The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 150

AVA POV

My parents had instilled the importance of being careful and because of this, | had never experienced anything

extreme- no broken bones, no close calls, and certainly never anything as severe as burns.

But if | had ever gotten burned, | imagine the pain would feel something like what | was enduring now-only this

was worse.. Much worse. It was as though every nerve in my body had been gnited, each flare of pain sharper

than the last.

1 groaned, struggling to open my eyes, only for the memories to slam intowith brutal clarity.

The panic attack.

The hunters.

“There's something you need to see.”

And then... darkness...

My eyes flew open at the thought of the hunters, panic slicing through the fog in my mind. | sat up abruptly, only

to wince as the fiery ache flared even stronger, threatening to dragback down. Forcing myself to push past

it, I glanced around, preparing for the worst. Whatever the hunters had done-or wherever they had taken me—I

was ready to face it.

But when my surroundings cinto focus, | was met with something | hadn't expected. Trees. Towering trees,

their branches swaying lightly despite the still air. The colors were sharper than they should've been, almost

surreal—vivid greens, browns, and the faint glow of golden light filtering through the canopy. The air was heavy

but strangely fresh, carrying the faint scent of moss and damp earth.

Something about this place felt...

“You're awake.”

Song. Or maybe not wrong. Just off.

The familiar voice pulled my attention. Turning my head, | saw Grayson standing a few feet away, his gaze fixed

on me. His face was unreadable, his expression as hard as stone. | knew that look well-he had pulled his

emotional walls back up, shuttingout completely.

| let out a sigh, pushing myself up to my feet. My body protested every movement, the pain coursing through me

like flames licking at my skin. Grayson stepped closer, offering his hand. | hesitated, but when | reached for it,

his grip was firm, steadyingas | found my balance.

“Thanks,” | muttered, brushing off the momentary vulnerability

He didn’t respond. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the forest, his posture rigid.

Clearing my throat, | gestured around us. “Where are we?”

“I don’t know,” he said flatly. His voice was almost robotic, void of any warmth. “My wolf is gone again, so you'll

need to reach out psychically and call for someone to get us out of here. We need to start moving.”

| clenched my jaw, biting back the retort that sprang to mind. He was acting cold again, but now wasn’t the time

for another argument. His wolf being gone again was a serious problem.

“How did it happen this time?” | asked, trying to focus on the bigger issue.

A flicker of irritation passed through his eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. At least irritation was an emotion-

better than the blank neutrality he'd been projecting.

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Chapter 150

Just send the message, Ava,” he said tersely,

| stepped back, exhaling slowly to center myself. Reaching out to my wolf should've been easy. She had been

quiet, but f assumed it was exhaustion from the chaos we'd been through. Closing my eyes, | reached out to her,

tugging at the bond that connected us.

Nothing.

The silence was deafening.

1 frowned, pulling harder at the connection. My wolf was there could feel her presence in the distance—but she

was unresponsive, like a rachannel that had suddenly gone static

‘I don’t know what I did now, but maybe you could helpout instead of givingthe silent treatment? |

thought bitterly. trying to stir her to action.

Still nothing.

You and I are on the steam, remember? You

were

going to how me

something, remember?’

The silence stretched on, grating against my nerves. Frustration bubbled over, and | snapped, ‘You can be really

annoying, you know that, right?"

| groaned aloud, rubbing my temples as the ache in my head joined the fire in my body. Grayson was watching

me, his expression unreadable.

Ense

“She isn’t answering me,” | said finally, exasperation lacing my voice. “I don’t know what to do.”

He stared atfor a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. “We should start walking.

"

His tone was clipped, as though he were trying to detach himself from the situation entirely.

“Hold on,” | said, anger flaring in my chest. “Why are you mad at me? | told you what happened with Dylan-"

“I don’t want to hear his name,” Grayson interrupted sharply. His voice was ice: “Better yet, | don’t want to hear

anything from you.”

My temper flared. “Fine,” | snapped. “We'll figure out how to leave this place separately because | am so sick of

this back- and-forth nonsense. If something's upsetting you, say it. Stop acting like I'm the enemy when |

haven't done anything wrong!”

He didn’t respond. His silence only fueled my anger.

| turned sharply, stalking away from him, but my anger was short-lived. Suddenly, | slammed into something-an

invisible barrier that joltedto a stop. Blinking in confusion, | reached out, only to feel the air resist my hand,

as though an invisible wall had risen around us.

“What the hell?” | muttered, pushing against it.

|

“It's a barrier,” Grayson said from behind me. His tone was calm almost detached. “I've already tried. You can’t

pass it.” | spun to face him, glaring. “And you didn’t think to mention that sooner?”

His gaze was unblinking, his expression hard to read. Clicking my tongue in annoyance, | brushed past him,

muttering under my breath. “You and my wolf are really pissingoff right now.”

Grayson didn’t respond, but | could feel his presence as he followed behind me. For now, all we could do was

search for a way out of this strange, surreal forest. And as much as | hated to admit it, | was starting to feel the

creeping edge of unease.

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Chapter 130

Something about this place felt too quiet. Too perfect. Too wrong

“I'm mad because you always defend him.”

The words cso suddenly that they stoppedin my tracks turned around to face him, startled. “What? |

told you- what happened at the ball wasn’t about him-"

His gaze softened just slightly, and for a brief moment, | caught a flicker of hurt crossing his face. It was fleeting,

but it was there. “It’s about the fact that you were fated to him,” he said, his voice quieter now. “Nothing is ever

going to change that.” He hesitated, like there was more he wanted to say but couldn't bring himself to voice.

| clutched the oversized shirt tighter around myself as | walked toward him. “Grayson, from the moment | felt

that bond snap into place, the one that toldDylan was my mate, | knew it was wrong. | went along with it

because it was what | was supposed to do-what everyone toldwas meant to be. But | hated it. | hated that

marriage, and | hated being in it. Dylan treatedlike | was nothing. He hit me. He madefeel worthless.”

My voice cracked, but | didn’t stop. | had to make him hear me. “You already know that. That's why we're here

now. | have never-will never-pick Dylan. When | defend him, it's not for him. It's because | think it’s the right

thing to do, even if he doesn’t deserve it. And if that’s upset you, I'm sorry. Truly.”

He closed his eyes and stood motionless for a moment. When he let out a long sigh and looked atagain, the

barriers he always kept up seemed to lower just slightly. | saw him. The real him, vulnerable and raw. My heart

ached, Without hesitation, | closed the distance between us and wrapped myself around him. My cheek pressed

against his chest, and | could feel the steady rhythm of his heart against my ear.

“I'm sorry,” | whispered.

His scent envelopedlike a comforting cocoon. For a fleeting moment, my wolf stirred at the edges of my

consciousness. But just as quickly, she stilled again, silent and unreachable. | bit back my frustration, focusing

instead on the steady warmth of Grayson’s arms around me.

When | first met him, | thought he was just cold and distant. And he was-he had every reason to be. But | had

cto realize that shutting out the pain of his past had left him emotionally adrift, struggling to navigate what

he felt now. It was like watching a baby learn how to understand what different feelings met. Grayson was a

baby. The thought brought a small giggle to my lips.

Grayson leaned back slightly, looking down at me. “What's funny?”

“Nothing,” | said, smiling softly. | stepped back, the enormity of our situation sinking in once more. “You don’t

have your wolf, mine won't speak to me, we're stuck in the middle of... somewhere, and there's a barrier

keeping us from moving in the direction I'm pretty sure we cfrom. Oh, and we have no way of calling for

help. So... any ideas? Also, what happened to all the hunters?”

He shrugged, his tone flat. “I killed them before my wolf disappeared again.”

“Oh.”

That was all | managed to say because, honestly, what else could | say? Would | ever get used to the fact that he

killed people? Probably not. But it was Grayson, and that was part of him- part | had to accept. Ishoved the

thought to the back of my mind and opened my mouth to ask another question when something stopped me.

The air around us seemed to shift, growing heavy and oppressive. A strange hum filled my ears, low and

constant, and the ground beneath my feet vibrated ever so slightly. | froze, my eyes darting around the clearing.

The trees seemed to sway unnaturally, though there was no breeze.

“Grayson,” | whispered, my voice trembling.

He was already moving, stepping in front ofinstinctively, his body tense and ready for whatever was coming.

“Stay behind me.”

3/4

Chapter 150

And then, before either of us could react, the world tilted. Darki absence of light, but something deeper.

Something alive. | reach

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An endless empty void.

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