The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 208

Chapter 208

-Ava’s POV-

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The first thing that hitas my eyes fluttered open was Grayson'’s scent. It wrapped around me, familiar and

grounding, but the moment | stirred, | braced myself for pain. | had felt my body slam against the ground after

the explosion hurled the three of us out of the factory, and | was certain my body would be broken and aching.

But instead... | felt fine.

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| remembered the heat licking at my skin, the searing flames consuming everything in their path. | had thought

that was it— my final moment. But then, in an instant, we were flung out, and everything went dark.

“You're awake.”

| blinked, turning my head toward the voice. Isabella was sitting in the corner of the room, arms crossed, eyes

burning with something that looked dangerously close to rage. If | had to describe her expression in one word, it

would be-outrageously pissed. Well, that was two words, but...

Then it hit me. Everything else.

The memories rushed in like a flood, and before | could stop myself, | was already pushing off the bed.

Isabella’s voice cut through my panic, “Your father is fine. Or, at least, he will be. Grayson had the entire realm

searching for that Nightshade thing, and Maria saved him with her magic. She put him in a sleeping state so the

antidote could work properly.”

That should have calmed me, but my mind was already onto the next person. | tried to move again. “Damien-"

“We know.” Her voice was firm, eyes sharp as she cutoff. “Your mother told us everything. Damien was

behind it all. Liam was just his puppet. He stole your twin sister-the one you didn’t even know existed. And

Elaine? She’s not actually pregnant. Liam's been using her from the moment they got involved.”

| stared at her, my heart pounding.

She continued, “Your mother took your pack and your father back to their house. Grayson has been gone for

days, but before that, he held a meeting. Every single wolf in the realm was in attendance. I'll spare you the

details for now. We are all aware that the realm is under attack but no one is dying at this very moment, and no

one is in immediate danger, which means you and | are going to talk.”

My breath caught, andtively,

my hand went to my stomach.

Isabella's gaze followed the movement, but the anger on her face didn’t waver. “Your mother has been checking

on you. The baby is fine.” Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Grayson doesn’t know.” She exhaled sharply. “And |

think with that, I've said enough.”

Silence settled between us, thick and suffocating.

| sat up slowly, grabbing a pillow and placing it between us like skind of pathetic shield “Can | ask how long

I've been unconscious?” | asked quietly.

“Five days.”

I nodded. Better than two weeks, at least.

Then | fell silent.

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Chapter 208

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There were many shades to Isabella, and | had encountered this one only twice before. Both times, | had learned

a crucial lesson-when she was like this, it was best to keep my mouth shut and let her speak. Let her get it all

out,

“What exactly is your problem, Lilian?”

| said nothing.

“I mean-" She stood up abruptly, and | instinctively scooted backward on the bed. That's when | realized-I was in

Grayson’s bed.

Isabella kept going, “I hadn't even gotten over the fact that you didn’t ctowhen everything started.

Then you refused to help at first. And what do you do next? You run headfirst into danger.” She threw her hands

up. “Backup! | told you to wait for backup! But no, you shut off our connection. Is that what this is? You're

breaking our connection? You don’t want to be friends withanymore?”

Through her fury, | heard it—the pain.

My throat tightened.

| knew | had every right to want to distance myself from my existence. My life as a whole. | didn’t want to be

connected to how much Grayson had hurt me. | didn’t want reassurances, promises that | would feel better. And

now that the adrenaline had faded, | realized something with painful clarity-the hurt was still there.

| hadn't let go of how easily he believed | was capable of those terrible things. Every moment we had shared,

every bond we had formed-he had dismissed it all as lies.

And yet... | had still fought for him.

| had told Mikayla | would fight for him. And | had.

But he hadn't believed me. He hadn't listened.

‘Get out of my life.”

The words echoed in my head, thunderous and unforgiving.

No. | couldn't let what he had done togo so easily, no matter what | had said in the heat of the moment. No

matter what | had done in the heat of the moment.

T

But | also couldn’t let my pain push away one of the best things had found in this life.

Isabella.

| looked up at her, at the way she stood there, arms still crossed, frustration rolling off her in waves. But she

wasn't speaking

anymore.

| pushed the pillow aside and got up. Without a word, I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms

around her.

It took a moment. A long, tense moment.

Then her shoulders sagged, and | felt the anger drain from her body as she huggedback.

“You've been a really pissy friend, Lilian,” she muttered against my shoulder.

A small, sad smile tugged at my lips. “I know,” | whispered. “And ‘m sorry”

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Chapter 208

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She exhaled, her breath warm against my shoulder as she tightened her hold on me. | felt her heartbeat against

mine, steady but strained, like she was still holding something back.

“You scared the hell out of me,” She murmured. “Do you even realize that? Five days, Lilian. Five. | thought—"

Her voice cracked, and she pulled away just enough to look at me. Her eyes usually sharp and full of mischief,

were clouded with something deeper. “I thought | lost you. For like the millionth time.”

| swallowed past the lump in my throat, guilt settling heavily in my chest. | had never meant to push her away,

never wanted her to feel like she wasn’t important to me. But | had been so caught up in my own pain, my own

battles, that | hadn't stopped to consider what it might be doing to the people who actually cared.

“I'm sorry,” | whispered again, my fingers gripping the back of her shirt like | was trying to anchor myself to the

moment, to her. “I didn’t mean to shut you out. | just-“I hesitated, struggling to find the words. “I didn’t know

how to handle everything. And shutting you out felt easier than facing it.”

She let out a shaky breath, pulling back just enough to flick my forehead with her fingers, “You're an idiot.”

| laughed softly, rubbing at the spot she flicked. “Yeah, | kind of am.”

She sighed, her expression softening, “You don’t have to do everything alone, you know? | get it. You're

stubborn, and you think carrying everything by yourself is the only way. But, Lilian, that’s not how this works. You

have people. You have me.”

I nodded, my throat tightening again. “I know. And | won’t- | won't do that again. | promise.”

She studiedfor a long moment before nodding. “Good.” Then, as if she couldn't help herself, she flicked my

forehead again.

“Okay, ow-" | started, but she grabbed my hand and squeezed it

“I'm serious, Lilian. You don’t have to go through this alone. And whether you like it or not, I'm always going to

be here, yelling at you when you do something reckless and being the amazing best friend that | am.”

| felt something insideloosen, like a knot that had been pulled too tight for too long. “I don’t deserve you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you really don’t. But I'm not going anywhere, so deal with it.”

| smiled, squeezing her hand back. “Thank you.”

She smirked, nudging my shoulder. “You can thankby not almost dying next time, okay?”

| let out a soft chuckle. “I'll try.”

But then reality crashed down on me, heavy and unrelenting. There was still so much at stake, so much that

needed to be done.

| looked at Isabella, “I need to get out of here. I'm not ready to face Grayson, and I'm definitely not ready to tell

him about this child. But more than that, there's something important | have to do.”

Her brows furrowed. “What?”

| took a deep breath, my heart pounding, “My sister... | have to find my twin sister.”

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