The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 17

-Ava POV-

“You really didn’t have to do that.” I snapped at Isabella the moment we stepped outside. My voice was sharper than 1 intended, but I 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 I 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 love me anyway.” She grinned, somehow managing to out and smirk at the same time. It was almost disarming. and before I knew it, I was rolling my eyes and letting out a reluctant smile.

“Come on, let’s go before any of them come out.” I nudged her in the direction of my room.

“Or before his royal hotness comes out and eats you up with his eyes.” Isabella gave me a 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.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, even though I didn’t find the situation half as amusing as she did. “Let’s just get drunk and go to bed. I 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. I didn’t want to get comfortable here. This wasn’t my home, no matter how long I stayed. I was on borrowed time, under the roof of a man I barely knew and definitely didn’t trust. A man who could ruin me with a single decision.

With that thought gnawing at me, I wandered through the enormous mansion, my steps aimless until I found myself stepping outside. The air was cooler, and I inhaled deeply, trying to clear my head. But just as I 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 at me to run. I whipped my head in his direction, fear coiling tight in my stomach as memories of every slap, every punch, every cruel word came rushing back. I took an involuntary step backward, and his smile widened. He knew he still had power over me.

“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 I were you, I’d watch my tone. Just because Grayson Blackwood showed you a shred of interest doesn’t mean I can’t still put you in your place.”

over. How did I ever end up with someone like him as my mate? What cosmic joke was this? “How did I end up with you?” I muttered

was holding. “Don’t come near me, or I swear

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Chapter 17

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marriage. I slidy’t want to get a divorce and I only stayed with you out

laugh escaped

could stop it. Of course. Why was I 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

might actually hit me again. “Watch your tone. Ava,” he growled, taking another step toward

I held my ground, refusing to back down

low and threatening. “And if

“You’ll what?”

fast I almost got whiplash. Grayson’s voice, cold and deadly, cut through the tension. like a blade. He stepped out of the shadows, his

plastering itself across his features. “Alpha King Grayson,” he bowed, the deference in his voice almost

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

Dylan to answer. Instead, he turned to me,

a request. My body reacted before my brain did, and I found myself walking toward him, my heart pounding in my chest. The moment I was beside him, Dylan cleared

his voice dripping with insincerity. “I was just trying to get my point across. Ava can

stubborn.”

Grayson beat me to it. “Not only did you step into my house

had on Dylan. His eyes widened, flicking between the two of us as if he couldn’t comprehend what

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

the atmosphere shifted. I didn’t have time to 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

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

in shock. The display of power was calculated, terrifyingly calm, and it took everything in me not to

barely able to find my

look at me, his focus entirely on Dylan, “If you ever come near her again, or step foot into my home, you won’t

ground, gasping for air. Grayson didn’t spare him another

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Chapter 17