The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 232

*Ava's POV

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1 blinked at him, my mind scrambling to make sense of his words. Had | heard him right? My lips parted, ready

to speak but before | could, he stepped back, putting space between us.

“And the disbelief,” He murmured, “the fact that you don’t know if you heardright, or if you can even believe

I'd say that.. that’s exactly why we can’t end, Ava”

His chest rose and fell as he closed his eyes, his jaw tightening. He stood there, unmoving, silent, and the

seconds stretched unbearably. When he finally opened his eyes again, they were filled with something raw,

something | wasn’t sure | was ready to face.

“The realm finding out | didn’t have my wolf felt like an attack,” He admitted, voice thick with emotion, “And |

didn’t handle it well. Then immediately after, | saw all those messages, and | just didn’t. | didn’t think past my

anger. And you suffered for it.” He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “I am sorry. | am so sorry, Ava. And these

past weeks... I've been miserable without you, 1”

His eyes fluttered shut again, his whole body tense as if the words hurt to say.

1 didn’t wait for him to finish.

| closed the distance between us, pressing myself against him, my arms winding around his waist, holding on,

“We can’t keep doing this,” | whispered, my voice breaking. “Please.”

His hands hesitated before settling on my back, pullingcloser, tuckingagainst his chest like he was afraid

I'd slip away, “I know,”

| squeezed my eyes shut, breathing him in. The scent of him, the warmth, the familiarity—it hurt.

“I'm still so mad at you,” | murmured.

“I know.”

“I don’t forgive you yet.”

A soft kiss landed on the top of my head, his arms tightening around me. “I know.”

We stood there for a long time, wrapped in silence, neither of us willing to let go. The storm of everything that

had happened still loomed over us, but for the first tin weeks, | could breathe.

“I don’t want to be done with you,” | finally whispered, my voice so small, so fragile, “I can’t be done with you.”

His grip ontightened. “I know.”

| let out a choked laugh, tears slipping down my cheeks as | pulled back just enough to glare up at him, “Stop

saying ‘I

Know.”

A small, tired smile tugged at his lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“You can’t hurtlike that again,” | continued, my voice trembling with barely contained emotion, “You can’t do

that toever again. And if you say ‘I know’ one more time, | swear to the goddess, | will punch you.”

His lips parted, amusement flickering through the storm in his eyes, but he caught himself just in time. Instead,

he cupped my face gently, his fingers tracing my jaw, grounding me.

And then he kissed me.

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Chapter 232

It wasn’t desperate or urgent. It wasn’t the kind of kiss that stole my breath or set my skin on fire. It was soft.

Careful. A hesitant apology and a quiet plea wrapped into one.

It wasn’t enough. But it was something.

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| let out a shaky breath, my hands still resting on his chest, “Do you really want this child? | didn’t mean for it to

happen. | started taking birth control pills and...”

He exhaled, his thumb brushing over my jaw, “I know I said | didn’t want a child. And when Elaine told me, | still

didn’t know if | wanted this child. I didn’t know what to do with it, what it meant for us, for everything. But then

at the hospital, when | thought | might have lost you-" His voice faltered, but he steadied himself. “I realized |

didn’t just want you back. | wanted the baby too.”

| stared at him, trying to process his words, trying to find the truth in his face.

“Are you sure?” | whispered, searching his face, looking for even the smallest hint of hesitation.

“Yes.” His hands tightened around me, warm and grounding. “I want both of you, Ava. And | will spend every

minute showing you how sorry | am for not trusting you in the first place.”

Something incracked at his words. The weight of everything-the pain, the betrayals, the longing, the love-

pressed down onall at once, and to my own surprise, | laughed. It wasn’t a bitter laugh, nor was it full of

humor. It was soft, almost disbelieving.

Grayson pulled back just enough to look at me, his brow furrowing. “What?”

I shook my head, wiping the tears from my cheeks even as a small smile pulled at my lips. “It’s just... | always

thought us making up would be this grand moment, you know? Stic, cinematic moment where

everything just clicks and everything is perfect again.” | let out a breathy chuckle, shaking my head. “But this...

this is just messy and complicated, and | don’t know how to feel about it.”

He exhaled through his nose, something like amusement flashing in his tired eyes, “Nothing about us has ever

been simple, Ava.”

| nodded, looking away for a moment before meeting his gaze again, “Yeah... | guess that’s true.”

A long silence stretched between us, neither of us willing to let go just yet.

Then, hesitantly, he reached out, his fingers brushing against my cheek before he cupped my face gently, “I

know | don’t deserve to ask for another chance,” he murmured, his voice so low it was almost lost in the space

between us. “But | need you to know that I'm going to try much harder this time.”

| swallowed hard, my fingers curling around the front of his shirt.

“I want to believe you,” | admitted, my voice barely above a whisper, “I really do. But | don’t know how to trust

that this twill be different.”

He sighed, his hands sliding down to my waist, “Then letprove it to you.”

| closed my eyes for a moment, trying to calm the storm inside me, but then | felt his fingers tighten against my

waist.

When I finally opened my eyes, he was watching me-waiting, hoping.

And despite everything, despite the anger, the pain, the betrayal.... | still loved him. | mean that much was

obvious. It had only been barely a month but still it felt like so much time.

| opened my mouth, ready to finally give him my answer, but before | could, he spoke first.

“We already had our grand cinematic moment,” He said suddenly.

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Chapter 232

I'frowned, thrown off by the shift in tone “What?”

His lips twitched, just slightly, “Remember? In the rain?”

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The memory rushed in before | could stop it, my exact words coming back-Maybe my life wasn’t a story, and

maybe I'd never have an epic romance, but | wanted this moment. | wanted to be the girl who met him halfway,

kissed in the rain, not the one who walked alone when it started raining!

It felt like all of that happened in another lifetbut despite myself and the situation, | smiled, “Yes, |

remember.”

I sighed, the weight of everything pressing down on me. “So, I'd better mark you then,” | murmured, shifting

closer, my fingers brushing against his neck, “So we can break the curse.”

But before | could move any further, he shook his head, “No. Not like this”

Before | could question him, the door swung open.

My mother stepped back inside, her gaze sharp, her presence immediately filling the room.

“Not like her marking you back is going to break the curse anyway,” She said, crossing her arms.

| spun toward her, frustration flaring hot in my chest, “You were listening?!”

She scoffed. “Please. | have werewolf hearing.” Then, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, she added,

“And you're going to need more than just marking each other to break a curse that was placed by the Moon

Goddess herself. A spell was done to bind this match, and a powerful spell needs to be performed to cement it

and break the curse.” She held my gaze, unwavering, “That can only be done when we get back home. The

Pierces have connections to a lot of powerful witches.”

“Then why didn’t you get one of them to save your husband?” Grayson’s voice was sharp, cutting. “Why did you

rely on mine? And why are you still relying on her?”

My mother’s eyes darkened, a dangerous glare taking over her face. “Because she was available,” She snapped,

her voice like ice. “And all of this is happening because of you.”

| felt my head throb with the beginning of a headache. Not again.

I sighed and ran a hand over my face, “Elaine said no more fighting,” | reminded them sharply not even

believing that | was saying it, “One last negative statement from either of you, and that’s it.”

Neither of them looked pleased, but they remained silent.

The tension in the room thickened.

Then, my mother’s glare intensified, her lips pressing into a tight line as she finally spoke again, “I do not like

you.”

Grayson didn’t miss a beat, “And | cannot stand you.”

| groaned. “Okay, great! Now that that is out of the way...” | turned to my mother. “Eavesdropping is rude, but

I'm not even going to focus on that right now. Maria is coming. I'm sure she can perform whatever spell is

needed to break the curse when she gets here.”

My mother exhaled, and for the first time, she looked... uneasy.

“Well,” She said carefully, “that will have to wait.”

Something in her voice made my stomach drop.

Grayson caught onto it, too. “Why?”

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Chapter 232

She hesitated, then met my gaze. “Because when | went after Damien... | didn’t actually find him.”

The air in the room shifted.

“What do you mean?” | asked, my heart pounding.

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Her expression turned grim. “I did find something else.” She took a slow breath, “I found out why he’s in Italy in

the first place.

Grayson stepped forward, his entire body tensed. “What is he planning?”

She looked between the two of us.

And then, with a seriousness that made my blood run cold, she said-

word

word

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