The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 31

-Grayson'’s POV-

A lot of damage control had to be done after Ava’s blow-up at Rickon’s ball, but | realized, as | was dealing with

the fallout, that unlike most things, it didn’t irritate me.

It should have. Ava wasn't just anyone. She was supposed to be my Luna. She should've known better than to

lose her composure like that. Yet, despite everything, despite the chaos she’d caused, all | felt was satisfaction.

Hell, | was pleased. The memory of that night kept intruding on my thoughts. The way she buried her head

against my chest, humming as if she'd found her place-the one spot where she fit. My wolf stirred then, and

even now, the damn thing still reacts every t| think about it.

And then when I'd placed her on the bed, her eyes, those deep blue eyes, had darkened, swirling with something

| couldn't place. She'd smiled softly, lips barely moving as she whispered, “I like your eyes. They're so gray.”

1 hadn't known what to do with that, with her.

Maria might've been right: Maybe Ava wasn’t my fated mate, but there was something there. Something deeper.

Maybe she was the one destined to helpmove on.

“Someone’s in a good mood.” Liam's voice interrupted my thoughts.

| snapped out of it, realizing he’d been standing there the whole time. He was grinning, as if he'd caughtred-

handed. “Are you thinking about a certain swirling-eyed woman?” He smirked, pushing his luck.

“Don’t you have work to do?” | glared at him, hoping he'd get the message and drop it.

“Well, 1 do,” Liam said, stepping further into my office, “which is why I'm here, but now I think I'd rather talk

about the fact that you were just daydreaming”

“I wasn’t daydreaming.” | grinded my teeth together.

“Sure you weren't,” he laughed with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “Anyway, | didn’t see anyone out there did

you your PA again?”

“She was too jumpy,” | stated simply, not really caring to explain further.

fire

“Grayson,” Liam sighed, crossing his arms, “that’s the fifth PA this month. If you keep firing them all, there won't

be any left for you to hire.”

I didn’t bother responding because | knew he was right, but it didn’t change the fact that they all annoyed me.

They got on my nerves. They didn’t have the sharpness | needed aroundjust then, a knock cat the door.

“Cin,” Liam called out on my behalf, and a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties, walked in with a

stack of files in her arms.

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“Mr. Dickson toldto bring these to you.”

“Drop them on the corner table,” Vordered without much interest, barely giving her a second glance.

She nodded and hurried over to the table, placing the files down before turning back toward me. Then, to my

surprise, she stopped, hesitating as if she was working up the courage to say something.

“Uhm, Mr. Blackwood,” she began, her voice shaky but determined, “I know I'll probably get fired for this-not

that I'd mind because, honestly, Mr. Dickson is a bit of a dick-but. | met you fiancée when she chere, and |

fought she was really cool You know, like, that kind of instant likeness?” She fidgeted with her hands, nervous

but stubborn enough to continue

Chapter 31

“I'm having a birthday party soon, and | would really appreciate it if you could extend an invitation to her. | don’t

know how to contact her otherwise.”

| stared at her for a moment, taking in her unease. She was standing there, trembling slightly, but still meeting

my gaze head-on.

It was almost amusing

“What's your name?” | asked, my voice cold.

“Eliza-uh, sorry-Elizabeth Anderson,” she stammered, clearly surprised | was even acknowledging her beyond a

dismissal

“And what exactly do you do here?” | asked, leaning back in my chair.

“I mostly run errands for the higher-ups,” she said, a flicker of irritation flashing in her eyes, “but Mr. Dickson

makes sure | run most of them for him.”

“Go to HR,” | said after a moment of silence. “Tell them you’re switching positions and that they're to brief you

on all the responsibilities of a personal assistant. Have your things moved up here.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “What?”

“I think you just got promoted,” Liam said with a raised eyebrow, watchingclosely like I'd grown a second

head.

“You're still standing here,” | sighed with boredom, snapping her out of her daze. “I expect my PA to be at her

desk, not standing in my office.”

“Oh my God-thank you! Thank you so much!” She practically bolted toward the door, but stopped midway,

turning back with wide eyes. “The invitation... will you-

“I'll extend it to her,” | cut in, keeping my tone calm and detached.

She nodded eagerly, then disappeared through the door.

“I don’t understand you anymore,” Liam muttered, dropping the papers onto the desk with a loud thud. “I really

don’t.”

The feeling was mutual. | wasn’t understanding much either since Ava cinto my life. Ordinarily, | would've

fired Eliza for overstepping boundaries, despite being right about Mr. Dickson. But she'd surprised me. There was

something about her confidence, however shaky it was, that | respected. Plus, if she'd taken an interest in Ava, |

needed to keep her close. Keep an eye on her.

| glanced at Liam. “Why are you here?”

He sighed, shaking his head, still baffled by my actions, but switched to business. “You have a meeting with the

board later today about the expansion in the eastern territories. We need to discuss the financials and legal

hurdles. There's been spushback on the land acquisition.”

Of course there was. “Who's causing the problem?”

“A few of the local councils are holding out,” Liam explained, flipping through the papers. “They're claiming the

deal violates soutdated environmental regulations, but it's nothing we can’t handle. I've already spoken to

legal about it, and they're confident we can push it through. It'll just take stime

Twe didn’t have “I want this wrapped up as soon as possible We can’t afford delays,”

Liam nodded. “I've already got our best people on it, but it wouldn't hurt if you had a sit-down with sof the

key players A face-to-face meeting might smooth things over.

“I'll consider it,” | said, already mentally calculating how much of a headache that would be

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He flipped to another page in the stack. “Also, the security firm in charge of overseeing the imports for the new

tech division has requested additional funding. They're citing increased threats from competitor sabotage. I'm

guessing they've already sent you the report, but | thought I'd bring it t

I hadn’t checked my email yet, but it didn’t matter. “Tell them they'll get the funding they need. | don’t want to

hear about any security breaches.”

Liam jotted it down. “Done. That bringsto the last point: the investor dinner next week. The guest list has

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already been finalized, but you'll need to approve it before we send out formal invitations”

| leaned back in my chair, rubbing a hand across my jaw. | hated these dinners. “Sendthe list. Ill look it over

later.”

“Will do.” He paused, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Speaking of meetings, we should probably head to the

conference room. You've got the department heads waiting.”

| checked my watch. He was right. Twas slipping away, and the last thing | needed was to waste more of it.

We both stood, making our way toward the door. As we stepped out, Liam smirked again. “So, you going to invite

Ava investor dinner?”

he

I shot him a look that told him to shut up, but even I couldn't deny that the thought had already crossed my

mind.

We got up and headed to the conference room. The department heads were already inside, seated and waiting,

their eyes shifting between their tablets and notepads. | strode to the head of the table, taking my place, and

Liam followed close behind, sliding into his seat next to me. The room went silent, everyone looking my way for

the meeting to start.

Liam's eyes flickered with a sudden recollection, and | knew before he opened his mouth that he had forgotten

something. “I almost forgot, one last thing.” Liam started, leaning closer, his voice low, “We have an investor

joining us today.”

I raised a brow. “Who is it?”

“I'm not sure. He's kept his dealings mostly anonymous, and | haven't been the one handling him directly.”

The door creaked open before I could respond. A figure walked in, and my entire body tensed. My wolf stirred

instantly, rising to his feet, snarling low in my chest.

Luther Pierce.

His arrogant smile spread wider the moment our eyes clashed. He stepped into the room like he owned it, like he

belonged there, when in reality, the last thing he should be doing was showing his face in my territory.

“I apologize for my lateness,” Luther said, his tone dripping with false politeness, as if he hadn't deliberately

arrived late just to make a spectacle.

| kept my voice cold, even though every instinct insidewas screaming to throw him out of the room—or

worse What are you doing here?”

Luther's smile didn’t waver. If anything, it widened, dripping with the ssuperiority he always wore “Is that

how you talk to one of your investors? Especially someone who just bought a significant amount of shares in

your company?

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