The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 32

-Grayson'’s POV-

I didn’t react.

Not outwardly, at least.

1 kept my expression as neutral as stone, but inside, the beast raged, clawing to the surface. He was testing me.

He knew exactly what he was doing, and worst of all, he was enjoying it.

Luther sauntered to an empty chair, took his tmaking himself comfortable, leaning back like he owned the

place. The tension in the room was palpable, every department head now shifting uncomfortably in their seats,

casting glances betweenand Luther. They weren't stupid-they could feel it too, the silent war simmering just

below the surface.

Liam cleared his throat, stepping in before the situation could spiral further. “Well, now that we are all here, let's

t meeting.”

the

| remained silent, eyes fixed on Luther as Liam tried to proceed with the agenda. | wasn't listening to the words.

My focus was on Luther, calculating, assessing. He was here to provoke me. He wanted a reaction.

| wasn’t going to give it to him.

Liam was speaking, trying to salvage what he could of the tension in the room, moving quickly through the

reports. The department heads nodded, chiming in when necessary, but their focus wasn’t on the numbers. It

was onand Luther, waiting for something to snap.

Luther, still lounging in his seat, cut in with a smug tone. “Interesting strategy with the overseas investments,

but I think you're playing a risky game, Blackwood. Have you considered the implications of that merger in

Brazil? The market there is... tricky.”

I didn’t respond. My silence, my cold stare, was my answer. | could see the slight flicker of satisfaction in his

eyes. He thought he had won this round. He thought his presence was enough to rattle me, to shake me.

Liam coughed again, this ta bit more urgently, and | realized he was waiting forto respond. | tore my

eyes from Luther and turned toward the department heads, giving them a curt nod. “We'll adjust our position

based on the market's response. Proceed with the plan.”

Liam visibly relaxed, quickly moving the meeting along, steering the conversation away from Luther's

provocations. But the air was still thick with tension, every word strained under the weight of what wasn’t being

said.

The meeting dragged on, with Luther chiming in here and there, throwing subtle jabs, always careful to keep his

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tone just on the edge of polite. He was enjoying this, savoring every moment of his supposed victory.

But | stayed quiet, cold. Observing. Planning.

When the meeting finally wrapped up, the department heads filed out, one by one, each of them stealing

nervous glances at me, as if expecting an explosion that never came. Luther lingers of course, standing up

slowly, stretching as though he'd just enjoyed a leisurely afternoon.

“Tl be in touch,” he said, that smug grin still plastered on his face. “After all, as an investor, | have a vested

interest in how things go here

Ididn’t respond, just watched him walk out, every step delibera, contident.

Liam sighed heavily once the door shut behind Luther. “That was... tense,” he muttered, glancing at me

cautiously. “You okay?”

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Chapter 12

I didn’t answer immediately, My mind was still on Luther, on the ghe was playing. He thought he had the

upper hand. He thought he could just walk into my territory and control the narrative

But he was wrong

Very wrong.

“Ill handle him.” | said finally, my voice low, controlled. “He just made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.”

Liam nodded, though he still looked uneasy. He knew better than to pushwhen | was like this.

| watched the door for a long moment after Lanther left, my jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the spot he just vacated.

He wanted to provoke me. To show that he was in control. He thought stepping into my territory, flaunting his so-

called superiority, would get under my skin.

I'd let him believe that for now.

Because the next move would be mine.

The rest of the day blurred, one meaningless meeting after another, but Luther lingered at the back of my mind,

festering like a wound that refused to heal. His arrogance-the audacity to show up here was the final straw, |

needed to remind him of exactly who | was.

Later that afternoon. | found myself back in my office, sifting through the files brought toabout Luther Pierce.

I'd only known the Pierce family at a distance-just enough to recognize their power when it cto medical

treatments. The man had built an empire, sure, but | hadn't bothered digging deeper

That had been my mistake.

Luther Pierce wasn't just a doctor. He was something much worse. His claws dug deep into powerful places-

places no one knew about unless they were looking. The file in front ofdetailed his connections, his hidden

assets, and the real source of his wealth. He wasn't just a threat anymore-he was the kind of problem that

needed to be dealt with carefully.

1 closed the file and leaned back in my chair, my fingers already dialing a number | knew by heart. The phone

rang once before a voice, casual and taunting, picked up.

“Grayson,” he greeted, his voice smug. “Didn't expect to hear from you this soon. What's the occasion?”

“I'm not in the mood for your games, Carter,” | snapped.

Carter laughed, a deep, low sound that grated on my nerves. “You're never in the mood. It’s part of your charm.”

I ignored him, getting straight to the point. “I need you to take care of someone for me. I've sent everything you

need to know to your email.”

There was a pause, and | could practically hear him grinning on the other end. “You know, Grayson, | really like it

when you giveorders. It’s one of my kinks.”

1 growled his name, my patience hanging by a thread. “Carter.”,

“Relax,” he chuckled. “I'm just messing with you. Fine. Who's the target?”

| clenched my list. “I don’t want him dead. Just hit him hard. No physically, but where it hurts the most. He just

bought shares in my company-I want those gone. Buy them out, and do it as soon as possible.”

There was a beat of silence, Carter was smart-he was already pulling up the files I'd sent him, piecing together

what | needed before speaking again.

“Luther Pierce?” he asked, “Isn't that your fiancée’s father?”

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Chapter 32

“That's why he’s still alive. | paid sharply, “For now”

093%

Another laugh escaped him, this one less amused and more incredulous. “Jesus, you really are something.

Alright, Ill get on it. But you know.... you should really learn to take a joke once in a while. It might make you

more tolerable to be around.”

“I don’t have tfor your jokes, Carter,” | muttered, already prepared to hang up when | heard a female voice

in the background.

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“Cback to bed,” she cooed, her words muffled but clear enough to pissoff further.

Carter was the one | called when | needed things to get a lot dirty and he was the only one that could get it done

and he was as dangerous as they cbut that made him even more so was the fact that he masked it with

humor, putting up the facade of a man you will never see coming until the moment he slit your throat.

That was the reason | kept him around and he knew how much his humor irritatedand he made it a point of

our every interaction to capitalize on it.

He was lucky he was good at what he did but one day. Just one day.

“Givea minute, sweetheart,” Carter replied smoothly, before his voice returned to me, all casual again.

“Grayson, you still there? I've got something important for you. | was going to call, but... well, you know,” | could

practically hear him grinning. “I-got rather distracted.”

“I don’t care about your distractions,” | snapped. “What is it?”

He sighed, and for the first time, his tone grew serious. “Remember that other job you hadhandle? The one

in Rome? | think we’ve got a problem.”

My hand tightened around the phone. “What kind of problem!”

“The kind that bites back if we're not careful,” Carter said, his voice low. “I've been digging, like you asked, and

there’s more heat on this than we anticipated. More eyes. It's messy, Grayson. If we don’t play this right, it's

going to blow up in our faces.”

1 exhaled slowly, running a hand through my hair as | leaned back in my chair. “Clean it up. | don’t care how.”

“I figured you'd say that,” Carter replied with a chuckle. “Already working on it. But, just so you know, this is

going to cost

extra.”

“I'll double your fee. Just make sure it’s done.”

“Consider it handled,” Carter said, his tone switching back to its usual cocky rhythm. “You know, for someone

who's always so uptight, you're surprisingly generous when you want things done fast. | wonder what other ways

you can be generous

| sighed, my irritation reaching its limit, “Just get it done.”

| could hear the grin in his voice when he spoke again. “Luther Pierce is going to regret the day he crossed you,

isn’t he

“He will,” | replied coldly, my voice dropping to a near-growl. “He has no idea what's coming for him

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