The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 129

-Grayson'’s POV-

“I call first shots,”

| groaned, the pounding in my head threatening to crack it open like an egg. Turning toward Rickon, who was

looking atwith an unnerving amount of seriousness, | managed to croak, “first shots for what?”

“For who gets to eat the other person. If it comes down to us starving, | call first shots, and I'm’cating you

first.”

Despite the throbbing pain in my skull, | almost laughed. Not because it was funny-no, this was the least

amusing moment of my life-but because of the absurdity. My jet had gone down, was stranded in what appeared

to be the middle of nowhere, and the universe had decided that Rickon would be my sole companion.

| squinted at him. “You're an idiot.”

“Not denying it,” he said with a shrug.

| tried to sit up, wincing as the sharp pain in my ribs protested. If you're so eager to play cannibal, start with

them,” | said, gesturing toward the bodies of the pilots still strapped into their seats. They hadn't survived the

crash, their still forms a sobering reminder of how close I'd cto joining them.

Rickon made a face. “I'm not a scavenger. Besides, they don’t look appetizing. You, on the other hand-"

“Show srespect,” | snapped, forcing myself to my feet. My legs felt like jelly, but | wasn’t about to stay

sitting here and let him keep talking. “They're dead, Rickon.”

“Dead, sure. But you know what they say ‘survival of the fittest. He grinned, clearly finding ssick

amusement in the situation. “And besides, it's not my fault I'm superior. Shifting cushioned the impact. Humans,

though-"

| shot him a glare. “I don’t have tfor your nonsense. If you want to sit here and crack jokes, be my guest. I'm

going to figure out where the hell we are.”

| started walking, brushing off the stabbing pain in my side and the pounding in my head. The sooner I got

moving, the better. My wolf stirred beneath the surface, sharpening my senses, even though | felt like I'd been

hit by a freight train.

“Grayson, where are you going?” Rickon called after me, his voice tinged with both confusion and panic.

“Anywhere but here.”

| heard him scrambling behind me, his shoe crunching on the debris-strewn ground. He caught up quickly, falling

into step beside me. “We're supposed to stick together, you know. Isn't that like, rule number one of surviving a

plane crash?”

“Rule number one is to stay alive,” | muttered, scanning the dense vegetation ahead. The landscape was wild-

lush trees with thick, knotted roots stretched toward a pale sky. It looked like the kind of place you'd see on a

postcard for sexotic getaway. Except this wasn’t a vacation.

“Great,” Rickon said, looking around. “We're probably on suncharted island where weird things happen, and

people start going insane. I've seen a lot of movies like this. You know how they end, right? Dinosaurs. Or

cannibals. Maybe mutant fish that crawl out of the ocean.”

| stopped and turned to glare at him. “We're in the 21st century. Dinosaurs are extinct. And I'd prefer if you shut

up so | can think.”

He

held up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine. But don’t say | didn’t warn you when a T-Rex comes charging out of

those

trees.”

1/4

[I

13:12 Tue, Jan 7

Chapter 129

I ignored him, focusing instead on the task at hand. We needed to figure out where we were and how to get off

this island. If the pilot had managed to get a mayday call out before the crash, there was a chance someone

would be searching for us. But pinpointing our exact location? That was another story.

The wreckage of the jet was behind us, a mangled heap of metal and shattered glass. The dense forest ahead

wasn't exactly inviting, but it was better than staying out in the open where predators-human or otherwise-

might find us.

“What's the plan, genius?” Rickon asked, still trailing behindlike a lost puppy.

I didn’t answer. My mind was racing, calculating our next steps. Water. Shelter. Food. Those were the priorities.

And a way to signal for help, assuming anyone was even looking.

The sound of rustling leaves snappedout of my thoughts. | stopped, my senses on high alert. Rickon froze

too, his casual demeanor shifting as his instincts kicked in.

“Please tellthat’s just the wind,” he muttered.

It wasn't.

The rustling grew louder, and then something shot out from the underbrush-a blur of fur and claws. My wolf

surged forward, my instincts taking over as I shoved Rickon out of the way.

A wild animal, skind of oversized feline, landed where he'd been standing a second ago. Its eyes glinted

with a predatory hunger that sent a chill down my spine.

Rickon, to his credit, recovered quickly. “Okay, so maybe it's not a dinosaur, but this is definitely not normal!”

“Shut up and run!” | shouted, grabbing his arm and yanking him toward the trees.

We sprinted, the creature hot on our heels. My heart pounded, adrenaline surging through my veins as | pushed

through the pain in my side. The forest blurred around us, the sound of snapping branches and pounding paws

filling my ears.

We burst into a clearing, and | skidded to a halt, nearly sending Rickon crashing into me. Ahead of us, a massive

cliff dropped into a churning sea.

Rickon looked at me, his face pale. “So, uh, any brilliant ideas now?”

| glanced back at the creature, which had stopped at the edge of the clearing, its eyes fixed on us. It let out a low

growl, pacing back and forth as if considering its next move.

“We jump,” | said, already moving toward the edge.

Rickon’s

eyes widened. “You're insane!”

“Do you have a better idea?”

He didn’t answer, and | didn’t wait for him to. Taking a deep breath, | leapt off the edge, the wind roaring in my

ears as | plummeted toward the water below.

The air tore pastas | plunged toward the water, the roar of the waves drowning out everything else. For a

moment, tseemed to freeze-a single, suspended heartbeat of fear and adrenaline. Then | hit the ocean, the

impact slamming intolike a wall. The cold was a shock, ripping the air from my lungs and sending me

tumbling under the surface.

The current was strong, pullingdown, twistingin every direction. | fought to right myself, the pain in my

ribs flaring as | struggled to swim. The weight of exhaustion dragged at me, but instinct droveupward,

toward the faint shimmer of light above.

| broke the surface, gasping for air, only to be slammed by a wave that shovedback under. Gritting my teeth,

| fought against the pull, forcing myself to break through again. This time, | stayed up long enough to spot

Rickon.

2/4

13:12 Tue, Jan /

Chapter 129

He surfaced a few feet away failing wildly, sputtering and coughing. “Grayson!” he choked out.

“Stop panicking and swim!” | shouted back, though my own strength was fading fast.

Another wave hit, and this tit dragged us both closer to the rocky shoreline. The cliffs loomed above us,

jagged and unscalable, but a narrow strip of beach stretched out in the distance. It wasn’t much, but it was a

chance.

“Head for the beach!” | yelled, spitting out salt water.

Rickon didn’t argue, thrashing his way in the direction I'd pointed. | followed, my muscles screaming with every

stroke. The waves fought us every inch of the way, but the promise of solid ground keptmoving.

Finally, after what felt like hours, | felt the sand beneath my feet staggered onto the shore, collapsing onto my

hands and knees as | gulped in air. Rickon crawled up beside me, flopping onto his back and groaning.

“Well, that sucked,” he muttered.

I didn’t have the energy to respond. My lungs burned, my ribs ached, and my head was still pounding from the

crash. But we were alive.

I rolled onto my back, staring up at the sky, which was quickly darkening with the onset of evening. The sun was

dipping below the horizon, casting the landscape in shades of gold and crimson. It should have been beautiful,

but all | could think about was how exposed we were.

Rickon sat up, wringing out his soaked shirt. “So.... what now, fearless leader? We gonna start building a raft or

something?”

ignored him, sitting up and scanning the beach. The stretch of sand was bordered by thick jungle on one side

and the relentless waves on the other. There was no sign of the creature that had chased us, but the unease in

my gut hadn't eased.

Something about this place felt... off.

“Grayson,” Rickon said, his voice suddenly serious.

| turned to see him staring at the ground a few feet away, his face pale. Slowly, | followed his gaze-and froze.

Footprints.

Large, humanlike footprints. Fresh ones.

“Tellthose are yours,” Rickon whispered.

| shook my head, my throat tightening. “They're not.”

Before | could say more, a distant sound reached my ears-a low rhythmic drumming, faint but growing louder. It

wasn't the sound of waves or wind. It was something deliberate.

“And please tellthat’s just your heartbeat,” Rickon said, his voice trembling.

I didn’t answer. | was already on my feet, scanning the jungle edge. The drumming was closer now, accompanied

by the faint flicker of light-firelight.

And then, from the shadows of the trees, figures emerged. Dozens of them.

They moved silently, their faces obscured by masks crafted from bone and painted with intricate patterns. Each

carried a weapon-spears, knives, crude but deadly. The leader stepped forward, towering above the rest, his

mask adorned with feathers and tusks.

Kickon let out a strangled laugh. “So, ub... remember when | said this wouldn't end well? Well it was a thought

but yeah. | hate being right”

13:12 Tue, Jan

Chapter 129

The leader raised a hand, and the drumming stopped. The silence was suffocating.

And then, he pointed directly at me.

word

word

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLHI0RAO&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWL1i10f1ifl0&1

mmMwWLIiI0fiflO&1