The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 68

- Ava’s POV-

| hated the concept of death.

How could someone be here one moment, breathing, laughing, living-and the next, just gone? Their voice, the

warmth of their touch, the familiarity of their presence, all erased as if they never been there at all. I'd seen it

too many times in the sterile, indifferent walls of a hospital, and every single time, it tore at something deep

inside me. It was like staring into an abyss, a darkness so complete and uncaring that it madeshiver.

As | looked at Mikayla carlier, the fear in her eyes had shattered me. She was so close to losing her mother. |

could see how it was eating away at her, even though Tessa had survived the scare But the shadow of death had

lingered, hanging over us like dark cloud, a noose barely kept at bay. It was a reminder that any one of us could

be pulled into that silence at any time. It felt so cruel, so utterly senseless, and | despised it.

The exhaustion hitlike a wave, a heavy weight draggingdown. | kicked off my shoes and let myself fall

back onto the bed, sinking into the mattress, staring up at the ceiling as if the answer to life’s fragility was

hidden somewhere in the patterns of paint above me.

The note crept into my mind, unbidden.

The note that Grayson had left behind. My mind went back to Tessa and | wondered if, lying there, uncertain of

whether she'd see another sunrise, she'd had any regrets, any wishes left unfulfilled. Did she have any “what ifs”

that haunted her. moments or choices she’d replayed in her mind? | imagined the weight of those regrets,

pressing down on her chest as she clung to life. Because as much as | wanted to be optimistic, | couldn't ignore

the reality staring us in the face. Things were looking bleak.

Would | end up having what ifs too when my tcame?”

Pushing myself up, | wandered over to the window, staring out at the horizon where dark clouds were beginning

to gather. 1 watched as the clouds swirled and shifted, darkening until the world outside looked almost

monochrome, shades of gray bleeding together. | knew the rain was coming, and it would be more than just a

drizzle; it would be a torrential downpour, the kind that blankets the earth and drowns out all other sounds

Isabella had gone to talk to Rickon after what happened with Tesa, the close brush with death awakening

something in her, She was realizing, as | had, that life was too fragile, too fleeting, to leave things unsaid. She

wanted to explore all the possibilities and I didn’t know how her conversation would go, but | hoped that it would

bring her speace, sclosure.

With a sigh, | pulled out sclean clothes and decided to take a shower, hoping it might wash away sof

the weight clinging to my skin. | stepped into the bathroom, peeling off my clothes slowly, feeling the exhaustion

in my limbs, the heaviness in my heart. | turned on the water, letting it run until it was almost scalding, and

stepped under the spray.

The first rush of water cascaded over me, hot and relentless, envelopingin a cloud of steam. It was a shock

at first, almost too hot, but as it soaked into my skin, 1 felt myself begin to relax, inch by inch. The heat seeped

into my muscles, unwinding the knots of tension that had twisted throughall day. | closed my eyes, tilting my

head back, letting the water beat down. on my face, feeling it wash away the grime, the stress, the residue of

worry.

| focused on the feeling, the water drumming against my scalp, tracing down the curves of my body, slipping

over my shoulders, down my arms, over my chest. It was like a gentle massage, soothing, grounding. Each drop

carried away a fragment of my weariness, washing it down the drain until | felt like | was slowly coming back to

myself, piece by piece. | ran my hands over my skin, feeling the warmth, feeling alive, and for a brief moment, |

was able to let go of everything-of death, of worry, of fear.

Finally, | shut off the water, stepping out of the shower into the coolness of the bathroom. | wrapped myself in a

towel. feeling the contrast of warmth and chill, and padded over to the window. The rain had started, just as I'd

expected, soft at first, just a drizzle tapping against the glass. But as | watched, the droplets grew larger, faster,

merging into rivulets that streamed down in streaks. Thunder rolled in the distance, a low ominous rumble, and

the rain intensified, drumming

09:29 Mon, Dec 16.

Chapter 68

against the window with relentless fury.

86%D

| dressed slowly, pulling on comfortable clothes, and reached for the note then climbed into bed, pulling the

comforter up around me, letting its warmth cocoonas the rain continued to pound against the roof, the wind

howling outside

Thunder cracked, sharp and sudden, and I flinched, gripping the note tighter. A strange fear bubbled up in me,

an irrational but powerful urge to leave its contents unknown. But | knew | couldn't avoid it forever. After what

felt like an eternity. | exhaled slowly, fingers trembling as | unfolded it, the paper crinkling softly in the silence.

The words stared back at me, ink smudged slightly and | started reading.

“Kings do not apologize.”

My father made sure | not only learned this sentence but understood it. In my early days, his teachings came

only as words, but as twent on, the lessons he taught cwith physical hits to ensure that when | saw the

marks, | would always remember. From the moment | was born, he madeunderstand that | was to be king.

Kings were not weak; kings bowed to no one. The king's words were final, and the entire world had to obey

my

At first, it was exciting. | pushed myself to train with the older children so | could prove myself fit to rule, but

then, the more father moldedinto what he deemed fit to rule, the more | hated the responsibility. | just

wanted to be normal. Many times. | wished | was. | wished | didn’t have to hide the fact that liked watching

Disney princesses with my little cousin, that | wanted to spend the day just helping my mom prepare meals

instead of constantly training, that sometimes | thought it was okay to lose.

But | wasn’t normal, and the more he hit me, the more the hate that had begun to fester grew, and it grew into

something that Host control of makingdo things that | will forever regret to this day. Things | have Maria

constantly use her magic to repress because | don’t want to remember. | don’t want to remember what it feels

like to be happy, to be sad, to feel anything, because | realized that if | embraced the evil that had formed in me,

| didn’t need to feel. Giving in to the darkness and becoming the monster it wantedto be made things easier.

| don’t even know if | remember how to feel I'm not sure if | want to because the coldness and the emptiness-

that is all I have known for the past sixteen years, and even as bleak as it is, | don’t know how to be any other

way anymore.

| thought | lost the ability to feel until | met you, and | still can’t comprehend what it is-why there is this need to

protect you. But indeed, it is maddening, and for the first tin sixteen years, | don’t know what to do.

Sometimes, my darkness gets out of control, and | let it control me, and people aroundget hurt. | didn’t want

that to happen to you because I'd rather let you go than ruin you. | never lied about the second reason on the

contract, but it is something | would rather not discuss. | don’t want the contract to end, but neither am | going

to destroy it because | don’t know what this is between us. but | am not there yet to not need a safety net. The

contract is the only way I can think of, and | hope you understand.

1 think I am almost out of space, so | am going to end this here. My father toldkings don’t apologize, so from

the little boy that once existed who just wanted a normal life, | am sorry that | pushed you away and waited this

long to tell you that. | hope you cback, but if you don’t, I'll accept your choice, and I'll sign the papers.

| closed my eyes as tears slipped down my face. Before | knew it, | was throwing off the covers and running out

of the house. Thunder rolled again, the rain intensifying as if it had sensed my resolve, but I didn’t care. | flung

open the door, barely thinking about how I'd reach him, but then-1 saw him, standing there in the rain, soaked

through, his eyes locked on mine.

And everything slowed for a moment.

Maybe my life wasn’t a story, and maybe I'd never have an epic romance, but | wanted this moment. | wanted to

be the girl who met him halfway, kissed in the rain, not the one who walked alone when it started raining. And

before | realized it. | was running.

He moved, too, and we met in the middle, rain drenching us both as | jumped into his arms, crashing my lips

against his.