The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 127

-Grayson'’s POV-

Rickon leaned over to the armrest, retrieving a miniature bottle of whiskey from a hidden compartment. He held

it up as if he’d unearthed sgrand treasure. “The rules are simple,” he said, shaking the bottle slightly for

effect. “We take turns asking each other questions. Nothing too personal-don’t worry, I'm not about to dig into

your tragic backstory or whatever. But here's the catch: for every question you refuse to answer, you take a

drink.

| gave him a flat, unimpressed look. “You draggedinto this just to play schildish drinking game?”

Rickon placed a hand &ver his chest, feigning offense. “Childish? This isn’t just a game-it's a sacred tradition. It's

called bonding, Grayson. You should try it sometime.”

| stared at him, my voice deadpan. “You think | want to bond with you?”

“Not particularly,” he said with an easy grin as he unscrewed the cap with a flourish. “But you're stuck with me

for the next few hours, and unless you'd prefer | spend the entire flight testing your patience, | suggest you play

along.”

| debated telling him to go to hell, but the thought of enduring his endless chatter for the duration of the flight

was somehow worse. With a resigned sigh, | leaned back in my seat. “Fine. Get on with it.”

Rickon’s face lit up with triumph. “That's the spirit. I'll start.” He leaned back, swirling the tiny bottle like he was

ssort of whiskey expert. “What's the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?”

| gave him a blank look. “Pass.”

“Really? Not even going to try?”

“I said pass,” | repeated, my tone leaving

no room for argument.

Rickon laughed and handedthe bottle. | shot him a glare. “Can | at least get a glass?”

Without a word, he reached into the compartment and pulled out two small glasses. | poured a little whiskey into

one, taking a quick swig. The liquid burned on the way down, but it was better than entertaining his ridiculous

question.

“Your turn,” | didn’t even bother thinking too hard. “Why do you talk so much?”

“Ah, a classic,” he said, rubbing his chin theatrically. “I talk because silence is boring, and life's too short not to

fill it with my sparkling personality.”

“That's not an answer,” | muttered, though a faint twitch at the corner of my mouth betrayed my amusement.

“Take it or leave it,” he said with a shrug.

The game

continued, each question more absurd than the last. Rickon’s persistence was as grating as it was oddly

disarming, and before long, the whiskey began to loosen the iron grip I usually kept on myself. Somewhere

between Rickon asking if I'd ever actually smiled andcountering with how many people had tried to throttle

him in his lifetime, | felt my shoulders begin to ease.

“You ever thought about shutting up for five minutes?” | asked, refilling my glass.

Rickon smirked, raising his glass in a mock toast. “Never. My silence would deprive the world of my brilliance.”

Despite myself, a faint, fleeting smile tugged at my lips.

10:40 sat, Jan 4 G.

Chapter 127

000090%=

“There it is!” Rickon crowed pointing atlike | was srare animal he'd just spotted. “I knew you had one in

you.”

I shook my head, leaning back as the smile faded almost as quickly as it had come. “Don’t get used to it.”

“Too late. I'm telling everyone back hthat the Alpha King cracked a smile.”

| didn’t bother responding, but | felt the warmth of the whiskey seep through me, softening the edges of the

ever-present weight | carried. For a fleeting moment, | forgot about the expectations, the vigilance, and the

constant need to keep myself guarded.

But then it happened.

The plane tilted sharply to the side, sending the bottle of whiskey rolling off the armrest. My wolf growled

instantly, rising to attention, and every muscle in my body went rigid. Rickon straightened, his playful grin wiped

clean off his face as he glanced at me, his instincts flaring to life.

“What the hell was that?” he asked, his tone low and serious.

| didn’t answer, my senses sharpening as | scanned the cabin. | had opted for no stewardess, just the pilot and

co-pilot. I'd flown enough to prefer the quiet so it just just Rickon and I.

Another sharp, jarring lurch made the entire plane groan, and | was halfway out of my seat before | caught

myself. The low rumble of the engines faltered, followed by an eerie silence from the left side of the jet.

“Grayson,” Rickon said, his voice tight, his usual bravado replaced by quiet tension.

Before | could respond, the pilot's voice crackled over the intercom.

“This is your captain speaking. We've experienced an issue with one of the engines and are preparing for an

emergency landing. Please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened. | will keep you updated as we proceed.”

The captain's voice was calm, but the tension beneath it was unmistakable. My wolf growled within me, a primal

sense of unease crawling up my spine. | wasn’t fooled by the practiced composure.

Rickon, seated across from me, had already buckled his seatbelt, his usual smirk nowhere to be found. His green

eyes were focused on me, narrowed with concern. “This doesn’t sound good, Grayson,” he said quietly, his voice

edged with apprehension.

| didn’t respond right away, my gaze locked on the cabin door, as though | could peer through it to the cockpit.

My mind was racing through every possibility, but nothing added up. Why would my jet-one of the most

advanced machines in the sky-be in trouble like this?

“Stay alert,” | ordered, keeping my voice steady.

Rickon nodded, his usual cocky demeanor gone. Even he, ever the optimist, couldn't mask the tension in his

body. The atmosphere had shifted.

Something was very wrong.

The plane tilted again, more sharply this time, and | felt the distinct drop in pressure in my stomach. The hum of

the engines sputtered, sounding uncomfortably uneven. | gripped the armrests, my knuckles turning white as the

unease in my gut grew.

Another violent jolt rocked the plane, and the lights overhead flickered, casting the cabin in sudden dimness. The

engine noise grew louder, more erratic. My stomach flipped, and | could feel my wolf's agitation surge. My

senses were on high alert.

10:40 Sat, Jan 4)

Chapter 127

190%

FD

“Grayson...” Rickon started, but his words were swallowed by the sharp crackle of the intecoming to life

once more.

“This is your captain again,” the captain’s voice echoed, but now here was an unmistakable edge to his tone.

“We've lost one engine. We're gliding and attempting to make an emergency descent. We're working to control

the situation. Please remain calm.”

The captain’s words hitlike a punch to the gut. A gliding descent meant that the plane wasn’t under full

power. We were falling. Slowly, but still, we were falling.

Rickon cursed under his breath, his hand gripping the armrest. His usual bravado was gone, replaced by a raw

tension. “What the hell does an emergency descent look like on a private jet?” he demanded.

“It means we're not going to make it to the airport,” | said coldly, already unbuckling my

Rickon grabbed my arm. “What are you doing?”

“Getting to the cockpit,” | growled, yanking my arm free.

seatbelt.

But just as | moved, the plane tilted once more-this time, far more violently. The nose dropped, and my stomach

lurched as if it was being thrown to the floor. | barely managed to steady myself against the armrest, the

sensation of falling overwhelming.

“Grayson, sit the hell down!” Rickon shouted, panic creeping into his voice.

Iignored him, pushing myself toward the aisle, determined to reach the cockpit. The plane shuddered beneath

me, as if it were fighting to maintain its descent, the sound of the engines sputtering in the distance. The roar of

the failing systems was deafening, and my wolf howled in my mind, urgingto act.

Then, the captain's voice cthrough again, and this time, it wasn’t calm. It was sharp, frantic.

“Mayday, mayday! This is flight A-017! We've lost altitude rapidly-attempting emergency descent, but we're not

going to make it! | repeat, we are not going to make it—"

The transmission abruptly cut off, replaced by static. The plane dipped again, hard, sending us into a sharp roll.

A flash of light outside the window illuminated a vast stretch of dense forest-too close, much too close.

Rickon’s voice cracked through the chaos. “Grayson, if you have any genius plan, now’s the time!”

But | didn’t have a plan. All | had was instinct, the primal, unrelenting drive of the wolf within me. And as the

ground raced toward us, one thought burned through the chaos in my mind: We are not dying here.

The impact ctoo fast. The world tilted violently, throwingoff my feet as the sound of tearing metal and

shattering glass filled the air. Pain flared sharp and hot as my head collided with something hard, and then-

Everything went black.

SEND GIFT

d word rd d d d word rd d word rd d d d d word rd d word rd d d d d word rd d word rd d d d d

d word rd d d d word rd d word rd d d d d word rd d word rd d d d d word rd d word rd d d

mM: LIilofiflo&1

mM: LIilofiflo&1

mM: LIilofiflo&1

mM: LIilofiflo&1

nL Li TO 1 F061

mM: LIilofiflo&1