The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

| had no tto process the absurdity of it all before | crashed straight into someone. Hard. My body hit the floor

with a painful thud, a curse half-formed on my lips.

“Watch it!” An annoyed voice cut through the air.

My hands stung where they broke my fall, and winced, staring at the floor for a moment before I blinked up at

the woman standing over me. She was stunning-long dark hair, sharp cheekbones, and eyes so intense they

practically pierced through me. She looked like she belonged on a runway, not in the halls of this freezing castle

| continued to stare at her and her eyes narrowed, “Will you not apologize? Do you realize that Grayson is my

cousin and

you

almost ruined a dress worth more than your life?”

| opened my mouth to answer, but a deep, commanding voice boomed down the hall. My head snapped toward

it just as a tall man strode toward us. His eyes, hard and unforgiving, locked onto the woman with a look that

could freeze water.

“Elaine,” he said in a tone that left no room for argument, “Grayson told you didn’t want to see you around for a

while after what you did.”

The woman. Elaine only smiled in return. A dark mischievous smile. “It’s nice to see you too.”

Grayson.

He called him Grayson, not Alpha. There was something almost casual in the way they spoke about him, which

madeeven more curious about the dynamics in this place.

Then the man’s gaze shifted to me, and his features softened-only slightly. “I’m Liam, Grayson’s Beta.” He

lookedup and down, his expression unreadable, before continuing, “He askedto escort you to your room.

He wants his Luna as comfortable as she can be.”

Elaine’s eyes snapped in surprise as she crossed her arms over her chest, sizingup like | was nothing.

“His Luna?” She repeated, her voice dripping with disdain. She shota glare that could burn through steel.

“Where the hell did she crawl out of to bechis Luna?”

Her eyes raked overagain, full of judgment, like she was searching for any weakness she could exploit. |

wanted to say

1/4

Chapter 6

n

something-anything-but-Qe words wouldn't come, Not that would matter. This woman had already decided | was

her

enemy,

Liam, to his credit, ignored her entirely. He gavea polite smile, gesturing down the hallway. “This way. I'll

show you to

your room

| stood there, my legs feeling like jelly, before snapping out of it and following him, all too aware of Elaine’s eyes

burning into my back. Just as | passed her, her voice-cold and venomou-reached my ears.

“I don’t know who you think you are,” she said, her tone as shargas a blade, “but outsiders aren't welchere.

Count your days, Luna.”

I didn’t turn around. | couldn't. Instead, | swallowed the lump in my throat and quickened my pace, keeping my

focus on Liam’s broad back.

Liam ledthrough the winding halls in silence, stopping in front of a heavy metal door. He pushed it open,

revealing a lavish room that looked like it had been ripped from a magazine-dark wood, plush carpets, and an

enormous bed that screamed luxury.

“This is your room. Make yourself comfortable. Grayson will call for you soon.”

I nodded, still feeling out of place. “Thank you.”

He gavea small smile before stepping out, the door closing softly behind him. And just like that, | was alone

again, with nothing but my spiraling thoughts for company.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

| was lost in my thoughts when the sharp ringing of my phone yankedback to reality. | fumbled in my pocket,

my fingers trembling slightly as I pulled it out. The screen flashed with the caller ID, but I didn’t need to look.

It was the phone. The one with the evidence-the proof of betrayal that had throwninto this

mess

I swallowed hard and answered, barely able to get a word in before the voice on the other end exploded, “How

fucking dare you?”

1 jerked the phone away from my ear, wincing at the sheer volof Isabella’s scream. “What is wrong with

you, Bels?” | whispered harshly, trying to contain the storm of emotions crashing through me.

My parents always taughtto be composed, to maintain control. In their eyes, perfection was the only

acceptable standard. Be perfect, stay calm, never lose your cool-that’s who | was supposed to be. But then there

was Isabella, my total opposite. She was wild, unpredictable, chaotic-everything | wasn’t.

It all started when her fist accidentally met my face on our first day at the werewolf academy. I still remembered

the moment like it was yesterday.

She'd thrown a punch, missed her actual target, and clockedright in the nose instead. It hurt like hellmixed

with surprise, but what followed surprisedeven more-she didn’t apologize.

Instead, she marched up to me, grabbed my face, “What in the moon goddess of a swirling eye creature are

you?” She paused for a moment, her eyes suddenly brightening like she had finally found all the answers, “This

is fate. You and | are best friends now.”

I'd stared at her like she’d lost her mind, clutching my throbbing nose. But here we were, nine years later, and

Isabella had bulldozed her way into my life, chaos and all.

“Ava Lilian Pierce!” she screamed, snappingback to the present. “I know you're not still on this call ignoring

me! And WHY THE HELL. DID | JUST FIND OUT YOU LEFT DYLAN-AND NOT FROM YOU?!”

Chapter 6

| winced, rubbing my temples. “Please keep it down, Bels,” | muered, exhaustion seeping into my voice. “I've

already had the worst day.”

“Don’t you dare, Lilian,” she shot back, her voice full of fire. She was the only person who ever calledLalian-

always insisting she had to be different. “You better start talking or I'm coming over. Now”

| could practically see her pacing, probably already grabbing her jacket to storm out the door. “You don’t even

know where 1 am,” | muttered under my breath.

There was a pause. “Exactly. Which is why you better explain whi’s going on right now. What is happening.

Lilian? Talk to

me.

| sighed deeply, my chest tightening as the words fought to escape. “He was cheating, Bels,” | finally said, my

voice barely above a whisper. “And... he used to hit me. | just couldn't stay. | couldn't keep pretending.”

The silence on the other end was deafening. It stretched for what felt like an eternity before Isabella finally

spoke, her voice softer now, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Shame. Embarrassment. The words ricocheted inside my skull, Guntinglike they had for weeks now. How

could I tell her? | was supposed to be the perfect one-the one with all the answers, the one with everything

under control.

“My voice trailed off, thick with emotion. I couldn’t even finish the sentence before Isabella interrupted

“Actually, you know what, scratch that. Where are you? I'm coming to get you.”

The urge to let her rescue me-to finally just collapse into someone else’s arms and let them carry the weight-

was strong. But | couldn't.

Something clicked in my brain, though, cutting through the fog | frowned. “Wait... how did you even know | left

Dylan?” There was no hesitation on her end. “It’s spreading like wildfire through the packs. Everyone knows by

now.”

Everyone. The weight of that single word settled in my chest like a stone. My heart sank into the pit of my

stomach. dragging with it all the dread I'd tried to suppress.

And if everyone knew...

when/saw. Duzzed in, vibrating through my hand like the strike of a match. | glanced at the screen, my heart

clenching

Another

the name.

Luther Pierce.

Father.

| let out a shaky breath, pulling the phone away from my ear. “Bels, I've got to go. It's him.”

“Oh no. Lilian-"

“Ill call you later.” | didn’t give her tto argue before switching over, another breath catching in my throat. |

stared at the screen for a long, agonizing second, forcing myself to swipe and bring the phone to my ear. | closed

my eyes, steeling myself for the cold judgment | knew would follow,

“Hello, Father,” | greeted him, trying to sound composed, but my voice wavered.

The silence that followed was worse than the words | knew were coming. And when they did, they were icy

enough to freeze the blood in my veins.

“Get to the compound. Now.”

21.53 Thu. Dec 12