The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 14

-Ava’s POV

My head was pounding. Every inch of my holy felt like it had been dragged through hell, and | could barely think

straight. Everything was just crashing down on the all at once, and the presstire was unbearable. | wanted to

scream, but all | could do was sit there, frozen in place, as if somehow doing nothing would make the storm

swirling in my mind stop.

I had walked out on my father, and | had no intention of speaking to him anytsoon.

Not that it would matter. He never listened toanyway,

“This place is freaking huge!” Isabella’s voice snappedout of my trance, her laughter echoing through the

room Grayson had given me. | blinked, confused by her presence. | hadn't even heard her cback in.

“I thought you left, | said, staring at her with a frown.

Isabella paused halfway to the bed, looking atlike I'd grown a second head. “I left?” she echoed, clearly

puzzled.

“Yeah,” | replied, rubbing my temples. “Remember? You were supposed to go home, and | was going to talk to

Grayson Then I'd call you afterward to tell you how it went?”

She burst out laughing. “Oh, that. Totally forgot about that.” She lifted her hand, revealing a bottle of wine. “Look

what | found in the bar.”

sighed, exasperated. “Bels, you can’t just go rummaging through people’s houses and stealing their wine. And

wait-there’s a bar in this place?”

She grinned, knowing exactly how to push my buttons. “Yup. Well, | was going to leave, but | kind of got lost, and

then | decided to explore. You know, this place has, like, everything. | guess that’s what happens when you're a

billionaire.”

“Excuse me? Billionaire? Who?"

She shota look. “Grayson Blackwood. Did you seriously not know?”

| stared at her, my mind struggling to process that bit of information. Sure, | knew Grayson was rich, but | had no

idea he was billionaire-rich. My thoughts drifted back to him, and | let out a deep sigh, feeling the weight of

everything all over

again.

Isabella sat down on the bed, her face softening

ng with concern. “Take it the talk

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talk didn’t go so well?”

| grabbed the bottle from her, unscrewing the cap and taking a long swig before handing it back. We both knew it

wasn’t a good habit, but it was one of those things we did-our not-so-classy, unspoken ritual. | didn’t care. Right

now, | needed the burn of the alcohol to numb everything

“The contract is sealed,” | said flatly, staring at the wall. “He won't letgo, at least not for the next year, and

my father’s going to follow through on his threat. | don’t know what to do, Bels. | really don’t”

“Why don’t you just stay out of it?” she asked, casually taking another sip.

| blinked, turning to look at her. “What?”

She shrugged. “Lilian, this whole mess is because of their egos. Why are you getting involved? Let them sort it

out.”

| shook my head, the frustration rising in my chest. “Because | can’t. There are death threats flying around, Bels.

My father could end up dead if | just sit back and do nothing.”

She snorted, clearly unimpressed. “Well, maybe that'd solve half your problems. Throw your mother in the mix,

and you

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Chapter 14

might finally get spr

1 glared at her, though there was a tiny part ofthat agreed Babella Perez

She raised her hands in mock surrender, laughing “Okay, okay, hard timing for that joke. But con, you know

I'm right Your father’s an asshole, and your mother-well, don’t getstifted

Before | could respond, my phone started ringing. I let out the loindredth sigh of the day, bracing myself as |

looked at the screet: Speak of the devil

“Mother,” | muttered, answering the call.

“Is this how I raised you, Ava?” Her voice was cold, disapproving as always. “Not only have you abandoned your

husband, but now you're associating with a man with a vile reputation who insulted your father? Have you no

shame

| groaned inwardly, biting back the urge to snap. My mother was even worse than my father, and right now, the

last thing | wanted was another lecture from her. But it didn’t matter what | wanted. She always found a way to

get under my skin.

“Are you just going to sit there in silence?” she demanded. “You had plenty to say to your father earlier. Now get

to the compound. Immediately“:

And with that, she hung up. No room for arguments. No concern for what | was feeling. Just commands

“You know you could just not answer their calls, right?” Isabella sud, her voice sharp with irritation. “What's the

worst that could happen? They disown you? Honestly, that would be a blessing.”

knew her anger wasn't directed at me. She was just frustrated with how much control my parents had over me,

how | kept letting them pullinto their toxic world. She wasn’t wrong.

| stood up, walking over to the wardrobe. “I need to go,” | said, ignoring the look on her face.

“Don’t tellyou're actually going to see her,” she snapped, her voice hard. “Lilian, are you serious?”

“If 1 don’t, it'll just get worse. It's better to-

“Seriously, Lilian,” she cutoff, her frustration boiling over. “Lam so tired of this. You almost died tonight, and

the first thing out of her mouth wasn’t “Are you okay?‘ but ‘Cseenow? It’s after 10 p.m. for Goddess

sake, and you're still letting them control you. When are you going to start standing up for yourself?”

“Bel...” | groaned, but she wasn’t done.

“No, listen to me. You're the Luna to the most powerful man in this country. Contracted or not, start acting like it.

You've been running around in circles since yesterday. You almost died in a fire, and instead of taking care of

yourself, you're letting your parents run your life. You still need to get checked out, and you need to rest. And

more than anything, you to start living for yourself. Not for them. Not for Grayson. FOR YOU.”

need

Her words hit harder than | wanted to admit, but they were the swords she'd been tellingfor years. And

yet, | still couldn't break free of the hold my family had on me. | didn’t know why.

But she wasn't letting it go. “You want to be told what to do?” she said, her tone sharp. “Fine. Here it is. You're

not going anywhere tonight. I’m staying with you. We're going to steal a couple more bottles, laugh like maniacs,

talk crap about that asshole Dylan, and yeah, we'll even talk about how hot Graysons-because let's be honest,

he’s hot, how you're going to survive this year without one of us jumping him and how you are going to stop

letting them control you then I'll cuddle you to sleep. Do you understand?”

| couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto my face despite the exhaustion weighingdown. “Yeah, |

understand.” “Good,” she smiled, her voice softening. “Now chere.”

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Chapter 14

She opened her amis, and | went to her, feeling her wrapin tight hug. “You know I love you, right?” she

murmured into my hair.

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“I know, Hels.” | whispered back. “I know”

“Good,” she said again, pulling back and lookingstraight in the eyes. “Because tomorrow-or the next day-

you're going

get out there and find a job, and you're going to take your life back. Got it?”

| nodded, feeling the warmth of her words sink in like a blanket of reassurance. For a brief moment, | almost

forgot the chaos in my life, until Isabella’s eyes lit up with that familiar mischievous glint. Her serious tone

melted away as quickly as it had arrived, and she clapped her hands together excitedly.

“Now con Let's go raid his har! You're going to gasp, | promise, she laughed, already pullingtoward the

door before | could object.

“Wait, Isabella-“l barely got the words out before she was dragginginto the hallway, our footsteps echoing

through the grand, quiet mansion.

| couldn't help but laugh, the tension momentarily casing off my shoulders as we rushed down the hall like

teenagers sneaking around after curfew. Her enthusiasm was infectious. It was reckless, it was ridiculous, and

maybe that’s exactly what | needed a distraction, something that madeforget the endless pressure of my

family and Grayson’s suffocating

presence.

“Where is this bar of yours?” | asked breathlessly, still half laughing as we rounded another corner.

“You'll see. It’s ridiculous. You're going to lose it,” she grinned.

When we reached the entrance to what | assumed was the bar, tabella didn’t even pause. She pushed the heavy

door open and flicked on the lights in one smooth motion.

The instant the room lit up, | froze.

Not out of awe, but out of shock.

My breath caught in my throat, my hand instinctively gripping Isabella’s arm as | took a step back, my eyes wide

in front of us.

3T

the scene

-What-what is it?” She asked, her voice faltering as she followed my gaze. The moment her eyes landed on what

hadparalyzed, her mouth dropped open, eyes widening in shock

“Oh my goddess!”

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