The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 42

-Ava’s POV-

| could practically hear my mother’s disappointed voice echoing in my head as the fog began to clear.

“This is what happens when you don’t follow the rules. Ava

As much as | hated to admit it, they were right this time. Because here | was-kidnapped, tied up, and completely

at someone's mercy. The rope tightened around my body, and every inch offelt heavier by the second. My

limbs were sore, my wrists were raw from the coarse binding cutting into my skin, and the dim light from above

only made the situation feel more suffocating. My eyes barely adjusted, enough to see Luca moving around the

room like a shadow. The stench in the air was thick, pungent-something rotting, and it made my stomach churn

violently. | gagged, trying to keep together.

“You'll have to forgive the smell,” Luca’s voice drifted towardcasual, almost amused. “I would've taken you

somewhere nicer, but this was last minute. Needed to get you tucked away fast.”

| swallowed, trying to wet my dry throat. “Why why are you doing this to me?” My voice cracked, the words

slurred as the drug in my system slowly wore off.

Luca moved closer, tightening the ropes even further, leaving ng room forto even attempt to struggle. There

was no point. | was completely helpless, at his mercy, and he knew it. He backed up just a little, his eyes

gleaming with something

twisted.

“You did this to yourself, Ava,” he said, his tone flat. “The moment you decided to marry Grayson Blackwood, you

sealed your fate. I'm only doing a job, sweetheart. You're worth a lot of money to Ricardo Sylvester.”

I blinked. Who the hell is that?

Luca let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair like this was all just another inconvenience to him. “You're

lucky. though. He wants you alive and all your parts intact

My stomach twisted. All my parts intact? What the hell was happening? Panic gripped my chest, squeezing the

air out of my lungs. He was going to selloff to sguy that has a vendere against Grayson.

| had royally screwed up.

| took a shaky breath, trying to calm myself down, forcing my thoughts into something coherent. “L-Look,” |

stammered, “whatever this Ricardo person has offered you, Grayson-Grayson is rich, wey rich. e could pay you

double, triple even. | can convince him to-"

Luca cutoff with a sharp, cruel laugh that echoed in the empty space. “Oh, honey,” he drawled mockingly,

shaking his head. “You really don’t understand how this world works, do you You think Grayson Blackwood would

rewardfor kidnapping his wife and letting her go? You've gotta be dumber than | thought for following a

complete stranger like me?

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His insult hit hard, like a slap in the face. | had been stupid. Stupid and reckless. And now look at where | ended

up-tied to a chair in sgoddess forsaken warehouse, waiting to be sold off like a piece of property.

“Ricardo’s men will be here soon,” Luca continued, his tone shifting from casual to cold. “Do yourself a favor,

keep that pretty mouth shut, or you might just annoyenough to sell you in pieces”

The dread colled aroundlike a vice, squeezing tighter with every second. The words flew out of my mouth

before | could stop them. “Grayson will find you, and he will kill you.”

Luca’s smile widened, dark and menacing. He took his time, moving toward a nearby box, rummaging through it

before pulling out a gun. He held it up, inspecting it like it was nothing more than a toy in his hands.

09:02 Fri, Dec 13

Chapter 42

“Is that so?” His voice dripped with mockery.

| froze. My mouth went dry, the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. Death. | hadn't really thought

about dying, not seriously. | had felt trapped before-caged by life’s circumstances-but death had always seemed

like a distant thing. Now it loomed over me, inches away, ready to pounce. The cold reality of it settled over me

like a dark cloud.

“What?” Luca’s mocking voice pulledfrom my thoughts. “You lost your nerve? Nothing else to say,

sweetheart?”

| closed my eyes for a moment, sucking in a deep breath. If | was going to die, | wasn’t going out a coward. No

way. | open my eyes, glaring at him with everything | had left in me, “I do have something to say,” | spat, my

voice trembling but full defiance. “It doesn’t matter if you killor selloff. Grayson will find you, and he will

make your death slow and excruciating. You'll rot in hell, you bastard.”

Luca's smile faltered for a brief second before he regained his composure, tilting his head. “Brave words, Ava.

But you'll b long gone before your precious fiancé even gets a whiff of your trail.”

A cold sweat broke out on my skin as | tried to make sense of his words. He seemed so damn sure that Grayson

wouldn't reachin time. Fear clawed at my insides, but | shoved it down. | had to stay calm, had to stay

strong.

A sudden sound from outside the warehouse made Luca pause. His brows furrowed as he glanced toward the

door, his expression hardening.

“You hear that?” he muttered to himself, his hand tightening on the gun, “They are here. This will be over soon

so you bett behave.

FI

“Screw you.” | spat.

Luca's eyes flashed with anger, his jaw tight as he cocked the gun and aimed it directly at my leg. My heart

hammered in m chest. The room felt too small, the air too thick, and I couldn't breathe. His finger twitched on

the trigger, and in that instant, | braced myself for the searing pain.

Then, the sound of the shot rang out.

| screamed, waiting for the pain to tear through my leg. But it never came. | opened my eyes slowly, trembling,

my mind struggling to catch up with my body. Luca let out a low, hollow laugh, the sound grating against my

nerves.

| glanced down. The bullet had embedded itself in the floor, inches between my legs.

“I'm a really good shot,” Luca sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. “Next time, | will aim for an actual part

and-

Then everything happened so fast.

Luca's lips twisted, his voice cut off mid-sentence, transforming into a blood-curdling scream. My head snapped

up just in

rip Luca’s hand clean off his arm. tto see Grayson dark, lethal, his presence filling the room like a storm-

The hand that had been holding the gun.

Luca collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony, his voice hoarse and raw. Blood gushed from the mangled

stump where his hand used to be. | was frozen, my mind torn between shock, relief, and a terror that slithered

down my spine.

Grayson still hadn't looked at me.

His eyes-pitch black, filled with an unfathomable rage- were locked on Luca’s trembling, bleeding form. The

room was suffocating in silence, save for Luca's guttural screams. Grayson aura was ice cold, sending shivers

down my spine even as | sat there, helpless.

He moved without hesitation. With a casualness that terrified m Grayson picked up the dismembered hand still

clutching the gun, pried the weapon loose, and fired it at Luca's legs.

09:02 Fri, Dec 13

Chapter 42

The shot echoed in the air, deafening. Luca’s scream was the most horrifying thing I'd ever heard a primal,

desperate sound as he writhed on the floor, clutching the bloody stump where his hand had once been

| didn’t think anyone could scream like that.

Another shot. This tGrayson aimed for Luca’s other leg. The agony was unbearable to even witness. Luca’s

body spasmed on the ground, his screams ringing in my ears. My stomach twisted, bile rising in my throat, but |

couldn't tear eyes away. | should've looked away. | should've closed my eyes, pretended none of this was

happening

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But I couldn't.

I didn’t want to.

| wanted to see what Grayson Blackwood was capable of. | wanted to see everything

Grayson threw the gun aside like it was nothing, his dark eyes still locked on Luca’s broken form. His voice,

colder in I ever heard, cut through the room like a blade. “You don’t touch what's mine.”

| shivered at the finality in his tone.

Luca coughed, blood splattering on the floor. His voice was weak trembling “Please Please, I'm sorry. | needed

the mone Please, have mercy... He tried to crawl away, his body shaking, blood soaking into the floor.

| wanted to close my eyes. | wanted to look away from the carnage, from the blood, from the man who had

terrorizedmoments before. But something insidekept my gaze locked on Grayson. | had to see this

through.

Grayson’s eyes shifted back to their usual stormy gray as he squatted beside Luca’s crumpled form, his face

devoid of any emotion. “Remember that when you get to hell”

Before Luca could utter another word, Grayson’s hand shot out, plunging into his chest with terrifying precision.

Luca's eye bulged, a wet gasp escaping his lips as Grayson ripped his hand free, pulling out Luca’s heart with it.

Luca's body collapsed in on itself, lifeless.

Grayson tossed the heart aside like it was trash, standing to his full height as the room fell into an eerie silence.

Finally, he looked at me.

bort

If I hadn't been frozen in place, | would've turned into stone under his gaze. His eyes - cold, unreadable,

dangerous into mine, and for a moment, | couldn’t move, couldn't breathe. My body was locked in place, my

mind struggling to catch

with everything that had just happened.

up

He crossed the distance between us in two strides, crouching down to tear through the ropes that boundwith

his claws. The sharp snap of the ropes echoed in the room, but I didn’t move. | couldn't. | was paralyzed, staring

at Luca's ruined. body, the blood pooling around him

Reality slammed intolike a freight train, and suddenly, my mind couldn’t process the horror I'd just

witnessed. My body locked up, my chest tight with a panic | couldn't control. My vision blurred, and the next

thing | knew, darkness consumed me, my mind echoing with one haunting sentence...

No one touches what's mine.

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