The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 96

-Ava’s POV-

Pain rippled through my entire body, sharp and searing, as if every nerve had caught fire. For a moment, |

thought | might still be unconscious, trapped in scruel dream. But when | forced my eyes open-despite the

heavy weight of my eyelids -I realized | was awake. And alive.

| blinked, struggling to focus on my surroundings. The wreckage the screaming tires, Grayson-they were gone.

Instead, | found myself lying in the middle of an open field. The sky stretched endlessly above me, a pale gray

that seemed neither day nor night.

“Grayson?” | croaked.

There was no answer. Of course, there wasn't. | pushed myself up onto shaky elbows, my muscles trembling

under the strain, and scanned the field. Nothing. Just emptiness.

“And this,” she said, gesturing towardwith a lazy flick of her wrist, “is why you'll never get anywhere, Ava

Pierce.”

The voice stoppedcold.

It wasn’t just the words that madefreeze-it was the voice itself. Familiar. Unnervingly so. My breath caught

as | turned slowly, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

There she was. Me.

Or at least, a version of me.

Instinctively, | took a step back. Her smile widened.

“Stop it,” | snapped, my voice trembling with equal parts anger and unease. “I am not in the mood for this today.

If you're going to try to kill me, just get it over with already.”

Her laughter was light, almost musical, but it held no warmth. “Kill you? Why would | want to do that?” She tilted

her head, studyinglike a scientist might study a particularly dull specimen. Then, in the blink of an eye, she

vanished-only to reappear behind me.

| whirled around, my heart pounding.

“I'm not here to kill you,” she said with mock sweetness. “I am you, after all. Or at least, the better version of

you.”

“Better version?” | scoffed, folding my arms over my chest despite the gnawing unease in my stomach. “You're

not me. And you're definitely not the better version. | don’t hurt people. | don’t make them feel worthless. And |

sure as hell don’t try to commit murder.”

Her smirk faltered, just for a moment. Then she clicked her tongue in mock disapproval. “Oh, poor, sweet Ava.

And that is exactly your problem. Con, walk with me.”

“I'm not going anywhere with you,” | said firmly, taking another step back. “I don’t know what this is or how I got

here, but | need to get back. There was a crash, and Grayson-"

She shook her head slowl, cutting in, her expression almost... sad “You don’t get it, do you? You never have. But

fine.” She turned on her heel, walking away with purposeful strides. “Follow me, or don’t. Either way, you'll see.”

| glanced around, taking in the endless field. There was no escape. No other path forward. Cursing under my

breath, | ran after her.

The ground shifted beneath my feet as | moved, the damp earth giving way to something harder, colder. When |

stopped, |

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realized | was no longer in the field.

| was standing in the empty hallways of the Werewolf Academy

“What the hell...” | muttered, turning in a slow circle.

She appeared behind me, leaning casually against a wall. “Brings back memories, doesn’t it?” she said, her voice

light, almost playful. “But are they pleasant? Or are they memories you'd rather forget? June 24th.”

My stomach twisted violently, and my heart slammed against my ribcage. “Stop,” | whispered, my voice barely

audible.

Her laughter echoed through the hallway as she vanished again, and | felt the familiar dread settle in my chest.

The bell rang, sharp and shrill, and students began pouring through the halls. They moved past me, oblivious to

my presence, like | wasn’t even there.

And then | saw her-me-hurrying down the hallway with books clutched tightly to her chest. | knew exactly where

she was going.

| followed her, my steps heavy, my stomach churning.

She threw open a classroom door and sighed in relief when she saw it was empty. She moved to the front of the

room, taking her usual seat.

And then his voice came.

“Well, if it isn’t the lovely Ava Pierce. Little Miss Perfection.”

My breath hitched as I turned to see him-Austin.

He sauntered into the room, closing the door behind him with deliberate slowness then locked it. The smile on

his face sent a chill down my spine.

“Con, Ava,” | whispered, though | knew she couldn't hear me. “Get out of there.”

But she didn’t. She turned to him, irritated. “Austin, what are you doing? The professor is going to be here in ten

minutes.”

He grinned, pulling a key from his pocket and dangling it in front of her. “If you're so eager to play teacher's pet,

why don’t you cand get it?”

She sighed, standing and walking toward him. | wanted to scream at her to stop, to run, but | was powerless,

frozen in place as the scene played out exactly as | remembered.

Austin’s grin widened as she reached for the key. And then everything changed.

His eyes

darkened, and his claws began to extend.

“They were right,” he murmured, his voice dripping with malice. You will make a good fuck.”

She froze, realizing too late what was about to happen.

“No,” | whispered, tears stinging my eyes.

He grabbed her, slamming her against the professor's desk. She struggled, but he was stronger, his claws

tearing through her shirt.

“Stop it!” she cried, her voice desperate.

But he didn’t.

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And | couldn't move.

“Keep watching,” the othersaid, suddenly standing besideHer tone was cold, detached. “This is who you

really are.”

| shook my head, tears streaming down my face. “No. No, that’s not true.”

“You want to believe you're the victim,” she continued, “but you're not, Ava. Not entirely.”

FD

The scene continued to unfold, and | knew what was coming next. Pastreached for the pen on the desk, her

last hope of defending herself. But instead of grabbing the pen, her claws extended.

She slashed at him, her eyes black with rage.

Austin stumbled back, clutching his neck as blood poured from the wound.

The othersmirked. “Not quite how you remember it, is it?”

For six years, as much as | tried not to think of this very moment, | clung to fragmented memories that refused

to fade. What | remembered-what | let myself remember-was blanking out entirely. One second, Austin was on

top of me, and the next, | opened my eyes to find him lying on the floor, blood pooling from his neck, his body

completely still.

Now, standing here, forced to relive the truth, | felt the world tilt beneath me. My heart raced as | found my

voice, trembling but audible, “My wolf...she-I-I did that to him?”

The words tasted foreign, like they belonged to someone else, someone darker, someone unrecognizable.

| kept watching, unable to tear my eyes away, as past Ava, driven by an untamed ferocity, slashed at him again

with her claws. Her strikes were wild, unrelenting, and Austin, a predator moments ago, now scrambled in shock

and fear. He barely managed to shield himself from the blows, his eyes wide and disbelieving, blood staining his

hands as he tried to push her away. It was grotesque, surrealbut not me.

“Stop,” | whispered, though no one could hear me. | wasn't really there.

The version of myself | hated-the one who had draggedinto this twisted memory-broke the silence. “That

was the first tyour wolf surfaced,” she said, her voice calm and cutting like a blade slipping through ribs.

“And it wasn't just your wolf, Ava. That moment was the first crack in the facade you built. The facade of a girl

who's always kind, always selfless, always perfect.”

“There are three parts to you,” she continued, her voice dripping with cruel amusement. “There's me, the

version of yourself you despise. The one who speaks the truth, no matter how ugly. The one who isn’t afraid to

hurt people to protect herself. Then there’s your wolf-powerful, primal, ruthless. She has no patience for

weakness. She hates it, despises it in everyone, especially in you.”

I shook my head, trying to drown out her words, but they settled in my chest like lead.

“And finally,” she said, stepping closer, her eyes narrowing, “there’s this fragile little mask you wear for the

world. The one that says, ‘I'm Ava Pierce. I'm good. I'm harmless.’ You lock us awayand your wolf-because

you think it makes you more lovable, more acceptable. But do you want to know why your wolf surfaced then?

And why she’s been breaking through more and more recently?”

| couldn’t answer. My throat felt tight, my mind spinning.

“It's because you're fighting it,” she hissed, her voice rising. “Fighting who you really are. Fighting what your

parents made you into: a coward. A weakling too afraid to stand up for herself. And until you stop running, you

will never be whole.”

Her words were venomous, each one striking deeper than the last. “You want to know why your wolf emerged at

that moment?” she asked, gesturing to past Ava, who was still clawing at Austin like a wild animal. “Because

deep down, you wanted him to hurt. You wanted to make himn pay for what he tried to take from you. And that’s

not weakness, Ava. That's survival.”

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| turned away, my hands trembling. The scene beforewas unbearable. Past Ava finally stopped her assault,

stepping back from Austin’s bloodied, motionless body. Her hands were slick with blood, her eyes wide with

shock and horror. It was like she was waking up from a nightmare, only to realize it wasn’t a dream. She looked

down at her hands, at the crimson stains that would never wash away, and her knees buckled.

“Stop,” | whispered again, my voice breaking. “Please, just stop.”

But my counterpart wasn’t done. “There's more,” she said, her tone softening, though it was no less cutting. “A

war is coming, Ava. One that will shake this realm to its core. And you-” she pointed a clawed finger at me, her

expression deadly serious now-“you’re at the center of it. This moment,” she gestured toward the bloodied

classroom, “was just the beginning. More death will come. More blood. And unless you accept all parts of

yourself-me, your wolf, and the mask-you will never survive it.”

| turned to her, anger flaring in my chest despite my fear. “Why should | listen to you? You're the worst parts of

me. You're cruel, selfish, everything | never want to be.”

Her smile returned, cold and humorless. “And yet, here | am. Because you need me. You need all ofif you're

going to save the people you love. You want to protect Grayson? You want to stop this war? Then stop pretending

you can do it by being the ‘perfect Ava.’ You can’t.”

My heart clenched at the mention of Grayson. She must have seen it because her smile softened, though it

didn’t lose its edge. “And Grayson Blackwood? He's your fate. The two of you are tied together in ways you don’t

even understand yet. You'll be his salvation, Ava. But only if you can embrace the truth of who you are.”

She turned back to the scene, where past Ava had collapsed to the floor, sobbing quietly. “If you don’t,” she

continued, her voice dropping to a whisper, “the entire realm will fall. Thousands of wolves will die. And their

blood will be on your hands.”

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