The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 254

-Ava’s POV-

The question hung in the air, the world seeming to pause around us.

Rickon had just proposed.

Minutes after Grayson had clawed his way out of the earth-shocking everyone-Rickon had dropped to one knee

and pulled out a ring.

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And yet, as crazy as it sounded, | knew my best friend. The chaos, the unpredictability, the sheer madness of

this moment- this was exactly how Isabella would want to be proposed to. Rickon, knowingly or not, had done it

perfectly.

Isabella blinked rapidly, rolling her head like she was physically shaking off the shock, “You're askingto

marry you? Right now? Like, officially marry you?”

“Total screwup.” Elaine muttered under her breath.

But | knew better.

Isabella didn’t wait for an answer before she launched herself at Rickon with full force, “Yes!”

She crashed against him so hard they both toppled over, hitting the ground with a thud.

| screamed, bouncing on my feet, momentarily forgetting everything else. Isabella turned to me, yanking the

ring from Rickon’s fingers before he could even slide it on. “Lilian, look! I'm getting married!”

Monica, still gaping at the scene, let out a half-laugh, half-hysterical noise, “You people are insane!” She

declared, throwing her hands up, “And did you all just forget that Grayson literally rose from the dead?!”

Grayson.

The reminder hitlike a jolt, groundingback to reality.

| met Elaine’s wide eyes at the exact stime. We both moved at once, scrambling to move our feet and

sprinting back toward the mansion, pushing past the stunned pack members still standing there, gaping at us

like we had collectively lost our minds.

I didn’t blthem.

A part ofstill felt like | was trying to catch up with everything that had just happened.

Elaine reached the door first, hesitating only for a split second before knocking. Her voice was quiet, almost

disbelieving, “Grayson? Are you in there?”

A pause. Then, from the other side of the door, his voice came-steady, composed, almost casual, “I'm dressing.

Givea

moment.”

| reached the doorway, staring at the wood like | could see through it.

| could go in. It wasn’t like | needed permission. We were us.

But after everything... after the sheer impossibility of what had just happened... a selfish part ofwanted

more than just a fleeting moment now that we were not threatened to be pulled into oblivion. | wanted time. A

long time.

So | swallowed that instinct down and took a step back, letting Elaine have the first moment with him.

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The air between us shifted immediately, the weight of everything thickening with silence. She glanced at me,

awkwardness flickering in her expression. | looked away first, neither of us sure what to say until she finally broke

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the quiet now that everything had kind of settled.

“So... | shot Liam.”

| blinked, caught off guard,“Oh.”

Not exactly the best response, but my brain was still trying to piece together reality.

“Multiple times,” She added flatly.

| looked at her again, “Is he... dead?”

She let out a short laugh, but there was no humor in it. “Oh, no. He’s very much alive.” A shadow passed over

her face, “But until | figure out how to get over how | feel for him after all that he did he is going to spend the

rest of his days locked up. For now, he’s in Rickon’s pack, but I'm sure Grayson will-

The door opened.

Elaine’s words died mid-sentence.

Her entire body stiffened, eyes going wide-wider than | had ever seen them-as she stared at the figure standing

in the doorway.

For a moment, she didn’t speak. She didn’t breathe.

Grayson.

He was right there. | too needed a moment to rea

that reality.

-exce

Alive. Whole. Looking at us with that familiar sharp now, there was something deeper in it. Something older,

something changed.

Elaine’s mouth opened slightly, but no words cout. Her throat bobbed, her hands clenched at her sides

then, in a sharp, disbelieving whisper, she finally managed, “You were dead.”

Grayson’s gaze didn’t waver, “I was.”

Another heartbeat of silence. Then, suddenly, Elaine moved.

She didn’t throw herself at him like Isabella had with Rickon. She didn’t scream or cry or shake him to make sure

he was

real.

She just took a single step forward and smacked him across the chest. Hard.

“You-" She sucked in a shaky breath, “-absolute bastard-" She smacked him again, “-I mourned you! | sobbed my

eyes out! Do you have any idea what-"

Her voice broke. She sucked in a sharp breath, pressing a hand to her mouth like she was trying to hold herself

together.

And Grayson, who had faced death itself, who had clawed his way out of the grave-stood there and let her.

Finally, she exhaled unsteadily, looking up at him with glassy eyes, “Don’t ever-" Her voice wavered, “-ever do

that again.”

Grayson inclined his head slightly, “Noted.”

Another silence.

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Chapter 254

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Then, as if the weight of the last week had finally crashed into her, Elaine let out a weak, disbelieving laugh, “You

were dead.”

“And now I'm not.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly, You're impossible.”

A corner of his mouth lifted-the closest thing to a smirk | had seen from him in what felt like an eternity,

“Apparently.”

Elaine exhaled through her nose, shaking her head. “I hate you.”

“No, you don't.”

“I do,” She pointed at him, “I hate you.”

Then she grabbed his face and kissed his forehead, hard, before stepping back and smacking his chest one more

tfor good measure.

“Welcback, cousin.”

And with that, she turned on her heel and stalked off, mumbling something under her breath about stupid, self-

sacrificing werewolves.

Silence settled again.

| was still standing there, watching them, my heart hammering.

Grayson finally turned his attention toand just like that, the air shifted again.

The silence stretched between us.

His gaze locked onto mine, sharp and searching, like he was trying to take in every detail ofall at once. Like

he didn’t quite believe | was real.

I didn't move at first, couldn't.

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There were a thousand things | wanted to say-questions | needed to ask, emotions I didn’t know how to voice-

but none of them made it past my lips.

Then he opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, | moved. | didn’t think, didn’t hesitate-I just went

to him, shoving myself against his chest.

And instantly, his arms wrapped around me.

Tightly.

Like he needed to anchor himself, like he was afraid that if he let go, I'd disappear. We didn’t move. We just

stood there, holding onto each other.

His grip tightened-his arms like steel around me, his heartbeat steady beneath my ear, his warmth seeping into

my skin. And finally, in a breath so quiet it barely left my lips, | whispered, “The curse is broken.”

For a second, he didn’t respond then slowly, he exhaled, “I felt it.”

Another silence.

A weight had lifted, one | hadn't even fully realized | had been carrying but not everything was over.

| swallowed, forcing myself to step back just enough to look up at him, “I don’t mean to be a downer, but...

Damien still

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Chapter 254

managed to get away.”

His jaw tensed slightly, but he said nothing.

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“No one has been able to locate him or Crystal,” | continued, “and when Rickon tried to get information from

Dylan-"

| hesitated at his name. | expected anger at the mention of his nthere was nothing so | went on, “Because

she was his mate. And Damien is his uncle. He had no idea.” | shook my head, “Even though he was extremely

rude about it, he genuinely didn’t know who Crystal really was or that they had been planning this for years.

That was a dead end.”

Grayson didn’t react immediately.

Then, without a word, he tilted my chin up, makingmeet his gaze. “I'll handle everything relating to

Damien.” His voice was steady, absolute, “You don’t have to be involved in it anymore.”

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| wanted to argue, but he wasn't finished.

“And it doesn’t matter if he stays hidden or if he starts plotting again. It doesn’t matter. No one is going to take

the throne away from us.” His voice deepened slightly. “And I'll make sure of it.”

My breath caught. From us. The weight of those words hitsuddenly.

| had spent so much tfighting, running, trying to survive. But for the first time, hearing him say that-not you,

not me, but us-it felt real.

A slow smile tugged at my lips.

Then | frowned, “Don’t think you don’t still have to make up for what you did.” | poked his chest, “You're just

lucky there’s too much chaos forto focus on that fact right now.”

Grayson actually smirked-just slightly, ” know.”

| narrowed my eyes. “Stop saying ‘I know.””

But his gaze flickered downward, and before | could process it, his hand moved. Gently, he pressed his palm

against my stomach where ur children—our children—were growing.

My breath hitched and then... he smiled.

A real one.

A real, soft smile.

My chest tightened, something warm and overwhelming rising in my throat.

You need to get srest,” He murmured.

I swallowed hard, “I know.”

His eyes met mine again and for a while, neither of us spoke.

Then something flickered in his expression-something raw, something real. His voice was quiet, but it carried

more weight than anything else he had said so far, “Thank you.”

I blinked. “For what?”

“For coming for me.” His fingers curled slightly where they rested on my waist. “For not giving up on me.”

My throat tightened.

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Chapter 254

Because no matter how strong Grayson was, no matter how much power he held, no matter who he was... deep

down, | knew

the truth.

He had expected to be left behind. Expectedto let him go.

| wanted to tell him-I love you. The words burned at the tip of my tongue, but before | could say them, Isabella’s

voice rang out, cutting through the moment like a blade.

“Who would've thought Grayson Blackwood was actually sweet?”

Grayson immediately scowled. | turned just as Isabella strode in, completely ignoring him and raising her hand in

front of my face, flashing the ring so aggressively that | had to step back, “I'm getting married to Rickon!”

Grayson groaned. | laughed, “I know, Bels. | was there.”

She shook her head, eyes shining with something manic, “No, Lilian.” She grabbed my shoulders, “We are

getting married in three days.”

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