The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 17

-Ava POV-

“You really didn’t have to do that.” | snapped at Isabella the moment we stepped outside. My voice was sharper

than 1 intended, but | couldn't help it. “That was petty and low, even for you”

Isabella just shrugged completely 177. “I didn’t like her pititude. And if you think about it, maybe | did you a

favor.

Maybe Grayson will ground her, and you won't have to see her face for a while.”

1 glared harder, feeling the frustration bubbling in my chest. Sometimes, she could be so damn childish. “You act

like a kid, you know that, right?”

“But you loveanyway.” She grinned, somehow managing to out and smirk at the stime. It was almost

disarming. and before | knew it, | was rolling my eyes and letting out a reluctant smile.

“Con, let's go before any of them cout.” | nudged her in the direction of my room.

“Or before his royal hotness comes out and eats you up with his eyes.” Isabella gavea look that made my

stomach drop “Good luck surviving a whole year with him, seeing him every day with all that gorgeousness

being shoved in your face. If it's too much for you, we can trade.”

| couldn't help but laugh, even though | didn’t find the situation half as amusing as she did. “Let's just get drunk

and go to bed. | can’t deal with you sober right now.”

Her phone rang, cutting through the moment and she frowned, pulling it out of her pocket. “It's work,” she

muttered. “Jameson never calls this late unless it's important.”

“Go ahead. I'll just roam around until you're done, and then we can head to my room.”

The words felt strange coming out of my mouth-my room. | didn’t want to get comfortable here. This wasn’t my

home, no matter how long I stayed. | was on borrowed time, under the roof of a man | barely knew and definitely

didn’t trust. A man who could ruinwith a single decision.

With that thought gnawing at me, | wandered through the enormous mansion, my steps aimless until | found

myself stepping outside. The air was cooler, and | inhaled deeply, trying to clear my head. But just as | started to

relax, a voice-hi voice-cut through the night like a knife.

“Well, aren’t you already making yourself comfortable?” Dylan’s tone was venomous, dripping with the malice I'd

grown too familiar with.

My heart lurched in my chest, and every instinct screamed atto run. | whipped my head in his direction, fear

coiling tight in my stomach as memories of every slap, every punch, every cruel word crushing back. | took

an involuntary step backward, and his smile widened. He knew he still had power over me.

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“It’s good you still know your place,” he sneered.

Anger flared in my chest, pushing past the fear. “You're a bastard, Dylan.”

His eyes narrowed dangerously. “If | were you, I'd watch my tone. Just because Grayson Blackwood showed you a

shred of interest doesn’t mean | can’t still put you in your place.”

| clenched my fists, frustration bubbling over. How did | ever end up with someone like him as my mate? What

cosmic joke was this? “How did | end up with you?” | muttered more to myself than to him.

He stepped closer, and | instinctively raised the bottle | was holding. “Don’t cnear me, or | swear I'll smash

this over your headTM

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Dylan laughed a cruel mocking sound. “You sound pathetic. Add just so you know, Grayson did us boris a favor

by dissolving the marriage. | slidy’t want to get a divorce and | only stayed with you out of pity. | could barely

stand the sight of

A bitter laugh escaped my lips b

| could stop it. Of course. Why was | even bothering to argue with him? “I don’t even know why I'm wasting my

breath on you. Shouldn't you be at hoone with your pregnant mistress?” | shot back, my voice dripping with

mockery

His eyes flashed with anger, and for a moment, | thought he might actually hitagain. “Watch your tone.

Ava,” he growled, taking another step toward me. “Tin warning you.”

“Or what?” | held my ground, refusing to back down this time. “Leave, Dylan, before Grayson realizes you're

here.”

“I'm not scared of him,” Dylan snarled, his voice low and threatening. “And if you don’t get out of my way, Ill-

“You'll what?”

My heart stopped. | whipped around so fast | almost got whiplash. Grayson'’s voice, cold and deadly, cut through

the tension. like a blade. He stepped out of the shadows, his gray eyes locked on Dylan with an intensity that

scared me.

Dylan's face transformed instantly, a fake smile plastering itself across his features. “Alpha King Grayson,” he

bowed, the deference in his voice almost comical. “I was just asking Ava how | might request an audience with

you.”

Grayson didn’t blink. His gaze stayed fixed on Dylan, cold and unyielding. That's not what it sounded like. And

threatening her? That's how you ask for an audience?” His voice was ice, each word measured and dripping with

coldness. “I suggest you choose your next words carefully.”

He didn’t wait for Dylan to answer. Instead, he turned to me, his eyes softening-just barely. “Chere.”

It wasn’t a request. My body reacted before my brain did, and | found myself walking toward him, my heart

pounding in my chest. The moment | was beside him, Dylan cleared his throat, trying to recover.

“I really do apologize,” Dylan said, his voice dripping with insincerity. “I was just trying to get my point across.

Ava can be...

stubborn.”

I almost laughed at how pathetic he sounded, but Grayson beatto it. “Not only did you step into my house

uninvited. but you also threatened and insulted my Luna.”

The word slammed into me, and | saw the impact it had on Dylan. His eyes widened, flicking between the two of

us as if he couldn't comprehend what he’d just heard.

“Your Luna?” Dylan spat, his face twisting in anger as he looked at me, “You already jumping from one man to

another? What would your parents say, Ava? Have you no shame?”

The moment the words left his mouth, the atmosphere shifted. | didn’t have tto process it before Grayson

moved, swift and controlled, a show of power that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He grabbed

Dylan by the collar. lifting him off the ground effortlessly, his expression cold and lethal.

“You dare speak to her like that in my presence?” Grayson’s voice was low, barely above a whisper, but the

threat was unmistakable. His grip tightened, and Dylan choked, his face turning red as he clawed at Grayson's

hand.

| watched, frozen in shock. The display of power was calculated, terrifyingly calm, and it took everything in me

not to flinch.

“Grayson.” | whispered, barely able to find my voice.

He didn’t look at me, his focus entirely on Dylan, “If you ever cnear her again, or step foot into my home,

you won't leave breathing”

With that, he released Dylan, who fell to the ground, gasping for air. Grayson didn’t spare him another glance.

The cold

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Chapter 17

detachment in his eyes melted for a brief second as he looked at me.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded, my heart still racing but something insideshifted, realizing just how dangerous this man could be

Dangerous-and protective.

Dylan's voice rang out, desperate and shaky. “Hold on, Alpha Grayson! | apologize for my actions and words. You

can have Ava, but if we can just talk about the alliance again—"

| felt the tension ripple through Grayson like a coiled spring alsnit to smap. He was going to kill Dylan, | was sure

of it this time. Without thinking. | reached out and grabbed Grayson’s hand, an impulsive, instinctive move to

stop him. The moment my fingers touched his skin, that jolt of electricity shot through me, startlinglike a live

wire.

His gaze dropped to where my hand met his, and those gray eyes darkened, not with the cold fury I'd expected

but something else. Something deeper. More dangerous. It terrified me, and yet, at the stime, it drewin.

My throat went dry. Was that desire? No, it couldn't be. Not with someone like him. But the heat in his eyes was

unmistakable, and for a moment, it looked like | wasn’t the only one feeling the electric pull between us.

| snatched my hand back as though his skin had burned me.

“Please,” | whispered, my voice sounding far smaller than | intended. “Let's just go.”

For a moment, he didn’t move, and | could see the gears turning in his mind, calculating whether or not Dylan

was worth his time. | half expected him to break his neck right there, but after a tense beat, he turned and

began walking away, his shoulders rigid with the force of keeping his fury in check.

As soon as we were inside, and the door shut behind us with a resounding thud, | spun around, blocking his path

before he could disappear into the shadows of his mansion again.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

His cold gaze flicked to mine. “About what?”

| hesitated. The words | had carefully rehearsed in my head suddenly felt flimsy and awkward under his scrutiny.

“I was thinking... if we're going to do this, we need to cup with sground rules”

His brow arched, the slightest hint of amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Rules?”

“And a schedule,” 1 added quickly, stumbling over the words. “For your treatments.”

Grayson crossed his arms over his broad chest, watchingwith an unreadable expression.

“And...” | took a deep breath, feeling the heat of embarrassment rise in my cheeks. “We need to talk about what

happened in your study. When I... when | touched you.”