolling her eyes.

“Anyway, ahead and answer squestions, teacher's pet”

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“I hate you.”

“I know. | love you too.”

Eliza laughed, watching our banter. “You two are really cute, but still have questions,” she interjected, “Starting

with why you call her Lilian and why your eyes actually change colors, Ava

w

Isabella answered before 1 could speak. “It's her middle name. | used to call her Ava, but then | heard her

parents call her by her full nfor the first time, and they made it sound so, cold and strict. So, | started calling

her Lilian, just to add a bit of warmth. Plus, | couldn't use the neveryone else did. She's special like that.”

Something shifted insideat her words-a crack, a small fracture in the walls Ed built around myself. My

parents had always madedespise my full name, saying it with such distaste whenever they wanted to scold

me. But Isabella had claimed it, given it back towith kindness.

Clearing my throat before emotion betrayed me. | tried to brush it off. “I don’t know why my eyes change color.

I've always been like this. My parents saw it as ssort of flaw. They spent years trying to figure out what was

“wrong” withso they could fix it, but they couldn't,”

Eliza leaned forward, her gaze curious. “Do you think it’s connected to being a werewolf?”

| took another swig, letting the burn calm my nerves. “Honestly | don’t know. | don’t even... | don’t exactly have

a wolf

Isabella squeezed my hand, her voice steady and reassuring. “You do. She's in there somewhere, and we're

going to find her -I promise. Plus, we've got one more person helping us now, right, Eliza?”

It took her a second, but Eliza nodded, raising her bottle. “I'm L

Isabella lifted her own bottle, a grin lighting up her face. The duo is now a trio. Here's to finding Lilian’s wolf and

making her the most badass version of herself”

| smiled, feeling warmth spread through me, and lifted my bottle as well. We clinked them together, the sound

ringing with shared determination.

This felt... nice. It felt right, like for once, | wasn't totally alone in the darkness. And yet, Isabella’s earlier joke

played over in my mind like a warning. Someone had attacked us, and deep down, | knew it wasn't just random.

It had been a message, a threat directed at Grayson. As | sat there, | couldn’t shake the sensation that someone

was still watching us, lurking like a shadow at the back of my mind.

Waiting.

Watching.

Biding their tbefore they struck again.