The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 72

-Ava’s POV-

I let out a sharp gasp as my eyes snapped open, blinking rapidly trying to force my senses to catch up with the

shock of waking. For a moment, everything felt disorienting, my vision blurred, my mind groggy, but as I took in

my surroundings. | felt a chill settle over me. | pushed myself up slowly, feeling the mugh, cold ground beneath

me, and realized that | was standing in the middle of an empty street. The street stretched endlessly in either

direction, bordered by houses lined up in neat rows. But these weren't pist any houses-they looked identical to

my parents’ mansion. Each one was a perfect replica, from the tall windows to the finely manicured bushes, lined

up like ghostly memories from my past

As

A cold groan escaped my hips Really? My subconscious couldn’t have droppedsomewhere with a car waiting

for me, or at least sother way to move through this endless nightmare?

looked down the street, the houses stretched out as far as | could see, irlentical facades disappearing into the

distance

With a sigh, | started walking, my footsteps echoing softly against the empty street. Each step seemed to take an

eternity, my progress feeling agonizingly slow. The houses blurred into each other, perfectly maintained yet

empty, like shells. | didn’t even know where | was going, just that | had to keep moving forward.

Then, after what felt like hours, something caught my eye-a faint detail that broke the monotonous perfection.

One of the houses had a small dent at the corner of its exterior, so subtle it was barely noticeable. But | saw it

immediately. Growing up. Td been trained to notice details, to catch imperfections, and that training kicked in

automatically, honing my focus on that small, imperfect mark. I'd passed this house five times now, and every

time, I'd seen that dent. My heart sank as a realization washed over me-Id been walking in a loop.

So... either my subconscious wantedto enter that house, or something was keepingtrapped.

| couldn’t think of any other explanation, so | took a deep breath, turned, and walked toward it. My steps felt

heavier as | approached the front door, the eerie silence pressing down around me. | raised my hand to knock,

half-expecting the butler from my childhood-the one who'd always looked down atwith that sneer of

disdain-to answer. But the knock echoed back atunanswered.

No movement, no sound.

Was | really that alone? Not even a memory of my family here to greeteven though | didn’t really like them?

At the very least, | would have expected Isabella or Uncle Damien or someone who made this place feel like

home.

Pushing the door open, | called out, “Hello? Is anyone home? Mother? Father? Ava Ugly-nose butler?” My voice

sounded small, almost swallowed up by the empty house

Silence greeted me, followed by a soft slam as the door closed behind me. | took a few tentative steps forward,

glancing around. The place looked exactly as | remembered it-the sfurniture, the spaintings on the

walls. Every inch of the space seemed frozen in time.

Then, like a tug on my heart, | thought of my room. If there was anything to find inside my head, surely it would

be there moved quickly up the staircase, my hand gliding over the polished banister, familiar yet foreign. | threw

open the door to my room... only to find something entirely different.

It was a nursery, filled with baby things, all neatly arranged but everything was in twos. Two cribs, two small

beds, toys scattered around | froze, confusion blooming into unease. Why would my subconscious takehere,

to an image of infancy? | hadn't remembered anything from that tand why were things in double?

Td

Just as | was about to turn away, a sharp, piercing cry shattered the silence. Startled. | turned to see a small

figure in one of the cribs suddenly, staring up atwith wide, curious eyes. | moved closer, peering down. It

was a baby-but notseen pictures of myself as a baby, and this child didn’t look like me.

| reached out hesitantly, my fingers just about to touch her, when suddenly everything started to shake violently.

The ground seemed to tremble beneath my feet, the walls and ceiling swaying as if caught in an earthquake. |

stumbled backward, watching as the room seemed to crack and peel away ke the skin of a broken doll. Panic

seizedas | braced

Chapter 72

for impact, throwing my hands up to shield my fare.

And then, in an instant, everything stopped.

2

Lowering my arms slowly, | saw that | was no longer in the nursery but standing in the middle of a forest. The

darkness aroundwas thick, oppressive, and when | looked up, the sky was an endless stretch of midnight. |

sighed, brushing dut from my clothes.

“Don’t you think it would be easier if you just showed yourself?” | shouted into the sharlows. “Then we could

merge or whatever, and | could get on with this happily-ever-after nonsense

Nothing moved. The silence pressed down on me, almost mocking in its stillness. | scowled, irritation bubbling to

the

surface.

“Wolf version of me? Con, helpout here!” | yelled, feeling my frustration grow. “You're supposed to be

spowerful part of me, right?”

A slow creak sounded from behind me, like a branch bending under pressure. | spun around, eyes scanning the

shadows. For a moment, there was nothing. Then, a figure stepped into view-my exact reflection, staring back at