The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 239

-Grayson'’s POV-

| was wrong.

It wasn’t an execution-well, it couldn't be if I could still hear the pounding in my head as | pushed myself up from

wherever it was that | was now. My limbs ached like | had been dragged through fire and ice, my senses slowly

sharpening as | fought off the disorientation.

| blinked my eyes open, expecting to see Evelyn because we had been attacked together but instead, | saw

Rickon lying still. Unconscious. His chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm, but unmoving.

How did he get here?

A rustling sound pulled my attention away, my gaze shifting across the dimly lit space. Maria was there, her form

still and quiet, and then Luther-his massive frundisturbed, locked in an unnatural sleep. Evelyn was next.

Elaine. Isabella. And then-

Ava.

The moment my eyes landed on her, the pain in my head becinsignificant. Or maybe it didn’t, but my focus

had shifted completely. Nothing else mattered in that instant but getting to Ava. | pushed myself up, shaking off

the sluggishness in my limbs as | moved toward her.

At least | wasn’t numb this time.

Then, like a sharp crack in the otherwise eerie silence, a voice filtered through the air-light, mocking, familiar.

“Somehow, | knew you would be the first to awaken.”

| stilled for half a second, my eyes scanning the room before | realized something-Crystal wasn’t here with us.

Her voice surrounded me, but she wasn’t among the unconscious bodies.

| didn’t respond. | didn’t waste tsearching for her either. She wasn’t important-not now. Ava was.

“You know,” Crystal's voice carried that ssaccharine sweetness that had always felt like nails on a

chalkboard, “you and | have never really gotten the chance to talk. Actually, you and I have never officially met.”

| reached Ava, kneeling beside her. My fingers pressed against her pulse point, the steady beat beneath my

touch releasing a breath | hadn't even realized | was holding. She was breathing fine. Alive. | carefully turned her

body so she wasn’t putting too much pressure on her stomach.

She looked so-peaceful. It was unnerving.

“I'm Crystal, by the way,” She continued, unfazed by my lack of response. “Not sure if | can be called Crystal

Cross. | usually went Myers just for show. Damien never really-well, he never actually adopted me, so it’s just

Crystal. In case you needed a recap, I'm your precious Ava’s long lost sister.”

I ignored her. My attention remained solely on Ava, studying her face, the gentle rise and fall of her chest.

Crystal sighed, tic and exaggerated. “Oh, you really do love her, don’t you?” She let out a light laugh, like

this was amusing to her. “Seems like only yesterday when she did that whole scene to get you to get her out of

that marriage with Dylan. Ah, how tflies.”

Still, | refused to acknowledge her.

“Aren’t you curious as to how we got all of you here?”

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Chapter 239

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Finally, I turned in the direction her voice seemed strongest. My patience was already thin, and if she thought

she could toy with me, she was sorely mistaken.

“If you were going to kill all of us, you wouldn't have kept us here,” | said coldly. “So why don’t you just skip all

the theatrics that | have zero interest in and tellwhy we are here?”

Crystal made a small humming noise, as if considering. “Con now, Grayson. If circumstances were different,

| could have been your mate, you know?” Her voice was still teasing, but there was something sharper

underneath it. “I heard you were looking forfor a while.”

Silence.

I didn’t take the bait.

Crystal sighed again, this twith clear frustration. “Fine. Be that way.” A pause. “Then | suppose I'll just wait

for everyone else to wake up. That's when the real fun will begin.”

| clenched my jaw, the urge to find her and end this entire gitching beneath my skin, but | forced myself to

stay grounded. Ava was my priority. She always would be.

Minutes passed in heavy silence, the air thick with anticipation. Then, slowly, a shift. A breath. A slight twitch of

fingers.

The others were starting to stir.

First, Evelyn's fingers curled slightly against the ground, her brow furrowing before her eyelids fluttered open.

She groaned softly, disoriented. Then Isabella let out a sharp inhale, eyes snapping open as if she had just come

out of a nightmare.

One by one, they began to awaken.

Elaine stirred, rolling onto her side, confusion flickering across her face. Maria gasped softly, her hand

instinctively reaching for the necklace around her neck.

Luther, however, remained still.

Still trapped under the sleep spell.

Rickon groaned, rubbing his forehead as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. His gaze flickered around the

room before landing on me.

“What the hell...?” He muttered, voice hoarse.

| ignored him, my attention snapping back to Ava as she let out the softest sigh. Her fingers twitched, then her

breathing changed, deeper, more aware.

Then, finally, her eyelids fluttered open.

| exhaled, something loosening in my chest.

Ava blinked up at me, dazed, confused. | could see the questions forming behind her eyes before she even

opened her mouth.

“Ava,” | said her nfirst, low, steady.

She swallowed, nodding slightly. “I'm fine,” She said, her voice softer than usual. Then, a flicker of confusion.

“What's happening?”

I didn’t answer immediately. | glanced around at the others, all of them slowly regaining their bearings,

realization dawning on their faces.

09:16 Sat, 1 Mar

Chapter 239

“We were taken,” | said simply. “And Crystal and by extension Damien is playing games.”

Ava’s brows furrowed, her gaze darting around the room. “Where is she?”

“Not here,” | muttered. “But she’s watching. And she wants something.”

“She always does,” Evelyn said darkly from where she sat, her eyes still slightly unfocused but filled with the

ssteel determination that had always defined her.

“She said she’s waiting for everyone to wake up,” | added. “For the ‘real fun’ to begin.”

Rickon let out a humorless laugh, “That doesn’t sound ominous at all.”

FD

Ava pushed herself up slowly, and instinctively, | reached out, steadying her. She didn’t protest. Instead, she

glanced toward Luther's unmoving body, her expression tightening.

“He’s still under the spell,” She murmured then let out a sigh scanning everyone's face before her eyes landed

on me, “When does it ever end? | mean if he wants to kill us why doesn’t he just do it already?”

Maria, now fully awake, pushed herself upright, her expression twisted with frustration. “Well, | am not waiting

around to find out,” She announced, shaking off the last remnants of grogginess. “And | still cannot believe that |

was bested by the likes of you.”

With an indignant huff, she rose to her feet, her chin tilted high, arrogance practically radiating off her. She

closed her eyes, lips moving in silent incantation as she lifted her hands, fingers twitching as she called upon her

magic.

Nothing happened.

A flicker of confusion crossed her face, but she masked it quickly. She tried again, the words slipping out sharper,

more urgent-yet still, nothing.

“What in the-” She snapped her eyes open, her brow furrowing. A tinge of something unfamiliar crept into her

usually composed features-uncertainty. “It’s like | can’t feel my magic. Like there’s a block.”

Silence settled heavily over the room for a moment. Then-

“I can’t feel my wolf,” Rickon said from the corner, his voice low and tense.

A ripple spread through the group, murmurs of realization filling the space as, one by one, they reached the

sunsettling conclusion.

Everyone's wolf was gone.

“This is just great,” Isabella snapped, frustration laced with anger. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her

sharp gaze cutting through the room, “I cannot believe Ricardo right now!”

| turned to look at her, but before | could speak, Ava did.

“His men attacked the security detail you hired for me,” She said, her voice steady, but | caught the underlying

edge to it. “And apparently, Damien got to him too.”

| didn’t say anything.

“How did he get you?” Her words barely registered before Evelyn spoke, her tone clipped, her expression grim.

“We got attacked by wolves. His wolves, | believe.”

Then she crouched down, brushing a hand through Luther's gray hair, carefully pushing it away from his

forehead. There was something almost too gentle in the movement, something weighted. | followed her gaze,

and when | turned back, | caught an unreadable expression flicker across Ava’s face.

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Chapter 239

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She was staring at her parents-at Evelyn, who was tending to Luther like she had never seen it before. | opened

my mouth to say something when a sound rang through the space, sharp and taunting.

A voice.

Damien’s voice.

It echoed around us, filling every crevice, every inch of the room with that unmistakable triumph, “Ladies and

gentlemen,” He drawled, amusement lacing his words. “You are all awake. Now we can start.”

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