The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 82

-Grayson'’s POV-

The room fell into an unnatural silence, the kind that pressed against your ears and made your pulse thrum

louder in the quiet. Luther's words echoed in my mind: | was responsible? A ridiculous claim, but the weight of it

hung heavy in the air. My thoughts were interrupted by Ava’s sharp voice breaking through the tension.

“The man said Grayson was responsible? That's a load of bullshit Someone is clearly trying to frhim,” she

said, her voice steady but laced with anger.

Luther's glare didn’t waver as he turned his full attention to Ava And you're sure of this because you know him

so well?” he sneered. “The man with enough blood on his hands to start an entire pack?”

| felt Ava’s touch on my arm, grounding me, tetheringto reason. But | didn’t want that. Not now. | pulled

away from her, my wolf pacing inside me, restless and seething. My voice, when | spoke, was cold and

measured, laced with the kind of quiet fury that made people take a step back.

“Ill say this only once,” | began, my tone even but threatening. did not kill any Alpha or send anyone after you,

Luther. But if you start spreading this nonsense, I'll make sure you know exactly who's responsible for ending

you. Test me, and you'll find out.”

Luther's jaw tightened, his defiance burning in his eyes, but he didn’t respond. Instead, his gaze shifted, sliding

to Evelyn Pierce, who stood silently opposite him. They exchanged a look, something unspoken passing between

them, before Luther turned back to me.

“This is my home,” he said curtly. “And you're intruding on my territory. You might be king, but that doesn’t give

you the right to barge in here uninvited. Use the door.

1 ignored his words, stepping closer instead. “I want to speak to the man you caught.”

Luther's lips curled into a mockery of a smile, his eyes glinting with barely concealed satisfaction. “Te’s dead,” he

said. Clawed out his own throat the moment he confessed. He paused, letting the weight of his next words settle

heavily between us. “After he admitted you ordered the attack”

| felt my wolf surge within me, a raw fury clawing to the surface was ready to call Luther out on his lies, to rip

through his thinly veiled accusation, but then Ava reached foragain. Her hand, warm and steady, slipped into

mine, and when | glanced down at her, her eyes pleaded for restraint.

Let it go, they seemed to say.

| let out a long breath, forcing the anger to recede, even though it simmered just beneath the surface. My grip on

Ava’s hand tightened as | shot Luther one last warning glare before turning to leave.

The night air outside was crisp, biting against my skin as | stepped out of the house. Ava’s voice cut through the

silence. “Someone's not only killing Alphas but trying to fryou. That's just... messed up.”

| stopped, surprised by her words. | had assumed her defense ofinside was performative, something done

out of necessity in front of her parents.

“You really believe | didn’t do it?” | asked, watching her closely.

She rolled her eyes as though the answer was obvious, “Of course, you didn’t. If you wanted someone dead,

you'd handle it yourself. You wouldn't send assassins and leave a trail that points directly back to you. That's not

your style.”

Her blunt honesty startled me, but there was an edge of admiration in her voice that I didn’t know what to do

with. Before | could respond, her expression shifted, concern darkening her features.

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Chapter 821

“This is bad, though,” she said, pacing a few steps ahead. “My father won't keep his mouth shut about this. The

rumors will spread like wildfire-that you're behind the killings”

| opened my mouth to speak, but she cutoff, the fire in her voice growing.

“And don’t say you don’t care what they think. You're their king, Grayson. If they believe you're ordering their

deaths instead of protecting them, they'll turn on you. Alphas will band together, and even you can’t fight a

united uprising. Numbers

matter.”

She was right, of course. The wolf inchafed at the idea of defending myself to anyone, but the leader in me

knew she spoke the truth.

“This is what you're going to do,” she continued, her tone sharp, commanding, and unwavering. “You're going to

issue a statement to every Alpha-aligned with you or not-and get ahead of this mess before my father starts

spreading his version of the story. You'll make it clear that you had nothing to do with these attacks and that

you'll find out who's behind them. Because that’s what a king does.”

| stayed silent, watching her as she spoke. There was something magnetic about the way she moved, her

passion and conviction radiating from her with every word.

When she finally stopped, she turned to face me, her eyes narrowing. “Why are you looking atlike that?” she

asked, her voice softening.

| couldn't help the smile that spread across my face, slow and unbidden. Her eyes widened in surprise, and |

realized why. | hardly ever smiled.

“What?” she asked, her voice a mix of curiosity and wariness.

“Nothing.” | said, my voice low, almost amused. “I'll do it. I'll do everything you said.”

Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “You... will?”

“Does that surprise you?”

“Honestly, yes, she admitted. “I figured you'd listen to me, nod, and then do whatever you were originally

planning”

| stepped closer, holding her gaze. “You're my Luna, Ava. Of course, I'll listen to you.”

For a moment, she said nothing, just staring atas though she wasn’t quite sure what to make of my words.

Then, slowly, a faint blush crept across her cheeks. She quickly turned away, hiding her face, but | caught the

small smile tugging at her lips before she did.

The night had settled into a quiet rhythm as we walked toward my car when something suddenly clicked in my

mind. The letter. The one that convincedto venture into Dylan's territory for a proposed alliance. You wrote

it, didn’t you?”

She didn’t break stride, but | caught the subtle stiffening in her shoulders, “Yes. | handled almost everything

related to

made alliances and negotiations with other alphas. But when it ctto finalize deals or show my face

publicly, Dylan sure | didn’t. He needed the credit, of course. | hated every second of it, hated that | was fated to

him. Six months. Six months of enduring him- Her voice tightened, raw emotion spilling into her words. “He's an

awful person.”

“And yet,” | pressed, “you stoppedfrom killing him because?

She finally glanced up at me, then sighed, “Because of the optics, Dylan is expecting a child, and my history with

him is messy enough without adding bloodshed into the mix. If you killed him, rumors would spread. People

would twist it into sabsurd tale of jealousy or revenge. It’s better to let him ruin his own reputation. I just

want to go home, Grayson. To sleep. To forget all of this for a few hours before | have to deal with tomorrow.”

There was something about the word hthat resonated deep inside me. It wasn’t just a place-it was

something | hadn't realized | craved until she said it. My wolf stirred restlessly, growing in quiet agreement.

Tue, Dec

Chapter 82

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| opened the car door for her, and she slid inside, glancing up atwith a faint smile. It was brief, barely there,

but it left its mark on me. | shut the door and moved to the driver's side, settling in for the drive hack.

The silence that filled the car wasn’t uncomfortable. It was the kind that let thoughts breathe, that allowed

reflection to take root. As the city lights blurred past us, | kept my focus on the road, letting plans for tomorrow

take shape in my mind.

It wasn’t long before | noticed Ava’s breathing had softened. She'd fallen asleep, her head tilted slightly against

the window. The sight brought an unbidden smile to my face, one | didn’t even realize had formed until | let out a

quiet sigh.

Ava Pierce. The woman who'd turned my world upside down without even trying. She was going to be the end of

me.

The peace of the moment shattered when my phone buzzed violently against the console. Ava stirred, her

eyelids fluttering open, and | cursed under my breath. | ignored the first buzz, but the phone started ringing

persistently, forcingto pick it

up

The non the screen read Liam.

“What?” | snapped, annoyed that he’d disturbed her sleep. “Ava was sleeping.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. | could practically hear Liam's confusion before he finally spoke.

“Uh.. okay. Well, sorry about that, but we've got a situation.”

“What kind of situation?” My tone sharpened, my instincts flaring.

“It's better if you see it for yourself,” Liam replied cryptically. “Where are you?”

“Almost home,” | said, my patience wearing thin. “What's going on?”

“Just hurry,” he said, his voice laced with urgency before the line went dead.

| tossed the phone aside, glancing at Ava briefly “Go back to sleep,” | murmured, though | didn’t look at her long

enough to see if she obeyed. My foot pressed harder on the accelerator, the engine growling as we sped toward

my estate.

When we reached the gates, | noticed a crowd of my men gathered near the entrance. A groan escaped my lips

as 1 brought the car to a halt.

What now?

Liam stepped forward, gesturing forto join him. Ava began to move, but | shot her a warning look. “Stay in

the car.”

I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out, striding toward Liam in a few quick steps. “What's going on?”

His face was grim as he spoke. “He just... appeared here, minutes ago. No one saw him arrive, no one knows

how-

He trailed off, and | pushed past him, moving toward the source of everyone's attention. My men parted as

I'approached, their eyes filled with unease.

And then | saw it.

The body.

A man lay crumpled on the ground, his clothes soaked with blood. His face was twisted in a frozen scream, his

throat torn open in a way that only one of us could accomplish. But it wasn’t just the corpse that caught my

attention.

Scrawled in blood near his body were five chilling words:

THE KING MUST FALL.

08:52 Tue, Dec 1/

Chapter 83

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