The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 153

Ava’s POV

The ground beneath my feet trembled again, sending a wave of anic through me. My knees almost buckled as

the rumbling grew louder, vibrating through my chest. | reached out my hands instinctively grasping for

something stable to hold on to, but before | could even process the fear flooding my system, Grayson’s hand was

on my elbow, steadying me. His grip was firm, reassuring, and somehow, despite the chaos, | felt a small flicker

of calm from the connection.

“Stay close to me.” His voice was low and steady, but the tension in his tone wasn’t lost on me. The world

around us felt wrong. The air was thick, charged with an unnatural energy that made the hair on the back of my

neck stand up. Every instinct inscreamed that we weren't supposed to be here. But there was no choice. Not

now.

The rumbling stopped as suddenly as it had started, leaving behind an unsettling silence. The stillness was

suffocating, pressing in onfrom all sides. I could hear nothing but the erratic thrum of my own heartbeat.

Grayson’s presence besidewas the only thing that kepttethered to reality.

“Grayson...” | whispered, my voice trembling as | tried to make sense of what had just happened. “What was

that?”

He didn’t answer right away. His gaze scanned the area around us, sharp and alert, as if expecting something-or

someone- to emerge from the darkness. | did the same, eyes darting to every shadow, every rustle in the trees.

But all | saw were the dense woods stretching endlessly before us. Nothing made sense

“I don’t know,” Grayson finally admitted, his voice quiet, but there was no hiding the uncertainty in his tone.

“Whatever it is, it's not normal. And | don’t know what's coming next.”

His words did nothing to ease the knot of dread tightening in my stomach. But | wasn’t sure if it was his presence

or the absolute chaos around us that madewant to stay close, to trust him.

“I'll be right here,” he said firmly, though his tone softened just a little, as if trying to reassure me. “We'll figure it

out. Just stay calm.”

I nodded, biting my lip to try to steady myself. | wasn’t calm, not at all, but I didn’t want him to know that. “I'm

not panicking,” | insisted, though the quiver in my voice said otherwise.

He didn’t callout on it. He didn’t need to. We both knew the truth.

Suddenly, a rustling sound cfrom our left, and before | could even react, Grayson stepped in front of me, his

body blocking mine. His muscles tensed, and his eyes zeroed in on the movement, every fiber of his being on

high alert.

| couldn’t see what it was yet, but whatever it was, it was big. And it wasn’t friendly.

A shadow emerged from the bushes, and | felt my breath catch in my throat. A dark, wolf-like creature stepped

into view, its form distorted and unnatural. Its glowing red eyes fixed on us, and its movements were jerky,

almost as if it wasn’t fully in control of its body. My first thought was that it might be a werewolf, but no. This

wasn't like any werewolf I'd ever encountered. This thing was something else entirely.

“What the hell is that?” | whispered, barely able to form words.

Grayson didn’t take his eyes off the creature, his jaw tightening as he muttered, “I don’t know.”

The creature’s gaze flicked between us, its lips pulling back to reveal rows of jagged teeth. It was sizing us up,

waiting for the right moment to strike. And the way it moved, almost like it wasn’t fully in control of its body... it

felt wrong. Like it was something else entirely.

| couldn't breathe. My mind was racing, trying to process what | was seeing. This couldn't be real. | was trapped

in a nightmare.

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Chapter 153

Grayson’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughits. “When | tell you to run, you run,” he said, his tone calm but

with a deadly edge. | felt him tighten his grip on my arm, pullingcloser.

“What about you?” | asked, my voice rising in panic.

“I'll be right behind you,” he said, his words so steady that they almost calmed me. “Just trust me.”

I didn’t want to trust anything in this terrifying place, but | had no choice. | had no other option but to believe in

him, to believe in his strength, in his ability to protect me.

Before | could say anything else, the creature let out a low, guttural growl, the sound vibrating through the trees,

shakingto my core. Grayson didn’t waste another second. “Run!” he barked, pushingforward.

| hesitated for only a moment, the fear freezingin place. But then my legs were moving before I could think,

and | was running, my breath coming in sharp gasps as | tore through the underbrush. My heart raced, my feet

pounding against the ground, but I couldn't help the glance over my shoulder.

“Grayson, it's right behind you!” | cried out, my voice breaking with panic.

He was right there, just behind me, moving faster than | could comprehend. But I could hear the creature, the

sound of its heavy feet thundering against the ground, growing louder with every step. It was gaining on us, and

I couldn't outrun it. We couldn't outrun it.

“Keep going!” Grayson shouted back, his voice sharp with urgency. “Don’t look back!”

But | couldn't stop myself. | turned my head again, just in tto see the creature's glowing eyes locking onto

me, its mouth open, the jagged teeth gleaming in the dark. It was coming for us

| forced my legs to move faster, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. “Grayson, what do we do?” gasped, panic

creeping into my voice again.

“We don’t have to outrun it,” he called back to me, his voice steady despite the chaos. “We just have to outthink

it.” “Outthink it?” | repeated, confused and terrified. “How?”

He didn’t answer, but | felt his hand grab mine, his grip tight as he pulledforward. I didn’t know what he had

planned, but I trusted him-no matter how crazy it seemed.

We burst into a small clearing, and Grayson stopped abruptly, pullingbehind him. | could feel the tension

radiating from his body, the way he was ready for anything. | didn’t question him this time. | clung to his arm,

trying to steady my breathing as | whispered, “What are you going to do?”

For a moment, he didn’t answer. He just looked at the creature emerging from the trees, its red eyes never

leaving us like he was preparing to fight it but then, in an instant, it lunged.

And | didn’t hesitate.

Acting on pure instinct, | threw myself in front of Grayson, bracing for the hit that was surely coming. The

creature's claws slashed across my skin, but as soon as they made contact, something strange happened. The

ground beneathshifted, my wolf stirring deep within, and | felt an odd pull, a connection to something... or

someone.

A whisper-so soft, so faint, | almost thought it was a trick of my mind-brushed my ear then, in that moment,

everything changed. My body felt weightless, as if the world was liftingfrom the ground, and then-boom-the

world exploded in light and sound.

| gasped, my hand flying to my chest, searching for blood that should have been there. There was none. Nothing.

I was alive. But how?

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Fri, Jan 14

Chapter 158

Before | could process the shift, | felt a presence, warm and familiar, and a hand touched me. | jumped, panic

surging, and then | saw hum. Grayson. His eyes were wide with disbelief, his expression frozen in pure shock.

“You” His voice trailed off as if he couldn't even finish the sentence, his eyes searchinglike he couldn't

believe | had jumped in front of him.

But before | could respond, a sound broke through the haze. Footsteps. Not just one or two, but dozens. My heart

raced as | glanced around, trying to make sense of what was happening. The world aroundspun, my wolf

stirring again, and then

-before | could make sense of it-someone threw themselves ane.

Isabella’s scent hitfirst, overwhelming and familiar, and then she was crying, her voice trembling as she

clung to me. “You're alive. Lilian, you're actually here.”

| was stunned, my mind reeling, unable to understand. “What? What are you talking about? Bels, what's going

on?” | tried to move away from her iron grip, confusion clouding my thoughts

Grayson stood tall at my side, his eyes darting betweenand the group of people now surrounding us and |

was still trying to process what and everything that was happening.

It was still night tso it couldn't be that long since | had the panic attack and ran into the woods so why was

Isabella holdinglike she was trying to hookdown to earth and no one had moved or said anything still.

“Bels? What is going on?” 1

She pulled away looking atlike she was in shock and disbelief, “You... disappeared and you've been gone for

two months, Lilian.”

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